[mixmix]

Can anyone recommend other hidden gems like Tom's channel? I've been following him for years and still have not seen a merrier hacker. George Hotz's livestreams (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFUMGbVxlQs5s-LNAyKgcq5S...) were as good perhaps, but the format is quite different, and he doesn't do them anymore.

[zootboy]

Dunno how "hidden" some of these are, but here are my list of interesting hacky or explainy channels with a twist:

Applied Science: Unusual chemistry / physics / misc engineering https://www.youtube.com/c/AppliedScience/videos

NileRed: Unusual chemistry experiments https://www.youtube.com/c/NileRed/videos

Styropyro: Lasers https://www.youtube.com/c/styropyro/videos

Inigo Quilez: 3D rendering and mathematics https://www.youtube.com/c/InigoQuilez/videos

Mike's Electric Stuff: Weird equipment teardowns and electrical engineering https://www.youtube.com/user/mikeselectricstuff/videos

Captain Disillusion: VFX / hoax debunking and education https://www.youtube.com/c/CaptainDisillusion/videos

Retro Game Mechanics Explained: Technical dives into old-school console hardware and software https://www.youtube.com/c/RetroGameMechanicsExplained/videos

Tantacrul: Video essays on music topics that sometimes go completely off the rails https://www.youtube.com/c/Tantacrul/videos

[mey]

Adding a few I didn't see in the other replies

- Alpha Phoenix, a combination of physics and simulation. Thermite art, optimizing gerrymandering, growing large single crystal ice, practical demonstration of the speed of electricity, etc. https://m.youtube.com/c/AlphaPhoenixChannel

[nowahe]

Here is a list of some channels (in no particular order) that are similar to Tom's, in the knowledgeable host talking about niche/complex subjects :

- Huygens Optics[1] : Retired Philips' research scientist that worked on OLED development and makes highly detailed videos on different subjects, all relating to light (eg: Making optical logic gates using interference, DIY photolithography, Making a Mirror with a Variable Surface Shape).

- Marco Reps[2] : German guy doing electronics videos, usually about precision/exotic instruments (eg building a CERN open source 8.5 digits voltmeter, High speed thermal camera, Detecting cosmic rays with a raspberry pi). Has the same type of humour as Tom7

- Styropyro[3] : Laser hacker, creating stupidely powerful lasers (think 100W continous handeled laser)

- CuriousMarc[4] : Guy working on restoring old 60-80s electronic/computer equipment. Is most known for his ~25 part series on restoring the Apollo Guidance Computer. As a sidenote, Ken Shirriff, which writes die reverse-engineering articles at righto.com (which frequently pops up on HN), frequently appears in his videos.

- Scanlime[5] : Highly detailed reverse-engineering/hacking/explanations videos. Sadly she isn't that much active anymore.

- der8auer EN [6] : German guy doing mostly videos about CPUs/motherboards (think insane overclocking, etc). However he has a few hugely detailed gems, such as demonstrating how 7nm chips are troubleshooted, by probing them under a SEM[7]. Also as a sidenote, he shoots all of his videos twice, once in german and once in english, instead of just dubbing over them, which is an insane dedication imo.

- Applied Science [8] : Relatively well known channel, describing various experiments that he does in his home shop, like : Building a LCD, Silicon wafer etching, DIY mass spectrometer, etc.

- Cathode Ray Dude [9] : In-depth technical videos about mostly vintage video gear, which at first glance you wouldn't typically find interesting. Same kind of nerdy humour as Tom7

- Technology Connections [10] : Hard to describe the style, mostly videos about technical subjects, going much more in depth than you though was possible, with a really nerdy/dry humour.

I might have missed some, but those are the main ones that comes to mind.

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC26YLK0OEbLB3TCYxGh8xVQ/vid...

[2]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1O0jDlG51N3jGf6_9t-9mw/vid...

[3]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJYJgj7rzsn0vdR7fkgjuIA/vid...

[4]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3bosUr3WlKYm4sBaLs-Adw/vid...

[5]: https://www.youtube.com/c/scanlime/videos

[6]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGsaijjOJshS2_ZmMNZgS-g/vid...

[7]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKb3OAoGeIw

[8]: https://www.youtube.com/c/AppliedScience/videos

[9]: https://www.youtube.com/c/CathodeRayDude/videos

[10]: https://www.youtube.com/c/TechnologyConnections/videos

[progbits]

> Technology Connections [10] : Hard to describe the style

To the contrary, it is very easy to describe: it is an entire channel dedicated to the latent heat of water.

(For those who haven't seen it, he goes into refrigeration and heat exchangers a lot and this topic constantly comes up, becoming a running joke)

[nowahe]

On a sidenote, to build the list I had to comb through my subscription and load the relevant channels (and go over their videos a bit), and since doing so my YouTube recommendations are significantly better, with recommendations of small technical channels in the same spirit as Tom7's

[fps_doug]

I was recently pleasantly surprised by the YT algorithm and was recommended Tech Time Traveller's video about Miniscribe, which just blew up for this guy for reasons unknown to mortals. ;-)

The Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TechTimeTraveller/videos

Videos mostly about retro computers and companies from the 70s and onwards.

It's amazing how high quality the videos are and how much effort this guy puts into them even thjough he only got about 2k views per video up until the latest vid. Seems the persistence finally payed off.

[martijnvds]

Not very hidden, but Matt Parker (Standup Maths):

https://www.youtube.com/user/standupmaths

[mixmix]

Thanks a lot everyone for your recommendations, really appreciate them!