FireHose strobe increasing VLOS?

[usaken]

Hi, has anybody had experience with the firehose drone strobes? Do they increase the ability to keep the bird in view during the day? Thanks

 

[Nonprophet]

Following. I'm looking at getting a set of the landing gear ones for my MM.

 

[pelagic_one]

Hi, has anybody had experience with the firehose drone strobes? Do they increase the ability to keep the bird in view during the day?

Firehouse strobes are very bright, and do increase VLOS during the day, and of course at night. A few have shared videos of their strobes flashing during the day, at a low hover, and still creating a huge ball of light on the ground with every flash.

Using the 3D-printed arm mounts on eBay or Etsy, I’ve got a FH Arc 2 on my Mini, and FH Arc XL for my MP and M2P.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Search the forum here > strobe firehouse
You will get lots of thread, and photos from many users.

Yes, they are the best for VLOS daylight, depending on what aircraft you have and how far away you usually fly, you could get by fine with Dual (small 2 led strobe, flash, fixed), the ARC II (almost 2 x Dual size . . . still small !), or the new one the ACR XL with 66% more light output than the ARC II, and a 90db alarm that activates when it's been still for 4 minutes, be awesome for larger aircraft (M1P / MPP, or M2P and larger) in the event of a land crash or forced landing.

Keep in mind, VLOS is not half a mile away, but you can look up when the drone is in your LOS and they are pretty easy to pick up.

 

[dronerdave]

I look down at the screen and without strobes it takes a long time to find the quad if I'm out only a few hundred feet. They help and I always use them. During the right time of day and against a darker background I've been able to see them between 2000-3000 feet out. The white are the easiest to see. At dawn or dusk they are quite brilliant and I have red/green on the sides of my MP, white on bottom and on the rear. I just purchased a set of ARC-XL's (waiting for shipment) but feel the Arc-II's I'm using preform well. The batteries hold a charge for quite a while and operate all day for me. I don't like the Spark strobes they sell much. The magnifying dome fell off on both mine which was no big deal and the battery run time is reasonable, but they seem to discharge quickly when idle. I'm hoping the XL's work as well as the ArcII's I have been using the last few years.

 

[Frustrated]

I bought the white. I have trouble on a sunny day seeing it.

 

[RkyMtnHigh]

Following here also. I'm very interested in these for my MA, and still tossing up the idea if I just want white or white, red and green.

 

[CareyL]

Hi, has anybody had experience with the firehose drone strobes? Do they increase the ability to keep the bird in view during the day? Thanks

Absolutely.

 

[offtheback]

Following here also. I'm very interested in these for my MA, and still tossing up the idea if I just want white or white, red and green.

White is the brightest.get the LED model.Hurts your eyes close in dim light.

 

[CareyL]

White is the brightest.get the LED model.Hurts your eyes close in dim light.

I use 4 led FHT lights. Red on nose, green on tail and white on top & bottom. also helps with VLOS orientation.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I bought the white. I have trouble on a sunny day seeing it.

That's about the worst case for them, bright daylight, and with a light grey background (lightly overcast sky) they are hardest to pick out then, especially at distance.
In those circumstances, I lose sight of my Dual white at about 700m (2300') when I first tested them.

Any strobe is going to be affected the same though, and be far less visible in bright sunlit daylight and / or with light overcast skies.

The FHT are brightest in the Dual (2 led) ARC II (4 led), and larger ARC XL, and out of their led colours, the brightest is white, followed by red, then green.
The ARC II public series in either red / white or blue / red combo would be lower down the scale in visibility than the all white strobe in that model.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The OP doesn't mention drone model, and it makes a difference.
You wouldn't really want ARC XL or even ARC II on a mini . . . the wifi range limits how far you can fly anyway, plus the Dual is what you'd call less than small postage stamp size, 4g only, no effect on flight with low profile etc.

With an Air (1) is best with one on the battery, probably an ARCII would be fine there, or one like the FHT Spark (strobe) in a case. A little velcro on each battery, and swap out strobe as needed.

