I wonder if the people that make this junk, all meet up once a year and have an Oscar type awards show? Complete with a 240v powered trophy with no mains isolation.....
I sat around for about 3 hours with a group of people one time in the early morning hours and we all sat in awe as we took turns trying to turn the speed up on one of those kaleidoscope lasers exactly like that one and turn the knob all the way back when the lasers all met in a point. Well just say it was a psychedelic party.
I made some underwater boat lights using casting epoxy and current drivers last year. Im light years behind on powering high powered lights. This year my new project upgrade was going to be aspheric lenses to add to the beam effect underwater. Wanted to start using cree multi whatever you call them with multi tir lenses like used on flashlights or off road vehicles. My terminology knowledge is poor so finding the right parts is going slow. In the process i"ve stumbled upon you among many other cool people who love lights, electronics, and similar subjects so thank you for being alive and doing your videos. I now want to skip a step and have underwater laser lights at like a cyan hue wavelength. Green would be good too. If I were to cast resin basically this module found inside the Xmas light leaving part of the heat sink exposed to water for cooling it should be sufficient for cooling. Ive been testing a very undersized heatsink 25watt cob light recently and worked good for the few hours I had it in the water. Srry, just sharing a lil incase it helps anyone wanting to make underwater boat lights for cheap. Back to my ultimate question. I would have to seal the lens sufficiently with clear casting resin with having the least amount effect on the laser output so im kinda curious how sensitive the lasers are and a good way to do it. Not only to waterproof the light but to protect the glass. My other question would be what material is used for high power laser lenses. All i see is videos of the green ones burning things down on here which isnt my intent. Ha. I just want an amazing beam coming off the back of my boat. If i had enough life span in me id invent a laser light for a boats rooster tail like ive seen in some you tube videos of water trapping the laser light using a stream of water. A rooster tail off a boat could be a small scale bellagio light show effect with a few high powered boats sending up green red and blue 40 ft rooster tails up in the at night. But yea. First things first i just want to seal it off "the lens" without terribly effecting the optics. Maybe just a thicker lens made out of lexan. Would be nice having a thin dual removable replaceable lens also that could serve just as a barrier from scratching, algae, etc.. from the permanent lens. From what Ive seen lasers bounce off glass very easily but some proper angling of the lens can let the beam through. Just rambling. Think ill just order a couple cheap laser pens and start experimenting. Will also get this light you are so beautifully modifying and tinker with it too. And of course keep watching your video. Thanks for being inspiring in creating new ideas and just teaching people in a way that we can relate. Your videos may be long but for good reason. Ur funny and you arent rushing through the play by play with editing or altering the video. My question got lost in the rambling but thats okay. Keep up the good work. Im anti subscribing but its kinda impossible with you being so on my level as far as tinkering and tampering. Have a wonderful day.
I use a bunch of those lasers in my Christmas display. They are mounted in plastic boxes (with vents) mounted on CCTV brackets. You can get different versions with star, shapes, text, etc.
"Beam combiners, lasers, they all used to be incredibly science-lab stuff and now you get it in consumer gadgets just rammed into bits of plastic", says Big Clive as I sheepishly look around my room that's just rammed full of plastic consumer products, lasers, beam combiners, and other one-time science-lab stuff.
+bigclivedotcom Did you think about just writing 12345 on the connectors while still connected? Then you don't have to write down what goes where. Solves the polarity problem too: if you can't see the numbers it's upside down. 😀
Violet and purple are not the same thing, Clive. Purple is a mixture of blue and red; violet is a wavelength shorter than blue. The 405nm blue lasers are indium gallium nitride laserdiodes, with a bandgap of about three volts. There are direct green laserdiodes available now, but they're quite expensive because green is too short a wavelength for gallium arsenide, but too long for InGaN to do easily.
The "korpi" part of Tonis name was actually spot on, as was his first name. "Lähde" literally translates as a fountain. With finnish language it's best to pronounce words exactly as written, do that and you'll never be far off.
Thanks Clive I was going to take one apart myself just out of curiosity; no need now. I snagged 4 of these; the ones that have the 50mw green and 100mw red. No hanging Christmas lights for me 2 for 23.50 US. At that price i don't even care if they go bad.
9 ปีที่แล้ว +3
Bwahahaha, loved the pronunciation :D Interestingly, just like everybody called me when I lived in Spain.
This looks way better than those crappy LED and mirror arrays that sell as 'disco lights' these days. I think I may purchase one and hack it so that my daughter having a laugh and dance can enjoy some proper disco lights as opposed to 6 crappy 2mm LEDs trying to power a party light set up but limping along in the process!!
+reggiep75 I'd recommend avoiding lasers where kids are involved. There's still no decisive answers regarding the intensity that can cause eye damage. The little lamps that whirl RGB dots around the room are cheap and fine for a kids party.
I was hoping you'd take the rotating whatsit assembly apart. I know it's just a motor with a few plastic gears but I'd like to see inside for important research purposes (just want to see inside the white box!).
I did do that! It's more or less a little servo unit... lots and lots of tiny nylon gears but coupled to an ordinary DC motor. Obviously they couldn't afford to put in a proper servo motor, given the complexity of the motor and the associated driver circuitry. It's likely, however, that the speed control was via a Pulse Width Modulation bit of circuitry (on the chip? Hmm. Not so sure about that.) Anyhow, I hope that helps to explain what's in the whiite box part for you. Oh, and there are 18650 NiMH-powered versions available. Believe it or not, the housing for the rechargeable verion is actually smaller than the unit Clive worked on in this video.
I have one of these but it's blue plastic housing so I looked online and found quite a few different ones but basically the same item. Makes me wonder just how many factories in China pump out the same crap and how it's even economical. Thank God I wasn't born in China.
great video. could you theoretically remove the diffraction lens and put a line lens in its place to create the liquid sky effect with the help of a fog machine?
I ordered one of these from ebay, after a few hours the red laser failed, I contacted the seller and got a replacement, same thing happened to that, gave up on the third replacement! I now have 3 green lasers, the cases are good for projects, so all was not lost. One thing I did notice was that the range shop in Dundee also seemed to have issues with the ones they were selling!!!
