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LASER Headlamp for Cars?!? How strong is its laser? | Find out how it works and how to power it up

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  • Published on Mar 11, 2026
  • Thanks to RadiaCode for sponsoring this video! Use my promo code "Brainiac75" for 10% discount: 103.radiacode....
    A laser-based car headlight? Sounds like something from a sci-fi movie but some cars actually use LEP technology: Laser Excited Phosphor.
    In this video, I take a closer look at one of these headlamps.
    After figuring out how to light it up without destroying the laser diode, I measure how strong the used laser is. Can you guess how strong it is? I was surprised!
    My Patreon-page: / brainiac75
    Other interesting videos on similar topics:
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    Did you miss one of my videos?: / brainiac75
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    #laser #headlight #headlamp

Comments •

  • @terryhayward7905
    @terryhayward7905 Year ago +1486

    I worked with a 10 watt laser years ago at a light show, it took 2 men to lift it and had liquid cooling. Times certainly have changed.

    • @svampebob007
      @svampebob007 Year ago +161

      even today it seems crazy that this is just secured by two screws, it's not a "lazer pointer" to the beam would diverge after a couple meters but that's still a 4w diode sold as a head light 🤯

    • @Culpride
      @Culpride Year ago +17

      Since the laser emits non-ionising radiation the heat would be the biggest issue, no?

    • @aarongreenfield9038
      @aarongreenfield9038 Year ago +56

      @terryhayward7905 It was probably an argon laser wasn't it? Those things are known to be notoriously inefficient.

    • @Quickened1
      @Quickened1 Year ago +25

      Especially when you realize this could fit in a flashlight...

    • @SilverStarHeggisist
      @SilverStarHeggisist Year ago +22

      Now you can buy 40W LED laser cutters. I have a 150W CO2 Laser cutter

  • @gonzalez7805
    @gonzalez7805 Year ago +612

    Let's get some night time beam shots... Would love to see how far they throw...

    • @volvo09
      @volvo09 Year ago +25

      Looks like it has a nice tight beam designed to be thrown at another reflector, possibly.
      I would like to see it shine across a dark yard too.

    • @1MBStudios
      @1MBStudios Year ago +44

      Some Audi's had an option for Lazer headlights. It would light up over a mile ahead for when you are driving 120+MPH so you can see obstacles at night before they become a problem

    • @InvisibleSquids
      @InvisibleSquids Year ago +21

      ​@1MBStudios no car should be traveling at 120mph on regular roads... features like that enable dangerous driving, encourage it even.

    • @volvo09
      @volvo09 Year ago +87

      ​@InvisibleSquidsAudi is German... The Autobahn exists there.
      It's the drivers risk to drive that fast at night, at those speeds a deer encounter could easily be fatal, nevermind anything else.

    • @InvisibleSquids
      @InvisibleSquids Year ago +9

      @volvo09 that's not the case. Most of the BAB has an advisory speed limit of 130kph, or 81 mph. There were only 15% of traffic moving faster than 170kph (106 mph).
      Regardless, the point is that it's obviously not safe to travel that fast. Allowing people to decide that is foolish because there is a startling number of people who have zero risk analytical capabilities.

  • @soundspark
    @soundspark Year ago +239

    Quite ironic how a powerful laser is also very sensitive and easily killed.

    • @Beni_777
      @Beni_777 Year ago +48

      So called "glass cannon"

    • @No_Way_NO_WAY
      @No_Way_NO_WAY Year ago +2

      @Beni_777 darn, just wanted to reply that. You beat me to it.

    • @970357ers
      @970357ers Year ago +6

      With great power comes great resistivity

    • @moki123g
      @moki123g Year ago +1

      The blue diodes actually are pretty tough to kill.

    • @Quickened1
      @Quickened1 Year ago +9

      Once it's wired correctly, it's far from a glass cannon. I mean they put them in automotive headlamps, gotta be fairly robust for that...

  • @andymouse
    @andymouse Year ago +249

    I can't imagine the Phosphor lasting that long being irradiated quite so aggressively.

    • @TheRailroad99
      @TheRailroad99 Year ago +79

      I'm pretty sure it won't. But that doesn't matter as modern cars aren't that long lasting anyways :(

    • @_BangDroid_
      @_BangDroid_ Year ago +20

      @TheRailroad99 And hyperinflation causing labor costs to skyrocket, repair is even more prohibitively expensive

    • @christopherleubner6633
      @christopherleubner6633 Year ago +90

      It does. The phosphor is a small slab of polycrystalline Ce Pr YAG bonded onto sapphire. It could theoretically take hundreds of watts provided you can keep it cool.

    • @andymouse
      @andymouse Year ago

      @christopherleubner6633 Well there a thing ! a product that could so easily have a built in 'expiry day' and the company said Nah let's make it last forever...awesome.

    • @Badspot
      @Badspot Year ago +55

      These things have been used in production vehicles for years. You can tell when a car behind you has them because the shadow of your car will be very sharp, due to the tighter point light source than a standard headlight. It's actually annoying AF.

  • @Gengh13
    @Gengh13 Year ago +356

    It's worth mentioning that due to the NTC behavior of diodes it is not recommend to put them in parallel without balancing resistors in series with each one because the slightly hotter one will keep having an increasing amount of current that leads to getting even hotter and so on.
    Fortunately sometimes the parasitic resistance of the external and/or internal connections can be enough to limit this positive feedback loop, but they probably won't share the current equally so operation near the maximum limit is not recommend when operating in parallel without appropriate resistance.

