Homemade Batsignal Reaches the Clouds (and how to make an image projector for yourself!)

In this video I test my DIY bat signal powered by the incredibly bright Imalent MS18 flashlight against the clouds. I also show an easy way that you can build your own image projector using a few common items. This is a great project to learn the basics of how lenses work, and can be used to build your own mini bat signal!
The MS18 flashlight was given to me by Imalent for use in this project. www.imalentstore.com/products...
A special thanks to my top Patrons: LVE, Enzo Breda Lee, Jon Hartmann, TheBackyardScientist & Eugene Pakhomov! If you enjoy these videos please consider supporting my efforts to continually improve them: / nighthawkprojects
Thanks for watching!
-Ben

[@Nighthawkinlight]

In case you missed my previous video about building the bat signal: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2KncqqDZ9eod6s If you enjoy these videos and would like to support my efforts to continually improve them, consider supporting my channel on Patreon: www.patreon.com/NightHawkProjects

[@t400ml]

Really cool, have you considered submitting this to Daily Dose of Internet?

[@JAKOB1977]

How would the Acebeam W30 laser flashlight work in this regard.. though very tight beam?

[@XXCoder]

COOL! I wonder if you got any complaints from neighbors or something with that light?

[@flojotube]

@@XXCoder - who gives a shyt?? What a snowflake minded question...

[@XXCoder]

@@flojotube I'm not sure what set you off? I live in a city, and wondered what difference there is. I sure as heck can't shine something that bright here without police coming.

[@diradosveta]

Did he show up tho

[@cseblivestreaming]

He must have with that bright light

[@MrChanw11]

He attracted Moth man

[@joeferguson2187]

snow. snow he didnt.

[@cseblivestreaming]

@@MrChanw11 Ok so here‘s my theory: batman is a bat and the batsignal actually just attracts a ton of insects so batman can feast upon this delicious meal already prepared and focussed in one spot

[@adamvalt6609]

uz vidim, co bude dalsie viedo

[@amyshaw893]

Get this man a rooftop in the city and an overcast day

[@i_fish6657]

Overcast night why would you do it during the day, batman's sleeping during the day

[@amyshaw893]

@@i_fish6657 well you don't want to accidentally summon batman when there's no crime, he'd probably be quite annoyed

[@1999colebug]

Too bad airspace over cities are usually congested w/ planes :(

[@LC-bv1gk]

don't forget the WWII mega search light.

[@LC-bv1gk]

@@i_fish6657 of course, he's bat.

[@AlextheguitarFreak]

after watching the new hacksmith video just now, this version is even more impressive, being far more portable and a clearer projection as well.

[@briancortez6135]

Completely agree with you man

[@zeroy]

thats what I just thought! much simpler to do and carry also

[@YoJesusMorales]

I'm guessing youtube brought this back up for me because of that video, though in the hacksmith video they do have the little logo at the front of the projector.

[@randybobandy9828]

That because hacksmith is a hack 🤭

[@christiancepeda5457]

I AGREE

[@willredfox7536]

its incredible that this sole gentleman just made a better job than the whole hacksmith crew 😄😄

[@ranselcruzcolon5837]

Josue Ordóñez! Hacksmith that amazing job also

[@willredfox7536]

@@ranselcruzcolon5837 of course bro.

[@kaws3076]

There’s was awful lol

[@zimzimma2.0]

​@@ranselcruzcolon5837 if u say so

[@AntVenom]

I wish I could like this video twice. That was awesome!

[@THESLlCK]

ey its generic minecraft youtuber

[@Artemis-zl5cs]

oh shit, its antvenom

[@seadragonet1738]

oh wow! antvenom! cool

[@a7G-82r]

antvenom... i havent heard that name for at least 8 years

[@seadragonet1738]

why not?

[@5h4n368]

batman is going to be pissed when he shows up and there is no emergency.

[@billweasley1382]

Just give him a jar of mayonnaise with a tight lid to open.

[@glenngriffon8032]

Batman showing up in the mountains like "Aw come on Jim, what are you DOING all the way out here?"

[@whuzzzup]

Well he will meet Ben, so he will be fine.

[@Ohwhale79]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 RIGHT???

[@shaunanakin]

"The batsignal is not a beeper."

[@b1gamer68]

Mans beat the whole hacksmith channel 😂

[@laurensschroder5560]

Who's here after @Hacksmith Industries made theirs? Great video by the way and less complex then the Batsignal Hacksmith Industries made

[@Eric_Pham]

So this is how they send files to the cloud

[@Ahmed-Youcef1959]

Hhhhhhhh

[@arielshpitzer]

now i have what to do with my NFT's....

