Laser Espionage Microphone (how-to)

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Lasers, Listener, Experiments, Spies, How, Homemade, Science, Espionage, Microphone, Hacks, Cool, Free, Tutorials, DIY

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Listen inside of a building hundreds of yards away using a laser.Please rate, comment, and digg!!

  1. By: Funditor
  2. Categories How To, Science & Tech
  3. Views 600,511
  4. Added :15-Aug-07
  5. Related Link: Funditor
Comments on Laser Espionage Microphone (how-to)
Other comments on this video
  • Nice project

    Good explanation and instructions. 5 stars!

    By HouseholdTech 1187206992
    • cadmium sulphate thingamys...

      i think theres one of them in every Furby right between the eyes

      By Ross350 1187258608
  • Nice!...

    I saw this was mentioned on the tv show "Burn Notice" as a listening device used by fbi, etc... He took a picture from his window with a digital camera to see if there is a laser microphone, saw the dot it produced in the camera... and then they strapped a vibrator to the window to prevent them from listening. Good show... And Good DIY Video!! 5*'s

    By cRiTiCiZeD 1187244663
  • sound

    sound from light ? strange

    By colzyUK 1187202877
    • Why is it strange?

      Telephone signals travel over fiber optic cables all the time. So do television signals. It's called modulation.

      By FrankDK 1187218568
    • No, it's not call Modulation

      it's called Multiplexing. and it's not 1, or 2, or 3, but thousands of phone calls

      It's also in digital format. as in "light off" or "light on". sound, as you hear it, isn't a digital format. it can be approximated digitally (cause if it couldn't, how else would CDs and MP3s work?),but it's not possible to transmit raw analog data though a digital medium. there needs to be some conversion and de-conversion, on top of the Mutiplexing and demultiplexing...

      By nakeyboy 1285069459
    • I might be wrong, but...

      ... The light in an optical wire is turned on and off to create bits just like the computer does.
      Doesn't this photocell measure the wavelenght of the light that hits it and translate it into diffirent voltages which then is translated to sound through a speaker?

      The wavelenght of the laserlight will change everytime the window vibrates cause it has a longer or shorter distance to travel to hit the window.

      I realize that FrankDK just illustrates that the transition from light to sound is not so farfetched, but it is done in two diffirent ways in this video and in a optical wires.

      By KaiSan 1187251523
    • Sort of

      It's the amplitude of the beam that's being measured by the cell - the wavelength is a constant (in the case of a red laser pointer, 650nm) :)

      By Funditor 1187264057
  • Who knows it might be true, so inocense

    PLEASE DONT READ THIS!!!!U WILL GET KISSED ON THE NEAREST POSSIBLE FRIDAY BY THE LOVE OF UR LIFE. 2MORROW WILL BE THE BEST DAY OF UR LIFE.HOWEVER IF U DONT POST THIS COMMENT TO ATLEAST 3 VIDEOS U WILL DIE IN 2 DAYS.NOW UV STARTED READIN THIS SO DONT STOP NOW!THIS IS SOOO SCARY.SEND THIS TO ATLEAST 5 VIDEOS IN 143 MINUTES WHEN UR DONE PRESS F6 AND UR CRUSSHES NAMEWILL APPEAR ON THE SCREEN IN BIG LETTERS THIS IS SOO SCARY CUZ IT ACTUALLY WORKS!!!!!

    By orosol 1258006824
  • help?

    i cant find any headphones that have 3 wires, i checked all kinds of 3.5 mm audio jacks, headphones with and without mic, and a couple dollar store models of headphones. no luck. any suggestions?

    By nyupfront 1230963787
  • Helping a novice

    First, this is a great video thank you. I'm trying to understand this, forgive the newbie over here.

    The laser reflects off a window, and the vibrations are translated into sound then into the computer.

    How does the reflection get sent to the diode however? I see some comments mentioning lazer pointers with led ends that are reflectors, however I'm unable to find anyone online.

    Thanks for the help, assuming someone replies!

    By enigma66 1230530294
  • good idea........

    but your explanation is lacking. you need to go into more detail on the set up and such. the average person is not going to understand what you mean or are doing.

    By lowellfranck72 1226941650
  • Interesting

    Cool vid...maybe you should check out this video comp i found on youtube. The video ID is: BI7gn6eYgW8

    By loutoon 1218447216
  • Question?

    What laser is this? Where I get it?please tell me

    By kalev 1196104827
    • Hey

      did you ever find the laser pointer?

      By enigma66 1230576588
  • Reflector?

    I google'd "Laser Pointer with Reflector" and came up with nothing? Did you make the little thing coming out of the back of the laser that shoots it back at the photo cell?

    By object_being 1196035478
    • Nevermind

      Nevermind, I found it! Thanks anyway, can't wait to get this thing up and running!

      By object_being 1196035627
    • Help please?

      Howdy friend, your comment was a year ago but do you remember where you found the laser pointer--or at least what I should be searching for?

      Thank you!

      By enigma66 1230530339
  • OK BUT

    Who need this ??? Even if someone give it to me I wouldn't use it

    By TAMARIN 1192981930
    • are you a girl?

      right?

