Just Who Am I And What The F%#& Am I Doing Here????

I want to see more build projects. I think if you made something that really gabbed peoples attention you'd get more views.

David

Hey Fran! I just wanted to let you know I subscribed for your electronics content as well. I miss that part of your channel and hope for more. However I enjoy most all of your videos no matter what they happen to be about. I will continue to watch your content and support your work as long as I can. Thank you.

Too many comments to reply to individually, but thanks everyone for your support of whatever it is that I do, and rest assured that I will keep on doing what I do. Whatever that is.

Fran Blanche

Hi Fran, I just watched the video. Often times when you show the result of a project you've worked on for a longer time, I kinda would like to see the process of getting there. I feel like you're heavily underselling the time and effort you put into it by "hiding" that part from the videos. Either way, I subscribed to you for your knowledge of a broad field of electronics, and your enthusiasm in showing off and explaining things. Keep doing what you want to do!

CH23

Fran, I don’t think you need to worry about the polls. Just keep doing what you’re doing. The only thing that the poll revealed is that people are very interested in your personal opinion on a particular issue, whether it be a question on a particular project or a question simply on a subject that clings to your soul. People respect your opinion very much. Talk about everything that’s important to you, what you think is important to communicate to the audience, people will appreciate it.

Fran! I think you are looking at this the wrong way. You are using words like “either” and “or” for types of content your fans, subscribers & Patreons like the most. IMHO, I think you should be using the word “and”. Sure, some like one item more than others in your survey, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate the others. You have a diverse range of content. You cover all of it well. If you start focusing only on the higher ranked items, you may lose some viewership from those who like the variety. In the world of cookie cutter, single subject social media video platforms, yours rises above many others thanks to your diverse range of subjects. The spontaneity of some of your posts (especially the rants) are very timely and relevant. I, and I bet many others, come for the tech (rare items, tear downs and builds) and stay for the rants. The historical content, (space exploration, WD-40 background, sound recording, etc) is a great plus as well. I wouldn’t change a thing. 😃

Darrell Ashby

I joined as a patron basically just to say this, and while it does echo some of what's already been said, I'm gonna post it here anyway. I think what I love most about watching your videos is your enthusiasm for whatever it is you're making a video about - whether that's a build project, a teardown, fascinating vintage tech, or just some topic you're interested in talking about. If there's anything that makes all the content from the various electronics youtubers out there unique, it's not the things they're talking about, it's the people who are making them. I hope that however the channel evolves in the future, the same infectious enthusiasm remains. Thank you for sharing your interests with all of us, despite the pressures that being "an internet personality" brings with it.

There are some low hanging fruit \ low effort types of content you can make while working on your long form complicated projects! Rants. Teardowns. Other random waffling. You can use that kind of content to feed the algorhythim while you work on the complicated stuff that takes months for a single video. Something like a 7 minute video on a modification you made to some old test gear to get better performance or more reliable operation / protection from faults out of it. There’s also some of the stuff like “This is what I’m working on today” where you talk about what ever’s on your mind. A lot of people like off the cuff ‘vlogging’ type content too.

FennecTECH

If you could make a poll that allows us to RANK them in order. That would be a much more valuable poll. I’m here for the waffling and such. I also really like the rare artifacts they are one of the main reasons i come. But i always come for some old crusty electronics teardowns!!

FennecTECH

I love rants and such I think that 5 percent is quite deceptive. Because you asked not for a ranking but a “if you could only have one” Everyone is going to pick the coolest stuff first.

FennecTECH

While the poll was nice, you need to produce content that interest you. You are not a commercial enterprise driven by ad revenue. While talking about UFOs and alien beings may draw the tin foil gang, I doubt they are patreons. I enjoy the complicated build projects, rare electronic artifacts, and tear downs. PS: I have a PhD in Electrical Engineering.

Jim Grover

I pretty much agree with all the people above, you just do you! Do you know how hard it was to choose just one topic? My choice, rare electrical objects was based on me having just enjoyed your light bulb with tungsten filliments video. NOT because I don't enjoy other videos!! I love listening and watching everything you do! Yes the UFO video was the reason I found you, but not the reason I stayed or became a patreon! You do what ever you enjoy and like, the more passionate you are about things the better!

