Strobe light recommendations

[MAvic_South_Oz]

the one i am on about is a very small lightweight unit and is very bright and it is FAA approved for visibility over 3 statute miles i have one for my MPP mounted on the top to go with my strobon cree ones that are mounted on the front arms

Cool omm, you have it and are happy
I think any of these strobes from single cree Strobon to the larger strobes like the Lumecube will give advantages to drone ops, but few issues with a little extra weight.

I wouldn't recommend a larger strobe on the MM though, as it's almost certainly going to be close, less than say a km, a small strobe like a Strobon single, or twin cree like the FHT Dual is all you need, and footprint / weight is kept minimal.

Specs are factual and I like to see things in B&W comparos.

When I was looking checked all specs for all drone strobes, along with smaller strobes I compared Lumecube to the FHT ARCII, due to similar sizes.
Lumecube strobe is 38mm x ~ 23mm x ~ 18mm high *, 10 gms, 500 lumens, US$50 single
.. .. (* scaled width and height, can't find specs on LC for these, can you confirm ?)
FHT ARCII is 27mm x 24mm x 13mm high, 4.54gms, 600 lumen, US$33 single.

The Lumecube strobes have 6 hr run time, handy.
It also has bubble top, which may throw out light for side vision . . . if comparing that I'd do so to the FHT Spark strobe.
FHT Spark 38mm x 30mm x 18mm high, 12gms, 600 lumens, US$30 single.
Has solid magnifying dome that disperses light to low angle . . .

Clip good for cycling, emerg beacon, would remove to velcro to a drone.
So Spark strobe a little larger, heavier, but more output, cheaper.
Have seen and filmed this under an Air, work great, video posted on the forum here before, you might have seen it ?

Firehouse Technology led strobes

About to pull the trigger on a set of strobe leds, mostly for a little assistance in keeping (obtaining) VLOS easier when not watching the ipad mini4 shooting video. Or if / when someone in authority may come up behind me and ask where my drone is. Those look VERY similar to the CREE STROBE...

mavicpilots.com

 

[BenF]

Just flew my first twilite flight using the Firehouse 4 LED's. Mounted it on top of the mini with the velco. When hovering, can't see them from the ground. When going forward towards me or right to left, due to the altitude (tilt) of the drone, I can see the LED's quite clearly. A really good range extender for VLOS. When I turned on the unit, the LED's are so bright (didn't shut my eyes) I had dots in my vision, which made it hard to see for awhile. A Mr. Obvious moment.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

When going forward towards me or right to left, due to the altitude (tilt) of the drone, I can see the LED's quite clearly. A really good range extender for VLOS. When I turned on the unit, the LED's are so bright (didn't shut my eyes) I had dots in my vision, which made it hard to see for awhile. A Mr. Obvious moment.

Can't get it near the back or underneath then ?
Suppose sensors underneath are the issue there on a small body.
The ARCII is pretty big, but at least light and not bulky in height.

Brother in law had to mount his strobe on the battery (underneath) of his Air, just velcro on each battery.

The Mini is about same size as my Spark, with that, I really had to use a Dual (almost half the size of the ARCII), mounted under the right front arm on the body . . . from there, it is visible from any direction other than when that is away (flying right to left).
If I want to find it, a quick yaw turn is all that's needed.

 

[wjkrysak]

I mounted my Firehouse strobes on top of my MA with velcro. Good VLOS day or night. If I need orientation reassurance, I would bump my stick MA to tilt and improve visibility.

 

[Skywalker]

Just flew my first twilite flight using the Firehouse 4 LED's. Mounted it on top of the mini with the velco. When hovering, can't see them from the ground. When going forward towards me or right to left, due to the altitude (tilt) of the drone, I can see the LED's quite clearly. A really good range extender for VLOS. When I turned on the unit, the LED's are so bright (didn't shut my eyes) I had dots in my vision, which made it hard to see for awhile. A Mr. Obvious moment.

Mine is velcroed to the bottom.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Hi,
Any recommend strobes for the MM.
Thanks

For this little drone I recommend the Firehouse Tech Dual. It's the brightest with still a small form factor. Normally I recommend the Firehouse Technology ARC II, but that is way overkill for this little drone. The 2nd strobe I'd recommend would be the Flytron Strobon Cree, it is smaller and lighter but less bright and also less reliable in my experience.
We have strobe mounts for them both HERE.

 

[tripntx]

For this little drone I recommend the Firehouse Tech Dual. It's the brightest with still a small form factor. Normally I recommend the Firehouse Technology ARC II, but that is way overkill for this little drone. The 2nd strobe I'd recommend would be the Flytron Strobon Cree, it is smaller and lighter but less bright and also less reliable in my experience.
We have strobe mounts for them both HERE.
View attachment 85821
View attachment 85822

Just ordered a set of your 2 Rear Arm + 2 Front Foot Mounts for Firehouse Tech Dual Cree. Thinking about two red on front, and two white on back.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

For this little drone I recommend the Firehouse Tech Dual. It's the brightest with still a small form factor. Normally I recommend the Firehouse Technology ARC II, but that is way overkill for this little drone. The 2nd strobe I'd recommend would be the Flytron Strobon Cree, it is smaller and lighter but less bright and also less reliable in my experience.
We have strobe mounts for them both HERE.

