Firehouse ARC V Strobe Review

[Thomas B]

@Thomas B if I remember correctly you got your ARC XL's earlier on in production, do yours have 5 or 6 LED's? The ones with 6 are a different LED that isn't as bright in my opinion, not sure why they changed it. See below, old on the right, new on the left. Both are still extremely bright and meet the 3SM FAA requirement.
View attachment 115072

I have the 5 LED version. Very happy with them.
Went down once unexpectedly and the four lights alarming at 98dB each made it easy to find.

 

[OliveViewImages]

Is it possible to mount the Arc V “out of the box” (without having to purchase special mounts) on the front and rear facing surfaces of the arms of the Mavic 2 Pro? I want to be able to see the strobe as the bird flies away from and toward me. Thanks!

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Is it possible to mount the Arc V “out of the box” (without having to purchase special mounts) on the front and rear facing surfaces of the arms of the Mavic 2 Pro? I want to be able to see the strobe as the bird flies away from and toward me. Thanks!

Yes, you can mount them with the included Velcro or double sided 3M tape. We are a distributor for Firehouse Technology now, and they are now distributing our strobe mounts too. You can find the ARC V in our shop HERE.

 

[OliveViewImages]

Yes, you can mount them with the included Velcro or double sided 3M tape. We are a distributor for Firehouse Technology now, and they are now distributing our strobe mounts too. You can find the ARC V in our shop HERE.

Great, thank you!

 

[Thomas B]

@Thomas B if I remember correctly you got your ARC XL's earlier on in production, do yours have 5 or 6 LED's? The ones with 6 are a different LED that isn't as bright in my opinion, not sure why they changed it. See below, old on the right, new on the left. Both are still extremely bright and meet the 3SM FAA requirement.
View attachment 115072

They have five LEDs... and I still love the mounts you made for me!

 

[DieselE]

Guys, is mounting one underneath workable? Have they got a wide scattered beam, so as long as you are a good few metres above head height you will see them - and even better when at max altitude?

I also worry about the warranty - 90 days seems very short indeed for anything these days - any ideas why?

Cheers

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Guys, is mounting one underneath workable? Have they got a wide scattered beam, so as long as you are a good few metres above head height you will see them - and even better when at max altitude?

I also worry about the warranty - 90 days seems very short indeed for anything these days - any ideas why?

Cheers

I've been using Firehouse Technology strobes for years, I actually haven't had any go bad yet. I did have one that was DOA but Firehouse swapped it out no questions asked. In my experience if there is a problem they would be DOA or have an issues within the first few uses. I wouldn't let the 90 day warranty concern you. Just like us (Aerial-Pixel LLC) Firehouse Technology is a very small company with not much profit built into the sale price of their products, that is probably the reason for the shorter warranty period.

Regarding mounting to the underside of your aircraft, the larger strobes tend to be harder to mount between all the sensors, and usually you would need landing gear extensions on your M2P. I would still suggest arm mounting them as you can see it better from all angles, bottom mounting is good when flying high not too far away from you, the further out and lower to the horizon you get the harder they are too see. Top mounting is good for manned aircraft visibility. We do offer a bottom mount for the Mavic 2 series, but just for the ARC II and Dual strobes as they are the flattest of the Firehouse strobes (they do not require landing gear extensions). Below are some mounting options for your M2P (we also offer mounts for all other DJI drones) clicking the photo will take you to the product page on our website. Let me know if you have questions. Fly safe!

 

[DieselE]

Useful info - many thanks. Sounds like one front and one on the diagonally opposite arm at rear would be best.

Also if they are as reliable as you state in your experience - they could bump the warranty up - it does imply a lack of confidence in the product.

 

[AaronB4206]

Do the firehouse strobes affect the camera at night? I am interested in these for my air 2 but Im not sure how it affects the camera - especially with placement. Firehouse has the new mounts for the arms but Im not sure if thats good or if Im better off putting one on top and another on bottom /rear - also does anyone have a preference for color options? I was leaning toward either the red/white to the tri color.

 

[dronerdave]

Do the firehouse strobes affect the camera at night? also does anyone have a preference for color options? I was leaning toward either the red/white to the tri color.

Forward facing strobes can cause close objects to light up like with a camera flash. Bugs come to mind but generally I can't tell the strobes are on in clear weather. My landing pad really lights up as I land at night with my bottom strobe operating.
White is by far the most visible.
Not sure what FH offers today but the tri-color strobe I bought from them only has one LED that flashes one at a time (one red one green one white) so the visual distance is much less than the arc-II's, XL's or V's that have all LED's flash

 

[jarnie]

The best change is that the strobe is completely enclosed.

Can you advise what differences if any there are in the dimensions of both the ARC ii and ARC V. The listings state 1.5" X 1.0" and the ARC V 0.5" thick but the pictures makes the V look noticably larger (length and width) than the II

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Can you advise what differences if any there are in the dimensions of both the ARC ii and ARC V. The listings state 1.5" X 1.0" and the ARC V 0.5" thick but the pictures makes the V look noticably larger (length and width) than the II

Below are the dimensions and weights for all the Firehouse Line, additional strobe sizes and weights are below as well in our stroube mount selection guide:
Firehouse Tech. Dual: 16.5 x 22.9 x 8.8 3.35g
Firehouse Tech. ARC: 23.7 x 29.8 x 9.4 7.05g
Firehouse Tech. ARC II: 23.4 x 29.8 x 9.1 7.37g
Firehouse Tech. Lightning: 38.5 x 37.6 x 9.4 9.79g
Firehouse Tech. Spark 31.8 x 39.0 x 19.5 16.13g
Firehouse Tech. ARC XL: 30.2 x 52.5 x 17.3 14.92g
Firehouse Tech. ARC V: 25.0 x 38.4 x 13.0 12.74g

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Here is our updated list that includes the Firehouse Tech. ARC V and PolarPro Drone Strobe.