    • @MeteorMark
      @MeteorMark Year ago +42

      Resistance isn't futile, in this case 😉🖖

    • @FG-Supercharged
      @FG-Supercharged Year ago +13

      @MeteorMark OK, now that gave me a chuckle 🤣👍

    • @Quickened1
      @Quickened1 Year ago +3

      That's definitely worth mentioning! In this case though, I think that heatsink could handle it for quite a while...

    • @Gengh13
      @Gengh13 Year ago +7

      @Quickened1 yeah, having them thermally connected to that heatsink keeps them at a close temperature thus mitigating some of the NTC effect.

    • @brainiac75
      @brainiac75  Year ago +32

      @Geng13 Good point! Thanks for sharing. As you might be able to tell, I am not an electronics engineer and have some of the worst soldering skills in the world :D Especially with new lead-free solder...

  • @CԼIPPY
    @CԼIPPY Year ago +12

    Now time to put this on a car and make a transformer with laser eyes
    🔥🔥

  • @billsinkins361
    @billsinkins361 Year ago +64

    About 30 years ago I went to one of those planetarium laser shows, and they bragged about their 1 watt krypton laser... now you can buy a 4 watt laser for less than $100, amazing

    • @dash8brj
      @dash8brj Year ago +4

      I have a small argon laser here - it draws 2.4kW from the wall, and produces a 100mW beam. It requires serious forced air cooling as well. Its about the size of a large shoe box and weighs around 10kg. Yep how times have changed. On the shelf sits a 5 watt laser diode module about 2cm round and 5cm long! It uses passive air cooling and can run off two 18650 cells.

    • @JayWye52
      @JayWye52 Year ago +7

      the military has developed 50KW+ diode-pumped fiber lasers for shipboard air defense,against drones and fast attack boats. they're working towards 150KW lasers. US Army has one mounted on a Stryker armored vehicle. they're compact and efficient.

    • @JayWye52
      @JayWye52 Year ago

      @dash8brj your argon (gas) laser uses a HV power supply for the laser tube, most of that power makes heat. OTOH,the diode laser passes battery current directly thru the diode.

    • @dash8brj
      @dash8brj Year ago

      @JayWye52 Yep it uses around 100VDC at 8-10 amps to run and several kv to start the arc. They are woefully inefficient compared to diode lasers. They do sport better beam profiles than diodes although singlemode diodes do get quite close.

    • @brucemblue
      @brucemblue Year ago +1

      not sure if you meant that THIS laser is 4 watts... just wanted to point out that it's 3 amps at about 4 volts, so closer to 12 watts (even crazier).

  • @brainiac75
    @brainiac75  Year ago +251

    Hi! I am currently at a Christmas party that I need to get back to. But I will read all comments and answer as many questions as possible later. Hope you enjoy the video!

    • @CԼIPPY
      @CԼIPPY Year ago +1

      I sure will enjoy the video

    • @gregs8672
      @gregs8672 Year ago +1

      Is it just me? I want to check out your sponsor but the link doesn't work.

    • @NyrinTriball
      @NyrinTriball Year ago +3

      Based "checking my stuff to make sure it works for my fans" creator.

    • @MC-Racing
      @MC-Racing Year ago +6

      God julefrokost.. god bedring med tømmermændene :-)

    • @christopherleubner6633
      @christopherleubner6633 Year ago

      A very good use for these is to replace the xenon lamps for expensive microscopes. They make similar amounts of light to a 150W xenon bulb.😮

  • @bragapedro
    @bragapedro Year ago +10

    Impressive power for such a tiny thing! Would be amazing to have a thermal camera to show how much that brick heats up in the full power test.

  • @aarongreenfield9038
    @aarongreenfield9038 Year ago +92

    I've tested one of these that I got off of a car at a junkyard, And I got a little over 8W out of it. It probably would have did more but I didn't want to pop it. It would ignite steel wool, cut wood, and pretty much incinerate anything before it.

    • @DARKredDOLLAR
      @DARKredDOLLAR Year ago +21

      "imma firing my lazors!" - cars with these for headlights, probably.

    • @aarongreenfield9038
      @aarongreenfield9038 Year ago +25

      @DARKredDOLLAR Cars with frickin laser beams attached to their frickin headlights, (Dr evil probably)

    • @Quickened1
      @Quickened1 Year ago +5

      Year and make please!!!

    • @aarongreenfield9038
      @aarongreenfield9038 Year ago +6

      @Quickened1 It looked like an Audi, but not sure of the year or make, Maybe in A5, but it was pretty crashed up, and somebody had already pulled the motor and most everything else from it, but it looked like 2015 ish or so.

    • @Quickened1
      @Quickened1 Year ago +3

      @aarongreenfield9038 awesome, thanks for replying. I'll probably just let eBay be my guide, in the unlikely event I ever buy one and try to turn it into a flashlight!!! Haha 👍🏻

  • @pontiacg445
    @pontiacg445 Year ago +19

    The first commercial LEP application I know of used a phosphor on a motor and ~24 watts of blue laser power focused onto a teeny tiny point on that rotating phosphor. It chucked an obscene amount of white light, or blue light if you removed the wheel...

    • @JPNZ1
      @JPNZ1 Year ago +3

      Sounds like a laser projector

    • @N4CR
      @N4CR Year ago +2

      @JPNZ1 Casio projectors were where laser show industry harvested sources from since 2002 or so. Now you can buy them direct.

  • @GOPRepubliklan
    @GOPRepubliklan Year ago +182

    I bet carmakers can't wait to get these in vehicles. Seems extra fragile, expensive, and of dubious improvement over existing technology.

