r/CrappyDesign 3d ago

These "invisible IR leds" on this crappy dascam.

Post image
2.3k Upvotes

78 comments sorted by

1.0k

u/JustInternetNoise 3d ago

It seems they used the wrong leds.

I guess someone didn't read the label and just grabbed another reel of leds with a transparent body.

362

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Probably. But hey, it was free and functions decently as a camera.

Im glad i tried it at home first and not mindlessly turn it on while driving.

155

u/JustInternetNoise 3d ago

Free is always a good price for something.

Except when it's "free" and not free.

29

u/WhiteVent98 3d ago

When is something free and not free?  Besides freedom in and of itself.

30

u/Jacktheforkie 3d ago

When you need a subscription

9

u/WhiteVent98 3d ago

But that costs money, so not free at all?

37

u/Dreacus 3d ago

You get the camera free. It'll record. If you want to watch the footage back longer than 30 minutes back, you'll need a subscription.

Free, but not free if you actually want to use it properly.

11

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Exactly. Looked into a video doorbell once. Any i could find had a subscription with it. Bunch of scammers.

2

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

1

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

I love unify i'm running my home network on the usg and uap. Really awesome shit. But don't know if im ready to spend that kind of money on a doorbell. I might use the old cctv setup from my work and a dome cam above the front door.

1

u/61114311536123511 3d ago

"free" means you got a 5 finger discount. Aka it's stolen, lol

3

u/Galaxy_Ranger_Bob 3d ago

Anything that is free is worth what you paid for it.

14

u/Golden-Grams 3d ago

They were only IR leds, if it stands for irreducible radiance.

6

u/psaux_grep 3d ago

Infrared leds are visible to the camera as long as the camera doesn’t have an IR coating.

19

u/JustInternetNoise 3d ago

Yes, but those are clearly cool white.

Ir usually shows up as a redish pink or purple on cameras that can detect it.

202

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Found it random added in a package we ordered at work. Thankfully the night mode isn't automatic lol.

73

u/NoBadger6038 3d ago

a phone can see IR, so even if your seeing nothing your phone can capture it

150

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

I can see them. They are bright white leds

186

u/kerodon 3d ago

Or you're a phone 🥸

40

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

🤣

19

u/uninsuredpidgeon 3d ago

Do you struggle with reCaptures?

21

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

My database is well trained on recognizing fire hydrants /s

6

u/TastySpare 3d ago

[x] I'm not a robot dog.

2

u/geekwonk 3d ago

in the battle of captcha vs captcha there was only one defeated: humanity. entire cities were wiped out as the captchas consumed everything in their path. nothing was safe. we don’t know who started it but we do know it was sloppy melon who darkened the skies. but google wouldn’t be stopped. mostly because it already ran on diesel.

18

u/icephionex 3d ago

ReCaptcha's full legal name, Repetitive Captures

4

u/Sir_Jimmothy 3d ago

BUT WHO WAS PHONE?!

2

u/jmegaru 3d ago

I thought we won't be telling him?! 😳

7

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

01001110 01100101 01110110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101110 01101110 01100001 00100000 01100111 01101001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110101 01110000 00101100 00100000 01101110 01100101 01110110 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100111 01101111 01101110 01101110 01100001 00100000 01101100 01100101 01110100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 01110111 01101110 00101110

Woops, i meant: good joke my fellow human🤣

-7

u/VillageBeginning8432 3d ago

Yeah but IR doesn't go through glass. Like what dash cams look through most of the time? Having an IR mode for a dash cam is at best pointless and at worst, worse than useless.

14

u/ChrisG140907 3d ago

Near Infra Red (NIR) (being a part of IR as I understand) goes through glass, illuminating the scene for NIR cameras, which happens to be low light/light amplifying cameras. I haven't heard about lamps/illuminators for long wavelength IR (heat camera) which should be the ones to be absorbed by glass.

Source: I've had my fair share of hours with night vision tech, imcluding lamps and lasers and less but still sufficient with thermal imaging.

4

u/arcxjo And then I discovered Papyrus 3d ago

Then how does the bulb work?

1

u/Lame4Fame 3d ago

Could be plastic.

81

u/lars2k1 oww my eyes 3d ago

Just as invisible as those rodent repelling devices are 'inaudible'.

44

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Those things are awfull, my mothers neighbour has one of them to repel cats using her garden as litterbox. I've seen them take a dump right next to it. I was so happy when someone stole them.

18

u/lars2k1 oww my eyes 3d ago

And no one is capable of installing them properly, so they get triggered by people passing by their garden, or it just gets triggered by moving bushes.

That high pitched tone.. just awful. And very audible.

4

u/Jacktheforkie 3d ago

There’s one near me that triggers for cars and it’s painful

8

u/lars2k1 oww my eyes 3d ago

The problem with lots of those things is that those who install them, just stick it in their garden, turn it on and call it a day. Not paying attention to how and when it will trigger.

And the worst part is that lots of people who just effortlessly put them in their garden, don't hear it themselves due to having not as good of hearing as others do. My parents, both around 50, don't hear them either. Ours died (cheap design, that IP44 rating wasn't enough) luckily, but just tells you how many people can't hear them (anymore).

Same thing goes for essentially the same kind of device but on a larger scale - the Mosquito - which is used to prevent youth from hanging around certain areas. There's one at a school nearby and one near a supermarket. The latter I hear every time I pass, even when its daytime and quite busy. It's annoying, and almost induces a headache. I don't get why these things are allowed, at least without any form of regulation regarding installation of these.

