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Comment by gretch | Hacker News Reader

I love project farm. Love how much rigor he puts into experiment design but still makes it obvious and appreciable to the layman observer.

For example, when he tests tape, he does not put the tape down by hand. Instead he uses a roller with a fixed weight to push the tape down so that all tapes for sure have the same pressure applied

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Project Farm is awesome, but some of the tests he engineers aren't really suited for the tools he's testing.

But if you aren't heavily involved with said type of tools, you'd never know so you can continue to enjoy the entertainment.

Torque Test Channel does something similar, but they're usually just testing the numbers provided by the manufacturers, and then intentionally going off the rails to break the tools.

The dude tests basically anything and everything, and gives them generally pretty reasonable goes at a proper test. Sure, it's far off from an industry standard in a lot of cases, but unlike the industry (generally) he does side by side comparisons.

Some of his tests are like comparing RAM by temperature. They just make no sense.

I've learned from watching vintage computer repair videos on youtube that touching chips on a running system and looking for a hot one is a common troubleshooting technique.

Fun fact if you take a board out of a Burroughs B6700/B6800 that you think is bad (has a bad chip) if you drop it flat on the floor, chips side up from 36" (about belt height) 9 times out of 10 the lid on the bad chip will fly off. Turns out the heat from a failing chip heats enough to release the glue.

YMMV on fixing a now 50 year old computer.

I generally like most of his stuff, but definitely agree.

The last one I watched was about rain repellents like rainx. I'd expect to test longevity over time, under sunlight, maybe simulating rainy days.

Instead the tests had various harsh chemicals applied in succession, and a sponge friction test for some reason.

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