Teardowns ✔️electronic projects ✔️ collections✔️ NASA and similar organisations ✔️ UFO'S ❌❌❌❌❌. Fran whispering "Alright" and "real soon" ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️❤️

I didn't even notice the poll, but I wonder how much of it may have been skewed by giving people a catch-all option. For what it's worth, I love teardowns and builds, but I also love your videos on vintage stuff and just watching/listening to you talk about whatever you find interesting, because chances are I find it interesting, too.

Circuitmike

Didn't see the poll but just voted. As far as I'm concerned just be you and say whatever you want to say. Subscribed because of my interest in electronics and your retro take and also mention from Big Clive. But I also have an interest in UFOs so was incredibly interested to hear what you had to say on that. Thanks for all you do 😊

Hey Fran... I love your hardcore build projects ... but you missed a couple of topics that you do pretty well; projects for mere mortals and retro space/NASA stuff...

You just do you.

Eric Dickinson

I didn't see the poll. I'll watch damn near everything you create. I'd even watch a video of you reading a book out loud. 😀I love what you do and I'm not going anywhere. 💜

Jessica McIntosh

I agree with Matt L. It's not that we don't want to see "complicated builds". Those take a lot of time so we don't get to see them very much. Mix it up - throw in some of each and you should have happy subscribers.

Brian Garland

Hi Fran, I didn't interpret your categories as mutually exclusive - I'm sure others were the same. I voted the "pretty much anything" category thinking it would encompass all of the other categories at some point or another. Similarly, long projects and electrical curiosities would likely include a teardown of some description at some point. If there was a "do whatever makes you happy" or "keep doing what you're doing" option that would have got my vote.

Hey Fran, I'm almost 70 years young and enjoy anything you care to talk about. Enjoy seeing rare things and hearing your excitement over breakdowns and builds.

gary.talmadge.bennett@gmail.com

Polls are evil, there are so many ways they can lead to misunderstandings and false impressions. I'd say the most important (as far as I am concerned) is that you keep doing something you enjoy.

DeuxVis

I just want to see you do stuff that makes you happy. I personally love the technical stuff. Do what you want to

Simon Deards VK3FSPD

While I also voted for the rare electronic option, that was mainly because there have been quite a few recently and they've all been interesting. The best thing might be a mix of everything in the proportions from the poll. I appreciate that complex builds do take such a long time but if have a passion for something and want to build it, then you know a lot of your die hard fans will watch it and appreciate it.

You can't please all the people all the time, but you can please me all the time, in the few years I've followed your channel, I've liked everything you have done and I'll continue to support you as long as you keep doing it. Even if you fly off at a tangent that I don't like, I won't stop supporting you, I will just politely point out that the direction you have taken is not for me, hoping that you take my opinion into account along with that of all the other patrons. If I could afford it I would support you to the tune of $100s per month. As a mark of my continued faith in you here's an extra $5 per month. 😄

Dr Andy Hill

I like build projects but didn't want to impose too much pressure on you to do complex time and brain consuming projects. Keep doing the mix that you now, I enjoy all of it! Polls can be misleading!

Dr Andy Hill

I think your collection of rare artifact would look like warehouse 13.... ;)

Allen Lorenz

Limiting yourself to the most requested type of videos would be like McDonald's serving only burgers. They serve chicken nuggets and chicken sandwiches because that brings in additional customers. They serve fish sandwiches because that brings in a few more. They serve fries because almost everyone likes them. It's having a variety of stuff that people want that makes them successful. So I think the answer is you've got to have a variety of videos. And of course that's my answer because that's what I like. I loved your complicated build projects, but they did keep you from posting videos regularly, which had to affect viewership. They might still be viable if you posted frequent updates or even detailed how-to videos about particular aspects of the projects. One of the reasons I subscribed to your channel is that I learned how you did stuff that I found useful. This may not be feasible for you, but other YouTubers livestream their complicated build projects and seem to have sufficient views to make it worthwhile. I don't know if YouTube "shorts" can make you any money, but I did recently think you could probably make quite a few simply by quickly showing off and saying a few words about a few of the items in your collection. Even if they don't make you any money themselves, they might be a relatively easy way to attract some new viewers. In any case, I really do appreciate your videos and the hard work you do to make them.

