Can an Internet Show Support a Movement?

The Ben Heck show has been entertaining and educating electronics enthusiasts and makers for the past 6 years.

For nearly six years, The Ben Heck Show has been one of the staples of the electronics maker scene. Over the course of 250+ episodes, the host, Benjamin Heckendorn, aka “Ben Heck,” and his team of curious co-conspirators have been tackling electrical engineering problems that range from the absurd to the practical. What sets The Ben Heck Show apart from the millions of other videos strewn across the web has a lot to do with the subjects that Ben tackles on a weekly basis.

But before we get into that, it might be a good idea to get to know Ben.

Starting in the early 2000s, Ben, then a graphic artist, started building customized video game consoles based on the ancient Atari 2600. At first, his ambition was to just get back into electronics, a hobby he’d once had as a kid. But after making his first mod, Ben posted photos of his work and, more importantly, a “how-to” guide on the web. It wasn’t long before the element14 Community came knocking and asked if he wanted to do a weekly web series.

People from all over were sending Ben requests for console mods, asking for console controllers to be modified to be used for people with different physical challenges and trying the mods by following his blog. As hundreds of emails gave way to thousands, Ben found that his newfound hobby had become his job. Something that was just a passion became a profession.

At the same time, something even bigger was happening.

While Ben was modding consoles in his corner of the Internet, others had started to take their inventions and hobbies and post them online as well. Without knowing it, Ben had hit a wave that was just emerging. With the rise of the Internet, tinkerers from all walks of life and with varied interests were beginning to share their work with a global community. Today, we call these people “makers.”

Fueled by the knowledge that sharing was a powerful tool for transforming the way we work, Ben has cultivated a dedicated community of makers who still continue to pose questions, offer congratulations and celebrate what it means to be a maker.

But beyond Ben’s journey to becoming a leader in the electronic maker community, there’s another equally fascinating story that’s followed the evolution of The Ben Heck Show—it’s the story of the community that’s grown around the show.

Just Strumming

Since its inception, The Ben Heck Show has welcomed viewers to submit project ideas, no matter how niche they might be. One such example was when Ben was asked to build a guitar for a one-armed musician named Ian Pierce. Earlier in his life, Ian had been an avid guitarist, playing in bands and enjoying making music. Unfortunately, after a jobsite accident, Ian lost one of his arms and he had to give up the guitar. Well, sometime later, Ian’s partner Glenda contacted the show after doing some research on one-armed guitarists and eventually discovering Ben’s Guitar Hero foot pedal build that he made back in 2008. She had the inspired idea that Ben could create some kind of device that would solve Ian’s long-standing problem and allow him once again to become the rock God she knew he once was!

Ian Pierce playing his one-handed guitar.

Of course, Ben and his team accepted the challenge in order to help someone regain their ability to do something they love.

Over the course of the next week, The Ben Heck Show brain trust began formulating an idea for a device that would lend Ian a new strumming hand. Whether they were making jigs, building electronics, refining the machine’s strumming arm or even building a custom foot pedal to control the strumming stoke, the Ben Heck team was obviously all in.

After several days of toil, Ben and the team wrapped up their design, demonstrated that it would play (although even the Stevie Ray Vaughns and B.B. Kings of the world would need some practice to pick this guitar) and had the instrument shipped to Ian.

After he received the guitar in South Africa, Ian posted a video of himself playing it and then had a Skype conversation with Ben in which he said, “I’ve tried over the years to make little inventions in order to strum the guitar, but they were never effective.” Finally, Ian found his solution.

More importantly, Ian had found a way to rekindle his old passion. “Just to hold the guitar and get to strum it again is a thrill. I still have a long way to go before I get a more polished action, but it’s a good journey that I'm enjoying.”

The ZX

And that’s the power of The Ben Heck Show. From a simple user request, the viewer could see that with a bit of ingenuity and hard work, anyone can change the life of another person for the better. That’s pretty awesome, and certainly a reason to tune in.

Two modified ZX Spectrum cases made by The Ben Heck Show team.

Aside from inspiring other makers, the show’s inventions also affect people in other subtler ways.

Earlier this year, the Ben Heck team returned to its roots and decided to build one of the 1980s' most beloved portable 8-bit computers, the ZX Spectrum. While the ZX wasn’t incredibly popular stateside, it was the platform that introduced so many to the world of computing, gaming and programming. Needless to say, when Ben announced that he’d be rebuilding two of these incredible machines, members of the element14 Community began to recall their memories with the ZX.

Take, for instance, wilbertron2703’s recollection of the ZX: “The ZX Spectrum was the best thing I had when I was young and I loved it so much. I get so many memories from playing that I just miss playing it since my dad sold it on eBay and I was so mad. I really wish I could just play it one more time before I die or even more to get my childhood memories back. I would love to have this so much and would do anything to play it again. It’s been so long since I lived in England and I want to play an old classic portable and better version of the ZX Spectrum.”

Or then there’s the tale from community member Workshopshed: “For me, the ZX Spectrum was what got me into computing and hence drove my eventual career. I dreamt of becoming a famous games programmer like the people I read about in the magazines such as Your Sinclair and Sinclair User.”

And that’s what’s most amazing about The Ben Heck Show. Its focus is on empowering makers and engineers by teaching them tips and tricks that can make their own designs better. But beyond this focus, Ben has rooted his show in a place that so many people found as their outlet for creativity and self-expression, the video game. Because of that underpinning, so many in The Ben Heck Show community have decided to leave comments about their lives, reached out to Ben for information and felt a closeness with an Internet show.

“The element14 community gives myself and our team a resource for great ideas—ideas that we might not think of on our own,” said Ben. “The Ben Heck Show allows us to experiment with interesting ideas we might not otherwise have time to explore and it’s great inspiring people to pursue careers in electronics and engineering!"

To make that kind of a connection with a community is an amazing thing. Ben Heck has succeeded in doing that.

Has The Ben Heck Show inspired you to become a maker? Did the show spark your interest in electronics or remind you of why you got into electronics in the first place? Have you taken on more ambitious projects after learning from Ben? If so, tell us about it.

Premier Farnell PLC has sponsored ENGINEERING.com to write this article. It has provided no editorial input. All opinions are mine. —Kyle Maxey