[@patman0250]

What are you talking about bro, the cloud is an internet service not actual clouds jeez way over your head dude.

[@thatminecraftplayer8767]

@@patman0250 r/whooosh

[@thedoctor0892]

@@patman0250 shame on you for not getting the joke

[@secularstormchaser0074]

What would be cool is making it an actual movie projector, and projecting a film into the clouds

[@Pyxis10]

And then the Mpaa would come for you.

[@aserta]

Doesn't work. Not in the focus range.

[@Vladimir_Kv]

It's possible. Take and disassemble an "MP3" player with video capabilities and a suitably sized screen, peel one of the LCD's layers and you'll get a transparent screen layer. Then just install it inside this tube and voila. The only concern would be heat of the beam melting the screen but a couple of powerful fans directed at the screen can mitigate that. But it would be blurry.

[@gormauslander]

@@Vladimir_Kv I believe they refer to that as an mp4 player, but yes

[@frijoli9579]

@@aserta did you watch the video?

[@RaoDGuitar]

That was so cool! As a kid I always wondered how the batsignal would work in real-life (I kinda assumed it wouldn't be as easy as in the cartoon). To see it actually working is amazing, thank you for showing this!

[@philiplosansky7191]

At this Port Hacksmith Industries built a Bat Signal, i wrote them that they don't have the first working one :) Good Job

[@quackpack4796]

"Controlling the weather on the other hand...is a little less realistic" No worries, Gotham is forever shrouded in grey clouds; Tis their curse. That and the 10,000 supervillains that roam the streets without a care or worry.

[@Voron_Aggrav]

Pollution and Corruption work hand in hand

[@nunyabiznes33]

Well it is built on cursed land

[@passiveftp]

I believe China has cloud seeding machines, Google it :)

[@abdulmuthalib8036]

you got jakarta to do that. we got thin smoke as cloud

[@SkatePunkBanana]

I mean Gotham has been portrayed by Pittsburgh and we never see the sun here so its not that unrealistic for it to be an overcast day whenever a crime is committed.

[@MatthewA412]

Imagine using multiple colors to make a ufo appear on the clouds 😂

[@Ammar.D]

Some people would start a cult and worship this ufo 😂😂

[@FL4SH3]

NightHawkIngLight: Challenge accepted!🦸‍♂️

[@merxellus1456]

i dont even remotely understand how ur gonna show an UFO using coloured leds, thats basically a High powered Projector. And using this flashlight for a Projector light would surely burned the projector LCDs mirrors.

[@Pyxis10]

Project a hologram?

[@lewisdoherty7621]

​@@Pyxis10 That is what those supposed images of UFO's the navy took are. The navy admitted the videos are real, but didn't say what was seen. Defense contractors know what they are and test them on our pilots. Lasers are used to generate false targets to confuse enemy pilots. There are stealth aircraft that are real aircraft which are designed to appear invisible to radar and then there is the opposite deception system making non-existent aircraft appear to exist.

[@PlasmaChannel]

I bet that scares the hell out of every real bat at night. Intense!!

[@milenmonev2803]

Better than The Hacksmith :)

[@OlivierGomis]

The fact that you're able to produce such good image without a 4k honestly pisses me off. Amazing video as always.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I love when people notice that. Good 1080p footage beats crap 4k footage any day.

[@JubbLaRacing]

4k is overrated.

[@StepOrDieFR]

@@JubbLaRacing not no but 4K in youtube is a piece of shit ^^ Real 4K on a good 4K screen is most beautiful but 1080P is very sufficient in 80% of the use it is only for watching films or playing a certain very graphically advanced game that 4K has a real interest

[@kenf3539]

You should see a flower photo I have hanging on my wall. It is an 11x14 (close to A3 international size) that looks great next to film and digital SLR photos. It was taken with a 2 MP camera and printed with a dye sublimation printer. Good equipment and technique is valuable.

[@MetallicaFanSandman]

@@Nighthawkinlightwas wondering the size lens to the pringles can?

[@alexanderteambillywynn6900]

This just feels like one of those “the camera does not do it justice” things. It looks so cool on video I can only imagine in person.

