Could we build up, from members responses, a comparison of strobes?

[Deleted member 103366]

I'd guess I am not the only one somewhat bewildered by the choice of seemingly "fantastic" strobes out there.
I was thinking if actual users posted the make and model of their strobe, its placement and orientation on their drone and, all from the same flight, their VLOS range with and without the strobe being on , the general lighting conditions e.g. bright sunshine, overcast, heavy overcast etc, the background behind the drone e.g. blue sky, white clouds, dark clouds, trees, buildings etc. we could create a fairly good comparison that would be useful to those people who are thinking of a strobe.

 

[Platinum 4 ever]

I'd guess I am not the only one somewhat bewildered by the choice of seemingly "fantastic" strobes out there.
I was thinking if actual users posted the make and model of their strobe, its placement and orientation on their drone and, all from the same flight, their VLOS range with and without the strobe being on , the general lighting conditions e.g. bright sunshine, overcast, heavy overcast etc, the background behind the drone e.g. blue sky, white clouds, dark clouds, trees, buildings etc. we could create a fairly good comparison that would be useful to those people who are thinking of a strobe.

Sorry. Never really could see much use for strobe lights on any of my drones. Just seems to gimmicky.

 

[BikerBuster]

I think this would be great if people can keep the responses concise and on-track.
I have been somewhat bewildered by the range out there and not really knowing which are worth my hard earned, haven't had the knowledge to make the choice.

If you don't want them, then don't clutter the thread.

 

[TreeHugger]

I'd guess I am not the only one somewhat bewildered by the choice of seemingly "fantastic" strobes out there.
I was thinking if actual users posted the make and model of their strobe, its placement and orientation on their drone and, all from the same flight, their VLOS range with and without the strobe being on , the general lighting conditions e.g. bright sunshine, overcast, heavy overcast etc, the background behind the drone e.g. blue sky, white clouds, dark clouds, trees, buildings etc. we could create a fairly good comparison that would be useful to those people who are thinking of a strobe.

Do you have one yet? Please share link if so.
Of interest. Watching in hopes to narrow my research or discard the idea entirely.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Not as yet though I do have a Strobon Cree standalone on order

 

[old man mavic]

i have the strobon cree white strobes ,that fit on the front arms of my MPP
they are good for around 600 ft in bright sunlight and maybe another 300 ft in grey overcast conditions
the do help to tell the drones orientation to a certain extent ,but to be perfectly honest ,they are not really great if you like to fly out to the limits of your VLOS
if you fly in very low light conditions then that is when they come into their own

 

[iaincaradoc]

Sorry. Never really could see much use for strobe lights on any of my drones. Just seems to gimmicky.

For people flying under a 107.29 waiver, they're not optional. They're required.

I've got a set of Firehouse Duals, red on the left side of the hull, green on the right side of the hull, and a white on top. In the "blink-blink-pause" mode, they're visible from as far away as I'm comfortable flying at night for orientation, and the white on top should be visible out to the 3NM requirement. They work for me.

There's a problem with the PGYTech "Landing Gear and Lights" set - the "strobe" mode is limited to blinking "SOS" in Morse. Not a good choice, in my opinion.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Could you quantify " as far away as I'm comfortable flying at night for orientation " please?
What about day time flying? SOS seems a very BAD idea

 

[iaincaradoc]

COuld you quantify " as far away as I'm comfortable flying at night for orientation " please?
What about day time flying? SOS seems a very BAD idea

I generally don't fly more than 1500 feet or so from my launch position at night - in some cases, I don't even fly more than a few feet in any direction from "directly over the launch point."

Having the red/left and green/right strobes mean I can tell the drone's heading pretty accurately in the dark, which is important when there isn't enough light for me to see identifiable landmarks through the drone's camera.

 

[dronerdave]

Very similar to a full size aircraft, if a plane is at such a distance where it's barely visible, I can often see or notice their strobes before seeing the aircraft itself.
I find that the time of day, angle of the sun, haze factor and the background make a huge difference in how far you can see the Arc-II strobes. I have a older Mavic Pro and have a white Arc-II on the bottom and one on the back. I have red/green on the sides but they are less brilliant in daylight than the white models, especially at distance. At night it's a different story and they can be seen at much further distances and that includes being easier to see the colors. I also stick close to home at night but venture to about a thousand feet out during dusk. I try to fly over flat terrain or water where I know there's isn't a chance of hitting something. I feel more at ease being able to use the color to navigate when it's impossible to see the drone itself during low light conditions or at night. I've never tested it but at night in clear conditions I'd expect to see them well over a mile out.

In bright daylight past 2000', I might have to move the quad and watch how the flashing reacts to my stick movement to figure my direction. If I lose telemetry and/or video feed out past 1500 feet, I'd be somewhat concerned about relying on strobes only to get me home but it might be the difference between getting back to the home point or losing the quad.

With the sun at my back and within a few hours before sunset, I've seen my strobes over 4000' out. At that distance, keeping it in view is spotty at best. Take your eye off it and it might take several seconds to be able to regain sight of it. Technically I feel that is closing in on the (daytime) BVLOS limit. Closer to your home point, I feel the Arc-II's are very helpful when you look down at your screen and then look back for your aircraft. Without strobes I've lost sight of my MP when it was only 500 feet away. At least with these strobes it's much easier to pick it out of the sky within seconds. If I'm up at higher altitude the bottom strobe shows itself well.
I've found strobes also help in recovery situations. My buddy's grandkid crashed into a tree and we would have never found it without the strobes flashing.

 

[New England Droning]

I bought the lume cube strobe and I'm too new to think about flying in the dark yet. But I was wanting other small strobes that would help me pick up the mini 2 out at 500-1,000'. I had it out today (overcast) and for many of the flights, it was below my height as I was on an overlook. But I would love to know how to make it more detectable to the naked eye. The red and green are good, do you have links to ones that will work on a mini 2?

 

[dronerdave]

I wouldn't use anything smaller that the Arc-II's. Find a spot to velcro them on. I'm guessing you can find strobe holders for a mavic mini 2 as it's a newer model. Firehouse has a holder for the arc V

Mavic Mini Mini 2 strobe light kit

dji mavic mini spotlight headlight strobe light

www.firehousetechnology.com