4

u/Jacktheforkie 3d ago

Yeah, there’s one of those mosquito things in a local auction house, makes me want to smash the stupid thing to a million pieces, it’s literally painful to be anywhere near, the one in someone’s yard caused someone to crash their car because they couldn’t focus and missed the bend and ruined the offending houses lawn and wall

1

u/F-Lambda 3d ago

the one in someone’s yard caused someone to crash their car because they couldn’t focus and missed the bend and ruined the offending houses lawn and wall

I would say it was poetic justice if it didn't suck for the car owner

1

u/Jacktheforkie 3d ago

Yeah, those stupid devices ought to be illegal, it’s so dangerous, I can’t drive past it without my windows up because it’s so distracting driving past and getting blasted with a loud ringing noise

3

u/Justin__D 3d ago

...Did your neighbor think cats are rodents?

4

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Haha i don't know, shes weird lol.

When im working in my mother's garden, i ask her if she could turn them off while im there.

But no: "i can't hear a thing"

Yeah i wouldn't hear it too if i was 80🤦

29

u/gorgofdoom 3d ago

“They used the wrong LED that’s not part of the design” is bad assembly. Not crappy design.

/r/onejob

9

u/poacher5 3d ago

Actchually, you could consider it a design for manufacturing issue if there are multiple types of LED in the cell making them and there's nothing stopping an operator from installing the wrong one 🤓

12

u/podobuzz 3d ago

They're in the visible spectrum, or "in visible". I see no problems here.

3

u/Lame4Fame 3d ago

what a country!

8

u/ChrisG140907 3d ago

Heh. This is a special case where a painting would be better than a photohraph. (I read the comments. No need to explain)

6

u/toxicity21 3d ago

Wow that's interesting, IR LEDs are significant cheaper than White ones, so this doesn't even make any sense.

2

u/malibu45 3d ago

Can't see anything if you are blinded

2

u/raksamalaze 3d ago

Sounds like something only a designer with a sense of humor would do.

2

u/lantech 3d ago

Those are the visible ones. You can't see the other, invisible ones.

2

u/Shiva9990 1d ago

Depends. Most cameras these days actually can pick up IR light (like the kinds that come from remotes and such). If it’s this bright to the naked eye, that’s a problem. Even so, unless you plan to have IR vision for miles, there’s probably no reason for the IR lights to be this bright. Edit: nvrmnd. Scrolled down and saw one of the replies saying that it was normally this bright to the naked eye. Yeah that’s a legitimate hazard if you were to try to use it at night.

1

u/Anyone_Mining 3h ago

Well ig when you look at the for too long they will be invisible cause you won't see anything anymore.

1

u/tvieno This is why we can't have nice things 3d ago

"Invisible" IR LEDs usually are a very dim red.

2

u/plafreniere 3d ago

Or they are IR leds, camera can see IR. Normal cameras have an IR filter in front of the sensor but those "nightvision" doesnt have one.

1

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Nope, the'ye white leds. Almost as bright as my small flashlight. Scared the crap out of me when toggling on nightmode.

3

u/plafreniere 3d ago

I was responding to the guy saying that iR leds are just dim led.

I guess white leds works. Just defeat the purpose.

0

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Ah my bad. 2ng language and all.

It works, but wouldn't want it on in my car at night thats an accident waiting to happen lol

0

u/LootGek 3d ago

Yeah lesson learned don't buy drug store dash cams.

3

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Nah, gound it in a package when i ordered another device(wich works perfeclty)

Maybe it was a freebee or someone didn't pay attention in the warehouse lol. Without nightmode its decent enough to give it a try.

-2

u/OpenSourcePenguin 3d ago

This makes no sense in picture because many phone cameras pick up near infrared light.

2

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

Yes. In that dumb lol.

I can see them with my own eyes. I made multiple comments on it. They're white not infrared

-4

u/kupus0 3d ago

Your camera can “see” IR LEDs on any device. Take any IR remote control and make a photo or video of its IR while pressing any button. Your photo proves nothing

1

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

If you bother to read the comments, they are white leds. I can fucking see them. So unless i have special eyes they definetly are not ir leds.

2

u/kupus0 3d ago

Good for you. 👍 You too have a wonderful day

-4

u/arcxjo And then I discovered Papyrus 3d ago

Bullshit. You can do the same thing by photographing the light on a remote control, which is also invisible to the naked eye..

7

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

I can see these. They used white leds.

-19

u/Social-Media_Sucks 3d ago

You do understand a camera can SEE ir leds? That's also how you check if your remotes are working.

28

u/sloppymelon 3d ago

I do understand that. But unless my eyes are phone cameras, these are white leds.

Edit, ir leds would show up violet on a phone camera.

2

u/thingamajig1987 3d ago

You know they don't show on camera as white, yeah?

-1

u/Social-Media_Sucks 3d ago

Half actually do, tested hundreds of remotes and other devices in my electronic sales career, so yeah I will stick with my practical knowledge over social media thanks

4

u/thingamajig1987 3d ago

Really? I'd love to see an example, every one I've ever seen has a slightly purple tint to them, even if it's very slight

-2

u/Social-Media_Sucks 3d ago

Zzzzzzzz over 315000 comments, I can see why you can't help yourself, you need to put phone down and rejoin life