WIth the Mini, or indeed my Spark, I would put one on each side where feasible, with the Spark I put mine just behind and below the arms left and right.
I can see them from all angles, including front and rear, though side on is obviously brighter.

This is where I place the mounts . . . front view, left, and right . . .



This is them strobing on the ground, first pic is just red status lights . . .



A video in flight, it was an almost dusk flight, with those light grey skies . . .

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Whatever the OP gets, a decent strobe will help.

This is the Brother in Laws Air with Spark strobe on the battery underneath . . . this was middle of the day with light grey cloud cover too . . .

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[offtheback]

I use 4 led FHT lights. Red on nose, green on tail and white on top & bottom. also helps with VLOS orientation.

Meant to say 4 LED model.Very bright

 

[SpitFire]

I love my strobe lights, more powerful the better. Remember, the more lights you put on. The more you have to charge up, and turn on and Off, for us older folks, it can be a pain turning the lights on and off. Any body come up with a simple idea, to not get blinded by those powerful strobes.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Any body come up with a simple idea, to not get blinded by those powerful strobes.

I bet it's a problem for the ARC XL users !
Those things are 1000 lumen, vs ARC II at 600lm, the ARC II blind you enough if not cautious.

Sunglasses maybe, until you get airborne and a little distance away.
Or do what I do, look away a bit, squint a lot, and get away as fast as possible.

 

[dronerdave]

I love my strobe lights, more powerful the better. Remember, the more lights you put on. The more you have to charge up, and turn on and Off, for us older folks, it can be a pain turning the lights on and off. Any body come up with a simple idea, to not get blinded by those powerful strobes.

The on/off button is the biggest issue with the circuit board type FH strobes. One of my buddy's who is in his 80's complained about turning them on and off. It just takes some practice but he uses one of those computer stylists used to write on a touch screen. You still get blinded from time to time. I just know where the buttons are and don't look at them using my thumb to block the LEDs. The FH Spark strobe has an easy to use on off switch and are much easier to use but I'm just not a fan of that model. What I like about my Arc-II's is they last long enough that I usually don't turn them off unless I move from my flying site. So I've flown 5 batteries on my MP and the strobes have never died. I do hope the XL's have a long run time. Yeah they are big in size and maybe not for all drones but I purchased for my RC airplanes. At one of my flying fields there were 2 planes that crash yesterday in a oat field and it took a long time to locate those aircraft. I'm banking on the alarm to help me locate mine if I crash. Even though you can use the app to find a DJI quad, having a strobe made it easier to find my buddy's grandkids DJI-spark when he crashed it into a heavy forested area. The app led us to the general area but without the strobes we would have never found it up in a tree. Saved him a few hundred bucks.

 

[Frustrated]

I might add a red strobe for sunny days as well a white for cloudy. Any thought on that?

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

They absolutely do. They make a great product. Though I would consider a color such as red or green for daytime flying as the sunlight may drown out the white light. We have all the colors in stock. If you would like, shoot us a message and we can get you set up!


Thanks,
FDS Team

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I might add a red strobe for sunny days as well a white for cloudy. Any thought on that?

White is still always going to be brightest, in all situations.
Why not get a red one too and add to the bottom somewhere, not sure what you're flying and where you have tried your white strobe.

 

[dronerdave]

I can see the white easier in all conditions as well. At further distances during daytime I find the red looks like a less bright white version and I can't really pick out color. Green seems worse. However with binoculars it's easier to see both red and green color. During dusk or dawn and especially at night, the colors are brilliant. I can navigate without being able to see the colors and the flash alone is usually enough but I keep a pair of binoculars on hand for friends I fly with in case I get into a situation. Being I can still see the flash, a good pair of binoculars helps to pick out the colored strobes. The rules say the PIC must use no visual aid other than personal glasses and such but someone can assist me with binos in an emergency as long as I keep true VLOS with my own vision and am able to fly safely. Flying at night is interesting but I generally fly early dawn or dusk and strobes help get those pics.