Laser Pointers on Amazon are Getting Out of Hand
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- Опубликовано: 22 ноя 2022
- For actual pet use: amzn.to/3VLauoe Eye protection: amzn.to/3u2LcFe Most powerful: amzn.to/3QODzyS 2nd most: amzn.to/3VF8kG8 $21 Fobserd: amzn.to/3UmaYiH
Are high powered lasers being sold on Amazon anything like what they are advertising? We look at the wishy washy world of laser marketing, and how an otherwise completely legal product is pushing the legal limits by marketing these high powered lasers to the much larger consumer market of childrens pet toys and classroom pointers. 
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To be clear I think you SHOULD be able to buy the laser you want (we linked them above), and it's not illegal at all for them to sell it. If they list it as an industrial laser with class or watt rating it'd even help you find the best deal for the power!
But they won't. Because enthusiast lasers is a small market, so they call them cat toy laser pointers, classroom aids and hiking flashlights which we're pointing at as being stupid. Cuz it is.
FYI, any laser with more than 500mw or so can cause instant, permanent blindness even looking at a diffuse reflection. There's all those sketchy laser pointers, and then there's all those sketchy DIY laser cutters/engravers you'll see out there. Which don't include any form of laser safety enclosure or ventilation options or even tell you that you need one. You REALLY don't want to run a laser cutter with no fume extraction, especially not on acrylic or other materials that emit nasty fumes when burned. You do NOT forget the smell of burning acrylic. Ask me how I know 🤢. Maker's Muse already went into a lot more detail here, ruclips.net/video/-9hIXT8DMUU/видео.html If you're thinking at all about buying a laser cutter, I highly recommend you watch his video first. Even worse than all that are those quack "medical" lasers that StyroPyro covered in this video. ruclips.net/video/DbzbIGkPW-o/видео.html
TL:DR, do your homework about laser safety, going blind instantly is no joke.
@@themagitechie9955 The optional laser head for my benchtop CNC engraver helpfully came with "safety" glasses... that pass blue light, and it's a blue laser. Should I ever use the thing, I'll be wearing real anti-blue laser safety goggles. And maybe even knock together an opaque, or blue-blocking, enclosure, in case I'm not the only lifeform present when it's operating. (Opaque enclosure plus cheap little USB camera on the inside might be best. USB cameras are expendable nowadays.)
@@ericwilner1403 I would highly recommend that second option. Try to build it reasonably airtight so an exhaust blower can maintain enough negative pressure to prevent smoke and fumes from entering the room. Trust me, you don't want to smell burning acrylic, that stuff is quite foul and rather toxic. If you can, make some kind of interlock that cuts power to the laser when the door is open.
@@themagitechie9955 Another reason not to try using it just now... current workspace is in the garage, and dumping fumes overboard is not really practical. I hope to have the detached workshop set up by next Summer, and the plan for that includes a fume ejector of some sort.
It might be worth to add another word of warning, and link this video: ruclips.net/video/9tOcUyakk0Q/видео.html
Short summary, under cold conditions green lasers will have their wavelength shifted to the infrared. That makes them invisible, but not any less dangerous to eyes. If there's no infrared filter fitted, which I assume won't be on those incredible cheap units, it's actually freaking dangerous to eyes. As it's invisible, there's no lid closing reflex and the uneducated isn't aware of what's happening.
The scary thing about many cheap green lasers, is that they use an infrared diode and a frequency doubler crystal to create the green output. If they get cold, the doubler can stop working and it may appear that there's no output, but it's still blasting high power infrared. They also leak a lot of infrared when working correctly.
My old green lazer I bought 15 years ago does exactly this.
mate the sun puts out wayy more IR light than these ir diods. U shouldnt look directly into them but they're pretty much harmless tbh
Came here to say exactly this. Lasers are fun, and useful, but knowing what spectra you're blasting around, and at what strength, is super important.
And even when warm, they can put out many times the power of infrared than visible green. I don't trust green lasers without testing (using a phone camera that can pick up infrared, and a prism/diffraction grating). I actually bought some little green-looking IR filters a while back to glue on to cheap green lasers.
@@anapple998 The sun also shines visible light that the eye react to by shrinking the pupil.
As a laser enthusiast, I’m very concerned with how these high power lasers are marketed. It really bothers me that someone is thinking they’re getting a simple pet toy but is actually getting something that could do significant damage to your pets, or even your eyes.
Exactly this. High powered lasers are friggen awesome. But let's be real about what we're selling for everyone's benefit. Laser hobbyists included
Its fine if you're looking for indoor outdoor teaching camping power point though
@@boulderdashcci That's very true
i long for the good old days when lasers overstated their output instead of lying
Pretty sure if you're in the market and spending 50 dollars on a laser, you know what you're getting.
"Let your pet catch something real before you are done playing", what a wholesome and important message! I always felt laser pointers riled my cats up too much without getting rewards. You obviously like our pet friends.
Such a true statement! Was outside working weeks back, and tree rat was taunting my Morris from a low limb. Went and grabbed Gamo silent cat and a minute later, Morris was treated to a warm, "all natural" and "renewable food source", fresh lunch.
we used to use a laser pointers with our dog and she would go absolutely nuts over it, because we would always hide a treat somewhere and when the chase was over it always lead to the treat
I place treats around corners and under the edge of blankets before breaking out the laser for the grand-kitty. Then occasionally while playing, I will point it to that spot and let him "catch" his reward.
@@marvinheemeyer9768 - great idea for these hopped up lasers. Tree rat roaster!!! Teach them not to use your yard and trees! You could even rig an aiming device with scope and laser mounted to a board. But I wouldn't think of actually doing this to the sweet rats that make my yard all lumpy, chew on my house and drop limbs in my yard.