Perfect recommendation, small and light, and way bright enough to keep good VLOS for the mini distances (say up to a km or a mile easy).

Just ordered a set of your 2 Rear Arm + 2 Front Foot Mounts for Firehouse Tech Dual Cree. Thinking about two red on front, and two white on back.

You should love this setup, but get the std nav setiup if going for 4 lights.
Red front left arm, green right front arm, 2 whites on rear arms.
FHT sell them in 3 strobe kit with one of each, but if wanting 2 white, just order two of these kits . . .

"Dual" Strobe Light 2-Pack For DJI Inspire 1 2 Mavic Pro Phantom Spark Quadcopters RC Plane

Motorcycle stereo speakers radio atv drone strobe lights dji strobe faa 107 anti collision lights drone spotlights uas strobe drones dji mavic mavic pro inspire phantom spark matrice

www.firehousetechnology.com

You can spec 2 white for one set, 1 of each red / green for the other set.

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Just ordered a set of your 2 Rear Arm + 2 Front Foot Mounts for Firehouse Tech Dual Cree. Thinking about two red on front, and two white on back.

Thanks, got your order! They are done and will ship out first thing in the morning! Fly safe!
Ryan

 

[tripntx]

Went with one green and one red for front, two whites for rear, all Firehouse Tech dual cree.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Went with one green and one red for front, two whites for rear, all Firehouse Tech dual cree.

Just wear sunglasses when you fire them up, lol.
Even the Duals will give you rod vision destruction, you'll see a big white spot quite a while, even with your eyes closed.

 

[wjkrysak]

Yes, they are bright. I place my thumb over the cree on start up, as I have "white spotted" several times. They are a good quality, bright and light (not heavy).

 

[Deleted member 109934]

Wow, cheap as chips !

I watched the video to try and find out about the battery, nothing mentioned.
200+ hours, is it rechargeable ?
Or a button type battery ?

They are a little large compared to most drone strobes, eg a FHT Dual is the size of a small postage stamp.
But they could be some peoples answer to an economical option, maybe on larger drones though.

If people just want improved VLOS on the Mavic Mini, maybe just go for one white (the brightest of the leds), and place on rear if possible.
You can yaw around once slowly if you need to find it in the sky.

They are cheap and seem super cool, but in order for them to ship to Canada, I have to order a minimum 100$ worth of them... That's not that cheap anymore...

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Quality and minimum is not cheap, for sure.
$100 is a lot to throw at strobes, I know.
Try and do a group order with the model club(s) and fellow Canadian drone pilots, get enough and you may even get a little more discount, or free shipping.

At least the supplier will ship the maratac strobes to Canada.
Saw in another thread a Canadian wrote a while ago saying it's a no go getting FHT to ship to there.

With the ones I have now (7), and a bunch of 10 I have awaiting brother to pick up from nieces in NJ, I have US$477 odd invested !!
THAT'S AUD$700 !! An avg of AUD$41.18 ea.

An ARCII form the only distributor in Oz is AUD$72, about US$50, FHT shop is US$33 (AUD$48.50) for one.
Not too much of a mark up I suppose, but when buying 4 it makes a fair difference.

Should have those others in 2nd week Feb.

The 10 I have in NJ are not all for me though.
I am keeping 2 white ARCIIS, maybe a couple of the Spark strobes, the rest I will on-sale to Aussies (and one NZdr) looking for one each.
Just cost + post pack and postage out, and I will recoup some of that.

I still have a few for Aussie flyers, if any are reading and want to drop me a line.

 

[netsonic]

We have strobe mounts for them both HERE.

Do you happen to know out of experience.. how the antenna range is affected, if the strobes are directly over the antennas that are located on the front arms? (1st picture).

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Do you happen to know out of experience.. how the antenna range is affected, if the strobes are directly over the antennas that are located on the front arms? (1st picture).

Sorry for the late reply, I wasn't notified of your reply for some reason (or I missed it). We've been making this style of mount for the front feet since the original Mavic Pro, I haven't noticed any degradation of signal quality on any of them, Mavic Mini included.

 

[Mrveronn]

I have two of the FHT dual cree and just placed an order for two of the Aerial-Pixel rear mounts...

 

[paulatkin73]

it applies to both mavic 2 and this mavic mini - if you intend to get a max signal distance - do not put/mount anything on the front legs antenna holders - one that also works as a landing leg.
especially if you mount it for front view - you will get signal going out, but after rotation back you may get cut off.

 

[Thomas B]

it applies to both mavic 2 and this mavic mini - if you intend to get a max signal distance - do not put/mount anything on the front legs antenna holders - one that also works as a landing leg.
especially if you mount it for front view - you will get signal going out, but after rotation back you may get cut off.

Maybe each should test their unit in conditions they fly. I have never had an issue with antennae interference mounted on front legs of my M2P, including desert testing out to 4 plus miles. Just my experience.

 

[paulatkin73]

Maybe each should test their unit in conditions they fly. I have never had an issue with antennae interference mounted on front legs of my M2P, including desert testing out to 4 plus miles. Just my experience.

i meant specifically this mount method - green led board covers most of the antenna patch in that section of the leg. anyone can test it, sure.