A friend put one of these in his caravan on his drive and pointed it at his house, very effective. I wonder if you could set it up to fire at a ball mirror outside, and then spread for lighting up the house?
By purple laser do you mean (near)UV laser diodes made for blu-ray readers/writers? yes those are direct-semiconductor lasers. They look more like blue to me... Oh and lenses and beam splitters/combiners - for homemade project, are in old/broken computer DVD-RWs. And a bonus-a high power (some tenths of watt/100s of milliwatts!!!) red laser diode in there too.
For a 240V VDE approval, the spacing requirement is 8mm. It looks good except for that big white capacitor which is bridging the gap. I think normally that would defeat approval because there is no standard for internal capacitor to external casing voltage creepage distance. I wouldn't do it, but it doesn't surprise me that things like that "fly" these days. I mean, it's only an electrocution hazard, right? As for the transformer, I'm sure you know, it can't have 8mm of spacing between windings, so it has to do with layers of insulation, but there are also clearance and creepage spacing requirements which have to be met. Typically, there would be spacer tape at the ends of the windings (I'm saying this for the benefit of your viewers because you seem to know plenty about such things) to create a fixed distance between the ends of the windings after the primary to secondary insulation tape is in place. So, if the distance is 8mm, you would need 4mm spacer tape at each end of each winding and the gap would be from one end, past the 4mm spacer of the primary and then the 4mm of the secondary spacer tape for the total of 8mm, and two layers of insulation tape between the windings. If you want a shield, that needs spacer tape too. Best EMI configuration is primary winding, one layer of insulation tape, the primary shield (which grounds to the primary ground), two layers of insulation tape, the secondary shield (which grounds to the secondary ground), one more layer of insulation tape and finally the secondary winding. With all that spacing, insulation and shielding, the transformer ends up being twice the size. So, for a given power output, you can pretty much determine the safety of the transformer by its size, once you get a feel for how big a good one is. If it's small for the power you're talking about, it probably is lacking in safety and / or EMI shielding.
I love tinkering with stuff like this, been looking at stuff to mess around with when I have a few quid spare to waste... I have an old light effect with four rotating dichroic mirrors in the head fed by an old 24v 250w projection lamp through a gobo lens changer, four of these stripped and a few other mods could make for an interesting effect when combined (sans silly hot lamp) :D
Speaking of laser effects, shine a laser through the maple leaf of a Canadian bill. it will shine the denomination on the wall! This probably uses a similar effect as that screen in the front that disperses the light.
I would’ve replaced the dichroic mirror with an X-cube and added a blue diode. That way, I could get any color I want! Edit: I just remembered how defraction gratings work and now I’m sad.
I have some StarShower reject laser projectors I got second hand ... they use a DPSS green laser much like yours, but the heat sink is three times as large. The things definitely do get kinda warm ...
+Crimson Halo The earliest ones used to have their green lasers fail all the time. A friend who was selling them gave me a few to look at, and there was a hideous design weakness on the current regulator where a three pin regulator was screwed to the case and connected to by a three pin Molex-style connector on its leads. It wasn't really a good enough connection for things like feedback pins.
+bigclivedotcom - I've seen videos indicating that issue, and it made me wonder what was going on. The plastic cases on these things are universally brittle, they didn't use ABS or a good quality glass reinforced plastic to build them, so in the rejected ones I got as freebies, the units had been dropped or bumped, and the components easily broke off inside, often taking away pieces of the casing as they went. I think I have the newer version of the SS projector. Lots of those mini Molex connectors, but they are all connected to the circuit board and all but one are glued firmly in place. On the laser module there is something running in tandem with the DPSS laser module and positioned in a separate barrel in the aluminum heatsink right next to it. Unsure if it's a heat sensor or what.
The supply is exactly the same as the USB charger for my phone minus the connector for USB. I tested mine and got 5.10V, I wonder if you could add a USB power bank with maybe an 18650 cell? If it was for outdoor use it might take it more portable.
Glad I found this video again. I recently bought the B&M new one that has the same functions as this but a different effect wheel in it. as the disk rotates the effect changes from those dots, to rotating + symbol to stars then big snowflakes. I wanted to do a video on the effect and tear down but cant find my tripod for my camera lol. The laser impressed me for £16.99, it comes with a 5v adapter, mounting bracket and a tripod with standard screw fitting to stand it on a table. I was also impressed with the full metal construction and cooling fan at the back. Mine looks very similar to yours inside. I couldnt see the shapes on the glass disk though, its really small and I still cant figure out how the shapes rotate, they dont swing around the room, they are fixed and rotate like a scanner roto gobo effect does, even though the disk is rotating in front of the lasers, there arnt two disks or motors, only 1, its just weird lol. Its packaged as World of Gadgets, Multi Pattern Laser Light Projector, Made in China. Item code 312465. Im running mine on a 4.5v adapter to lower the intensity slightly and hopefully run cooler? At 3V one laser stops working.
I also have one of those that cycles through various shapes. You can't see the shapes on the disc though; only a laser can play them back (similar to a hologram). As the disc rotates the pattern on the disc will rotate causing the effects, but they won't swing around the room. Eventually as the disc moves away from the current shape it will fade out and the next shape will fade in; it's a rather cool effect.
Hi Clive, I just found this video. Must have missed it way back. Anyhow, a buddy of mine gave one to me as he claimed the red laser had blown. With thanks, I tore it down and found that he'd probably dropped the unit after a gig, because the little chip of a dichroic beam combiner had fallen out of its housing. So I did pretty-much the same as you did there, and took out both holographic films (static and rotating). Then I put the dichroic back in, so that both beams shot out the front unhindered as two beams; a red and a green. By the way, the green laser can be between 3 and 5 mW. so be careful! With some very fine adjustment, I was able to get the two beams to almost line up. Micrometer adjustment would have helped. At short range, they were practically super-imposed, but by pointing at progressively more distant points (retro-reflective road signs) I noticed a distinct divergence between the two beams. So, you could almost create a Laser Distance-O-Meter. A lot of fun it was!