@@PayNoTaxes0GetNoVote -passive- active aggressive 🤣🤣🤣
Though hunting squirrels with a high power laser sounds like a cool idea
One of the few situations where Chinese manufacturers severely over-deliver. Usually you can take their specs and divide them by two, or sometimes by ten.
Yeah those 9999mAh 18650s and 20,000lm LEDs ain't.
@@nicholasvinen Even had AA batteries in the past that felt awfully light. They save money by putting less battery stuff in a battery.
@@graealex you get what you pay for, theres never been freebies in humankinds history and it aint starting with made in china products, im just sorry the west is becoming so poor you have to buy made in china
Sorry chinese manufacturers r making u buy their crap
Let's just think the Chinese are selling eye safety here and we're back to business as usual.
Another very important point about the cheap green laser pointers (and other cheap green laser products in general) is that they are almost always DPSS lasers, which means they are actually an infrared laser rated at about 5x the output power of the green laser it's a part of behind a nonlinear crystal. The most expensive component of a DPSS laser is usually the IR filter after the nonlinear crystal that prevents the 4/5 of the IR beam that isn't used by the crystal from leaving the laser. It is also technically optional since the laser works without it.
What that means is that cheap green laser pointers are also infrared lasers, and very powerful infrared lasers at that. Infrared bounces off of different things than green light, so the two beams can also end up misaligned with one another, meaning that you can have a visible beam that might even be at a safe intensity, but also an invisible blinding laser beam just bouncing off in some other random direction. If you don't understand what a DPSS laser is and how it works, do not buy cheap green laser pointers, the savings aren't worth your eyes.
can i use them to play CDs though?
or burn CDs, perhaps literally? :)
seriuosly though, this
"Infrared bounces off of different things than green light, so the two beams can also end up misaligned with one another, meaning that you can have a visible beam that might even be at a safe intensity, but also an invisible blinding laser beam just bouncing off in some other "
that's the craziest concern alright
besides the reflective properties of certain colours and materials and how they may still bounce ir to different degrees without you really being able to see any of that behaviour
IR is a lower frequency too and therefor will travel a greater distance for the same energy, and therefor inherently has more potential to make more bounces too, assuming the amplitude is the same (amplitude as a function of, distance * lens angle:wavelength ratio)
easy proof: the old squiggle in the rope, get 2 ropes of a meter, then deform one to make 4 sine waves exactly 10 centimeters from the bottom to the top
now do the same with the other but with 6 waves instead... a lot of horizontal length is now lost to packing density vertically, this is why lower frequencies travel farther for the same beam width
and because of that frequency index of refraction comes into play too when used on water or glass
or even thicker diffuse solid
i mean, diffusion like using a sheet of paper to light up a room with a small flashligh, really is just photons scattering in random erratic directions through the material and spreading the light across a wider surface as a result of those bounces,
i guess you can throw it at a prism and perhaps see a bit of the visible red still get seperated before it goes into ir, also, using the cam on your phone, it usually does have IR filters, but still sees more red than most human eyes do, you can strip the IR filters from webcams quite easily too and use them as ghetto heatcams
What about a cheap red laser?
Appreciate that you said “let your pet catch something real before you’re done” around 7:15 Cats and dogs can get pretty stressed out when they’re not able to catch let alone physically touch the thing they’re chasing and it can really mess with their heads
My cats and dogs don't stress over this.
@@baxs5076 didn't know u can read their minds
@@kathaai It’s not difficult to read their body language. Worrying about their “stress” is idiotic anthropomorphizing them.
@@baxs5076 Stress is a universal trait. It's not limited to humans.
@@baxs5076 dude are you playing dumb or are you actually just dense?? If you want to talk about body language, you can physically SEE the signs of stress in animals. Pacing, raised back and whiskers on end, panting, low or lashing tail, whining, hiding and irrational swiping. And don't tell me you've never smelled the sweaty scent coming off of a dog with bad separation anxiety. I've been working in shelters for about 3 years now, animals absolutely do get stress, it's caused by hormones in the body that we mammals all share like Cortisol, not 'anthropomorphising' them. High prey-drive predators like cats especially get paranoid and frustrated.
It's nice that your pets don't care, good for them to be less stressed out, but many others do.
Many of the green lasers are poorly filtered DPSS lasers as well, so they are far more dangerous that they could appear. As a kid, I have burned my right cornea with one when it got really cold and stopped emitting green, so I stared into the 808nm pump beam; now I have a blur spot in the center of my right vision, and my dominant eye has shifted over to my left eye.
Exactly why the laws were put in place! Of course idiots will break the law and take the consequences!
@@glasslinger If they sold it as a 5mw eye safe laser it's the seller who broke the law. @alexwang007 you may have grounds for a civil suit if the actual (IR) power was much more than 5mw
@@glasslinger ?
@@glasslingerr u dum?
Always saw laser pointers as more of a gimmick as a pet toy. Way more fun to just have them chase some feathers or bundle of old newspaper strips tied to a string. As a bonus that keeps the floor really, really clean.
I'd say these laser pointers might be good for presentations. The 'projection screen just caught on fire' part is just a good excuse to get out of meetings faster. Love it.
Ohai Maya!!
little known fact:
cat's fav toy is an empty toilet paper roll, second, a 6 foot section of floor protection paper (light weight stuff)
silly people.
If the laser is strong enough to set fire to various objects then looking at the spot on the wall without safety goggles will make you blind instantly and no amount of eye surgery will be able to help you, maybe an eye transplant.
I have to argue with the feathers, cause my cat made multiple carnages with both feathers from toys and from birds. Always a pleasure to clean a bloodbath in the tub at 6 AM
My sister's cat is a crackhead for the lazer pointer.
