DVD laser retrofitted into Mini Mag flashlight
If you've ever been memorized by the eerie glow of a laser diode (that would be everybody, no?), and don't mind hacking up a spare DVD drive in order to craft your own laser-based flashlight, this here project is all you. By extracting the laser diode from an unused DVD optical drive and obtaining an AixiZ Laser Module, a Mini Mag, and an assortment of fairly common tools, the laser that formerly read your flicks can now light your way. Of course, you should realize that beaming any living thing in the eyes with such a device is unsafe (and frankly, downright unkind), but feel free to hit the read link below, check the vid after the jump, and get to work if your trusty flashlight just isn't brightening your 
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
omnicloud @ Aug 10th 2007 7:08AM
Yes... if it can light a match, I'd rather someone not shine one of those in my eyes.
P.S. And isn't it mesmerized, not memorized?
Tim @ Aug 10th 2007 8:14AM
He's got a "Laser".
Jagannath A @ Aug 10th 2007 10:36AM
a few years back one of my CD's burst into pieces in the Drive while playing mp3 songs randomly from it... i was scared like hell...
dunno why but i get the same feeling now :S
chase acton @ Aug 12th 2007 12:16PM
yes, now we can light fireworks from long distance
bi0hazard @ Oct 27th 2007 11:05AM
IMMA FIRIN' MAH LAZER!
Bernhard @ Aug 10th 2007 7:14AM
You could use that to corrupt DVD-Rs
ashokm @ Aug 10th 2007 7:17AM
That is an irresponsible DIY video - this laser can blind you in matter of microseconds - way before the reflex kicks in to shut your eyes!
Jagannath A @ Aug 10th 2007 10:40AM
i see a bunch of one-eyed fools in a long queue before the opthamologist's clinic....
David @ Aug 10th 2007 1:53PM
Now, look into the laser with your one good eye...
Dean Lowe @ Aug 10th 2007 1:56PM
What's next pipe bomb how-to videos?
Jeebus, talk about irresponsible.
jay @ Aug 10th 2007 7:17AM
wasn't this posted in 95 then on giz.... neat diy tho... you can go around popping little girls balloons at parks.... j/k
yoshi @ Aug 10th 2007 9:02AM
I don't read those blogs so I don't care. Thanks Engadget for posting it here.
skadyster @ Aug 10th 2007 7:27AM
I agree with ashokm; that laser can be extraordinarily dangerous; even a reflection off of something could blind you before you have a chance to blink. There out to at least be a warning posted along with the article warning people about the dangers.
Jagannath A @ Aug 10th 2007 10:44AM
and this frigging video won $250 for most views on metacafe :S
Ant @ Aug 10th 2007 7:31AM
Irresponsible in the wrong hands, down right lethal in the right hands. That thing shouldn't be out of it's original casing, that’s a serious radiation beam. You'll be covered in cancerous moles in seconds. Saying all that, I wonder how far the beam will travel and still burn something. I’ll never rip a CD again without wondering if the whole thing is going to burst into flames.
Andy @ Aug 10th 2007 7:58AM
Erm... you so wrong I want to cry.
This is purely dangerous from an burning point of view, yes a laser is a radiation source but so is a 50W light bulb. Don't confuse ionising radiation and non-ionising radiation. It is simply red light, even if coherent it isn't going to damage DNA directly. There is no cancer issue you here, well no worse than burning yourself under a hot tap, which is as most people pretty much nil. Even if it was going to cause radiation damage you'd get tumours not moles.
The rest however I'm quite happy to agree with as the risk to you're eye is very serious and reflection of laser can't be predicted. I don't know if it will burn you're eye before you blink, but I'm not going to do the experiment to find out, and I'm pretty sure those fears are very well founded. Just simply don't make it. Even if it doesn't blink totally and immediately you it's going to do something bad. Also due to the nature of the eye you probably won't notice the damage till far too late since the brain error corrects blind spots. If you do make it the chance of an idiot fooling around with it just seems far to easy.