 

[jarnie]

Thanks I will get the ARC V

 

[MavicFlyer]

I think you'll be happy with the V.
I currently have 3 of the ARC2s, and a white V(got it when they came out). I had issues with a couple of the ARC2s, and FH was great about getting a free replacement out to me. The V has not had any problems.

In addition to the extra LED, it is in a case that holds it all together (power button,circuit board, charging port, and battery), and that makes it more durable - the case is rigid, and has a flat area on the bottom to which you can attach your fastener. With the ARC2, the little circuit board is a part of the structure, the battery is a bit irregular in shape, and the board is stressed by attachment/removal when you use Velcro or Dual Lock (press together/pull apart).

 

[Heretik]

Firehouse ARC V - LED Bulb Type. Not so bright.
Was led to believe the 5 LEDs bulbs would be as bright as my 1st strobe with 5 white LED chip type. This latter is blinding white and by blinding I mean you cant stare at it. If this ARC V is supposed to be 1000 lumens, my TopSun strobe (<$30) must be 5,000+
The ARC V is a big disappointment. Instructions specify 4 ON modes. But, It has only two modes. 1st mode: 1 Red single flash, 1 Green single flash, followed by 3 White double flashes then repeat. 2nd mode: All 5 LED bulbs light up and stay on steady which has a duration of < 1 hour. 1 each Red and Green LED bulb flash is more joke than functional. Perhaps in the dark and from 5 feet, left and right might be discernible.
There's no problem staring at the strobe in either of two ON modes, sad - very sad. The only positive is its size, being of low profile of 9/16" height with Velcro attachment and 1" x 1.5" footprint. Disappointing is being nice. A Dim Lit would be more correct.

 

[Rgrimard]

I have not yet had occasion to fly with the ARC V.
However, I have had the two side by side, and there is a difference, though it's not overwhelming, at least not head on. Think about it, we're talking about the difference between 4 LEDs and 5 LEDs (I assume they use the same LEDs).

The lenses may be different between the II and the V. If so, off-axis brightness would probably vary, even if the number of LEDs was unchanged.

It goes back to what you have now, and what you want to do:

If you don't have a strobe yet, I absolutely recommend the ARC V. Compared to the ARC II, the ARC V wins in every area.

If you already have a good strobe, like the ARC II, I'd keep it, but buy the ARC V to use --in addition to--- the ARC II - this is what I'm going to do - a white ARC V attached to Mavic Air battery, and pointing down, a white ARC II facing forward, attached to a front arm, and a red one on the other front arm.

When you say "at a distance", I'll assume you mean over 500 ft. Distance matters, as does height. If you have a downward facing strobe, it's going to be brightest when the drone is directly overhead, but as you move away, the brightness will drop because you're looking at the strobe from the side. If you're more concerned about visibility at a distance, then you'd want to do a side install or front/back...or do BOTH!

Also just to mention,,, the Arc-V says it has 1000 Lumens. My Arc-V is mounted on the MMini-Air-2 on the back end. I can spot it now pretty easy after taking my eyes off of it.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Firehouse ARC V - LED Bulb Type. Not so bright.
Was led to believe the 5 LEDs bulbs would be as bright as my 1st strobe with 5 white LED chip type. This latter is blinding white and by blinding I mean you cant stare at it. If this ARC V is supposed to be 1000 lumens, my TopSun strobe (<$30) must be 5,000+
The ARC V is a big disappointment. Instructions specify 4 ON modes. But, It has only two modes. 1st mode: 1 Red single flash, 1 Green single flash, followed by 3 White double flashes then repeat. 2nd mode: All 5 LED bulbs light up and stay on steady which has a duration of < 1 hour. 1 each Red and Green LED bulb flash is more joke than functional. Perhaps in the dark and from 5 feet, left and right might be discernible.
There's no problem staring at the strobe in either of two ON modes, sad - very sad. The only positive is its size, being of low profile of 9/16" height with Velcro attachment and 1" x 1.5" footprint. Disappointing is being nice. A Dim Lit would be more correct.

Maybe you have a bad ARC V, the TopSun doesn't even come close to being as bright in my opinion. I have tested a large majority of the strobes on the market and the ARC V is the brightest followed closely by the ARC II.

 

[Heretik]

My limited experience, very few and minimal duration twilight flights, says a 5 LED and fully housed strobe is worth paying for. I do use a strobe as time approaches sunset, and cloudy overcast days. The Firehouse Arc V is my favorite for it's 5 LEDs and greatly for its form factor. My second Fav is the Topsun 5 LED Dome model, also 5 LEDs. The latter is said to be 1/3 heavier though I cant quote gram weight. The height profile of the ARC V has my vote again, over the Topsun. And, I recharge the Topsun more often though cant spout actual duration of use time on either. Both are mini USB fitted. I did have an distressful issue early on with the Topsun. Unfortunately the dome globe fell off, thankfully in my bag. I reattached it with Elmers and its held on since.
Both attach to MA2 with velcro either atop battery for Topsun or more forward, ahead of battery, for the ARC V. The Firehouse ARC V, white, is my recommendation for both form factor and price. Whether its 1000 lumens or not, it has better reviews over the several others in their 3 SM tests.

 

[SteveOMA2]

Anyone know what the viewing angle of the ARC V is? I know it will be brightest from straight on but would still like to know the maximum viewable angle.