[@jonnyreverb]

This is the best video on cloud projection I have seen on KZbin. That being said, I have operated lasers for shows since the 90s, and you will not see the image from the city projected on from the outskirts of town or anywhere farther than 1/2 a block from the projector. This effect only works near the projector, when it is shining on the flat bottom of a relatively rare type of cloud. The results you got were much better than average. Under perfect conditions, the audience in the back of the arena couldn't read the text projected above and behind the stage. We could capture video from the stage that implied it was a clear image that the whole city could see, but going to the back of the arena or the parking lot made the image an unreadable smear.

[@MattWhitmanTMBH]

You are a good person and you make things that make me happy. Nice video amigo.

[@maxcap60]

I noticed the hat logo first thing in the video

[@mikicerise6250]

This is devilry and witchcraft!!!! God never meant for us to tamper with such things and you're all going to hell!!

[@maxcap60]

@@mikicerise6250 But it almost seems like he’s shining a light through the darkness. Also I can send you to some information that tells you how you actually get to hell. And it’s a lot easier than that. You simply do nothing.

[@mikicerise6250]

@@maxcap60 SATANIC SORCERY ALL OF IT!

[@RAndrewNeal]

@@maxcap60 I have a feeling it's a troll.

[@RogueShadowTCN]

So, when is the LCD screen going in. For movie night. For the whole darn town.

[@Rotem_S]

You could probably use something similar to a regular projector with this setup, it might even work with a regular projector and this flashlight as the light source

[@channelofmanytopics5891]

YES please do that. Heat might be an issue though, so you would probably need a fan blowing on the LCD.

[@grn1]

Can't remember which channel it was (DIY Perks maybe) but I remember seeing a video where they took the screen out of a 'smart' phone and used it as part of a projector. I wonder if/how using a physically larger screen would affect the image quality. In that video they projected light through the screen but it may be possible to get better results by reflecting light off the screen similar to how some holograms are made (I forget the technical term for it and can't remember which channel I saw the holography thing on, I've got too many subscriptions that may have covered it).

[@roccoborghetti4693]

Your comment about “having good weather to project onto” near the end of the video is easily explained. There’s so much smog and pollution in the air surrounding Gotham that it’s nearly always cloudy at night, making it easy to shine the Batsignal on.

[@matthewreynolds8068]

Inexpensive, diy, AND educational? Dang that took me back. 😭 RIP Grant Thompson 🙏

[@BuckHelton]

On behalf of every kid who watched Batman in the 60's, and tried to do this with the old school Eveready flashlights back in the day, Thank You!

[@IvanOoze1990]

Could project some Christmasy stuff on the side of your house. "edit" even better project Santa on his sleigh and move him like he's driving it through the sky with his reindeer.

[@davidsen1805]

Me: "Hmm how expensive is the big flashlight?" *checks amazon* Me: "haha nope"

[@Nighthawkinlight]

It's actually a pretty good deal considering it's literally the brightest flashlight you can buy. The best of anything doesn't usually come cheap.

[@davidsen1805]

@@Nighthawkinlight I don't doubt it, super cool project!

[@yaykruser]

@@davidsen1805 lol, thats more than half a months salary!

[@glenngriffon8032]

@@Nighthawkinlight I would still like to buy two to mount on my car for those pesky drivers who never turn off their brights.

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

You can actually make your own super powerful light out of basic fairly cheap parts. It doesn't have the same form factor but it's still a pretty usable form. I'll see if I can find the video.

[@Jay-nh8kl]

The snow makes it look like magic!

[@senordd]

I didn’t think you could actually project a bat signal into the sky visibly in real life.

[@twocvbloke]

The folks up on the ISS must have been wondering who on Earth (badum-tish!) was calling for Batman... :P

[@gormauslander]

Unfortunately the image was only 150' wide. We need to go bigger

[@nickg5250]

This channel never fails to impress! Going to make one of these projectors myself

[@tylre]

In a world of infinite scrolls and overwhelming quantities, this is very high quality content! Thank you!

[@GadgetBoy]

It's amazing how far you've come since teaching people how to make fireworks in your kitchen.

[@Techie_ASMR]

He makes everything better!!!!

[@lewismassie]

There's been this post floating around of a guy guiding an Uber Eats driver to his house using a flashlight beam, and I kinda assumed it was you at first

[@jackchn23]

THIS is what KZbin was made for! Bravo!

[@mr.a.d574]

You are simply superb. Miss a teacher like you during my school or college days.

[@blackrockseco2684]

I’ve been meaning to build an art piece for years that relies on these concepts. Thank you for the excellent introduction

[@AleksUsovich]

Really love the cool cinematic intro at the beginning of the project! Fantastic project as always. Gotta say that magnet idea to hold the projected image is genius!

