Day strobe light

[JORGE SM]

Good afternoon.

Age does not forgive and sight goes less and less.

As we know, we have to fly the drone normally legally in VLOS in recreational mode.

The color of the MAVIC does not help much to distinguish it at a certain distance.

What do you think of putting one of those lights that take the aircraft (aircraft-helicopters etc) to at least with that flash to quickly locate where it is?

Is it legal to carry one of those lights, if so, what color to choose, white / green / red?

Any model?

Thank you

 

[AMann]

Firehouse Arc II white strobes work very well during the day, but don’t forget that to be legal, you have to be able to tell the orientation of the drone as well. I put two forward and one in back so I can tell if it’s going or coming.

 

[JORGE SM]

Firehouse Arc II white strobes work very well during the day, but don’t forget that to be legal, you have to be able to tell the orientation of the drone as well. I put two forward and one in back so I can tell if it’s going or coming.

And the colors? does not matter. Or maybe place the same colors that the mavic has. White behind and Red in front ??

 

[AMann]

And the colors? does not matter. Or maybe place the same colors that the mavic has. White behind and Red in front ??

Colored strobes are harder to see at a distance in daylight, the white ones are the best. That’s why I went with numbers of white strobes rather than colored strobes. The colored ones work best at night (I have a waiver for certain work to fly at night).

 

[AMann]

So, with two whites on front, you know it’s facing you, and with one in back, Its facing away.

 

[JORGE SM]

So, with two whites on front, you know it’s facing you, and with one in back, Its facing away.

OK thank you very much, I was looking at AMAZON and there are different opinions of some model

 

[BigAl07]

And the colors? does not matter. Or maybe place the same colors that the mavic has. White behind and Red in front ??

Actually that color combination is exactly what I'm using on existing LED lights and what I have also ordered from the ARC XLw/L.A.N.D. I'll be using WHITE up front and RED in the rear. Just a personal preference for me.

This is directly from their website:

WHITE : The best visibility and efficiency.

RED : 2th in the visibility, efficiency is same as white but the best for warning.

GREEN 3th in the visibility and efficiency. Best for Standard RED/GREEN (Left/Right) navigation usage.

BLUE 4th in visibility and also efficiency. We are not suggesting this color for warning or navigation but special usage.

drone strobe light

drone strobe light faa 107

www.firehousetechnology.com

 

[Thomas B]

Actually that color combination is exactly what I'm using on existing LED lights and what I have also ordered from the ARC XLw/L.A.N.D. I'll be using WHITE up front and RED in the rear. Just a personal preference for me.

This is directly from their website:

WHITE : The best visibility and efficiency.

RED : 2th in the visibility, efficiency is same as white but the best for warning.

GREEN 3th in the visibility and efficiency. Best for Standard RED/GREEN (Left/Right) navigation usage.

BLUE 4th in visibility and also efficiency. We are not suggesting this color for warning or navigation but special usage.

drone strobe light

drone strobe light faa 107

www.firehousetechnology.com

Yep... love my new ARC XLs. Use 4 arranged in standard aircraft fashion (the 2 whites to rear)
Doubles to triples VLOS.

 

[BigAl07]

Yep... love my new ARC XLs. Use 4 arranged in standard aircraft fashion (the 2 whites to rear)
Doubles to triples VLOS.

Have you used them enough to get any idea on battery life yet?

I'm thinking about running one as a SPOT LIGHT and curious as to how long a single full charge might last.

 

[Thomas B]

Have you used them enough to get any idea on battery life yet?

I'm thinking about running one as a SPOT LIGHT and curious as to how long a single full charge might last.

Haven’t had them in the dark yet, so can’t comment on use as a spotlight, but it’s a good idea if you can do it w/o blocking sensors as they are relatively large.
They advertise 4 hours on single charge, but doubt if this is continuous on. Still testing. Will try to get my review posted.

 

[AMann]

Have you used them enough to get any idea on battery life yet?

I'm thinking about running one as a SPOT LIGHT and curious as to how long a single full charge might last.

I’d use a “tactical” CREE mini- flashlight as a spotlight, I don’t think the little strobes really have a very large battery capacity to be left on continuously to make good spotlights.

 

[BigAl07]

I’d use a “tactical” CREE mini- flashlight as a spotlight, I don’t think the little strobes really have a very large battery capacity to be left on continuously to make good spotlights.

I was just thinking of inside a hallway/corridor when we are working with SWAT inside of a building.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The color of the MAVIC

What Mavic to start ?
Size of strobe and ability to place it might have some bearing on model.

For daylight, you'd be best with white ARCII, or the new ARC XL (also has the audible alarm if it goes down to help locate drone).
The ARC XL is a lot larger though, nowhere near as compact as an ARCII velcroed to the back of your Mavic.

My public series White / Red on the back of my M1P strobing white cycle . . .



and red cycle . . .



You can see just how much brighter the white is over the red (which is 2nd most visible of the range).

ARC XLw/L.A.N.D. I'll be using WHITE up front and RED in the rear. Just a personal preference for me.

Looks like you prefer a vehicle lighting setup, headlight and taillight.
The 1000 lumen of the white up front ?
Is it possible this amount of light might affect camera ops ?
(Either recording, or even just the view ?)
A lot brighter than the ARCII 600 lumen.

I was just thinking of inside a hallway/corridor when we are working with SWAT inside of a building.

Be careful, you could get sued by the perps for blinding them, permanent retinal damage !!

 

[Thomas B]

Here’s 2 stills of the ARC XLs for size reference on the M2P

movies later.

 

[BigAl07]

You can see just how much brighter the white is over the red (which is 2nd most visible of the range).

That picture gives a great comparison from WHITE to RED. Well done.

Looks like you prefer a vehicle lighting setup, headlight and taillight.
The 1000 lumen of the white up front ?
Is it possible this amount of light might affect camera ops ?

We've found our "nonAviation" people find this format easier for quick recognition.

It should be interesting to see if (and how much) they interfere with camera functions etc.

Be careful, you could get sued by the perps for blinding them, permanent retinal damage !!

Now that's LOL

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Here’s 2 stills of the ARC XLs for size reference on the M2P
View attachment 92553View attachment 92554
movies later.

I didn’t have a chance to check Thomas, what’s the weight of those ?
I imagine it will be a fairly significant amount more the the ARCIIs.

 

[Thomas B]

I didn’t have a chance to check Thomas, what’s the weight of those ?
I imagine it will be a fairly significant amount more the the ARCIIs.

Yes they are. The 4 ARC XLs,in the mounts, are 98 grams. Am not noticing differences in flight characteristics or duration with them though.
My 4 ARC2s in the mounts only weigh about 42-45 grams. I only added about 50-55grams.

I believe the increased weight is largely due to the L.A.N.D. System.
But....each ARC2 is 600 Lumens while the ARC XLs are 1000 Lumens each. So there’s a trade off.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

My 4 ARC2s in the mounts only weigh about 42-45 grams. I only added about 50-55grams.

Not too significant in the scope of upgrade
I think I'm happy with ARCIIs . . . gawd, even they can temporarily blind you enough when using them !!

 

[Thomas B]

Actually, there are occasions, when flying fairly close in that I don’t use any of my add-on strobes at all.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Actually, there are occasions, when flying fairly close in that I don’t use any of my add-on strobes at all.

Yep, me too.
If the flight is going to be close, not necessary to use them.
Also depends on flight characteristics, the terrain etc for contrast / visibility.