Lasers are dangerous for your eyes, but how dangerous is this one? I mean, some lasers you see on TH-cam can pop balloons, and you hold your hand in front of the laser without problems. So, how dangerous could it be? Of course, you should never look into a laser no matter what, but I'm thinking of laser-glasses? Should you have used them for this video or is it just simply too weak to be harmful? I'm thinking about those disco lights out on nightclubs, are they that dangerous so you should use glasses actually or are they also weak? Or are they meant to be pointed so people dont get their light in their eyes only? I have so much to learn about lasers so I really stay away from them, but they are so bright and beautiful =D Anyway, I'm of course not complaining in any way, I love your videos, you know it ;) Great video as they all are! =D
+Chris Fredriksson I'm not a huge fan of blasting laser beams in all directions where they can enter human eyes. But sadly we're going to find out how powerful they can go before blindness occurs thanks to the ongoing flood of cheap disco laser products on the market. There have already been incidents where eye damage was caused at raves. Not by the shows lasers, but by people "raving" with high power hand held laser pointers. One of the biggest issues with the DPSS lasers is the amount of the original infra red component that comes out the laser along with the intended visible light.
+bigclivedotcom That is just stupid, but I mean, as I said myself.. They are so bright and beautiful, so I guess some people don't think about it and some are just ignorant.. But still, very stupid to bring your own lasers to a crowd. Glad to hear that you're doing it safe, I for one, but I believe all of your subscribers want you to stay safe so we can see more videos from you ;) hehe.. So, am I understanding it correctly, is it the infrared that is harmful or the light all together in a laser? Thanks for your help and your replies! =) Oh and still, no complaining, but the light that bounces off your hands when you hold your hand infront of the laser, is that enough "light" to require laser-glasses to be used? Well I guess it could be, I was thinking of that you should use it if you look at the dot on for example a wall, that could be harmful for the eyes.. well sure, then the light bouncing off your hands just infront of the laser must be harmful as well.. But still, hopefully your laser isnt that dangerous =P
+Chris Fredriksson The biggest issue with lasers is direct eye contact with the emitted beam. Once it has been diffused or spread it reduces in power greatly. But a refection from a mirror would be dangerous too.
+bigclivedotcom You really are the greatest! You've been my favourite TH-camr for quite some time and then all the replies, I'm in love! =D Well, alright so that's how it is, cool! Of course, a mirror is more or less a redirection of everything so yeah, that sounds like dangerous =D Well, then at least I can feel a little bit safer with lasers then ;) Thanks for your help and explanation!! =)
How much for one of these and where can I get one, or two? I'd like to take out that green laser and make a laser pointer out of it. Any idea on the voltage? I assume 3 volts b/c of the pen style laser pointers have 2 1.5 volt batteries inside.
+coondogtheman1234 These are quite generic and can be found on ebay and amazon from a wide variety of sellers. I'd suggest looking for good English descriptions and buy from a seller who is physically located in the same country as you just in case you get a crap one and have to send it back.
+Matthew Fowler I could get the star shower laser light at Wal-Mart but 30 buck is a bit high for what it is. I've heard of these failing so I wouldn't spend 30 dollars just to tear it down. maybe if it's on clearance I'll get it and experiment. or if someone's tossing one I'll ask them if I could have it.
+bigclivedotcom No, I haven't. I just figured this would be convenient having a power supply, ventilated case, and two lasers for not much $$ I used to order from dx and bang good but having had my credit card info stolen too many times now, I've stopped sending that info to china... Hasn't happened since.
I'm a bit of a laser geek your right tho Clive that make the dps lasers as a standard but now we have more fangled laser diode that are green from diode to aperture at 515nm to 520nm aka forrest green same goes for the 462nm the older generation of blue laser was a IR 808nm pumped through YAG laser crystals to be cyan blue new lasers are just solid state. If I had cash and had a tool and suppliers of high end lasers I'd make videos like you do Clive except with lasers
how dangerous is the output by the way, like how bad is it if you were to accidently get say 50% from the beam n your eye if it bounced of a piece of metal, or do these projectors scatter the beams?.
true a lot of the cheap pumped diodes don't have very good ir. filtering an if I remember correctly most have a 120mw ir diode on the 5mw. greens but wondered if they had more power to keep the brightness up
Hi, like your videos much. One question, do you think it needs the fan realy? I have this Model and cant find any heat when it is on. the fan is real loud in an quit env.
I was a little upset when I got nailed in the eye or the eye lid by a laser from one of these. I was roughly 30 meters away walking down the street. Somebody had one on their deck that was broken and it had mirrors inside and it was shooting a few tight beams down the road. It was easily hitting houses 3 times the distance it got me. It didn't see to have a lot divergence, no permanent damage but it was green. I told a friend about it and she laughed and told me the lasers they sell aren't powerful enough to do any damage to our eyes. I was skeptical. She said she could prove it and went and found a red pet laser and before I realized what she was doing she aimed the laser right into her eyeball!!!!!! From less than a foot away.NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I actually saw her holding the beam continuously and it hitting the white of her eyeball. It was less than a second before I could stop her but a second is a long time when it comes to things that burn you. She didn't have any damage but I still can't believe someone would do that. It's been a few years and I can still remember it like it just happened. She was surprised at my reactio, Under no circumstance would I let her do it again. Apparently she had done the little trick a few times. I told her that I was positive it can do damage . Especially if it hits the center of your eye or the batteries were stronger, or the electronics were different, also wave length plays a key. I'm thinking distance now. . How dangerous are they and did I overreact? Thanks for providing this service to curious folk.
If I see a laser beam coming into eye level I always look away. The risk of eye damage is huge. If your friend tries it with a green laser there will be a very real risk of permanent eye damage. When we use lasers on shows we have to routinely test beam strength with a meter where they enter an audience area. People using hand held lasers at raves have caused a lot of eye injuries.
Seem fun and modable. One could get the lasers to blink 'randomly' and individually with a pair transistors and candle flicker leds. Or put a termostat in series with one of the lasers. (Red light up when the unit gets to hot? or green turn off.) Maybe make it into an "ghost detector"? :D Make the mic function control the motor and have lasers run continously?
