Weltool W4 question

[Mellontikos]

Hey guys. I'm not a flashlight newbie, having several Nitecores and Imalents of diffferent models.

But I made a joke bid on a Weltool W4, and well.................I'm now a proud owner of a W4, lol.

Not that I mind, but I have not turned this thing on because I am scared of the fact it's a laser diode powered flashlight. Is it safe to turn this thing on indoors? Like the diffuse reflection from a wall? Is the spot bright enough to cause eye damage using it indoors?

I ended up getting the diffuser and put it on but even like that I have somewhat of a fear. We only have a pair of eyes after all.

Oh and to add insult to injury, I live near an airport, so I have to be careful of shining a laser like beam at the sky, lest a freakin' plane be nearby, and I get my door busted in from SWAT.

I have a trip to the woods planned in about 1 month, where I plan to test this thing at decently far distances. Wondering what other owners think.

 

[Shorttime]

Yes, it's safe to turn it on indoors. It won't burn a hole in your wall, or anything like that. There are rigid, and numerous, laws about how much power a laser can put out. Sure, the DIY/homebrew guys are making torches that will light a fire through a piece of plate glass, but we're talking about mass producers like Weltool, here.

Pointing it straight at your face and turning it on will blind you, obviously. Likewise, if you're 14" away from whatever you're shining it at, the glare is going to hurt. But these LEPs are for long-range work, and the "normal" side- or back-scatter is not going to hurt you, even inside.

As for the airport? Yeah, don't point it at a plane, or the runways, or especially the tower! I wouldn't worry too much if you point it in the general direction of the airspace: green lasers are a no-go, but the output from a LEP is some flavor of white. At the other end, it's still just a spotlight.

 

[Mellontikos]

Yes, it's safe to turn it on indoors. It won't burn a hole in your wall, or anything like that. There are rigid, and numerous, laws about how much power a laser can put out. Sure, the DIY/homebrew guys are making torches that will light a fire through a piece of plate glass, but we're talking about mass producers like Weltool, here.

Pointing it straight at your face and turning it on will blind you, obviously. Likewise, if you're 14" away from whatever you're shining it at, the glare is going to hurt. But these LEPs are for long-range work, and the "normal" side- or back-scatter is not going to hurt you, even inside.

As for the airport? Yeah, don't point it at a plane, or the runways, or especially the tower! I wouldn't worry too much if you point it in the general direction of the airspace: green lasers are a no-go, but the output from a LEP is some flavor of white. At the other end, it's still just a spotlight.

Ok thanks man, I appreciate it. Maybe I'll try it out tonight outdoors, being careful to ensure there are no aircraft anywhere in the vicinity.

 

[dotCPF]

I use the diffuser to protect the lens. Really only reason I bought it.

No danger using it indoors, but I would ABSOLUTELY NEVER POINT THIS AT SOMEONES EYES. These are extremely high intensity devices and the jury is still out on whether the risk is LED-like damage, or laser-like damage. I hit myself in the face with a modified W3vn from SkyLumen on moonlight mode and even though it couldn't have been more than 1 lumen, i had the laser reflector thing burned into my vision for a while and it hurt.

I wouldn't be afraid to use it, but even I researched flight paths (as aircraft go over my house to the nearest large airport) and I would avoid at all costs aiming anything super-bright or super-intense at any aircraft. I follow this rule even with traditional throwers like the Acebeam K70.

 

[Shorttime]

In the interest of being helpful (for a change), there is a sub-forum for LEP flashlights: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?230-Laser-Excited-Phosphor-(LEP)-Lighting

It occurred to me that there may not be a lot of understanding out there of how Laser-excited Phosphor lights work, although I don't know what responsibility this forum has (if any) for explaining that difference.

Lasers and beam-based weapons are a staple of television and movies with any kind of "future" combat, and they're almost always very light on facts. I think this has led to people thinking "weapon", whenever they hear "laser".

LEPs are not the same as the pointer thingy that cats go bonkers over, because the "laser beam" never leaves the flashlight. All the laser portion of the light does is point a stream of photons at a piece of "crystal" (probably glass) that's been seasoned with eleven herbs and spices. This secret recipe inside the crystal reacts to the laser, producing a yellow light. Since the "input" to the crystal (the laser) is a very narrow beam, the "output" (the light you see) is also a very narrow beam.

 

[Mellontikos]

I use the diffuser to protect the lens. Really only reason I bought it.

No danger using it indoors, but I would ABSOLUTELY NEVER POINT THIS AT SOMEONES EYES. These are extremely high intensity devices and the jury is still out on whether the risk is LED-like damage, or laser-like damage. I hit myself in the face with a modified W3vn from SkyLumen on moonlight mode and even though it couldn't have been more than 1 lumen, i had the laser reflector thing burned into my vision for a while and it hurt.

I wouldn't be afraid to use it, but even I researched flight paths (as aircraft go over my house to the nearest large airport) and I would avoid at all costs aiming anything super-bright or super-intense at any aircraft. I follow this rule even with traditional throwers like the Acebeam K70.

Thanks man. I've used it a couple of times outdoors just to test it, and it's bright but not the intensity I was expecting. Seems to be safe 20 meters and on. Haven't tried it indoors yet.

I have some pretty nuclear flashlights (I usually carry a NiteCore TM10K with me, and I have an MS18), but these flashies are floodlights, and hence, usually as long as the reflectors are not pointed at your face, you are usually ok to use them.

This one is a very hot spot, which was my worry, but so far it seems to be a decent outside pointer. I'm not really sure what the use of this is other than to be a nice toy, but it's still cool.

 

[Mellontikos]

In the interest of being helpful (for a change), there is a sub-forum for LEP flashlights: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?230-Laser-Excited-Phosphor-(LEP)-Lighting

It occurred to me that there may not be a lot of understanding out there of how Laser-excited Phosphor lights work, although I don't know what responsibility this forum has (if any) for explaining that difference.

Lasers and beam-based weapons are a staple of television and movies with any kind of "future" combat, and they're almost always very light on facts. I think this has led to people thinking "weapon", whenever they hear "laser".

LEPs are not the same as the pointer thingy that cats go bonkers over, because the "laser beam" never leaves the flashlight. All the laser portion of the light does is point a stream of photons at a piece of "crystal" (probably glass) that's been seasoned with eleven herbs and spices. This secret recipe inside the crystal reacts to the laser, producing a yellow light. Since the "input" to the crystal (the laser) is a very narrow beam, the "output" (the light you see) is also a very narrow beam.

I understand. It's basically the same concept as standard white LED's (a UV element exciting a phosphor coating that glows white).

But again, as the source of the energy is a narrow point (the laser diode), I would imagine that plays part into the output also being so narrow (and hence my worry).

I know that laser pointers can be extremely dangerous at anything over 5mw (even a specular reflection off a 40mw laser will probably cause retinal damage). So I wasn't sure how that translated to a collimated regular beam (nowhere near as tight as a laser beam, but still enough to be cylindrical at over 2km).

Anyway, appreciate the advise guys! I've been too busy to become a regular here, but I plan on doing so in a couple of weeks when I have some more free time.