[@McPlaySpot]

Not the sequel we deserved , but the one we needed. Thanks for the DIY!

[@snigwithasword1284]

Really cool watching the snow caught in the beam! Wish I had seen this a few years ago, I made a plywood sasquatch silhouette by shining my flashlight into a carboard box with the design cutout the opposite side. Without a lens the result was very blurry and there was a heckuva lot of guesswork tracing it out!

[@JustinDaze]

How epic would it be if you could project a movie on some clouds. That was a fun watch.

[@reverendfawkes6138]

I wonder what your neighbors thought! "Well, there it is. Batman. Friggin' Batman. Might as well, though. I mean... it /is/ 2020."

[@ellenj8896]

LOVE the magnet idea!!

[@cwharton]

I just found your channel and I am so thankful I did. You are an amazing creator with each video as good as the last. Time to binge-watch your videos. Thanks for the great content.

[@blubb7711]

Don´t call the Overheadprojektor old, its still state of the art modern media technologie according to german schools.

[@DUKEisALIVE]

Echt so hahahah wir haben sogar einen professor in der uni der sie noch benutzt

[@michim162]

So ist das nicht mehr, nicht da wo ich referiere

[@NinoJoel]

Ha Ha so true

[@FL4SH3]

@@DUKEisALIVE But in Germany we call it Polylux.😂

[@TheEbola1994]

@@FL4SH3 you mean in east Germany... Polylux ist die alte VEB Marke

[@darthvader2995]

Thats a good signal, especially for target practice from the death star

[@catfish552]

"Target the Bat Signal, single reactor ignition."

[@peteandsebastianshowsuperf3624]

By far the best video I've found yet on this. Clear, concise, no wasted time. Thank you Sir, I've subscribed.

[@AirCommandRockets]

Simply Awesome! Put a smile on my face.

[@Simon-bo6fv]

that's so cool. The Hans Zimmer-esque music was a really nice touch too!

[@danielhaupt2066]

it came out very well, and those small versions are super easy to make!

[@ryanbushby4325]

Great, now I have to build this. Thanks.

[@drinnerd8532]

Can you imagine walking outside and seeing that? That would be sooo incredible!!

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

It's all fun and games until your friend rudely leaves in the middle of a conversation you were having with them the moment they see it...

[@CSDonohue11]

Nice! 👍 That’s Dope.

[@pewpandagamermom]

I can't wait to show my kids this update 😍

[@goldiesg]

Nice project. I plan to use this to spend some quality time with my grandkids

[@Advoko]

Ben, mystifying your neighbors in the previous episode wasn't enough for you, now you had to mess with the alien astronomer's minds! )))) p.s. Loved a simple and elegant magnets' solution!

[@ThistlesGarden]

Love seeing you re-designing these projects with around the house items.

[@JustAnotherMaker]

I’d love to see how this looks from some distance away. Nice build and great result.

[@emorag]

So awesome. Thanks for sharing!

[@unvergebeneid]

Next project then: a huge smoke machine that can produce low-hanging clouds on command. They never show it in the Batman franchise but it stands to reason that it's there 😄

[@wishiwasabear]

Luckily for batman: Gotham is always cloudy, which is a result of a combination of constant bad weather and pollution.

[@pattheplanter]

And Mr Freeze being in residence.

[@mica4153]

the volumetric shadows in the snow are so awesome

[@ninobenjamin9020]

It's done so simply, that I didn't think of it . 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@NandR]

I use slide film in my cameras and would love to try one of the images in your projector. I bet the whole 6x6 image could fit inside that big tube.

[@CSDonohue11]

All though it does rain a lot in NYC and even more often there is cloud cover. Those beautiful blue sky’s on 9/11 are rare. It had stormed the night before on 9/10 though and that’s why the Sky’s were so clear. Often it storms & snows for days though.

[@RandomKSandom]

Thank you very much for the follow-up. This project very much deserved it.

[@fightingviking7968]

Finally something really useful on KZbin!!! I love it!!!

[@qvatch]

could be interesting to try it with different cloud types, I would suspect the angle viewing distortion is from the volume being illuminated, and some clouds may be denser?

[@forgedinferno5033]

you should wave this thing around in a big city like LA or New York and watch the internet freakout

[@meszarosmate4629]

I know im late, but how people are not trolling with this? I mean with the springles can option you can draw penises onto building for really cheap, damn why dont i live in a big city

[@ngotranhoanhson5987]

@@meszarosmate4629 I checked online, the low cloud base often hovering around 6500ft, impossible to touch. This man is just so lucky that he got a closed cloud to film.