From the ebay listing... Notice : The Working temperature of this unit is 15~30 ?, and it must be powered off after continuously working 2 Hour to let the laser diode cool down
Is it possible to replace the green or red laser with another colour ie blue or white, or a laser unit from a laser pointer. Does the driver voltage matter? Thanks.
+David Priestley Lasers are generally monochromatic (single colour/wavelength) so a white laser is often multiple lasers combined to create white. Other colours and technologies would require a driver specifically matched to the lasers requirements. Some are as simple as powering from a current regulated source, while others require feedback to operate precisely on their lasing point.
Like this one better than the cheap $40 almost all plastic stake in the ground ones they are selling for Christmas time that hardly put out much light 3 feet away let alone an entire house. Nevermind it's a laser and having had one pointed at me , eh I've already had my experience at following a dare and lasers are not one of my favs.. (the dar was 1993-1994 solar eclipse...... um think anyone can guess what that dare was Okay, who wants to look at the sun for a moment during full on eclipse X_X Stupid. I don't think it hurt me any because I simply passed my eyes over it for a split second. kinda preferred the welders glass our geology teacher was using. Very effective. Not sure what laser light would do with welders glass though :P I'd guess these are cheaper but better made and hackable compared to the cheapie but well priced for "As Seen on TV" crap , ie way way overpriced... like $3 Reebok Pump shoes at $120-140 back in the day. X_X (and the pump section outlasted the shoe by a couple of decades because the shoe fell apart and I removed the pump :P god thats what I paid for smh Mickey Shoes are better than that.... unless I go up a mountain then I better leave those open (valves)
I'd like to do this mod to my lasers, but isn't this dangerous? I thought you risk getting exposed to some kind of radiation when you open these? Does anybody know?
Why not just put a 1W 520nm diode in it - only problem there is, it will be annoying to aircraft, at closer range an eye hazard, and it will probably melt the holographic rotating whatchamacall it :)
I wonder if the people that make this junk, all meet up once a year and have an Oscar type awards show?
Complete with a 240v powered trophy with no mains isolation.....
***** water from the dead sea, for maximum efficiency!
+Steven King 8===========D to you.
+44R0Ndin
Rubbish!!!
The Terrorists are the governments of Israel, America and Britain.
The terrorists are the governments of all countries.
"And it's got off, but that's not terribly exciting"
Oh, you British people and your humor :)
Tell ya how it is lol
thany3 now thats funny shit.
I thought he was Scottish?
@@tightirl English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish are all British
@@jamesd2890 oh dear god no, they are not all British *facepalm*
They are all part of the United Kingdom.
Now that is a video that truly deserves a pre-viewing spliff!
It would be pretty cool to see doing its thing on a foggy night, thanks for the upload Clive. 👍🏼
very cool on foggy nights.
I sat around for about 3 hours with a group of people one time in the early morning hours and we all sat in awe as we took turns trying to turn the speed up on one of those kaleidoscope lasers exactly like that one and turn the knob all the way back when the lasers all met in a point. Well just say it was a psychedelic party.
I made some underwater boat lights using casting epoxy and current drivers last year. Im light years behind on powering high powered lights. This year my new project upgrade was going to be aspheric lenses to add to the beam effect underwater. Wanted to start using cree multi whatever you call them with multi tir lenses like used on flashlights or off road vehicles. My terminology knowledge is poor so finding the right parts is going slow. In the process i"ve stumbled upon you among many other cool people who love lights, electronics, and similar subjects so thank you for being alive and doing your videos. I now want to skip a step and have underwater laser lights at like a cyan hue wavelength. Green would be good too. If I were to cast resin basically this module found inside the Xmas light leaving part of the heat sink exposed to water for cooling it should be sufficient for cooling. Ive been testing a very undersized heatsink 25watt cob light recently and worked good for the few hours I had it in the water. Srry, just sharing a lil incase it helps anyone wanting to make underwater boat lights for cheap. Back to my ultimate question. I would have to seal the lens sufficiently with clear casting resin with having the least amount effect on the laser output so im kinda curious how sensitive the lasers are and a good way to do it. Not only to waterproof the light but to protect the glass. My other question would be what material is used for high power laser lenses. All i see is videos of the green ones burning things down on here which isnt my intent. Ha. I just want an amazing beam coming off the back of my boat. If i had enough life span in me id invent a laser light for a boats rooster tail like ive seen in some you tube videos of water trapping the laser light using a stream of water. A rooster tail off a boat could be a small scale bellagio light show effect with a few high powered boats sending up green red and blue 40 ft rooster tails up in the at night. But yea. First things first i just want to seal it off "the lens" without terribly effecting the optics. Maybe just a thicker lens made out of lexan. Would be nice having a thin dual removable replaceable lens also that could serve just as a barrier from scratching, algae, etc.. from the permanent lens. From what Ive seen lasers bounce off glass very easily but some proper angling of the lens can let the beam through. Just rambling. Think ill just order a couple cheap laser pens and start experimenting. Will also get this light you are so beautifully modifying and tinker with it too. And of course keep watching your video. Thanks for being inspiring in creating new ideas and just teaching people in a way that we can relate. Your videos may be long but for good reason. Ur funny and you arent rushing through the play by play with editing or altering the video. My question got lost in the rambling but thats okay. Keep up the good work. Im anti subscribing but its kinda impossible with you being so on my level as far as tinkering and tampering. Have a wonderful day.
I use a bunch of those lasers in my Christmas display. They are mounted in plastic boxes (with vents) mounted on CCTV brackets. You can get different versions with star, shapes, text, etc.
Surprised you didn't decide to modify it by adding a rechargeable USB battery pack.
At least you didn't melt the camera sensor like Photon did back in the day with his overly powerful green lasers... :P
"Beam combiners, lasers, they all used to be incredibly science-lab stuff and now you get it in consumer gadgets just rammed into bits of plastic", says Big Clive as I sheepishly look around my room that's just rammed full of plastic consumer products, lasers, beam combiners, and other one-time science-lab stuff.
enough room in that clive, to make it battery powered!