    • @Xeno274
      @Xeno274 Year ago +26

      BMW introduced that tech with the i8 in 2014 AFAIR. AUDI used it too. But both seem to have no intention to use it in the future and now rely on LED only.

    • @Fhwgads11
      @Fhwgads11 Year ago +15

      You could get laser headlights in the BMW X7, and new housings (if you broke one, say, in an accident) cost you a cool $7500 each. I think LEDs are advancing past the need for something extra complex like laser headlights.

    • @Quickened1
      @Quickened1 Year ago +3

      ​@Fhwgads11 $7500 ouch😖 yeah, no. I'll take L.E.D. I had no idea they cost that much, wow...

    • @TMS5100
      @TMS5100 Year ago +7

      laser headlights have been in vehicles for many years now. though use is dying off since regular LED headlights are now as efficient and much cheaper.

    • @DarkAttack14
      @DarkAttack14 Year ago +2

      It is already in vehicles already

  • @thatonlinenameugoby

    Cant wait to go blind while driving!!!

  • @buffsharkshoes
    @buffsharkshoes Year ago +2

    I've never seen an LEP lamp before. really simple but clever!

  • @Benlucky13
    @Benlucky13 Year ago +45

    there is the 'luminous flux' in the spec sheet for some optical power info. looks like 800 lumens at it's max of 3A for the laser lamp. those LEDs you have list 160-240 at 750ma, so with 4 of them at max power that's between 640 and 960 lumens. lumens per watt is more telling, at 4.3 V and 3A that's ~24lm/watt. while those LEDs at 3.8v and .75A are hitting between 56 and 84lm/watt. higher end LEDs like Cree-XPL's hit double that, ~160lm/watt (binning dependent)

    • @MeriaDuck
      @MeriaDuck Year ago

      Ah thanks

    • @IF23428
      @IF23428 Year ago +4

      LEDs hgher lumen, LEPs higher candela.
      I own LED flashlights with around 25.000 Lumens but low on candela, but i also own LEP flashlights (acebeam w35 DEL) that has 1.690.000cd but only 800 lumens.

    • @jan237
      @jan237 Year ago +4

      @IF23428 basically lasers are by nature more focused than LEDs

    • @Mikkel111
      @Mikkel111 Year ago +3

      @IF23428 With a big enough reflector there should be no point to an inferior LEP. Unless you need super focused light from a tiny flashlight. Which I don't see the usecase of.

    • @ericthecyclist
      @ericthecyclist Year ago +1

      @jan237 a laser is more focused, but does the phospher preserve the direction of the absorbed photon or does it emit photons in any random direction?

  • @armegeddon11
    @armegeddon11 Year ago +3

    Got the radiacode 103 and the discount saved me around 30 dollars for shipping to America. Thanks!

  • @PeteSnipe
    @PeteSnipe Year ago +2

    Impressive demo. I wasn't aware these were already used in vehicles. The sponsors products look remarkably attractive!

  • @alexlittig7927
    @alexlittig7927 Year ago +16

    You should check out LEP flashlights. There are quite a few manufacturers making them now. They are designed for long distances illumination. Maxtoch makes a dual head lep light that has 5 million candela of throw. Or about 3 miles. I have a pocketable lep light that outputs 1000 lumens and measures 1.1 mcd of throw. Really impressive focusability with lep technology.

    • @N4CR
      @N4CR Year ago

      This literally is LEP. They are very simple and very overpriced because most torch non-builder people don't know anything.

    • @alexlittig7927
      @alexlittig7927 Year ago +2

      @N4CR you do realize the reason I made this post because this video is about lep technology.

    • @CaffeinatedSentryGnome
      @CaffeinatedSentryGnome Year ago

      I have a lumintop thor 3 LEP flashlight which has about 1.5 million candela. It's really good at pointing at very specific things in the very far distance.

  • @Eurodave
    @Eurodave Year ago

    I would love to retrofit these to my old headlamp or foglights

  • @hey_skip
    @hey_skip Year ago +20

    CRI of 65.... That is really abysmal. Anything less that say 85 is iffy. More than 90 would be where you'd want to be.

    • @redphoenix1000
      @redphoenix1000 Year ago +7

      To be fair, you don't really need good color rendering for driving at night. After all, the old HPS lamps were only around 20 CRI

    • @hey_skip
      @hey_skip Year ago

      @redphoenix1000 Which is why the majority were exchanged for MV or MH ! LPS sucks except for l/w.

    • @Karjis
      @Karjis Year ago +1

      @redphoenix1000 oh you really would, because you differentiate for example animals from bushes by color. It's easy to see the old car that had really good halogen lights, but not nearly as bright as the current with matrix LED setup. But still it feels that it was way easier to see things at distance with this good halogen setup. With the LED setup grass is somewhat grayish green, with halogen it was bright green. For example deer was clear brown.. but with these matrix LED's the deer appear black.
      They really should combine things and up the CRI and dial the color temperature down just a bit (to 4000K or so) because that is the sensitive area when it is not that bright than day. Upping the CRI is just about the LED chip phosphor coating quality. With LED setup it is like (if anyone remembers) walking with those first gen blue LED flashlights. You had light but could not really see anything.

  • @Zenodilodon
    @Zenodilodon Year ago +2

    Excellent video with solid information for calibrating laser drivers.

  • @alexcaps500
    @alexcaps500 Year ago +6

    11:25: "in case you have to find them on the floor, like I had to". 😂

    • @hey_skip
      @hey_skip Year ago

      Bwahahaaha. I always have a magnet from a hard drive hand as well as a cheap laser level which throws a line. I'm such a clutz!