Test the strength of winches. Maybe do a 12k lbs category and then do a smaller atv/utv weight rating category. Adding a hydraulic one would be interesting too
I’ve always wondered the true strength of hydraulic winches. Doesn’t make much sense the army has a 12k winch in a 17000lb Lmtv
@@snakehead5444 Snatch blocks to double or tripple the pulling power.
@@snakehead5444 yes it does. You don't need that much force to get a vehicle to gain some traction. Imagine the force of 3 people pushing the back of a stuck vehicle in mud. 500 pounds would do the job on a sedan, maybe 750 if you want wiggle room.
It would be awesome to see winches tested to failure for both purchase and safety reasons. I for one would like to know wether a winch will fail at the cable, fittings, drum, motor, or base.
This what Project Farm is for. I personally prefer degrees of separation between the two (PF and TTC; it is called TORQUE Test Channel, after all).
These things are legitimately scary. I had the one at 10:44 at one point, but fortunately had the sense to get rid of it quick. The safety equipment I would have needed to not go blind was way more expensive than the laser itself.
Yea good goggles arent cheap, and then you need 3 different ones for red, green and blue lasers (I believe?). And then when youre playing with them you need to make sure the laser cant reflect outside and that nobody can come into the room.
Not worth all the hassle and expenses. Just watch styropyro instead
Laser beans 🤣 Well done! Am I the only one instantly put off by any product that uses the classic shady eBay seller, "cram as many key words in to the listing" style of product description? Maybe if they snuck in a bit of honesty about it, "legally gray laser flashlight torch lighter burning eye flesh melt fire starter office accessory for kids and pets and wild animals and adults and sentient AI".
I'm the same way. I do enjoy some of the more ridiculous ones (for a time), but I also tire of my searches getting bloated by crap that isn't what I'm looking for.
i just look for the best (real) reviews with the lowest price... i've sold stuff on ebay a long time ago for a living so i understand that cramming as many key words in the title helps people find your listing in the sea of junk for sale so they are just trying to make as much money as possible and be profitable... capitalism at it's finest, brought to you by a communist country 😂
Yeah I instantly look for a different listing. Everytime.
@@Hard_Right Except all the junk also has every possible word crammed into the title so how is it helping you stand out from the crowd of junk?
Smart double-entendre inside joke tongue-in-cheek entertaining comment meme gag.
I would love to see you guys do some laser tests on the cheap gun and airsoft lasers. I have a feeling a lot of those are going to be overpowered. Considering the probability of these devices being shined in eyes is even higher, I think it might be worthwhile.
I think you may have a point.
YES I got IRON JIA'S Tactical Combo Green Laser Sight from amazon and LOVE it great setup and seem like a strong laser.
Yes, I think it was hoplopfheil that recently reviewed some airsoft IR laser illuminators because they’re more powerful than what’s available on the civilian market from reputable manufacturers.
Yes
Got a laser for my crossbow.
The laser itself is a fucking weapon. I doubt it'd pop a balloon, but it's powerful enough to light an entire room up with a green glow.
@@daviddavidson2357 >fucking weapon
>can’t pop balloon
Typical crossbow owner
The last laser "pointer" was getting into Lightsaber territory...
It even looked the part!
You guys just keep knocking it out of the park. Every video you post is informative and honest. Plus the unpredictability of the next video keeps the channel interesting. You guys literally have had a positive influence on the tool industry.
Something that he did not point out in this video that I cannot stress enough is that for any of the lasers that exceed 500 mw if you look at the spot on the wall without safety glasses you will have eye damage, so the only reason you should be buying those kinds of lasers is if you're a research lab on a budget or if you know how to handle this crap safely and want to experiment with it. One mistake and it's lights out forever
how is it possible to get eye damage from looking at a spot on the wall? just from the reflection?
@@Platzhalterxy yes it is just from the reflection, the reason why lasers are so dangerous even though their output power may seem pathetic compared to most other things is because the power density is off the charts, it is not that hard to make lasers with a power density greater than that inside of a nuclear reactor (at least compared to what you would think it would take to get something with that kind of power density) a 500 MW laser does not come anywhere near that kind of power but you don't need anywhere near that kind of power to cause significant problems.
And then when you consider the fact that your retina is easily the most fragile part of your entire body (I don't know what the melting point is exactly but I know it's not very high) causing permanent blindness with lasers is actually quite easy once you start getting above like 50 ml power or so
ml is milliliters. Did you mean mw?
@@charlesdada6434 Glad someone else caught that.
@@charlesdada6434 I was tired when I wrote this comment okay cut me some slack here
I have no idea how the "torque" test channel ends up testing lasers....but I love it! Great video, thanks for the information.
Sometimes I forget to wear my eye pro and face shield: I operate a 10 kW peak Nd:YAG LASER. My hands and my watch (316L and sapphire crystal) are always covered in tiny LASER-induced holes.
(On a serious note: A lot of those included safety glasses/goggles are fake. It's super important to only wear certified eyewear for that wavelength range of LASER radiation you will be exposed to)
Uh ... 10kW? ... What is the PPE for that? A 4 inch thick steel plate?
@@alexermergerd Its 10kW for thousandths of a second, its not a constant power laser.
Any old steel plate will do ;)
@@alexermergerd Strictly speaking, I 'should' be operating my rig remotely. I typically work in the ~1000nm wavelength so it's essentially a beam of heat. Unfortunately, stray reflections are wiley.
Glasses under a face shield, and typical flash protection for incidental UV radiation.
@@jakegarrett8109 Indeed.
I, however, have been told by our engineer that our setup has a potential +300 W constant. I'm certain that the cooling system would not last but a few minutes.
I typically run a pulse width of 5 - 7 ms to manage chamber heat but I could max out at 50 ms.
Colleagues run "big boy" LASER rigs for heavy industry. How does one deposit Tungsten Carbide for wear build-up onto CrMo shaft stock for a massive mining machine? Constant output LASERs the size of a school bus and a lot angry pixies.