Hi Clive, I have been binge watching your videos and loving the detail that you go into and hopefully learning a lot. Please keep up the good work.
OG clive fan! 😂
Worth pointing out that without the front cover on /lense you get a static green dot in the centre non moving so I wouldn't point at a crowd
Good thing you didn't forget what all these connectors are for... M for motor and M for microphone could lead to some confusion :-) (7:15)
Good point. At least the microphone one was at the side closest to the microphone. At worst I could have deduced the correct M from the circuitry.
+bigclivedotcom Did you think about just writing 12345 on the connectors while still connected? Then you don't have to write down what goes where. Solves the polarity problem too: if you can't see the numbers it's upside down. 😀
+Stephen Furr --> There you go bringing common sense into it...LOL
Violet and purple are not the same thing, Clive. Purple is a mixture of blue and red; violet is a wavelength shorter than blue. The 405nm blue lasers are indium gallium nitride laserdiodes, with a bandgap of about three volts.
There are direct green laserdiodes available now, but they're quite expensive because green is too short a wavelength for gallium arsenide, but too long for InGaN to do easily.
The "korpi" part of Tonis name was actually spot on, as was his first name. "Lähde" literally translates as a fountain. With finnish language it's best to pronounce words exactly as written, do that and you'll never be far off.
Thanks Clive I was going to take one apart myself just out of curiosity; no need now.
I snagged 4 of these; the ones that have the 50mw green and 100mw red. No hanging Christmas lights for me 2 for 23.50 US. At that price i don't even care if they go bad.
Bwahahaha, loved the pronunciation :D
Interestingly, just like everybody called me when I lived in Spain.
This looks way better than those crappy LED and mirror arrays that sell as 'disco lights' these days.
I think I may purchase one and hack it so that my daughter having a laugh and dance can enjoy some proper disco lights as opposed to 6 crappy 2mm LEDs trying to power a party light set up but limping along in the process!!
+reggiep75 I'd recommend avoiding lasers where kids are involved. There's still no decisive answers regarding the intensity that can cause eye damage. The little lamps that whirl RGB dots around the room are cheap and fine for a kids party.
+bigclivedotcom um your info is blindingly out of date. big clive look up the bbc series on fake led lazers. you have an eye opening wake up call.
+reggiep75 Look at the CUE Lighting stuff on Ebay. Proper DJ effects, at a normal homeowner's price! :)
I was hoping you'd take the rotating whatsit assembly apart. I know it's just a motor with a few plastic gears but I'd like to see inside for important research purposes (just want to see inside the white box!).
I did do that!
It's more or less a little servo unit... lots and lots of tiny nylon gears but coupled to an ordinary DC motor.
Obviously they couldn't afford to put in a proper servo motor, given the complexity of the motor and the associated driver circuitry.
It's likely, however, that the speed control was via a Pulse Width Modulation bit of circuitry (on the chip? Hmm. Not so sure about that.)
Anyhow, I hope that helps to explain what's in the whiite box part for you.
Oh, and there are 18650 NiMH-powered versions available. Believe it or not, the housing for the rechargeable verion is actually smaller than the unit Clive worked on in this video.
Watched enough of your videos now i may have to buy you a coffee soon. Maybe when i find a job. Thanks clive.
I have one of these but it's blue plastic housing so I looked online and found quite a few different ones but basically the same item. Makes me wonder just how many factories in China pump out the same crap and how it's even economical. Thank God I wasn't born in China.
great video. could you theoretically remove the diffraction lens and put a line lens in its place to create the liquid sky effect with the help of a fog machine?
I ordered one of these from ebay, after a few hours the red laser failed, I contacted the seller and got a replacement, same thing happened to that, gave up on the third replacement! I now have 3 green lasers, the cases are good for projects, so all was not lost.
One thing I did notice was that the range shop in Dundee also seemed to have issues with the ones they were selling!!!
A friend put one of these in his caravan on his drive and pointed it at his house, very effective.
I wonder if you could set it up to fire at a ball mirror outside, and then spread for lighting up the house?
Striking how cheap these devices are considering just how much the cost of dichroic mirror/filters are...
By purple laser do you mean (near)UV laser diodes made for blu-ray readers/writers? yes those are direct-semiconductor lasers. They look more like blue to me...
Oh and lenses and beam splitters/combiners - for homemade project, are in old/broken computer DVD-RWs. And a bonus-a high power (some tenths of watt/100s of milliwatts!!!) red laser diode in there too.
For a 240V VDE approval, the spacing requirement is 8mm. It looks good except for that big white capacitor which is bridging the gap. I think normally that would defeat approval because there is no standard for internal capacitor to external casing voltage creepage distance. I wouldn't do it, but it doesn't surprise me that things like that "fly" these days. I mean, it's only an electrocution hazard, right?
As for the transformer, I'm sure you know, it can't have 8mm of spacing between windings, so it has to do with layers of insulation, but there are also clearance and creepage spacing requirements which have to be met. Typically, there would be spacer tape at the ends of the windings (I'm saying this for the benefit of your viewers because you seem to know plenty about such things) to create a fixed distance between the ends of the windings after the primary to secondary insulation tape is in place. So, if the distance is 8mm, you would need 4mm spacer tape at each end of each winding and the gap would be from one end, past the 4mm spacer of the primary and then the 4mm of the secondary spacer tape for the total of 8mm, and two layers of insulation tape between the windings. If you want a shield, that needs spacer tape too. Best EMI configuration is primary winding, one layer of insulation tape, the primary shield (which grounds to the primary ground), two layers of insulation tape, the secondary shield (which grounds to the secondary ground), one more layer of insulation tape and finally the secondary winding. With all that spacing, insulation and shielding, the transformer ends up being twice the size.
So, for a given power output, you can pretty much determine the safety of the transformer by its size, once you get a feel for how big a good one is. If it's small for the power you're talking about, it probably is lacking in safety and / or EMI shielding.
I love tinkering with stuff like this, been looking at stuff to mess around with when I have a few quid spare to waste...