    • @threeMetreJim
      @threeMetreJim Year ago +1

      Lol. About right. I might take 20 minutes to repair something, and then the next hour hunting for the tiniest last screw that I managed to drop on the floor. Murphy's law in full effect. Lucky I don't do repairs for a living.

  • @GeorgeEllis-q1u
    @GeorgeEllis-q1u Year ago

    Great job, both careful science and description of your process.

  • @jnhrtmn
    @jnhrtmn Year ago +146

    Smaller more powerful spots of light ruin other people's night vision. I can't imagine how this is a good idea.

    • @Quickened1
      @Quickened1 Year ago +39

      There should be tougher government regulation on how "illuminating" headlights can be. Some sort of industry standard across the board, before everyone is blinded...

    • @TMS5100
      @TMS5100 Year ago +24

      @Quickened1 there is, both in europe and the US. study up. it's more restrictive in the US, europe allows ~3x more light output.

    • @DarkAttack14
      @DarkAttack14 Year ago +8

      @Quickened1 There already is

    • @DarkAttack14
      @DarkAttack14 Year ago +8

      Adaptive headlights... other vehicles are put into shadow while the rest is lit up. Audi already does this with LEDS and their active matrix setup

    • @gorak9000
      @gorak9000 Year ago +45

      @TMS5100 Yeah, but it's completely unenforced - driving at night has gotten so much worse in the last couple of years - the f'ing lights are out of control these days. The worst offenders are people with high trucks that put some kind of cheap led retrofit bulbs into old headlights and the beams are all over the place, but even some new cars with "well designed" headlights are way too bright and aimed way too high these days - I especially notice the newest Teslas seems to be absolutely blinding when they're facing you. Either that or everyone just drives with brights on all the time now. It's insane out there!

  • @rpkinsella
    @rpkinsella Year ago

    That's quite the little power house!

  • @ehsnils
    @ehsnils Year ago +175

    I have now resorted to using yellow tinted polarized glasses at night to preserve my night vision because this technology seems to exist in every so called "glare free" headlight.
    You may think that it's bad for night vision, but every occurrence without the yellow tint leaves residual blind spots on my retina for several seconds each time I meet a car with those high color temperature headlights while the residual blind spots are marginal with those tinted glasses.
    It tells me that it's time to revisit the approval of those headlights as well as the adjustments of them.

    • @filonin2
      @filonin2 Year ago +25

      Laser headlights were only used on select BMW's and are now banned in the US due to Vehicle Safety Standard rule 108, which limits headlight power on vehicles sold in the US to 150,000 candela, where European systems allow up to 430,000 candela.

    • @ehsnils
      @ehsnils Year ago +23

      @filonin2 I'm in Europe though. But I also consider that there are two factors that are bad. The color temperature and the coherence of the light waves. A color temperature limit to around 2700 to 3000K should be imposed to avoid retina burnout.

    • @bigboss-tl2xr
      @bigboss-tl2xr Year ago +7

      I just wear my polarized sunglasses at night 😎

    • @MadScientist267
      @MadScientist267 Year ago +21

      Lights in general. Sick of all of the unchecked obnoxiousness out there

    • @bubba99009
      @bubba99009 Year ago +14

      @ehsnils Too high of a color temp will get you pulled over in the states also - once they appear to be "blue" >~4500K they are no longer legal and the police can pull you over and write a ticket for that. Kind of counterproductive to run super high temps like that too since it will hurt your ability to see in foggy conditions.

  • @randomtux1234
    @randomtux1234 Year ago

    thanks for that man, was looking for these babies and how to drive them, cheers

  • @smeggyhead1
    @smeggyhead1 Year ago +4

    5:01 worriers about the switching PSU delivering "inherently" noisy current, then connects the laser driver which has a switching supply. The "4R7" inductor and the supply current of 1.7A (when delivering 3A) is a bit of a giveaway.

    • @jaro6985
      @jaro6985 Year ago +1

      Yeah its just a bit safer as the big PSU can dump more energy if the leads happen to disconnect and reconnect.

  • @dimondbackkirby
    @dimondbackkirby Year ago

    Great video, very interesting product you found! Can't wait for the next part!

  • @seanyem
    @seanyem Year ago +10

    This more than EXCITES me, I'm been retro-fitting old Stage Moving Head Fiztures that usually have a 250w Metal Halide Lamp's with BIG COB LEDs with Massive Heat Sicks, This changes everything i could replace to big drivers, big heat sicks and big COB LEDs with something much smaller with a nicer beam and more nicer quality of light.

    • @rootney
      @rootney Year ago +3

      Please post the video If you ever get a setup like that together I'm also interested in what model and make of Lights are you talking about i assume dmx control stage lights?

    • @DansWay
      @DansWay Year ago +1

      I noticed in the datasheet for it that the CRI was only 60. Wouldn't this low value make for poor lighting in a studio/stage environment?

  • @afti03
    @afti03 Year ago

    Thank God for smart and ingenious people like this!

  • @betterlifeexe
    @betterlifeexe Year ago +5

    its crazy how many outright scary lasers are just sitting around in small devices these days, and people who buy it don't even know. luckily, they are usually encased and regulated to useful power levels, but not always...

    • @paradiselost9946
      @paradiselost9946 Year ago +2

      visited a friend. her husband comes out, brandishing a torch... "CHECK OUT MY LASER POINTER!!!! IT BURNS HOLES IN THINGS!!!!"
      i cover my face behind a handy cushion... "just let us know when you turn the freaking thing OFF!"
      yeah, i appreciate my retinas being firmly attached and working... next time i visit im taking some laser goggles...

