Error in the text: 1000mW laser with 532nm wavelength which is green light.

1000nm light is infrared.

  • FishFace@piefed.socialEnglish
    102·
    3 months ago

    That would be a class IV laser and dangerous to eyesight merely from the light scattered off surfaces you point it at. If you point it at a camera and watch what is happening for a while you could get irreversible eye damage.

    There is nothing special about cameras that makes them vulnerable - if you shine such a laser at a person, you’ll likely burn them too. If the beam shines or bounces into your eye, you will likely burn your retina before you can even blink.

    This is not a meme or a shitpost, it is very dangerous.

        • brbposting@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          3 months ago

          Aircraft don’t always have transponders on so can’t rely on flight trackers

          Imagine blinding a [military] pilot even just for the briefest moment. We can’t keep them in the sky on a good day for reasons I don’t understand (they’ll hit commercial aircraft or vice versa!)

          Places like Santa Cruz simply fought these spy cams with their voices. Riseeee upppp, no votes for any city councilpeople who are OK Flocking up their own turf

      • stray@pawb.socialEnglish
        10·
        3 months ago

        Also give eye protection to literally everyone else who might be standing anywhere in the reflective range of the cover, lens, mirrors, and any shiny metallic objects. These lasers can do damage before you even blink.

        e: This includes non-human animals as well. If you’re okay with potentially blinding a bunch of innocent corvids I guess that’s on you.

    • grahamja@reddthat.comEnglish
      6·
      3 months ago

      My laser range safety officer class forced me to learn about making sure the range was clear of any metalic objects that could reflect the laser back to the firing point, blinding a shooter. We always just shot during the day instead. Don’t these cameras have a glossy finish on a curved chassis that could just… reflect the laser almost anywhere?

  • monotremata@lemmy.caEnglish
    56·
    3 months ago

    A laser pointer is supposed to be limited to a maximum of 5mW, so these are really freaking powerful (200 times stronger). I don’t have experience with lasers that strong, because I value my eyesight, and that of my pets. Please learn more about lasers than I know before purchasing something like this.

    • femtek@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      17·
      3 months ago

      A lot of the lazers from non reputable brands have are more powerful than rated, I think it was styropyro that has videos of it. But also a few sites sell 1w lasers and also it’s easy to make as well.

      • monotremata@lemmy.caEnglish
        8·
        3 months ago

        Yeah, I certainly wasn’t saying these would be hard to get. And yeah, a lot of cheap laser pointers are also dangerous. What I’m saying is basically, “Hey, this is potentially dangerous, read up on this before you reach for your credit card.”

      • auntieclokwise@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 months ago

        And there’s lots where they use frequency doubling to make the laser light while having very poor filtering. Meaning that not only is the visible part of the light very dangerous, but the invisible light (which may have unpredictable patterns) can be even higher wattage and far more dangerous because you don’t even know its there.

  • morto@piefed.socialEnglish
    23·
    3 months ago

    A tip for you all when you need to damage small objects without getting caught:

    Make the best slingshot you can, train your aim and shooting strength, wait for a heavy rain day and shoot ice cubes at it. The rain will impair visibility and muffle the impact sounds, making it much harder to spot you, and there will be no evidence of what hit the object. Also, there’s nothing illegal about having a slingshot with you. The rain can make it harder to hit the object, but a few attempts will allow to learn compensate for it

    • Cevilia (they/she/…)@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      6·
      3 months ago

      Where I live, police can draw assumptions from the fact you have a slingshot with you, and arrest you based on those assumptions. So you’d need to have a damn good reason you’re carrying a slingshot prepared in advance.

  • snoons@lemmy.caOPEnglish
    21·
    3 months ago

    WARNING: Definitely DO NOT point a [1000mW, 532nm laser] at Flock cameras. It totally won’t damage the sensor and render the camera ineffective. So please don’t consider it, okay?

    • kivihiili@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      you are completely right, but there is a funny thing about many “green” lasers: it is common for them (including this one) to be infrared lasers in disguise, which pump crystals to achieve shorter wavelengths, in this case green. the infrared wavelengths emitted internally look to usually be closer to 800nm, but it is entirely possible to remove the crystal (and IR filter, if there is one) in even a weaker green laser and have a reasonably bright infrared laser!

      of course, there is still a blinding hazard, despite IR not being visible to the eye, beyond perhaps a faint red speck on a surface; even some unmodified cheaper diode-pumped green lasers can leak lots of infrared light through! diode pumping is not a very efficient process, so the strength of the internal laser diode must considerable for an acceptable output of green light. of course, this does mean that if you do want an infrared laser, it’s not the trickiest thing ever.

      stay safe and have fun!

  • ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.orgEnglish
    9·
    3 months ago

    To hit the sensor, you need to be in shot (by definition). Remember that walking patterns and other minutia can help identify you.

    • snoons@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      Yes, a big one for me is the distance between your eyes. I see so many people covering their face but not their eyes and the bridge of their nose.

  • FatherPeanut@pawb.socialEnglish
    6·
    3 months ago

    Also worth noting: Flock cameras and most other ALPRs operate at 840nm, which is perfect for purchasing IR LEDs at their operating wavelength, so you can hide them behind a license plate border to toggle on whenever you drive past one to wash out any details they could pickup.

    But a police officer would definitely be pulling you over and citing you if they catch that, so like, be sneaky or vigilant with its use.