I need some help from those who know about laser line components for odd auto project

I am looking at adding these

puddle lights to my car, but feel I could have a lot more fun with a laser line but do not know a few things...

First I do not know what output I should go for, I know red, ~650nm im not picky, but I want it to be bright enough to be impressive but not blinding. The characteristics of the setup are below:



It's all in inches...

Now would I be happy just to be close, yes, but I wouldn't want the line longer than 135", the length of the vehicle, so at its height a 130° is perfect, I would then just be playing with mounting it so its aimed at the right way to project more rearward than forward.

So I am hoping to do an inexpensive build, powered from a DC-DC step down converter, and it would need to be able to have minimal cooling, even though it would be only on at night, it will not have air flow...

Can I get anyone's thought on this build???

You are looking for a 5-10mW laser line module. If the line is too long, you can use a spatial filter to clip
the beam off at the desired length.

Am i good with one of these:


Or should I try working with one of these:



I know the first is easier but are their any real advantages to the latter??? I cant find any comparative reviews of pro/con...

Your good with the first but you do realize it won't be bright enough to illumiante anything other than the line on the ground. Lasers project a line, leds illuminate an area.

Livinloud said:

Your good with the first but you do realize it won't be bright enough to illumiante anything other than the line on the ground. Lasers project a line, leds illuminate an area.

Click to expand...

Ummm, yes... oke: I know that a laser projects a dot(line in this application) and that LED's illuminate an area... :lasergun:
(not trying to be rude, your presumption just sounded horribly insulting)

Anyway, my intent is to just create a clean line, as an interesting effect, I'm curious how it will look. My main interest is how powerful I should go, I do want it to be impressive but not in any way difficult to look at. Is 5mw going to be enough or do I need to look into 10/15/ect. And what the advantage of the cylindrical lens is, or is there none. Will I get a cleaner line with sharper ends, or should a use some kind of shroud to cut the tips off to get a sharper look. I am quite versed in soldering and basic electronics and fabrication, even been making these for friends lately:




I'm just wanting to avoid buying 3 versions of everything to figure it out... :undecided:

as far as I'm aware...this is risky and horribly illegal...but that's only if they find out.

So I would discourage it. but as long as its low enough power, probably a weak red or something, and Assuming I'm understanding what your intents are correctly...cooling shouldn't be an issue, but I will point out that lasers dislike extreme temperatures, so depending on where you live, you might not see a long life from the diode. if its wet out side, the reflections would be dangerous. technically anything exposed to the public has to be 5mW or under, and you wont see a beam that low except maybe with a green, which will be power heavily unstable and power dependent on temperature, and it wont like the vibrations of the car driving. (unless you use a 520 diode i suppose)

as for the lenses. doing line generating will probably work with both, but you may wish to protect the surface of the lenses as you wont want any rocks/dust getting in there and hitting it. it'll get scratched while driving a lot. you probably wont see a fan like effect from the laser line along side your car without insane powers, which is illegal on so many levels. be careful

It wasn't meant to be insulting but your OP was rather vague. You posted a picturw of a under mirror LED and said you wanted to do that with a laser. Figured you wanted to illuminate the ground like the led did. My bad for not knowing what your intent was.

And yes anything over 5mW will be deemed illegal and probably any laser on a car no matter the power will be deemed illegal and have a hefty fine with it. Better off getting a phatlight led and using that. They come in red blue and green so if red is what you want then you are set

edit: you used the term "puddle light" and a laser is not a light, well it is a light but not in that context hence the beam not illuminate reference. Clear posting helps avoid confusion, same with proper word choice. You are looking for a line not a light

I have no intention on having it on while driving, its going to be a parking light and mainly for novelty and entertainment. If I did decide to use it while driving, I can not find anything stating that a "laser" is illegal, actually, there is a section that states

"Nothing contained in Sections 66-3-801 through 66-3-887 NMSA 1978 shall be construed to prohibit the use of additional parts and accessories on any vehicle which are not inconsistent with the provisions of those sections."

So as I read that and the following 87 sections, nothing implies the prohibition of any kind of focused or directed light unless its in excess of 300 candle power and no part of the high intensity part of the beam is directed further than 75' away from the vehicle:
(Lighted lamps or illuminating devices upon a motor vehicle other than headlamps, spot lamps, auxiliary lamps, flashing turn signals, emergency vehicle warning lamps and school bus warning lamps, which project a beam of light of an intensity greater than three hundred candlepower shall be directed so that no part of the high-intensity portion of the beam strikes the level of the roadway on which the vehicle stands at a distance of more than seventy-five feet from the vehicle.)

Can not have flashing red visible in front of vehicle:
(No person shall drive or move, upon any highway, any vehicle or equipment with a lamp or device thereon displaying a red light visible from directly in front of the center of the vehicle or equipment.)

But I can use it to indicate turning:
(Flashing red lights may be used as warning lights on disabled or parked vehicles and on any vehicle as a means of indicating a turn.)

The only restriction I can find is:
(No stop lamp or signal lamp shall project a glaring or dazzling light.)

Which can vaguely be taken out of context if the ground was wet like mentioned above, but even with intense led lights, which are legal here, you would have the same effect, because lets be honest, a weak red laser projected at 120° to a line 130" long then reflected, very poorly, in a non directional manner at least 6' well not hurt anyone, the glare from a windshield of the sun would 1000X brighter easily...

So I'm not concerned with the legality of it, if anything I well get to win another Minor Traffic hearing and carry another piece of paper in my car proving you cant write me another ticket if it ever happens again...

So i grabbed a couple cheap 5mw 650nm setups that had the 120° lens in it for $4 each just to see how it looks, also grabbed 2 adjustable step down DC->DC converters and 2 12V->5V converters (i know that's like max input power, expect short life) and a bunch of 5mw 650's (lot of 60 for $20, should be fun to play with) to tinker with and inevitably burn up, but I think I might be able to do some interesting effects, Ill let you guys know what i come up with, lol...

If someone knows a fact I'm missing please give me a heads up!!!

You should be fine with that hardware.

Well lasers are not regulated by driving commission, it's based on FDA guidelines. And the CFRs related state that a beam with an intensity of 5mw or greater by emission shall not be viewable to the naked eye on public. Though I don't think you'd have an issue.

Sounds fun tho good luck!

I wouldn't be so sure about "5mW" 650nm diodes... treat them as if they are class IIIb lasers. Also, do you really need 60 laser diodes?? :thinking: haha but good luck, seems to be a pretty solid plan :beer:

hwang21 said:

I wouldn't be so sure about "5mW" 650nm diodes... treat them as if they are class IIIb lasers. Also, do you really need 60 laser diodes?? :thinking: haha but good luck, seems to be a pretty solid plan :beer:

Click to expand...

No, I doubt I need 60, but ill burn most of them up trying different things with them, and at $20 shipped they are pretty disposable... lol