  • @-Sean_
    @-Sean_ Year ago +1

    I pinched my finger in some weak magnets a couple hours ago and it reminded me of you. Now I found this in my recommended!

  • @bar10005
    @bar10005 Year ago +11

    5:10 that laser driver is also a switching power supply, so that comment makes no sense

    • @andymouse
      @andymouse Year ago +10

      The point he was making is that a dedicated constant current supply for the LASER is infinitely better than a cheap £40 powersupply from Bangood.

    • @bar10005
      @bar10005 Year ago +4

      @andymouse That driver costs even less, like 1/5 of that, so they will be of similar quality, laser would be just fine powered by the PSU.

    • @andymouse
      @andymouse Year ago +6

      @bar10005 Yes it probably would, but cut the guy a bit of slack will you ? he explained he knew nothing about this and wanted to learn and show his process and it was great, Me I might just grab an LM317T and use it in constant current mode chuck in couple of caps and the odd resistor and be done with it ok ? goodnight.

    • @fermitupoupon1754
      @fermitupoupon1754 Year ago +2

      @andymouse Use a 350 instead of the 317.

    • @andymouse
      @andymouse Year ago +2

      @fermitupoupon1754 It was a quick example nothing more.

  • @madbstard1
    @madbstard1 Year ago

    I was screaming "Turn it up! More power" at the end lol. Can't wait till the next video

  • @cmuller1441
    @cmuller1441 Year ago +9

    Connecting LEDs in parallel without at least a small resistor for negative feedback per LED is a bad idea. As you said it's NTC means that if one takes a little bit more power or has a poorer thermal contact with the heatsink its temperature will raise. So its voltage for the same current decreases. As the voltage is the same on all LEDs then its current increase and it can snowball. At the end you'll have big current differences and 3A will not be 0.75+0.75+0.75+0.75 but maybe 2+0.5+0.3+0.2... Be

    • @jaro6985
      @jaro6985 Year ago

      Its fine if the LEDs are matched well enough, which they usually are as you can see from the video.

    • @mjouwbuis
      @mjouwbuis Year ago

      It's not exactly fine, but in practice if they're reasonably matched and thermally coupled, you can get away with it. Also, the wires add some resistance, even if not as much as would ideally be needed. For an optimal life, you would put them in series or use individual drivers or resistors.

    • @ridefast0
      @ridefast0 Month ago

      Agreed, NTC devices in parallel is bad practice as any slight differences in current sharing will be amplified by the NTC behaviour, and small resistors can be used to counteract it.

  • @napnapnop
    @napnapnop Year ago +2

    Great video!!!!!! Very interesting!!!!

  • @williamhuang8309
    @williamhuang8309 Year ago +98

    Honestly car headlights have been getting brighter and brighter and have exceeded what I would consider to be a safety hazard. It's gotten so bad that if you accidentally look into an approaching vehicle's headlights, good luck seeing anything for the next few seconds.
    These things and LED headlights really need to be regulated in terms of where they are allowed to be mounted and brightness.

    • @mediocreman2
      @mediocreman2 Year ago +10

      Yep, it's gotten so bad, I will actually put my hand up on the window to protect my eyes. Of course, I won't see if that vehicle is turning left in front of me, but I might not see anything at all if I don't put my hand up.

    • @brine80
      @brine80 Year ago +7

      In a lot of states light are regulates, in fact here in NY it is illegal to remove any lighting component that came from the factory, as well as illegal to add any that didn't come from the factory. Anyone that has crappy lights should be encouraged to swap them for better ones, however they should be properly aimed and not exceed a certain amount of light output. People don't really follow this rule though, they replace stock halogen bulbs with L.E.D. bulbs that don't spread the beam as intended for the housing they are in, and spew light all over the place.

    • @VEC7ORlt
      @VEC7ORlt Year ago +5

      Oh shush, they are regulated, if anything beam quality of normal LED headlight is way better than anything with lightbulbs.

    • @dylanevans5644
      @dylanevans5644 Year ago +15

      ​@VEC7ORlt
      It isn't about 'beam quality' - many LED headlamps completely change the angle the lamp housing reflects light at, and are far brighter in those spots. Resulting in a beam that directs far too much light into other drivers eyes even when dipped.
      You can see this on torque test channel where he shows the light scatter in housings.

    • @VEC7ORlt
      @VEC7ORlt Year ago +3

      @dylanevans5644 I've said LED headlight, not LED retrofit headlight.
      Thats is a reason you won't pass vehicle inspection or with those.

  • @rj7855
    @rj7855 Year ago

    Nice small package, i can totally see a flashlight project with this

  • @AppliedCryogenics
    @AppliedCryogenics Year ago +348

    Here in the red state of Florida, there has been an alarming trend towards utterly devastatingly-blinding giant headlights on the giant pickup trucks of all the country boys around here. because just taking up four parking spots was not inconvenient enough for everyone else.

    • @TsunauticusIV
      @TsunauticusIV Year ago +52

      They likely use improper bulbs meant for a projector housing in reflector housings and then they also neglect to properly aim their headlights after lifting their vehicles. I’ve driven lofted trucks since I was a teenager and it’s a pet peeve of mine to have headlights that do not blind other drivers.

    • @WeAreAllLemmings
      @WeAreAllLemmings Year ago +18

      Literally so true, me in my sedan in south Florida getting blinded, their lowbeams are stronger than my highbeams

    • @stitchfinger7678
      @stitchfinger7678 Year ago +34

      Beyond inconvenient, literally unsafe.
      Also, isn't it funny that the guys that build vehicles that CAUSE accidents, are also most likely to survive them, cuz they're in an SUV cab 10 feet in the air?

