Patreon Exclusive: A Thank You

Maybe a bit niche (but would float my boat!) - the crazy early electronic musical instruments that were created around the turn of the century (19th-20th). Pre-analogue synths, and pre-theremin even. Something like the ondes-martinot (used by Radiohead) is a well known one. The 'Manhattan Research Circle Machine' - not so much! And the Birotron (invented by Dave Biro), the helmholtz sound synthesizer, etc, etc. I'm sure they all have fascinating histories and use early electronic components in interesting ways. Over to you! Oli (www.synthevolution.net)

The reels work with a ratcheting mechanism and a solenoid. The solenoid is briefly pulsed which advances it to the next number. I'm thinking a relay board running from an Arduino and passing current from a 36V (or so) transformer should work!

Technology Connections

Glad to see you breaking the $1k goal! Channels like yours are rare! I'd love to see a nixie subscriber counter! I just recently built a nixie clock myself and it's looking great. How are you planning to incorporate those reels? Servo motors? :)

Your format is excellent and doesn't waste my time as a viewer. Don't grow away from these solid foundations.

Alec, just added you to my Patreon list. Wanna share information on VHD videodisc with you and I was a laserdisc owner back when St. Louis became a test market for DiscoVision in the Spring of 1980. Is there a way to e-mail you? Thank you... Tony

Congratulations, Alec, on succeeding as an entrepreneur. Disney may have been a good launch pad, but Corporation-World is no place to spend your life. It took me 25 years to learn that, and I have never looked back since making the decision to hire myself to work for me ... !

Roger Beal

I thought you were an engineer of some kind...lol

Thanks for sharing that Alec. Personally, I really like "getting to know" the people who make the videos I like. I am really pleased to see you break the $1,000 barrier; it can only be onward and upward from here!

Stephen Bell

I updated my pledge to $5/month because your videos are informative and I quite enjoy them. Looking forward to your future content. Maybe a crossover with Techmoan? He seems to appreciate your work, too.

Jason McMillon

Wow, I assumed you had a background in media production or something in that area, the videos are really tightly produced. Knowing that you had education in a completely unrelated subject makes that turbo impressive! Are you planning on sharing the build process for the subscriber counter? Oh, and I'm never adjusting my standing desk without that facial expression ever again ;)

Paul Kingtiger

I found your videos a few weeks ago, and I could not stop watching them... They are so fun and informative! My dad worked as a cameraman in the first Chilean TV station (can see a cool promo from that time here: <a href="https://youtu.be/uX6e_66Bbks" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/uX6e_66Bbks</a> ) and eventually had his own production company for TV ads and documentaries. So TV, VCRs, Beta (max or cam), VHS, U-Matic, audio reel, etc, all the technologies that I heard about when I was a child. Almost every video of yours bring memories: from things that my dad and I made (a crystalradio!) or talk about (Beta vs VHS), or equipment that he had at his office (Betacam, audio reels, old VHS and Betamax). Of course, besides the memories, the educational quality of your videos is superb; I can only imagine how much time do you spend on research. Keep doing such an amazing job!

Andres Plaza

Awesome! You make fantastic videos, so I'm glad to see your doing well. Keep up the great work!

Mike Mason

Happy to have chipped in for that - a good desk is important. :) And if you ever feel like making a separate series of videos exploring the hospitality industry, I'd be fascinated to watch. Cheers!

‘Leigh

You are too kind! I saw that happen, and was hoping you'd comment so we all knew who did it. Thank you for being awesome!

Technology Connections

I just updated my pledge to push you past your $1000/month goal because, well, you deserve it! Your channel is one of the only channels where I receive every single notification, and watch and enjoy every single video. If my contribution can help bring the content I love then you deserve every cent I can spare!

Alec, I had no idea what your name was before! I don’t think I can remember you ever mentioning it before. Anyways, glad to be one of your patrons, I love all the stuff you do and it’s really interesting to learn about all this old technology and how it works. Hope the channel continues to grow and you can quit your 2 days at the hotel! All the best with the future!

I wouldn't go so far as to say I understand that stuff better than you! In some ways I wish I was born earlier so I could have experienced more of the analog days--what little experience I have comes mostly from nostalgic memories!

Technology Connections

I am feeling pretty dumb right now - I have a master's in electrical engineering and 30 years experience, and you understand analog TV broadcast, transmission, and reception better than I do - lol

Bill Basch

And don’t sell yourself short. The reason this is taking off for you is because you meticulously plan and execute these videos. They’re really great, some of the nicest educational content I’ve seen. My favorite was when you showed how mechanical TV works. I know it probably didn’t work out as well as you hoped for, but that’s actually a good thing in a way as you learn about it too as you go along. That makes your videos really relatable and just human. Here’s to many years of your amazing channel! :)

Thomas Fuchs

Thanks for sharing a little of yourself...much appreciated and look forward to supporting you - for the long haul...John from Australia

OMG just got a Jarvis desk last year!!1! Desks are so nice and they’re a great, responsible company.

Thomas Fuchs

Congrats on "making it!" The videos are awesome and you have a natural talent for explaining things. Can't wait to see what ideas float out of your head ;)

Jason Wellband