      By togvideos 1224388019
  • nice

    good steps,

    By Cammy911 1192940025
  • refferences on the pointer

    Hi,
    I would like to have the refrences of the pointer you used in order to buy the same. is any laser pointer sold with a reflecter?

    By kiki0077 1191621785
  • WHT is it

    whts the little bit that is coming out of the laser pointer?!?!?

    By silentDMX 1190572619
  • Maybe im stupid but

    i cant find a laser pointer like that that has a relecting thing at the back... certainly not a 2 dollar item.

    By FatPumPumLovah 1188421140
    • there is no reflector people

      its a cheap laser pointer i've seen in many films on metacafe. i happen to have gotten mine at cvs. they are like 3 bucks and the extra little arm thingy has an led in the end of it. thats why there are 2 buttons on the side!

      By Twi7ch 1200360319
  • Distance Issue

    Although you could use this with pretty good results for relatively small distances, even better with an AF amplifier after the photo cell, it gets pretty useless for larger distances because lasers avaiable to public still have a considerable beam angle, and the beam becomes larger and weaker as the distance gets bigger. Nevertheless, a good idea to use if you need it and you know how to solder a couple of wires :P

    By sinekt 1188084336
  • what ?

    your laser mic is good if you can get the laser to reflect back onto the photocell . listening to a conversation in a building even 50 metres away would require you to be directly in line with the window . looks good in hollywood , but impractical in real life !! well done tho !!

    By dragon_64 1188002092
  • Cool!

    Very cool idea! I recommend taht you use a some kind of Infra Red laser pointer, otherwise people behind that window could see you. But there is another prob: how do you know when the light is hitting the photocell? Easy! Just turn on a digital camera and help yourself with it! Why? Because cameras ca actually see what a human eye cant: infrared :)

    By David1994 1187968301
    • Exactly

      Good insight, subscribe to my channel and you will see this concept put to a different use on monday!

      By Funditor 1187974926
  • !

    Video of the month! Great stuff man! Keep it up! Five stars!

    By RunFreeTV 1187360424
  • I like it!

    But I'm curious as to the max. effective range? And if I used an IR laser, how would I be able to see if it was focuse on the photo-cell?

    Props on the idea though, I've seen it before on a show about why the CIA and FBI now have dual paned seperated windows outside their buildings.

    :)

    By Lance Corporal â„¢ 1187243516
    • Well

      The effective range I don't know. Fairly limited with a cheap laser, but quite good with an expensive one and a lens to focus the beam.

      For using the IR laser, you can use nightvision equipment or an IR equipped camera.

      By Funditor 1187264175
  • And then.......

    they see the red dot shining on their inside wall (lasers go through glass as well as reflect). They will call the police on you and you will get busted.

    By pennsteve676767 1187224239
    • Near-IR

      Use an infrared laser with, say, roughly 800nm light.

      The light is invisible to the eye, but you can still see the reflected spot using a digital camera (which can see near-IR light.)

      By karmabandit 1187229150
  • i knew this

    before and i was sure that federals would use that, but to see this could be done so easy and cheap by everyone scares me quite a bit!

    By 4k33m 1187222903
  • Incredible...

    Nice video...But i'm happy to live very far from you... ;-D
    5`````and digg.

    By LUCCHINA 1187220825
  • confused

    how do you get the laser to reflect back to the photocell?

    By lukewarm27 1187210037
    • Easily

      It is reflected off of the window which you are trying to listen in on....

      By Funditor 1187211665
  • So you actually have to go into the room

    Can you do this without preparing the room. ie for spying on next door?!

    By pieisgood 1200128540
  • This is BS

    You can't create an audio signal using a resistor. The photocell RESISTS current, it does not create it! This is possible, but requires a much more complex circuit.

    By Ziggythewiz 1198277609
    • Sir,

      I'm sorry if this wasn't clear, but the 1/8" jack is plugged into a recording port.... the recording device supplies the current.

      By Funditor 1198302795
    • Eh?

      And then what in the hell is a microphone? A resistor. Do a bit of elementary reading before opening your mouth.

      By Funditor 1198285783
    • Read your own instructions

      Yes, a microphone uses a resistor, to resist a current. Nothing in your circuit is creating any current.

      By Ziggythewiz 1198302552
    • current

      the computer is creating the current moron. i think he expects people to have a brain big enough to fill those blanks by themselves.

      By johnathon007 1206081798
  • Find hot ringtones

    Get ringtones at RINGTONESET dot NET

    By retashowsdollgc 1189567431
  • eee yea...

    GOOD LUCK trying to allign the laser reflection onto the LDR (Light Dependant Resiter - ''photocell'' my arse!)!!! also, i doubt this works on double glazed or even triple glazed windows ;)!!

    By mttw 1188320279
  • question

    what is the black wire protruding from the back of the laser pointer and what is an easier way to see if the laser pointer is hitting the sulfide photocell

    By kamakazi103 1188163350
    • It's not a wire

      That's actually an LED neck lite that's part of the laser..... Easier way? You tell me :)

      By Funditor 1188170685
50 Comments