@@ALAPINO You'd probably be fine for a while unless you just stood there for a minute in direct path, wouldn't recommend standing in front of any powerful laser that long, haha!
They sell some really cheap arrays that are over 100w continuous, which would be cool as a laser weapon (I want to convert my vintage Star Wars blaster into a real one, with laser safety lenses inside its fake scope so its always with the blaster). Plus if I get a metal 3d printer they use fiber lasers that are at or above 200w continuous and capable of fusing stainless steel and titanium for printing.
After this video and reading some horror story online about a guy who got swiped in the eye by his laser while it fell off a table while on and now needs a $8000 surgery, I canceled my order.
I thought it'd be a fun thing to own and I like spending money on stupid things... but I've concluded it's more trouble than it's worth and I don't even wanna risk owning something that can cause permanent damage to me or anyone else. Plus knowing me I'd get bored of it in a week anyway
"I don't even wanna risk owning something that can cause permanent damage to me or anyone else". Do you own a car?
Well, you've gotta do some research first, wearing proper safety goggles, using it when nobodys around including animals etc.
I own lasers 20-500 times stronger than these in this video, and I have never ignored any safety precaution. And here I am enjoying the hobby I started over a decade ago.
I'm not a safety Karen by any stretch of the imagination, but I will say be very careful with ANY laser around a pet. Not so much because of eye damage, but because they can trigger some very serious obsessive compulsive behaviors, particularly in dogs. I have a German Shepherd that I let play with a laser pointer for a few minutes, and the next several hours she was obsessively looking for it. I realized what was going and didn't do that anymore. A few years an HVAC contractor came in with a laser IR thermometer, and she saw the dot and started reacting the same way, only worse. I did some research and found that this is not uncommon. For cats, you apparently need to let them "catch it" periodically. They usually lose interest at that point, but after a few hours or a day, they'll have that same interest, right up until they catch it again.
Have two cats. Yeah this is totally true. My cats go crazy when the pointer comes out. And then get depressed that they couldn’t “hunt” the pointer and actually catch it.
I don’t do that any more. It’s too much of an emotional up and down for them.
My friends dog went mad from chasing a laser pointer, that little red dot drove it insane and he had so shoot the dog in the end
My family friend had a chocolate lab who would seriously freak out about laser pointers.
But I found a way to play with him with them that would leave him satisfied.
When he caught up with it, he would try to lick it up. And when I turned it off right then he'd be satisfied that he "ate" it.
If I didn't he'd start going a bit crazy.
@@FerralVideo lol typical lab. Have a problem? Solution: eat it
@@FerralVideo I did that for my cats too, when they put the paw down on it I'd turn it off till they lifted so it would run away, then when they were near done they'd go in for a bite and "eat" it and then it would get its petting. First time it looked terrified thinking it actually ate this mysterious laser and tried spitting it out, haha!
Mine were smart enough to know it was a toy, they figured out me holding a pen and movement corelating pretty fast, but they enjoyed it and for my older cat who didn't want to go outside in the cold and wasn't getting much exercise the toy kept it happy and in good shape. Also bonus, they loved it and got super tunnel focused on it, so you could play for a bit, then target a parent (or sibling if you had one), and they'd go flying across the room with claws out and stick to their shirt or to the couch or whatever before realizing they just leaped onto a person, haha! Who needs heat seeking when you got laser guided kitties!
If you plan to test lasers in the future, I would sugest to also add a spectrum test. These cheap lasers usually do not only produce the bandwidth they are said to produce, but you have good chances to find some other beams over there. A quality one will only make what the specifications say.
- How dangerous do you want your childrens toy to be?
- Yes.
Remember lawn darts?
@@heypaul7646 I loved that game!! Right up until my parents threw it away lol.
I don't know, they could probably cram some lead and asbestos in there somehow. Eye danger is just one type of danger 😁
Shopping for a laser pointer on Amazon last night and this pops up today. Get out of my brain.
He's onto us
@@TorqueTestChannel Turns out he's a cat. Nags the cat, to be precise. So until he learns how to read a credit card (not just browse) you're safe.
I'll second those that suggest testing laser safety glasses, if you could put out a video with results from "shady" to professional glasses (of different wavelengths) that would be super.
shady shades 😎
@@SidShakal, "our conclusion is that eight out of ten shades were not shady enough, or were too shady, depending on how you want to put it".
You're doing a public service by making these videos. It's clear amazon has zero quality control on what it allows others to sell. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Wut?
Why would Amazon have any quality control over products other people make? The manufacturers do QC, not retailers.
@@theKashConnoisseur I meant they don't vet anything. People shouldn't just be able to straight up lie about what they are selling though Amazon.
@@Dharleth82 How would you propose that Amazon go about testing the truthfulness of the claims on every single product being sold by every single seller? Honestly, I'd love to hear ideas that wouldn't cost the company (and in turn the Amazon users) millions per year.
Importantly, no claims of laser power seem to have been made at all on these products, meaning there's nothing to disprove by showing that they are overpowered. Is spamming keywords in the title of your product lying, in a legal sense? I don't think so. Technically, you can use these for the dog, cat, classroom, teaching, hunting, etc. Yes, you'll possibly blind everyone involved, but these lasers still function for all those purposes while you and your subjects retain some amount of vision.
There's a reason why "caveat emptor" is apart of legal doctrine. Buyer Beware, it's up to the buyer to determine the quality of the product by doing their own research. Such as watching videos like this which independently test product claims!
I knew a guy in high school who had one of these high powered lasers. I shined it at the concrete floor and just the reflection of it gave me auras that didn’t go away for a while. I’m pretty sure I gave myself some minor permanent damage, I get sensitive to bright lights more than I used to.
