PFD Strobe?

[Ed Schenck]

What make/model of PFD strobes are you all using out there?

Mine are suspect. They require two 'AA' batteries and are waterproof. But they are the type where the body of the battery has to be the ground(negative). I have not looked real hard but all the batteries around the house like Duracell have a positive body(cover). In other words you can measure 1.5 volts from the flat end(negative) with the positive probe on any other part of the battery. Of course you have to ***** through the thin covering.

I'll probably be ordering new ones but would welcome any recommendations.

 

[Maine Sail]

Our are..

Ours are made by ACR. I think they may be called Firefly?? We keep lithium batteries in them and I change them out every year and use the old lithium batteries in my camera flash..

 

[kloudie1]

This is what I have.. Bought em a long time ago and they still work fine..

​

STROBE LIGHT PERSONAL RL-2 Forespar 108-202102 (108-202102)

Will flash for over 24 hours on a single “C” cell alkaline battery (sold separately). They are waterproof to 120' and can be worn on the upper arm. Safety PFD, USCG approved.

 

[tsmwebb]

weird happenings in ancient history

I have a story about strobe lights:

Once upon a time, just about a decade ago, I went into a major marine retail shoppe and purchased two strobe lights from a well known manufacturer intended to be fitted to PFDs. They were Xenon and they were dazzlingly bright in the daylight. Wow, I thought, I wonder how amazing these puppies are in a dark room. So, I took them to my dark room, clenched my eyes tight closed and turned strobes on and the room lights off... ... Time passed... No flashes of light... Hmmm, that's odd, I though and turned on the room light. Suddenly the strobes stared strobing! A little experimenting showed that by letting varrious amounts of light into the room I could cause the stobes to varry their cycle time. The less light the longer the time between flashes. No light, no flashes. So, I took the lights back to the shoppe and explained the situation to the shoppe manager. He took all the lights they had on the shelf into the bathroom and confirmed that they all had the same problem. He seemed quite concerned and said he would look into it. But, I noticed that the lights went back onto the shelf and AFIK, were sold... I got regular old non-flashing light for my PFDs. A long time has passed and only a handful of lights were tested. So, I'm not sure if there is any moral here except that any Xenon strobes that you might buy should be tested in a dark room before you trust them on a dark night...

--Tom.

 

[Ed Schenck]

MOB pole light?

I have been googling to see if I could find any information about AA batteries with negative housings. Found nothing. I found some Eveready batteries and they test the same, positive housing.

Here is a cheap ACR strobe:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|135|320544|9312&id=9313
But I think it might be better to have a combo light:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|135|320544|9312&id=9297

A somewhat related question: do you have a light on your MOB pole?

 

[sailingdog]

I like the ACR C-strobes. Be aware that while strobes are more visible at night, they can be harder to locate as you get closer to them... because of their intermittent nature.

 

[Roger Long]

But I think it might be better to have a combo light:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|135|320544|9312&id=9297

These lights can very easily be modified for quick pull pin activation. I have one on my horseshoe ring where it fits snuggly under the bracket retaining snap strap. See picture in the thread "What kind of MOB equimpment do you have."

I lost the picture while recently revamping my web site but I can take another if anyone wants to see it. It's about a 10 minute job and works beautifully.