KAS @ Aug 10th 2007 7:34AM
That is scary.
Glazun @ Aug 10th 2007 7:45AM
Holy crap, I already feared the non-burning laser pointers... now I have to worry about random people pointing this at my eye.. and youd look out of curiousity..
olafurj @ Aug 10th 2007 7:47AM
Please please please add a stern warning to this post. The video does not warn that this laser can blind within a millisecond. This laser is probably in the 150-250 mW range which is insanely high, this is basically a weapon.
To iterate, please add a large and stern warning to this post. I don't think anyone wants this in the hands of someone ignorant of just how dangerous this is.
Andir3.0 @ Aug 10th 2007 8:02AM
=================================================
---------> Look at the post above
Andir3.0 @ Aug 10th 2007 8:02AM
hmm, (less than) cut off my post :p
Ant @ Aug 10th 2007 7:54AM
I'm no party pooper but I really think Engadget should remove this. This isn't an adult site and kids will try this if we are not carefull. Lasers and eyes don't mix, but burning lasers is opening up a whole new can of worms. Someone somewhere will blind themselves or start a forest fire, or something because of this video, take my word for it.
Andy @ Aug 10th 2007 8:02AM
I agree, it isn't news. Anyone could work out how to do this. Most of those who can work it out have the sense not to.
Ant @ Aug 10th 2007 8:12AM
Thanks for agreeing about this. I've never complained to any website about an article but I've just given Engadget an official ear bashing on this one. This is a quality site it should have more sense with stuff like this, what’s it going to be next, How To Make A Pipe Bomb. Just hope it’s not to late.
Oofki @ Aug 10th 2007 8:18AM
Ant... Start a forest fire? Come on... Thats a really bad excuse to take an article down. Thats like saying we shouldn't allow people to know what matches are.
ScreamingSkull @ Aug 10th 2007 10:40AM
You can use this to start a forest fire? So I don't need matches any more when I go camping?
f14tomdog2 @ Aug 10th 2007 12:00PM
Pipe Bomb? ur really getting excessive.ur like those legislators who make curfues for everyone under 21 at 10:00 on a whole city. So you can burn matches, and maybe some other stuff, like "forrests" its nothing you couldnt do with a magnifying glass, should we make those illegal because they are "dangerous"? NO. and i doubt a bunch of ten year olds are sittin at home doin nothing but hittin refresh on endgadget every ten mins to see what the latest post about the new phone that comes out in Japan.(no offense to endgadget, i love the site.)
Grey Acumen @ Aug 10th 2007 12:31PM
Personally, I'm getting tired of people saying "Oh, they're just stupid kids, they don't know any better"
If you're smart enough to take apart your DVD burner without damaging the Diode, extract the old diode from a different laser pointer install the new diode and solder on longer wires, you should damn well be responsible enough to use it responsibly.
I get so sick of the idea that warning labels should be necessary... Caution: contents of ice cream cone may be cold, do not attempt to stop chainsaw blade with genitals, the coffee you ordered may be hot, do not use toaster and hair dryer as tub toys while plugged in, Peanut butter may contain nuts...
I'm sure there will be people who argue that they're a danger to OTHER people, not just themselves, but you can't legislate responsibility. For all that you're protecting people, that same protection is creating a worse and worse environment to be able to protect people. As you take away the need for people to be responsible, they will stop being responsible. In turn, more and more of the responsibility will fall on the person who thought they could legislate it until they can no longer keep up and all that was managed to be done was to create too many irresponsible people for anyone to keep up with.
Okay, sorry about the rant. I think this is cool, definitely cheaper than those silly "Lazur Xtreme green pens!" stuff. It was hardly a DIY that ANYBODY could do. He didn't even show all the steps explicitly but merely told you what to do in many cases. So I don't see anyway to justify this video not at least being linked to on engadget.