    • @volvo09
      @volvo09 Year ago +14

      ​@TsunauticusIV this... It's the cheap LED drop in bulbs in halogen housings.

    • @V3ntilator
      @V3ntilator Year ago +23

      In Norway and Europe you are forced to deliver a car for full check every second year. If you don't do it within date, the police takes your number plates.
      Some of the reasons for this check is to check if you use illegal lights, have wrong position on them, not blending other cars etc.
      Isn't there a forced check like this in USA?

  • @10100rsn
    @10100rsn Year ago

    Your videos are always interesting and with detailed information. Thank you for everything you do.

  • @EverybodyEditsHacks
    @EverybodyEditsHacks Year ago +15

    I shared your video with the "Fuckyourheadlights" subReddit. I hope that is ok!
    Please Braniac, in your next video could you compare the brightness to a light safety chart for our eyes? I would really like to know how bad this is for your eyes when someones crests a hill or hits a bump and these flash you directly in the eyes

    • @MrCool00236
      @MrCool00236 Year ago +5

      I agree, headlights these days are way too bright, brake lights and turn signals are also way to bright. I'm light sensitive and will sometimes need to wear sunglasses while driving at night to avoid getting a bad migraine from the insanely bright lights of modern cars. I live in the countryside so when driving at night my eyes are adjusted to complete darkness, there are no streetlights here, so when another car comes, at best it hurts (low beam), and at worst I can't see the road at all, only the other cars blinding lights. And having to sit behind a car at a read light hurts too.

    • @brainiac75
      @brainiac75  Year ago +2

      Of course you can share it. This is a public video and I encourage sharing it :) In my next video, I will measure the lux in the central beam. I have not tried it yet but have a feeling it will be a new record on my luxmeter... At some distance, I find it unlikely that this light is strong enough to damage eyes in shorter time than the blink reflex. But traffic safety is a completely different matter... Thanks for the early watch, comment and sharing!

  • @DimtheEnderman
    @DimtheEnderman 11 months ago +2

    So THIS is the tech behind those stupid bright headlights

  • @targuscinco
    @targuscinco Year ago +13

    Light emitting piode. I like those.

    • @jan237
      @jan237 Year ago +6

      does it have 3.14 electrical terminals then?

    • @DrArkham.
      @DrArkham. Year ago +4

      laser-excited phosphor

    • @targuscinco
      @targuscinco Year ago

      @DrArkham. last encoded package.

    • @targuscinco
      @targuscinco Year ago +2

      @jan237 bye bye miss American piode!

  • @Thatdavemarsh
    @Thatdavemarsh Year ago

    Great video. Really enjoyed it!

  • @ulrikwilken
    @ulrikwilken Year ago +7

    What spectrum does it have

    • @Cobra365
      @Cobra365 Year ago

      I believe it’s called autism.

    • @SixOhFive
      @SixOhFive Year ago

      450nm

    • @hey_skip
      @hey_skip Year ago +1

      @SixOhFive That's the laser source. The phosphors spread the spectrum.

    • @casemodder89
      @casemodder89 Year ago +3

      at cri 65 a really bad one !

    • @brainiac75
      @brainiac75  Year ago +3

      Hi Ulrik. I will measure it in my upcoming December video. It is not great... Do not expect good color rendition from this laser headlamp. At least the spec sheet for it seems to be honest ;) Thanks for the early watch and comment!

  • @anon_y_mousse
    @anon_y_mousse Year ago

    I must admit, this is probably one of the best surprise uses of a laser I've seen.

  • @iLife64
    @iLife64 Year ago +3

    I wish reflective bulb headlights would make a comeback, I drive a ton at night and newer vehicle low beams leave me blind and sometimes makes a black spot

  • @mattcole2863
    @mattcole2863 Year ago

    Ok. This video has added a few things to my wish list.

  • @Roobotics
    @Roobotics Year ago +4

    3:08 Attaching the LEDs in parallel like that is actually a good way to cascade failure them all if left unattended. If any starts heating unevenly and taking more current it can still thermal run-away and drop it's Vf until it's absorbing more of the 3A current and past it's 750mA limit. I'm sure you probably know, but should probably mention that for others that might want to emulate your methods. The proper way to drive LEDs with a CC supply is all in series at a single diode's rated current OR if you're going to parallel them, give them each a current-balance resistor if they must be used in parallel. Obviously in this case it was a 'hack' to make a diode dummy load, but not a good way to drive them.

  • @johnwick5918
    @johnwick5918 Year ago

    Omg I haven’t seen this RUclips channel for soooo many years

  • @RandomNothing88
    @RandomNothing88 Year ago +22

    Instant blinder. Imagine someone flashing high beams at you for no reason and then you flash them back with this abomination.

    • @InvisibleSquids
      @InvisibleSquids Year ago +6

      Let's not encourage people to intentionally blind others for petty reasons, kay?

    • @Flesh_Wizard
      @Flesh_Wizard Year ago +4

      long range paint stripper

    • @TMS5100
      @TMS5100 Year ago

      modern LED headlights are brighter, more efficient, and way cheaper than this. that's why bmw stopped using them in the x5 and x7. just because it has "laser" in the name doesn't mean it performs better.

    • @IANHANDS
      @IANHANDS Year ago

      ​@Flesh_Wizard You require education.

    • @RandomNothing88
      @RandomNothing88 Year ago

      @TMS5100 this is a class 4 laser which means that it blinds instantly and incinerates things. LEDs are cheaper and more efficient but not brighter than a fucking class 4 laser. It's just that lasers are useless at lightning because of narrow beams. And also dangerous.