Cool, portable back alley Lasik machines.
Do not look directly into laser with remaining good eye 👁
Interesting and kind of disturbing that these are so readily available, especially given that there are such a large number of brain surgeons and rocket scientists that like to point lasers and commercial airliners during take-off and landing
Disturbing? You must be easily disturbed. I Havern't read of a single aircraft falling out of the sky because of it. Overhyped, overblown bullshit.
Yeah, I agree. Pointing a laser at any aircraft is a federal crime and can get you up to 5 years in prison, and $10,000+ in fines from the FAA. So to anyone reading this... don't get any bright ideas. You could literally blind/dazzle a pilot with who-knows-how-many people onboard their aircraft and would all be at risk and potentially anyone below them if they were to crash
@@Perkeletricksterservantofrher explain.
The heck r u saying
I use a green laser pointer outside here in South Florida for work purposes. I’m a Certified Arborist and frequently have to point things out high up in the canopies of various trees and palms. Much easier to do with a laser pointer than with your finger!
Unless you get a finglonger
You should have tested whether these lasers emit potentially dangerous UV or IR laser energy that isn't visible. I read many green ones are actually emitting more than just green.
2:12 - 5 mW is not 0.05W. It's 0.005W. That's a huge difference in power (a full order of magnitude).
Came here to say this.
0.05W is 50 mW. 0.005W is 5mW.
You should test holiday light show lasers. The $20 cheap star shine type things.
I have permanent spots in my vision from glancing at a blue snowflake rotating light projector a few years ago
Those Things are no joke. They are basicly cheaper and simpler versions of Lasers used for stage and lighting applications. Most of the time they are class 3 a/b Lasers so they pack quiet a punch. I got permanent eye damage from playing around with them when I got my first Stage Laser.
Lasers are pretty terrifying. Like, just the idea of how hazardous it is to eyes.
I love your commentary 👌😂
Great and precise video as always but your sarcastic and 'I forgot which way we are rooting here' comments make that a amazing video. Thanks for your work and making me smile!
Another awesome video. I love how you guys are branching out but still staying you. Keep making videos like these
More impressed by your ability to hold back the chuckle when saying "FOBSERD" for the first time than any of the observed power levels!
I love this channel. It reminds me of when Project Farm started and then it exploded into one of the best tool review channels on RUclips. You have that same potential. Keep up the great work.
Also, be careful about pointing high powered lasers at the sky. It's a federal offense if you happen to point your laser at aircraft, even by accident.
@MrComfyFrog. a circular spinning motion not directly at the aircraft to get their attention i guess. If someone sees it, they may report it. It would be ideal if people are already looking for you, by making some sort of distress call.
@@mrcomfyfrog.1519 I have a feeling that's an acceptable situation.
@MrComfyFrog. I think they might make an exception one time if your life is in danger, as for a lot of things.
@@SRQmoviemakeri doubt it. Risk an entire jet because 1 person is lost?
@ATadBitNefarious how could they possibly track down the person from miles away just off a laser they saw for a split second lol
I bought a green laser from Amazon, came in a "tactical" case with one of those larger batteries. Took it out on a rainy night after fully charging it and woah yeah much brighter than I thought. Made the mistake of pointing it at a glass of water in my kitchen, I was seeing spots for hours (No goggles). It scorches paper and I refuse to use it without safety goggles and as far away from people as possible. Thanks for the insight, most people don't understand how dangerous they can be. Subscribed.
Someone recently complained on a flashlight forum about the laser function onna new light model. Saying how "cheap $25 lasers on eBay are better" and someone pointed out those are illegal, that the one he is calling junk is from a legit company that stays legal.
That entire conversation makes so much more sense now, no telling what that guy was buying.
How about testing the output of the amazon laser levels with this rig? I wonder about the output of the green laser "4d" ones in particular.
WOW! Awesomely informative, and scary as hell! Outstanding work TTC crew, keep it up. Bring on some more of those lying flashlight manufacturers please.
I remember when i was a very little kid playing with laser pointers, and i would point it directly at my eye (with my eye closed) so i could see the red light, if i were given any of these, i would probably be blind today
In graduate school, I did quantum electronics -- lots of lasers. Even the very low power lasers (the ones 5W and less) can cause noticeable eye damage over time with sufficient exposure. I, personally, would not recommend using them as toys for kids and pets. And, if you're around laser scanners (grocery stores, garage gates), I recommend you consciously avoid looking at the laser. When I'm at clubs that use laser lighting, I either find a way to avoid looking at the lasers or I leave. If you work at a place that uses lasers (say, if you're a grocery store checker, warehouse scanner or a club DJ), you'll want to be extra careful because you'll be around the lasers all day, and it is the continuous long-term exposure that can be dangerous with low-power lasers. When I was in school (1980s), lasers as strong as the lasers used by many clubs today would have required a health physics audit and warning signs -- I'm not sure why the regulations changed (or maybe they didn't, and everyone just ignores the regulations).
Lasers used in old barcode scanners, modern designs just use red LED lighting and an image sensor, are class 1 and therefore eye safe, there can't be any cumulative damage. Same for show lasers, while they might easily fall into class 4 and are extremely dangerous on their own, laser show operators must ensure that exposure of the general public stays within safe limits. Now sadly you shouldn't really trust laser show operators, since some of them might simply operate illegally or are stupid. For a new year party, my town set up a laser show on the main town square. I had a show laser set up and pointing right into my living room window. Metal window blinds really can save you from dangers you never could've imagined...
The use of laser rated goggles for the higher output units cannot be overstated.
Eye damage or blindness can occur in an instant even from a reflection, and is permanent, as in irreversible. So beware, and please do not give them to your children.
i like how a old vaping mod tube got turned into a laser pointer. yes back around 2013 there was a mod that looked like the last laser pointer.