[@StefanOnFurch]

Awesome, thank you! Doing a small version with my son tomorrow!

[@jonblablabla1014]

Wow that looks unreal 🤯

[@ianphilip6281]

That footage is gorgeous with the snow! You must be really happy with how it came out. Great work.

[@axebomber2108]

The bat shape is even clearer than the ones in the Batman movies that try to make it look realistic by making it look poorly defined.

[@termooh6654]

This is like the coolest thing ever and now I want one

[@rmotamayor]

Very good and very well explained, thanks!!!

[@1.4142]

Imagine what a light show it would be if everyone had one of those

[@YoussoufDJEZIRI]

Thank you for calling Batman, may he save us from 2020

[@ncnuggets]

Funny thing not so long ago, this topic specifically came to my mind for whatever reason and I didn't think it was possible. Thanks for proving me wrong.

[@midwestpoolbuilder]

Super cool and educational video!! Learn something new every day!

[@subliminalvibes]

Batman is pissed. He's been driving around your area for the past two weeks trying to find the source! 😅

[@joshhhhhhhhhhhhh]

who else is here after watching the hacksmith claim nobody else has made a working bat signal? hacksmith could barely get his big blurry flashlight to project clearly onto a the side of a flat building and he has the nerve to call this a lie before shilling for big banks.

[@Adventist1997]

Now I need to make one of these. Seems like a nice little hobby.

[@muffty1337]

Simple + effective = Awesome And your bird deserves its own channel.

[@nabilahmed1636]

Could you reply lol since hacksmith just made theyre own and i see you returned to this video

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Hi

[@nabilahmed1636]

@@Nighthawkinlight NO FREAKING WAYY

[@Voudoo1]

Suggestion :replace the batman sign, connect it to your phone. Create a second projector, and communicate with someone else in an other city. Texting in the clouds

[@vertigoderviche]

the sky is the limit (?)

[@xenonram]

Connect what to your phone? You missed a critical part. You'd need a transparent LCD screen in the tube, and a way to mirror your phone screen onto it. It's a lot more difficult than that.

[@Blargthehandsome]

beautiful shots! the snow really made it cinematic!

[@grantmccollum4499]

I was having a bad day and then I noticed you uploaded a new video. These always put a smile on my face. Thank you.

[@ccortez392]

I wish I could have seen people reacting to this.

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

Using this as a "microscope" is actually a pretty cool idea.

[@pattheplanter]

Augmentoscope? Plethynoscope (like plethora)? Thalloscope?

[@gormauslander]

Macroscope?

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

@@gormauslander that's a much better term.

[@pattheplanter]

@@gormauslander In some accents that would sound exactly the same as microscope.

[@gormauslander]

@@pattheplanter which accent?

[@Brian-ti7xm]

*gotham was literally always cloudy. Always. Due to smog, fog, and a constant high humidity* hey bro can you post the thumbnail without the words? That photo is absolutely amazing. Awesome. I'm infatuated with it, such art.

[@JohnMadeit]

On my to make list. I think this would bring a smile to a lot of people's faces

[@jimburton5592]

Hey, just want to take this opportunity to shout out the awesome content you put out. Always a 100000 lumen bright spot in my day when you post.

[@keithfulkerson]

There's going to be a giant weed leaf on a water tower somewhere tonight.

[@pattheplanter]

And someone running their vaporiser full tilt to try to get enough cloud.

[@peterpetas20]

And someone is goint to fall from that water tower

[@GswervinTV]

Definitely trying this at home, super cool!

[@Scud_5127]

That is bad ass, Brutal, sick, awesome, heavy and COOL.

[@jeffpkamp]

Has he shown up yet? Not sure how visible your sky is from Gotham, but I'm sure he checks youtube.

[@Pyxis10]

He did, he just missed him.

[@truckstreestoys]

Bro you're going to have the FAA knock on your door in a few hours

[@Nighthawkinlight]

No reason for them to bother. Unless you were being a moron and intentionally shining at very low planes it's not harming anyone. It's also still technically just a flashlight, not an issue legally.

[@PilotPlater]

why

[@truckstreestoys]

@@Nighthawkinlight idk man. I'd be careful. It's a modified light source. Could be deemed "weaponized". Also didn't see any check for flight traffic.

[@joagargo01]

That BAT Signal is AWESOME!!!!