So, I know this rant has been mostly just “me”, but I used to be more accessible and all the liabilities you mentioned happened to me. I’d love to share my technical adventures like you do, but I simply don’t have the energy, or personality, that one would need to create such a multi-media gem like Franlab. I’ve got a lot of screws loose, but for some reason, and just out of blind luck, I found your work on YouTube and it just hit the right missing screw! Be anyone you want. Talk about anything you want. Don’t let the polls dictate your direction. You have a great following and I think we will follow your path wherever you go. Keep it up! I’m depending on you to remind me there are others out there with the same interests. Matt

Matt Wietlispach

Fran, I think you just happened to fit into a very narrow niche of interests that happened to match my own very closely. Your enthusiasm in bringing amazing display devices to life, and the tear-downs, are simply tuned into the extremely narrow channel I can receive. Rants, and old media, are a great mixture to compliment your electronics interests. I only have a subscription to one other YouTube channel where Urban Explorers film the interiors of old abandoned buildings, power plants, and factories. I used to do that in Chicago when I was young. Vintage display technology is something that has ALWAYS interested me. You can actually “see” the brilliant engineering and precision that went into those devices you so eloquently reverse-engineer. Electro-optical technology from the late 60s to mid 70s is always my favorite period. Military and aerospace technology always pushed the envelope of what could be accomplished without the computing power of today. A great example is a late 60s moving map display for an attack aircraft. Today, our smart phones can show us the whole planet and any part of it, and keep the viewer positioned perfectly via GPS signals. Google Earth and Maps is just effortless with the computing power of today. Cars have moving maps and new aircraft displays have just about any kind of 2D or 3D position display imaginable. All mixed with computers that lag years behind state-of-the-art PCs of today. Moving maps are simply not amazing any longer. But what if you wanted a moving map display on a high-performance aircraft in 1968 that was daylight readable and kept the plane in the center of this map? No computers or high-contrast LCD displays back then. So how did they solve this problem? Well, they simply put maps on 35mm film and placed that into a cartridge that fit into what was essentially a film projector that was tied into the primitive navigation system of the aircraft. Through an absolutely incredible feat of ingenuity, they were able to keep the aircraft centered on this filmed map passing by high-brightness lamps and lenses. Servos rotated the optics and moved the film in real time to provide this map display. It worked so well that it was used until they retired the aircraft after the Gulf War. Finding an unused display unit on eBay provided dozens of hours of amazed analysis and reverse-engineering of this device. Everything had to move precisely, they had a clever redundant lamp assembly and a cartridge that was easy to remove and put film into. I only had some 35mm negatives from years ago, but when the lamp was on, it displayed on the front. I was thinking all the time “What would Fran do with this?” She wouldn’t want to tear it apart and ruin the artifact, but she’d sure experiment with all the guts like I did and marveled at the mechanical and optical miracles they pulled off. Again, thinking of a moving map in the 70s is something no one ever expected to come standard in their cars someday. And it took a big budget that only the military could afford to develop and maintain. This was the A-7 Corsair II and you can see the cockpit at: http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/cockpits/SEAW_tour/SEAW-2.html It’s the lower right hand scope-looking display. Look at all that analog technology all around it. No powerful computers or GPS here. Yet the moving map worked! THAT’s the kind of creativity I see going into your demonstrations. And when you took apart that awful Chinese transistor radio and found that funky tuning needle system and amazingly cheap parts and construction, it just took me to the other extreme of electronics. The stuff that’s disposable. Your forum is the only one I participate in. I try to keep a very low profile on the Internet because of the reasons you listed. When you have knowledge and materials, people can be pretty demanding in obtaining it. I know you would help everyone out that asks questions, but you’re just one person and you have a planet-full of patrons! 20 Years ago I used to have a website based on a home cockpit flight simulator that used real aircraft parts all tied together with a network of computers. It got incredibly complicated during the 10 years I worked on it and there wasn’t an indicator or switch that didn’t work. I found an old article of it at: http://www.stibbe.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Air-and-Space-Flight-Sims.pdf That was the simulator in its early years. It got so advanced and immersive that I constantly had people who wanted to fly it. I should have made a business out of it. But. Like you, I was emailed hundreds of questions about how things worked, where to find military aircraft cockpit parts and how I interfaced this analog stuff to a modern computer. I just could not handle the attention and the few I did try to help gave up and just sold the stuff I gave them on eBay. So, no website after that. Then I was asked to cut the cockpit off of a DC-10 for work and restore it to demonstrate updated display and navigation technology to the Air Force. They don’t show the completed cockpit, but I was surprised to find myself on-line. https://iowadot.gov/aviation/news/pdfs/Will%20Cedar%20Rapids%20recovery%20include%20Rockwell%20Collins.pdf After we sold to programs using that cockpit as the ultimate immersive demo experience, it still stands as a test bed today. They would not let me completely restore the cockpit, so I just had a 747-300 cockpit cut off a real 747 in a boneyard and had it shipped to Iowa where it was restored and continues being developed into a working flight simulator while restoring the old analog gauge interior to as new as it looked the day it was delivered. I saw one of my old PDFs on line: http://www.petergottlieb.com/docs/747_Restoration_For_Sim.pdf This would all make for a great website, but I simply can’t work full time, work on the simulator and also have time for a forum like you have. There are plenty of others out there doing what I do, but with the -400 “glass cockpit” version that doesn’t need 100 interfaces to individual instruments.