  • @Jonjs99
    @Jonjs99 Year ago

    That light spectrum is good for eyes

  • @xpkareem
    @xpkareem Year ago +13

    This is why I'm blinded by oncoming cars. They are shining freakin high powered laser lights at me.

    • @TMS5100
      @TMS5100 Year ago +3

      the use of laser lights are dying off, LEDs are now brighter, more efficient, and cheaper than laser lights.

    • @KOZMOuvBORG
      @KOZMOuvBORG Year ago +1

      Recall in the 70s when rectangular headlights first appeared stateside - heard a[t least one) driver claiming they burned holes in their head (read in a tabloid).

    • @TMS5100
      @TMS5100 Year ago +1

      @KOZMOuvBORG they probably already had holes in their head to begin with

    • @KOZMOuvBORG
      @KOZMOuvBORG Year ago

      @TMS5100 note the source - OP retrieved a half-century-old (autistic) memory.

    • @vaulthecreator
      @vaulthecreator Year ago +2

      ​​@TMS5100"LEDs are now brighter, more efficient....." Oh, much better 😒
      That's essentially the reason why I no longer ride my bicycle at night. Around here there are 4WDs with up to *SIX* (!!!!) led light bars strapped to the front and they don't give 2 shits about cyclists. What I would give for a bicycle headlight that could return the sentiment.

  • @suchiman123
    @suchiman123 Year ago

    Makes me wonder what the CRI of that light is

  • @mbox314
    @mbox314 Year ago +6

    In an age when most people are complaining about LED headlights blinding them automakers decided to make the problem worse and shine lasers into the eyes of oncoming traffic.

    • @riff42
      @riff42 Year ago +2

      Except, they aren't shining a laser into traffic....at all. That isn't how this works. Also, people adding LED bubls to halogen headlights are also a problem that people forget about, and then blame OEM. OEM is fine, it's the idiots that blind everyone else cause "wooo led", are the problem.

    • @JayWye52
      @JayWye52 Year ago +1

      @riff42 yep,it's the phosphor that's emitting the white light,same as in white LEDs. LEDs without phosphor coatings are monochrome,one color,no white.

  • @gabrielvieira.4358
    @gabrielvieira.4358 Year ago +26

    In Brazil we have some laser beams vehicles (And most of the times) retrofitted on older vehicles. This is worse than retrofit high powered beams.... In a highway or anywhere you encounter those, it blinds you instantly. Life threat!

  • @victorjamett919
    @victorjamett919 Year ago

    Interesante prueba. Muy bueno . me he suscrito a tu canal.

  • @Bassotronics
    @Bassotronics Year ago +7

    I came up with this laser lamp concept back around 1998 or so in high school.
    I actually have it drawn on a notebook sheet.
    It shows the laser bouncing around all the clear walls of the lamp at certain angles to create a nice red glow. It was a design for brake lights but not for front headlights.

  • @topalofff
    @topalofff Year ago

    Handheld DIY torch with brightness control will look awesome )

  • @theschwag
    @theschwag Year ago +19

    These headlights are getting out of hand. I'll take 4 and stick them on my grill! Always need more lights!

  • @adamcarver5599
    @adamcarver5599 Year ago

    40 minute video with 4 seconds of useful information

  • @rickseiden1
    @rickseiden1 10 months ago +14

    You used protective glasses before you disassembled the headlight. That says to me that these shouldn't be allowed, since no one wears 450nm protective eyewear while driving.

    • @tentative_flora2690
      @tentative_flora2690 9 months ago +4

      I believe I have seen these in operation. the off angle blue light makes me jump because I think theres a cop.
      Also they are freakishly bright. And its basically impossible to see with someone following you with these on.

    • @Passco666
      @Passco666 9 months ago

      They could use filters. Who knows

  • @hascrack3783
    @hascrack3783 Year ago +2

    The blue tool used on the potentiometer is something I didn't know I needed

    • @Wingedmechanic
      @Wingedmechanic 29 days ago

      Just put a piece of straw or plastic pipe from a lollipop on your precision flat blade screwdriver and you have it.

  • @Jujudo
    @Jujudo Year ago +3

    "I found this awesome laser, I'm also making a video later on more cool shit it can do"
    See this is why I watch this channel you've got like a childlike infatuation with anything dangerous

  • @3.2213
    @3.2213 Year ago

    How about different colors like clay paky xtylos?

  • @linuxguy1199
    @linuxguy1199 Year ago +6

    Nice, gonna have to mount some of these on my daily driver, people here never turn off LED high beams, so I mounted 4 light bars (2 on hood, 2 on roof, each have 48 COB LEDs at 250W) that I use to combat their LEDs. Usually flashing them makes the other driver turn off their high beams. Or if they leave theirs on, I leave mine on.

    • @paradiselost9946
      @paradiselost9946 Year ago +1

      riding a moto, ive found people very quickly dip if i simply ride on the wrong side of the road...

  • @tslim250
    @tslim250 Year ago

    i never even knew this tech existed. neat!

  • @garrettburrows442
    @garrettburrows442 Year ago +3

    I had an buddy tell me leds do not put off enough heat, I showed him my 300,000 thousand lumen flashlight and gave him a sun burn, it's also good for killing spiders

  • @NotJH
    @NotJH Year ago

    Ready to see how far you can drive it without the phosphor!!

  • @louispeek2546
    @louispeek2546 Year ago +2

    Illegal.