One kind of scary but also kind of cool thing is that lasers can get a LOT more powerful than the ones shown. I work with a 130-watt laser and the terrifying thing about that one (apart from, y'know, 130 watts) is that it's infrared so if you're unfortunate enough to get your eye in one of the beam paths you won't even get to see it before you hear the fluid behind your eyeballs boil away and you go permanently blind. The one I work with is over $150K because it's from a reputable company and it has to have incredibly optimized specs and not just a boatload of power, but I believe Styropyro did a video where he found a medical laser of similar power for under $1K on eBay because it was broken but only needed some minor repairs so this stuff is out there if you know what to look for.
Did not think I would like watching this but that was eye-opening. You guys always bring good stuff to the channel. (We own the exact laser pointer your fam has for our cat) Thank you!
Eye-opening... or eye closing if you're not careful
Have fun and do not fry the cat.
I was grimacing watching this as if the laser could injure me through the screen. It really angers me these manufacturers are endangering people and pets. I am terrified that I could have bought a laser that could have injured my cats if I hadn’t seen your video. Thankfully, I have the same one we got (cheaply), from the pet store and I am pretty confident it hasn’t and won’t injury anyone. Thank you for sharing ❤
This has quickly become one of my favorite channels.
Here in the uk its advised that laser pointers or laser toys should be 1mw or below and a wavelength between 400/700 nm
Really interessting results. keeping with Lasers, could you do a test on Tool Lasers like used on Drill presses, Miter/Tablesaws etc. ? I've found many of them kinda underwhelming and badly visible especially in brighter daylight or outdoor conditions. keep it up.
Probably because they're in spec at 5 milliwatts.
As styropyro has repeatedly pointed out. Not only are the laser pointers you can get from sites like Amazon and Ebay not trust worthy, the safety equipment isn't trustworthy either.
anyone interested in lasering should def checkout styropyro's videos. he goes very in depth as to why these lasers can be very dangerous, the safety equipment needed, proper handling, etc.
Where can i buy a trustworthy laser?
@@dabeaniebeaner Unfortunately I don't know. The vast majority of all laser pointers are made in China, and its next to impossible to know which are being honest about their output power unless you go the route of testing them yourself.
But as long as you're careful with the laser and only use it outside, it shouldn't matter too much if manufacturers are lying about their power.
@@matrix3509 would it be better if i ordered a laser pointer that was in this video since it has already been tested? I was thinking of ordering the 2nd laser in the video
Edit: the $18 red laser pointer, 26x, 128mw
I love this content. You and Project Farm are some of my favorite review/testing channels. This video helped me pick my evil genius lazy to get Mr. Bond to talk.
I don’t usually think like this, but I’d say this video perfectly encapsulates the spirit of being a chaotic neutral.
If you want to get a quicker/maybe more accurate laser power meter, I used one from ThorLabs when I was in grad school. It used a silicon diode so it was good from 200-1100 nm and was instant read. I can also confirm that ThorLabs will ship to a residential address.
Good ideas coming in. They should compare laser power meters and safety goggles.
I’d love to see bolt extractors and screw type broken bolt extractors tested. It’s be a pretty easy test to do and it could be done with your existing setup.
project farm has some good content like that if you need to find a good extractor
I like how with last ones you can also see the unfocused IR "halo" around the real spot on camera.
The flashlights and horns are hilariously underpowered compared to their specs, while the lasers are dangerously overpowered. I think that's just hilarious.
Your measures are very useful for the safety of users. As for judging the quality of the laser, you might want to also measure the power of the green lasers behind an IR blocking filter: often cheap green lasers use a low quality filter, or none at all, and they emit a large amount of 808 and 1064 nm, which are usesless regarding range, and dangerous. So a well filtered 10mW laser (10mW 532nm + 0 IR) would be much more visible than a loosely filtered one with a total power of 50mW = 2mW 532 + 48mW IR
On the fobserd mine came with an orifice that increased how diffuse the laser is (aka the size of the dot at range), this dramatically decreases the optical density (energy per dot area) which can make it closer to "eye safe" (a relative term based on 10 seconds continuous exposure not causing permanent damage). Fully diffused I use the laser with my dog on our 5 acres. At the ranges I'm looking at and eye exposures of fractions of a second at worse he should be fine. I was qualified as a laser safety officer in the navy, so in my case I have some informed consent here, I understand the device, the risk and made a choice. Unfortunately most people buying these lasers are clueless and can and will unintentionally blind themselves, friends family, airline pilots, sports ball players and their pets... Seriously, do some due diligence when buying these because the government isn't enforcing its own laws these days, expect zero consumer protection
I can personally confirm that the Fobserd can cause permanent eye damage.
The build quality of mine was crap so the thing would turn on if I so much as breathed on the button. One thing led to another and now I have myself a blindspot in the center of my vision in my right eye.
Blue and especially purple lasers are often MUCH more powerful than they appear, as much of the energy can be in the UV range! some unfiltered green lasers can also have strong infrared components that are dangerous! A lot of the energy is completely invisible to the naked eye and with powerful lasers, even looking at the laser point on a surface might be enough to cause eye damage. Additionally, you need to ensure that any safety glasses you use filter out the right wavelengths for your laser, or they won’t help at all (they have to let through some of the light so you can see)
>0.5W lasers are INCREDIBLY dangerous, they should not be used without safety glasses under any circumstances, and the fact that they’re speced over 100fold low is scary as hell
Would be nice to have power wavelength measurements as some of these different colour lasers have a lot of IR power from poor frequency conversion and filtering. It’s quite a surprise to find a dull looking pointer with 3mW of visible and 20mW of invisible.
It’s funny when the lower number is better, good job raising the issue though.
Bezackly.