Matt Wietlispach

$@&# - I don’t believe you are fairly assessing the survey results. “Do or talk about anything” seems like the ultimate validation of “do whatever you want.” I DIDN’T want to pick just one, but since I could only pick *one*, I picked the option that sounded most like - “I’m up for whatever you wanna do, Fran!” I love the tear downs, the cool projects, the rare old tech, and LOVE all of the great stuff that falls outside any simple category like the Wanamaker Organ tour, your plane flight, and your drives around Philly. Do what interests you… and what gets you patrons. And throw in the ufo talk and commentary if that gets you subs (I’ll probably hold off on watching those - but a fine topic to discuss over a beer at The Belgian Cafe or Kite & Key). A better survey would let people rank or at least select multiple items. Of course rare items and “whatever you wanna do or talk about” are going to be the top items. You have discovered amazingly unique items not covered *anywhere* else - it is incredibly interesting, but I’ve also totally missed your project videos lately. I don’t recall you mentioning the poll anywhere and am surprised so many have taken it - I only found it and took it after seeing this post. I never click into the YouTube community page and It doesn’t pop up when watching purely on AppleTV or casting directly from Patreon.

The fact that 37% of viewers just want to see you shoot the breeze suggests to me that there is a large percentage of viewers that watch your channel for you rather than what you show/do. Given that this is impossible for anyone else to replicate, you seem to have a long future ahead of you on YouTube. 😁 BTW I didn't vote because I couldn't decide.

OzRetrocomp

Ms. Fran, I voted for "Rare Electronics Artifacts" because it is your content that I have enjoyed mostly as of late. That said, if ALL your content was "Rare Electronics Artifacts" I would eventually lose interest. You have to do what you are interested in doing at any given time. It is your passion for whatever you are workin' on or frantin' about that keeps us engaged. Just continue to do what you do and let the poll be damned.

Howard Simons

Gotta look at the positives Fran 37% of your viewers will watch whatever the hell you want to do. Be it teardowns, weird 60s TV programs, artifacts, etc. That sounds like a huge win to me. The problem with online polls is that people don't actually know what they want (you used to be in industry, you know this first hand!). You're at 1,700 patreons and however many youtube subs because of the way you run your channel currently. Not because you are catering to the respondents of an internet poll.

Seymore Butts

It is YOUR channel, do what YOU want to do.

William Alsing

Exactly, unless Youtube is making Fran more than Patreon.

Gilbert Pfaff

As a 74 YO electronics hobbyist and retired programmer, I love your channel. It is perfect in an offbeat way. But do whatever makes you happy. 73 de N3GAQ

Michael A Klaene

I did not see the poll. I want to see complicated builds and teardowns. Why I support you on Patreon. I cannot justify $20 for ranting and rare artifacts. Your Patreon supporters are less than 5% of your subscribers. If you can survive on just Youtube and not Patreon you have to do what you have to do.