I have an old light effect with four rotating dichroic mirrors in the head fed by an old 24v 250w projection lamp through a gobo lens changer, four of these stripped and a few other mods could make for an interesting effect when combined (sans silly hot lamp) :D
I would love to have something like that, but with blue, white, red and maybe pink/purple, looking just like those pictures of galaxy
Just bought one for the lols. Just realized that the fan isn't running. Maby the chip was controlling it too based on temperature?
It should run all the time. Check that the fan is free to turn and that it's connector is in place, correctly wired and has voltage on it.
Speaking of laser effects, shine a laser through the maple leaf of a Canadian bill. it will shine the denomination on the wall! This probably uses a similar effect as that screen in the front that disperses the light.
green lasers can also be found in the pure green emitter rather than wavelength divider like you mentioned this is one reason green are cheaper now.
I would’ve replaced the dichroic mirror with an X-cube and added a blue diode. That way, I could get any color I want!
Edit: I just remembered how defraction gratings work and now I’m sad.
Such a baller calling it on that hex inverter.
I have some StarShower reject laser projectors I got second hand ... they use a DPSS green laser much like yours, but the heat sink is three times as large. The things definitely do get kinda warm ...
+Crimson Halo The earliest ones used to have their green lasers fail all the time. A friend who was selling them gave me a few to look at, and there was a hideous design weakness on the current regulator where a three pin regulator was screwed to the case and connected to by a three pin Molex-style connector on its leads. It wasn't really a good enough connection for things like feedback pins.
+bigclivedotcom - I've seen videos indicating that issue, and it made me wonder what was going on. The plastic cases on these things are universally brittle, they didn't use ABS or a good quality glass reinforced plastic to build them, so in the rejected ones I got as freebies, the units had been dropped or bumped, and the components easily broke off inside, often taking away pieces of the casing as they went.
I think I have the newer version of the SS projector. Lots of those mini Molex connectors, but they are all connected to the circuit board and all but one are glued firmly in place. On the laser module there is something running in tandem with the DPSS laser module and positioned in a separate barrel in the aluminum heatsink right next to it. Unsure if it's a heat sensor or what.
The supply is exactly the same as the USB charger for my phone minus the connector for USB.
I tested mine and got 5.10V, I wonder if you could add a USB power bank with maybe an 18650 cell?
If it was for outdoor use it might take it more portable.
Use a pair of galvos with drivers and blanking and presto laser projector with ILDA specs :P
could u get 2 and make one with 2 green lasers n the module that rotates them on each laser
no, you couldn't. unfortunately laser laws don't allow green-on-green co-habitation
Glad I found this video again. I recently bought the B&M new one that has the same functions as this but a different effect wheel in it. as the disk rotates the effect changes from those dots, to rotating + symbol to stars then big snowflakes. I wanted to do a video on the effect and tear down but cant find my tripod for my camera lol. The laser impressed me for £16.99, it comes with a 5v adapter, mounting bracket and a tripod with standard screw fitting to stand it on a table. I was also impressed with the full metal construction and cooling fan at the back. Mine looks very similar to yours inside. I couldnt see the shapes on the glass disk though, its really small and I still cant figure out how the shapes rotate, they dont swing around the room, they are fixed and rotate like a scanner roto gobo effect does, even though the disk is rotating in front of the lasers, there arnt two disks or motors, only 1, its just weird lol. Its packaged as World of Gadgets, Multi Pattern Laser Light Projector, Made in China. Item code 312465. Im running mine on a 4.5v adapter to lower the intensity slightly and hopefully run cooler? At 3V one laser stops working.
I also have one of those that cycles through various shapes. You can't see the shapes on the disc though; only a laser can play them back (similar to a hologram). As the disc rotates the pattern on the disc will rotate causing the effects, but they won't swing around the room. Eventually as the disc moves away from the current shape it will fade out and the next shape will fade in; it's a rather cool effect.
I took one of these apart the green laser will pop balloons, and the red not too bad. Worth buying just for the components.
Hi Clive, I just found this video. Must have missed it way back.
Anyhow, a buddy of mine gave one to me as he claimed the red laser had blown. With thanks, I tore it down and found that he'd probably dropped the unit after a gig, because the little chip of a dichroic beam combiner had fallen out of its housing.
So I did pretty-much the same as you did there, and took out both holographic films (static and rotating).
Then I put the dichroic back in, so that both beams shot out the front unhindered as two beams; a red and a green.
By the way, the green laser can be between 3 and 5 mW. so be careful!
With some very fine adjustment, I was able to get the two beams to almost line up. Micrometer adjustment would have helped.
At short range, they were practically super-imposed, but by pointing at progressively more distant points (retro-reflective road signs) I noticed a distinct divergence between the two beams.
So, you could almost create a Laser Distance-O-Meter.
A lot of fun it was!
Lasers are dangerous for your eyes, but how dangerous is this one? I mean, some lasers you see on TH-cam can pop balloons, and you hold your hand in front of the laser without problems. So, how dangerous could it be?
Of course, you should never look into a laser no matter what, but I'm thinking of laser-glasses? Should you have used them for this video or is it just simply too weak to be harmful? I'm thinking about those disco lights out on nightclubs, are they that dangerous so you should use glasses actually or are they also weak? Or are they meant to be pointed so people dont get their light in their eyes only? I have so much to learn about lasers so I really stay away from them, but they are so bright and beautiful =D
Anyway, I'm of course not complaining in any way, I love your videos, you know it ;) Great video as they all are! =D
+Chris Fredriksson I'm not a huge fan of blasting laser beams in all directions where they can enter human eyes. But sadly we're going to find out how powerful they can go before blindness occurs thanks to the ongoing flood of cheap disco laser products on the market. There have already been incidents where eye damage was caused at raves. Not by the shows lasers, but by people "raving" with high power hand held laser pointers. One of the biggest issues with the DPSS lasers is the amount of the original infra red component that comes out the laser along with the intended visible light.