  • @mikeissweet
    @mikeissweet Year ago

    You are taking soooo many precautions with that laser 😂

  • @Gales_of_Gaelic
    @Gales_of_Gaelic Year ago +3

    Ok so how do people driving oncoming cars know what “glasses” to wear so they’re not harmed by this “laser light”?
    ROFL

    • @StevePimen
      @StevePimen Year ago +2

      No protective glasses is necessary because the LASER beam is 'dispersed'. The clip author messed up with dispersion and tested the unprotected LASER.

    • @jdhill770
      @jdhill770 Year ago

      The laser is not visible to anyone in oncoming traffic. The laser is fully shileded from view. The unit uses a small mirror in the upper housing to redirect the beam through that small hole in the reflector, and shine it directly down onto the phosphor mpunted on the bottom of the housing under the reflector. The phosphor is basically the same as whats in an LED, except instead of being directly energized by the diode underneath it, this one is energized by the laser remotely. It simply allows for a much higher intensity level to be generated, which means you can create very intense and fsr reaching beams with very small optics at very low power levels. You could generate a similarly intense beam from any other light source, halogen, LED or HID, but you would need much larger lamp housings.

  • @dundonrl
    @dundonrl Year ago

    I have a Maxtoch L2KD LEP spotlight and at 2 miles it still lights up a building!

  • @cmem7604
    @cmem7604 Year ago +6

    i injured my eyes with a laser recently, i am now anti technology.

  • @georgieippolito9924

    I want one to take apart so i get the nice thin laser

  • @MichaelMyrick1123
    @MichaelMyrick1123 Year ago +11

    Horrible idea... Lasers are point source emissions, that's no good to look at and magnifying it too. It's like the plutonium jewelry all over again. They literally will sell you anything it seems 🤦🤷 thanks for the share

    • @brainiac75
      @brainiac75  Year ago +6

      As far as I know, no new cars are built with laser headlamps anymore? Maybe for good reasons ;) I will go into more details when I compare the laser headlamp with the LED in the next video. Thanks for the early watch!

    • @MichaelMyrick1123
      @MichaelMyrick1123 Year ago

      @brainiac75 my pleasure friend. I'd not miss anything you have to offer. I have tons of off social media questions 😂 and answers 🫡💯

    • @Lilosliloson
      @Lilosliloson Year ago +4

      This module is from BMW car used for high beam, the only one using the technology in that way..
      The point source laser emission is directed to the phosphorus disc not used as a direct source light, the video shows it clearly.
      Anyway, LEDs nowadays are quite powerful so no need for lasers to make them super bright.

    • @filonin2
      @filonin2 Year ago

      @MichaelMyrick1123 If you watch the video (before commenting) you will see that the laser shines onto a phosphor that glows so it's not a point source.

    • @MichaelMyrick1123
      @MichaelMyrick1123 Year ago

      @filonin2 😂 doesn't change the fact it's a crappy source of light for humanities eyes. At what % is it defused smart guy ?? Guess what unless it's 100% your still being exposed to a point source object not a radiant one.

  • @guywhocomments-124

    thermal runaway is me when stressed along with planets orbiting my head

  • @theStanister
    @theStanister Year ago +3

    I have laser headlights on our car, this is a great video! Their main advantage isn't just about outright brightness, it's the tight beam pattern they create that even projector HID's can't produce. They work in conjunction with LED low beam, with the laser high beam creating a pencil beam that projects for several KM down the highway without any stray light going to oncoming traffic, their beam pattern is the real MVP here.

  • @sergeyerr
    @sergeyerr 6 months ago

    Wow, I need this on my bicycle!

  • @LegendSpecialist

    Interesting video👍

  • @voltare2amstereo

    Same technology being used in modern DLP projectors

  • @welcometocattown2036

    that's rad af

  • @jagmarc
    @jagmarc Year ago

    Almost see the LED getting gradually dimmer already before the video ended.

  • @ONRIPRESENCE
    @ONRIPRESENCE Year ago

    I was waiting for a long time to get my hands on an LEP flashlight and finally got one this year. It's pretty awesome.

  • @Tygor3533
    @Tygor3533 Year ago

    I have an LEP flashlight and I love it

  • @PS-vk6bn
    @PS-vk6bn Year ago

    Wow, that's a strong one!

  • @fastmover45
    @fastmover45 Year ago

    Can we have a link to the laser module ?

  • @marcfruchtman9473

    Beyond amazing.

  • @Les__Mack
    @Les__Mack Year ago

    Thank you for the great video! It makes me want to run out and get one of these. I'm not. But I want to. ;-)

  • @AbdulQadir-s9e9w

    Nice gadgets

  • @hjvveight4074
    @hjvveight4074 Year ago

    Just what we all need more blinding headlights

  • @jochenstacker7448

    I just stumbled across this channel and already I am hooked!
    I may not understand half of it, but this is really interesting.
    In the ad for the sponsor, I usually skip those, but radiation mapping? Damn, I'm so on board with that!

  • @leoneventicinque6731

    bellissimo canale, saluti da un nuovo iscritto!

  • @KazemitoHaruhi
    @KazemitoHaruhi Year ago

    compare it with csp led please

  • @whoguy4231
    @whoguy4231 2 months ago

    I wanted to see if it's feasible to replace a projector lamp with this. Cool

  • @deevee666
    @deevee666 Year ago

    How does just watching this on my LCD hurt my eyes?

  • @pierwmaria
    @pierwmaria Month ago

    loved the test with the mushrooms

  • @Horoshavtsev
    @Horoshavtsev Year ago +1

    Мужик ты крут

  • @0xphk
    @0xphk Year ago +1

    Love your videos and finally ordered a Radiacode102 as I couldn't resist today, thanks for the free shipping ;)