Specifically, the green lasers are almost always frequency-doubled diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers (DPSS: diode-pumped solid state, plus the doubler), so there are two strong IR wavelengths present in addition to the visible green. Cheap lasers don't generally include a filter to block the IR emissions, so the apparent brightness of the beam isn't a good indication of the total power.
I went looking for a cat toy built around a direct-green laser (no IR involved); failing to find one, I ordered a batch of direct-green modules, which should be turning up in a week or so. If those seem safe, I'll build a pointer around one for safe cat-teasage. (Have to dig out the ol' power meter from storage.)
isn't there something about beam width too? I seem to remember Chauvet or ADJ or one of those brands coming out with higher mw "fat" lasers to bypass the variance requirements for live production.
@@ericwilner1403 Plus, the filters, if present, are less efficient at colder temperatures. So, hopefully, you're playing with Fluffy inside and not out in the snow...
@@jdev0203 Ah. I knew the doublers get out of alignment if the temperature isn't Just So, leading to the green fading away (and presumably the IR continuing to come out at full blast, despite the appearance that nothing's happening). Hadn't realized there was also an issue with the filters.
@@ericwilner1403 RIght right! That's what I meant, the doubler, not the filter. My mistake.
I bought the Fosberd green one after seeing it used to point out specific stars outside a local observatory. I use it to point out damage on the outside of homes in broad daylight. It is very visible and works very well. The charge port isn’t very sturdy, but it’s only about $25.
And you could unwittingly flash a pilot. Happens fairly often.
@@chrisprimavera7607 I don’t think anyone could unwillingly do that. Aiming at a moving target takes effort.
@@billthepainter5106 ruclips.net/video/Ik3Nt6LqK4I/видео.html
@@billthepainter5106 you absolutely can. it's the same idea as shooting a gun upward. You dont know where it's gonna go or what's out there so just don't do it. green lasers are super dangerous.
Thanks for the rave review! I will definitely go buy that illegal wattage laser pointer that can burn my retinas now 😄
I have been hit with lasers twice flying at night in the Montréal region, the first time I got hit right in the eye and had trouble seeing for a few minutes afterwards.
Authorities were called both times but the offenders were never caught.
It's a several thousand dollar fine and can result in prison time.
I've had the last one shown at the beginning, for a few years now. It's very powerful.
The liability suit brought against Amazon when someone is seriously hurt by one of the "5mw" lasers... would change this all very quickly. Hopefully they will change this before there is a horrible injury but lets face it... it's all about money to Amazon.
@MrComfyFrog. no, this is a truth in advertising and safety issue. It's like selling someone what is supposed to be dilute acid but in reality it's concentrated. Do we now have to test everything assuming we're not being told the truth? And this has zero to do with liberty. You can go buy high power lasers. No one is stopping you.
@MrComfyFrog. You need to watch the video again. TTC clearly discusses the problem of the laser ppointers power and that you can go buy powerful lasers which are "intended" to be powerful.
@MrComfyFrog. what a idiotic comment
I searched class 1 laser pointers, unfortunately nobody seems to be selling those.
With that first cheap green one, I have one that will deplete fully charged AAA batteries, so I hooked it up to a usb power bank, and it REALLY shines now. Lasts for an extremely long time too!
You've far surpassed project farm. I still love his channel but you are dominating these product testing
Fun fact: playing with a laser with your dog can cause it to develop OCD, and may result in your dog obsessively chasing shadows and lights. This happened to my service dog!!
Have you considered testing CFM on off road compressors? Brands like VIAIR, ARB, GSPCN, Smittybilt ect. who advertise 2.5 to 6.35.
I wanted to get a laserpointer from amazon for my crossbow to calibrate my self printed attachments more easy. Glad I asked a friend of mine, a passionate rave and laser lover, before buying. He just looked at me like I´m stupid or something and gifted me one that perfectly fits my purpose without burning my targets to ash. :P
Love that crazy dude.
10:06 "I forget which way we're rooting for here"
You were supposed to join them, not stop them Anakin
I'm not sure amazon completely ignores these. Having watched that space a little bit it seems to be the trend is that they will appear for a short time under one listing/name, then disappear, then reappear slightly re-packaged and re-described. For example I have a solidkraft style one but did not come with the clamshell case. For me it's selling point was it was not "keyed" as many of them were at the time. Obviously claiming 5mw every time means that Amazon or their compliance contractors have to test them. But of course I was after a green laser to point at features on large venue roofs from the ground, I wasn't trying to buy a cat toy.
I think it's just a game of whack a mole. But too profitable for the individuals to stop popping up again and again.
/me jumps on amazon to buy the most dangerous of the group
I almost got the scary blue one.
I read the reviews and there was a comment warning people that the safety glasses are well suited to the laser it came with.
Cats eyes are much more sensitive than ours, which just makes these lasers so much worse for them. Also it's a lazy way to "play" with your cat, it just leaves them frustrated, and there is no bonding at all.
I've got one like that silver one, marketed as "5w". Removable 16340s that run down "very" fast. It'd probably benefit from "baller" cells.
An 18650 fits, and reduces output power to "cat toy at night" levels. It came bundled with a "real" red 5mw pencil pointer, like the ones that you tested and ran first.
It also came with five disco lenses. I'm sorry, but when I focus it I can burn wood from arm level. I'm *not* using those disco lenses.
I'm even hesitant to fire it "up" at the clouds because I know that thing's probably got enough beans to bother an AIRLINE PILOT at 30,000ft.
it'll get so spread out after a couple miles that it won't be an issue, sure it might be visible but the spot size is governed by the laws of physics and gaussian beam behavior so if it had the power to get 6 miles up the spot size would be larger than the whole plane
Which one would be the best for eliminating the Kardashians?
I was looking to buy these exact Meusno laser pointers to use with my pets, and was refered to this video, drom an Amazon review.