+bigclivedotcom That is just stupid, but I mean, as I said myself.. They are so bright and beautiful, so I guess some people don't think about it and some are just ignorant.. But still, very stupid to bring your own lasers to a crowd. Glad to hear that you're doing it safe, I for one, but I believe all of your subscribers want you to stay safe so we can see more videos from you ;) hehe.. So, am I understanding it correctly, is it the infrared that is harmful or the light all together in a laser? Thanks for your help and your replies! =)
Oh and still, no complaining, but the light that bounces off your hands when you hold your hand infront of the laser, is that enough "light" to require laser-glasses to be used? Well I guess it could be, I was thinking of that you should use it if you look at the dot on for example a wall, that could be harmful for the eyes.. well sure, then the light bouncing off your hands just infront of the laser must be harmful as well.. But still, hopefully your laser isnt that dangerous =P
+Chris Fredriksson The biggest issue with lasers is direct eye contact with the emitted beam. Once it has been diffused or spread it reduces in power greatly. But a refection from a mirror would be dangerous too.
+bigclivedotcom You really are the greatest! You've been my favourite TH-camr for quite some time and then all the replies, I'm in love! =D
Well, alright so that's how it is, cool! Of course, a mirror is more or less a redirection of everything so yeah, that sounds like dangerous =D Well, then at least I can feel a little bit safer with lasers then ;) Thanks for your help and explanation!! =)
+Chris Fredriksson Low power lasers like this give you a safe blink time.
The diffraction grating may well be something like a small piece of clear cd or dvd material. You can make a simple spectrometer with it.
This video has caused me to go on Ebay and satisfy my need for a new toy, namely an 18650 powered blue laser. $5.98 with 5 day shipping.
If I wanted to take note of connections for reassembly, I usually just snap a picture of it and put it in my Apple notes lol
you should have put a blue 462nm 100mw laser diode and module in.
you could have explained the power output of the red and green lasers.
I believe they're selling something like this on the states for Christmas lighting.
How much for one of these and where can I get one, or two? I'd like to take out that green laser and make a laser pointer out of it. Any idea on the voltage? I assume 3 volts b/c of the pen style laser pointers have 2 1.5 volt batteries inside.
+coondogtheman1234 These are quite generic and can be found on ebay and amazon from a wide variety of sellers. I'd suggest looking for good English descriptions and buy from a seller who is physically located in the same country as you just in case you get a crap one and have to send it back.
+Matthew Fowler I could get the star shower laser light at Wal-Mart but 30 buck is a bit high for what it is. I've heard of these failing so I wouldn't spend 30 dollars just to tear it down. maybe if it's on clearance I'll get it and experiment. or if someone's tossing one I'll ask them if I could have it.
Clive,
Wondering if you were able to determine the output power of the green laser. Since we are "restricted" to =
have you tried ordering high power laser modules or pointers from Chinese suppliers like Banggood?
+bigclivedotcom No, I haven't. I just figured this would be convenient having a power supply, ventilated case, and two lasers for not much $$
I used to order from dx and bang good but having had my credit card info stolen too many times now, I've stopped sending that info to china... Hasn't happened since.
+Timothy Meche That's why you use paypal in the middle :)
This is just two counter rotating holographic gratings. I used to do this exact same effect in the 70's.
I'm a bit of a laser geek your right tho Clive that make the dps lasers as a standard but now we have more fangled laser diode that are green from diode to aperture at 515nm to 520nm aka forrest green same goes for the 462nm the older generation of blue laser was a IR 808nm pumped through YAG laser crystals to be cyan blue new lasers are just solid state.
If I had cash and had a tool and suppliers of high end lasers I'd make videos like you do Clive except with lasers
sound activated mode how lovely for raves
I have one of those hanging on my wall. have you hooked yours up to one of those usb power banks yet?
I like these kind of videos --> Subscribed.
how dangerous is the output by the way, like how bad is it if you were to accidently get say 50% from the beam n your eye if it bounced of a piece of metal, or do these projectors scatter the beams?.
true a lot of the cheap pumped diodes don't have very good ir. filtering an if I remember correctly most have a 120mw ir diode on the 5mw. greens but wondered if they had more power to keep the brightness up
Crank it up to 50 watt power output so you can aim it at a piece of metal and make a spaghetti strainer.
Buy another one Clive then combine two Green Lasers in one!
Hi, like your videos much. One question, do you think it needs the fan realy? I have this Model and cant find any heat when it is on. the fan is real loud in an quit env.
The drive circuitry and green laser need cooled. Especially the laser which will fail quickly if not cooled.
bigclive, any knowledge on these "smart meters" being installed on everyone's home's?
If you search for information on them you tend to draw a blank. They're very much aimed at the utility companies.
What if you put video from a micro projector through the rotating diffraction gratings?
I think it would just diffuse them.
isn't the base wavelength of green DPSS Lasers double that of the output (1064nm for the 532nm green)?
Pretty cool effect on your hand!!
where can i buy replacement lasers
I have lost those diffraction grating on the motor, can i use any other material? Any options? Help
Try searching eBay for it.
@@bigclivedotcom I searched on ebay but its too pricey, il get a new laser light at the same price. Anyways thank you for the reply!!
Try a piece of CD/DVD?
I was a little upset when I got nailed in the eye or the eye lid by a laser from one of these. I was roughly 30 meters away walking down the street. Somebody had one on their deck that was broken and it had mirrors inside and it was shooting a few tight beams down the road. It was easily hitting houses 3 times the distance it got me. It didn't see to have a lot divergence, no permanent damage but it was green. I told a friend about it and she laughed and told me the lasers they sell aren't powerful enough to do any damage to our eyes. I was skeptical. She said she could prove it and went and found a red pet laser and before I realized what she was doing she aimed the laser right into her eyeball!!!!!! From less than a foot away.NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I actually saw her holding the beam continuously and it hitting the white of her eyeball. It was less than a second before I could stop her but a second is a long time when it comes to things that burn you. She didn't have any damage but I still can't believe someone would do that. It's been a few years and I can still remember it like it just happened. She was surprised at my reactio, Under no circumstance would I let her do it again. Apparently she had done the little trick a few times. I told her that I was positive it can do damage . Especially if it hits the center of your eye or the batteries were stronger, or the electronics were different, also wave length plays a key. I'm thinking distance now. . How dangerous are they and did I overreact? Thanks for providing this service to curious folk.