Brian @ Aug 10th 2007 2:48PM
@Grey Acumen: What people *should* do is different from what they actually do. If everyone did what they were supposed to, we wouldn't needs laws, security, money, jails, seat belts, circuit breakers, ...
Lasers are in fact legally regulated, and you need a license to build/operate them past a certain power.
milo @ Aug 10th 2007 3:41PM
If you are following the directions to build one of these you have already ordered things through the mail with a credit card and used a soldering iron, I don't think kids are accidentily going to build a burning laser and I don't think that the an adult who finally get this built is going to forget that it's a bit dangerous.
Do we really need warning labels on everything? It's just silly. ( and it messes with the evolutoinary selection against stupid people )
Ant @ Aug 10th 2007 7:14PM
God some people seem really pissed about what I said earlier. Sorry to cause offence. I'm not doing the 'Kids Are Stupid' thing, kids are NOT stupid that's the point here. They are quite capable of getting this thing up an running better than any adult. The forest fire thing, I agree, bad example but how far can you throw a lighted match. This is my point. Like shooting a gun into the air you don't know where the bullet lands, its the same with this type of laser, the victim could be many hundreds of yards away and not a deliberate target.
A few years ago my local community was hit with a series of laser pen incidents, lasers no where near this powerful. A bus driver crashed into a house and was blinded in one eye through a teenager who thought the bus a couple of hundred yards up the road was fare game. A Boing 737 needed to make an emergency landing because the pilot hand been temporarily blinded by a laser. Just to top all this off a race riot erupted at another location and the rioters used laser pens to blind the police, 3 people died due to the police being unable to get to the needy.
We all like gadgets here and nobody likes a prat trying to stop the fun, this article is very interesting. There's a time and place and don't think this is it. Some of the flippant comments throughout this article do make me wonder how responsible some people really are and how much real responsibility some people have in their lives. The 'It Won't Hurt's attitude is ok until it dose hurt.
That's the last thing I will say on this subject.
Danger @ Aug 10th 2007 7:55AM
I saw this post when it went up on lifehacker, and one person over there mentioned that it was dangerous. Does anyone know how powerful the laser diode from the dvd writer is? If the laser is in the 150 - 250 mw range, as another poster mentioned, that is a little bit more dangerous than I'd previously thought and it should definitely come with a warning.
Asher @ Aug 10th 2007 7:56AM
That is just stupid...
Blue Dingo @ Aug 10th 2007 8:18AM
Although that is SOOO COOL!!! ill have to agree that is really dangerous,
Grant @ Aug 10th 2007 8:20AM
wow, i had no idea those diodes were so crazy strong.
not to disagree with everyone else, but that doesn't appear any stronger than a green laser you can get off a sit like thinkgeek for a bit over $100.
so its not like strong lasers aren't available to the public already, theres no point to removing this, esp since it takes some dissembly and hacking that most children won't be able to do.
if people want to do harm, theres plenty of other places they can find that info with a search engine.
skadyster @ Aug 10th 2007 11:19AM
Actually, this laser is probably an order of magnitude stronger than the green lasers on ThinkGeek. The most powerful one they sell is in the 10 mW range; as this laser can apparently pop balloons and light matches, its more likely in the 150 - 250 mW range. Its a far more dangerous piece of equipment.
Grant @ Aug 10th 2007 12:36PM
i agree that it's less powerful, but the most powerful green one they sell is also capable of lighting matches, cutting electrical tape and popping ballons, i've seen a video of it.
Jake @ Aug 10th 2007 12:40PM
besides the green laser will *seem* more powerful just because the human eye is more sensitive to green light. You'd , if I'm not mistaking two or four times more power to get the same amount of "light" from a red laser.
Also , the lasers there are laser pointers...for pointing. These diodes are made for burning holes in plastic ..they will burn your retina.