Gilbert Pfaff

How to do both: Over the years you had rebuild historical devices. Projects like the DSKY! I know you stopped that because another YouTuber build this, but you also mentioned repeatedly that there are different ways to build it, and this is my main point the poll shows people are interested in your take on things! Incidentally about the poll: You now have more viewers. What if among them are more with a less advanced knowledge about electronics who nethertheless are interested? To follow your big projects one had to have a certain level of background. How about an experiment: You make a “traditional” FranLab build, but you flank that with “basics introductions”, so that more people are able to follow. Maybe it turns out that there is a sufficient number of viewers that could be won for the “project camp”?

My thoughts, almost exactly. I would like to point out that if the "do what you want" option hadn't been included, I would have selected advanced builds. In that sense, the poll results might be misleading. I selected the "do what you want" option as a compliment to Fran.

Jeffrey R. Broido

You are now an Internet Personality, (and frankly I had no idea what Frantone was, and that you were in the music scene at all, what a great surprise,) and I would not stress about it. Keep on fretting about what we want to see, because that's why we love you, Fran. Frankly, I will tune in if i'm feeling crappy, to watch your LAVA LAMP. It's like what they say about public radio, you're not afraid to go over to somebody's house for dinner, if you know they're a good cook. We'll enjoy what life brings us from you.

I suspect I'm not alone in reading the poll like this... "My Doing or Talking about pretty much anything" including "Complicated Build Projects" and "Teardowns" "My Doing or Talking about pretty much anything" including "Complicated Build Projects" "My Doing or Talking about pretty much anything" including "Teardowns" "Rare Electronics Artifacts" "Complicated Build Projects" "Teardowns" "Other"

GrayRaceCat

“Pretty much anything” here as well! But I love the long form builds, and the teardowns, and the artifacts. Just keep being you!

Fred Patton

I too voted for "pretty much anything", it's why I'm a Fran Patron, to support "pretty much anything".

GrayRaceCat

Fran, keep in mind that votes for "pretty much anything" also count as teardowns and complicated projects. We could only vote for one thing. When I ticked "anything" I meant that as a yes to all the things, rather than preferring just one.

Dan Elleson

Anything and everything! Keep it coming.

Yeah I know what you mean. A 10 or 15 minute video I will just watch. A 30 minute video I will have to make time for, and a 1 hour video really takes planning to get around to watching.

Lennart Sorensen

Need a poll with ranked voting or something. Picking just 1 can really skew the results.

Lennart Sorensen

Love the channel. I do watch almost all your videos. On YouTube I tend to prefer a length of about 20-30 minutes or less, but for an exceptional topic I've been known to watch an hour plus video. That means I need to schedule it into my day though. I'm sure ideal length shows in the metrics, but hey, maybe an anecdotal sample size of one puts a face in the numbers. (As I go make sure I have a profile pic.)

If you get paid primarily by Patreon then a poll of youtube brings in a lot of feedback from people who may not even be contributing via Patreon. Maybe a Patreon specific poll would give you different results. I just come to see what you are doing and showing regardless of what it is.

John McCormick

I voted for talking about pretty much anything because for me that included complicated builds, rare artifacts and teardowns and I want to see all these!

David Peaker

Retro electronics, complicated builds, teardowns, I love it all!!! :)

Mikeybg

I JUST answered the poll -- it's still open.

lohphat

https://www.youtube.com/c/FranBlanche/community

lohphat

Firsth! Or maybe Secondth? Anyways, your analytical skill is exemplary and we love watching you tinker. But I agree with the 37%. We like visiting with you a cuppla times a week and seeing what you're up to. You're one of the most pleasant people around and I, for one, always get a sense of peace after I have a cup o' Fran every day. Wait! You got any old samovars laying around that need tearing down? Let's do that!

You are limited by the medium. Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. LOL Good luck! Remember, most viewers didn't get a chance to be PART of that list, as a participant.

Bruce Havourd

Poll? What poll?

Howard Simons

With YouTube polls only allowing you to vote for one item (and the lack of an "all of the above" option), I wanted to say that my favorite videos are your complicated build ones, and I personally stay subscribed mainly to see those when they happen. However, complicated builds take time, and in terms of my answer to what I would want to see "more of," I voted for the electronic artifacts. A lot are featured, but I'm always curious to see more, and I'd rather something like that see an increase in quality than to have something like complicated builds be rushed to video production. With the way the question was worded and the nature of YouTube polls, I voted differently than if it had been something like "what is your favorite type of video on FranLab?" I'm wondering if other viewers are in the same boat as me with this one.