If I see a laser beam coming into eye level I always look away. The risk of eye damage is huge. If your friend tries it with a green laser there will be a very real risk of permanent eye damage. When we use lasers on shows we have to routinely test beam strength with a meter where they enter an audience area.
People using hand held lasers at raves have caused a lot of eye injuries.
Yeah, really bad idea!
Seem fun and modable.
One could get the lasers to blink 'randomly' and individually with a pair transistors and candle flicker leds.
Or put a termostat in series with one of the lasers. (Red light up when the unit gets to hot? or green turn off.)
Maybe make it into an "ghost detector"? :D
Make the mic function control the motor and have lasers run continously?
What is the little square plastic thing in the front of the lens use for?
From the ebay listing...
Notice : The Working temperature of this unit is 15~30 ?, and it must be powered off after continuously working 2 Hour to let the laser diode cool down
+aDynoNet
I ran a karaoke saturday's for two years using four of these.
They ran 5 to 6 hours a night with no problem.
Is it possible to replace the green or red laser with another colour ie blue or white, or a laser unit from a laser pointer. Does the driver voltage matter?
Thanks.
+David Priestley Lasers are generally monochromatic (single colour/wavelength) so a white laser is often multiple lasers combined to create white. Other colours and technologies would require a driver specifically matched to the lasers requirements. Some are as simple as powering from a current regulated source, while others require feedback to operate precisely on their lasing point.
Congrats to the winners.
What is the glass called that stuck on the front of the case I need to get a new 1.
If you mean the glass that creates the effect, it's called a diffraction grating.
Yes Clive thank fuck you did a video!
Sir What do you call a glass glued in the front to have more dots?
It's a holographic diffuser. Or maybe it's a turbo encabulator.
is it me, or was the LED on the adaptor still glowing after you unplugged it.
With no load the LED will continue to glow until it has discharged the output capacitor.
Caps are my favorite device. Know them?
This seems quite similar to the one Ashens did. Is it a poundland job?
No. I doubt you could get this for a pound.
bigclivedotcom can I take the green laser use a USB power bank to use it as a green laser pointer
Zangamarth
Did you watch the vid? Its from ebay m8
Jonathan Lake No you can't just hook it up to a usb power bank. You need a driver and an appropriate power supply
Andrew Vollmer a driver?
These are found inside Chinese 99 cents stores in NYC.
For 99 cents?! o_0
Like this one better than the cheap $40 almost all plastic stake in the ground ones they are selling for Christmas time that hardly put out much light 3 feet away let alone an entire house. Nevermind it's a laser and having had one pointed at me , eh I've already had my experience at following a dare and lasers are not one of my favs.. (the dar was 1993-1994 solar eclipse...... um think anyone can guess what that dare was Okay, who wants to look at the sun for a moment during full on eclipse X_X Stupid. I don't think it hurt me any because I simply passed my eyes over it for a split second. kinda preferred the welders glass our geology teacher was using. Very effective. Not sure what laser light would do with welders glass though :P I'd guess these are cheaper but better made and hackable compared to the cheapie but well priced for "As Seen on TV" crap , ie way way overpriced... like $3 Reebok Pump shoes at $120-140 back in the day. X_X (and the pump section outlasted the shoe by a couple of decades because the shoe fell apart and I removed the pump :P god thats what I paid for smh Mickey Shoes are better than that.... unless I go up a mountain then I better leave those open (valves)
I got one of these not that long ago from Maplin and after a few weeks the motor burnt out!
I'd like to do this mod to my lasers, but isn't this dangerous? I thought you risk getting exposed to some kind of radiation when you open these?
Does anybody know?
Laser radiation just indicates the high light output. Not a radioactive risk.
Thank you!
Did you mod your laser(s)? How did it go?
Um ! dangerous stuff, Teaching kid's to play with, But hey you have got to learn. !!
Why not just put a 1W 520nm diode in it - only problem there is, it will be annoying to aircraft, at closer range an eye hazard, and it will probably melt the holographic rotating whatchamacall it :)
can u turn that in to a portable diy laser pointer with a usb power pack
why no blue laser? bigger heatsink on the green and drive it harder an option?
True blue lasers are too expensive, violet ones are pretty cheap though (blu-ray laser diodes).
+Raspberry I tried a violet laser through the filter and it was very dim.
+bigclivedotcom You tried dichroic or filter at the end? I wonder how would it be built if there were 3 laser beams to join into one. Two dichroics?
+Raspberry
Really that's amazing, because the chinese always seem to have their ways to make things SUPER cheap... :P
+ArduinoPlays ok, good to know. But probably still not as cheap as green, red or violet ones?
hello bigclive I stopped using my other account as I forgot my password this is my new one
both the front panel and the rotating disk are made of diffraction grating elements
any idea what mw the green laser is putting out Clive
I haven't a clue. Nor how much of that is IR from the pump diode.
How are these diodes being driven? I didn't really notice a dedicated driver circuit.
Can it be powered via a USB power bank, seeing that it's 5V/1A
Yes it can.
Thank you for the awesome videos. Greetings from South Africa
I modded mine a while ago for more power and the power supply melted.
reminds me of the lazer crab from years ago
"chinesey type price" lmao!! I'm Asian and I literally laughed out loud
Find myself humming Pink Floyd tunes.
Mine has a tiny 40mm fan
Mine's animation stopped and only shows the lights, non moving. Please help!
Mine did the same. I gave it a god tap on the top with the handle of a screw driver, worked then. I think the motor/gears just got a bit sticky.
DIRTBIKER01 ill try that
I just seen I wrote "god" tap haha. Good luck with trying the "good" tap idea. :-)
5V@1A huh... USB 3.0 laser star lighting :3 Though, not so sure I'd want to plug it into my computer...
That box is asking for driver bord and 200mw green..dpss..cmon
Have you ever heard of a 210v led? figured out the voltage of that 2w one... now how do I power that from a battery? lol
Nice .
Is this metal
Metal as fuck