Mark @ Aug 10th 2007 8:29AM
This laser is not 100-150mw. Site states 5mw for the part to order to convert diode to work with flashlight.
cibyr @ Aug 10th 2007 9:16AM
That's for the diode that comes in it. The diode in a DVD burner is (as other people have stated) around 250mW. That's instant-blindness territory. This thing can melt plastic... imagine it on your retina.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
jdoe @ Aug 10th 2007 8:33AM
I tried this last night and it did not work. The beam is not concentrated withou the use of the lens in the drive. I think he must have used another from the AxiZ other than just the part that holds the diode.
I hate the dancing alien. @ Aug 10th 2007 8:45AM
@Mark: where the hell did you get your information? The one on think geek is 5mW, the one kipkay made definitely more than 5 mW.
silentstorm @ Aug 10th 2007 8:59AM
It would have to be http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/8a39/ - the one that comes with the master key. Not just any cheapo laser pointer from thinkgeek or any other source. It's an atypically stong laser pointer.
You know, the class 3B (and IIIb as well) laser (like the dvd burner one mentioned here), unlike the 2/3R/IIIa lasers that are typically in laser pointers, that come with these warnings:
Never stare directly into the beam
Never shine the beam in the eyes or face
Direct exposure is dangerous to your eye, so is a reflection off a non-matte surface (duh.)
I'm sick of ALL of the sites that have this video/instructions/link posted without much of a warning (slashdot, instructables, lifehacker, now engadget and what have you). Just watch until some idiot actually points this at a mirror by accident or into someone else's eye after following these directions. Just reading some of the other laser accidents people have had that were (re)posted after someone was shocked at the laid back attitude of editors on sites everywhere regarding this particular hack is enough to make you want to throw up.
Get some common sense and warn your readers either to not do this, or to use the appropriate safety precautions - like the appropriate laser safety goggles - if they're going to attempt this, Engadget. Shame on you.
bazookagun @ Aug 10th 2007 9:10AM
I think what Engadget did although regarded as shameful, is the natural evolution of market demand and photonics technology. Type in the word "laser" into Google, and on the very first page:
Wicked Lasers : Red, Blue, Green Laser Pointers
2007 Guinness World Record Holder :: Wicked Lasers is the world's leading laser manufacturer of the most powerful red, blue, purple and green laser ...
www.wickedlasers.com/ - 65k
Until US FDA is efficient enough to properly prosecute the sellers of these ridiculously high powered laser pointers, we will continue to see an increase of these burning green lasrs in the hands of irresponsible citizens. Let's blame the government for this one.
Michael Neumann @ Aug 10th 2007 9:15AM
My god what a bunch of complainers. Boo Hoo Engadget please take this horrible article down before someone burns down the Redwood Forest in California or worse runs into a kindergarden classroom blinding 25 children in less than 3 minutes.
As if there werent a thousand other ways to bunr down a forest or blind yourself yet you dont see everyone doing those do you? The only people that are going to do this are adults who have an extra DVD player to tear apart. Even if Engadget did takethis down there are probably a hundred different websites out there that discuss what you can do with lasers from pretty much every device that has one.
Dont give in to these rediculous claims by taking this article down. Its your website and if you want it up then you should leave it up. Bunch of candy a**'s in this forum.
Hana @ Aug 10th 2007 2:45PM
You can't have your own children, surely.
Michael Neumann @ Aug 10th 2007 9:15AM
By the way if you guys think standard DVD players have 150mW lasers your a moron. DVD readers only have lasers around 5-10mW. Its DVD writers that have lasers in the 150 MWrange.
Cal @ Aug 10th 2007 9:55AM
And if you watch the video he says that you need a '16x dvd burner' (in his extremely patronising voice)...
Nick @ Aug 10th 2007 9:58AM
Yes and if you were to re-watch the clip.. it states.. "im using a 16x LG DVD BURNER" which would then put it in the 150mW range.
InfinityPlusOne @ Aug 10th 2007 9:27AM
I was curious when I saw this on Digg, and after watching the video, I agree. Remove this article. This isn't news it is just irresponsible and utterly useless. Unless the sole purpose of this how-to is so that you can mount them on sharks, I think it is best to take it down, Engadget.