Thank you so much for testing these. I had NO idea these could be dangerous. 😣
Thanks for this. I've got a friend who thought red lasers were always safe. This finally got through to him.
Since you have the laser strength tester - how about testing a bunch of laser safety glasses? I have a few in my cart right now, and am about to pull the trigger. 10600nm testing would be super awesome.
Safe to assume you meant 10-600nm? ☺️
Although, fittingly, 10600nm DOES sound _very_ eBay/Amazon/AliExpress! hahaha
CO2 laser. 10.6um which is 10,600nm.
@@DrFiero Well, shit! Even as a sciencey type guy, I thought they capped out at 1000!
I am humbled _(but not ashamed!)_ by my sheer wrongness 😅
Thanks!
_[edit: oh, and as a Firechicken 🔥🐓 owner, I definitely have a soft spot for the Fieros; the Formulas, specifically, since that's what my Firebirds have been ❤️🤘]_
This has me curious what the output of laser levels from brands like dewalt, Klein, and Bosch are since those are on job sites all the time and isn’t uncommon to be placed at an eye level height.
This would be interesting to see. I've heard few times guys feeling actual pain accidentally looking into line lasers in jobsites. I've hit my eyes few times accidentally too and for sure it isn't pleasant even with the common "reds". I wonder how some of the green ones are. Never saw one at work (yet).
My guess would be that they are very weak, for one thing they are big companies that can't get away with ignoring the law or misleading customers without lawsuits. Additionally I wouldn't think it would take a very powerful laser to do the job they intend, but maybe I'm wrong.
@@BriBCG actually they need to be fairly powerful cause laser lines disappear easily in lit conditions. I have the older red line laser and it's getting pretty hard to work with only about 10m distance in brightly lit areas.
Stuff like this reminds me about that news from few years ago where bunch of people had been pretty much blinded cause some noob had gone bit too far with the light show. It was some pretty huge night club.
Thank you. I've been looking for a blue laser for when I wear my sports' suit during my indoor camping trips.
I tried to buy a simple green laser pointer for some sky pointing. (Like, a nice basic legal one, I think billed as 5mW) Given the way the dot looks, and the fact I can see the beam indoors in a house with no measurable particulates in the air... I'm reasonably certain it's massively overpowered. Maybe the 18650 was a clue? But I wanted a rechargeable one... Long story short, I don't use it inside anymore, as a precaution. Which means I would still like a weak green laser pointer for normal pointing purposes...
I bought the same green one on amazon... wow wasn’t expecting to literally get burnt if you put your hand in front of it.
If you can see the beam indoors with lights on, then it's probably above 5mw. Seeing the beam means that you can move it back and forth and still see it, rather than being able to faintly see a stationary beam while you're looking directly down it. You'll be able to just make out a 5mw beam with lights on, and you'll certainly see the beam without lights. It won't be bright, but it will be visible. I've never seen a 5mw pointer with an 18650 battery though, that would essentially last several weeks powered on.
Do you live in a clean room? No residential house has "no measurable particulates in the air". People are always shedding cells. We are walking dust clouds.
@@jssamp4442 well, no measurable counts on my particulate sensor. There's still obviously particulates since I can see the beam, and since allergies still happen.
My school thought it was perfectly fine to buy some of these lasers and use them for a theater project what a nightmare I looked away from the theater because they were pointing at night the actors because it was supposed to be like a fairy in Peter and the starcatcher later on they left it in one of the bins and one of the guys picked it up and started pointing at people I told him how it was dangerous but I wasn't believed at all
thanks to your video I purchased the ''indoor camping'' laser light, (second to deadliest one on this list) and I must say it's a thrill to camp indoors with this thing
love this video with the lowkey sarcasm and humor 😂
Wow, I didn't realize that laser pointers have become what I expected them to be when they first came out. I was in middle school I know it was middle school because I got caught stealing one from my teachers desk. I remember him saying it was $80 but as far as I remember it was about what you can get at Walmart in the checkout lane by the candy bars for $5 nowadays. This was a great video
He probably wasn't exaggerating. When I first became familiar with them in the 90s, they were considered a pretty high tech, luxury "business" item (a "pointer" to easily direct attention during a presentation.) I do remember them being _quite_ expensive initially, though the prices dropped fairly quickly.
I actually own one of the examples here on display and use it for playing with my cats. Interested to watch. I don't use them much and of course don't purposefully try to put it into their eyes, but yeah.
This is one of the major issues with buying online compared to going to the shops. They wouldn't sell these laser pointers in a shop. But on amazon they will they will sell dangerous items, often with quality issues due to it not being able to see the product before you buy it. Most things you buy li e about what they are it's just become standard to create false stats on Amazon, let alone the number of things I've bought that just don't work. Yet Amazon won't do anything as it makes them more money this way.
The smiiley face was priceless 😆
I was sort of surprised that the lasers were "better" than legal limit. As opposed to amazon flashlight reviews I've seen that were often much weaker (fewer lumens) than they pretended to be.
The Chinese give you 1 to 5 % what you wanted and paid for and 95 to 99 % something else.
Man don’t get these things banned. My dreams of having sharks with freaking lasers has never been closer !!!
...one simple request!!
I work in ophthalmology and our retina laser regularly does laser surgery at 0.15 to 0.2 watts. So just to think that those kinds of lasers are out and about willy-nilly is kind of scary
Thank you! My teacher in college always used a super annoying green laser on the white projector matt. It always bugged me trying to look at what he was pointing at. He was probably rocking something more powerful than he thought. This kind of video is super helpful for recognizing that bs should probably stay out of the classroom. At least on those reflective surfaces. Thanks again!
MORE LASER TESTS PLEASE!! This was awesome, and yes, yes I did order the most dangerous one. Because, lasers...