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Strobe lights

OldGuy

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Like many fellow pilots I bought a strobe light for my Mini 2. Last year I ordered a Lume Cube but it got lost in the Christmas post. This time after researching I ordered a STARTRC strobe mainly because it weighed only 6 grams (Firehouse strobes do not seem to be available in Europe). Like many of the strobes available the description mentioned visible up to 3 km away. I attached the strobe to the back of the Mini 2 with a rubber band so it was pointing towards me as I flew so no reason not to be able to see it (photo). This morning I took it to my usual testing site which is a hill overlooking the sea. The day was cloudy so all the better to see the strobe. I took off with the light switched to flashing white. After 300 m I lost sight of it. I then switched to flashing red and this time I lost sight at 200 m and the same with flashing green. I then tried various combinations with the same results as above. The strobe is usable in VLOS of course but I am disappointed in the statement of “visible up to 3 km” as it comes nowhere near this claimed distance!
 

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Like many fellow pilots I bought a strobe light for my Mini 2. Last year I ordered a Lume Cube but it got lost in the Christmas post. This time after researching I ordered a STARTRC strobe mainly because it weighed only 6 grams (Firehouse strobes do not seem to be available in Europe). Like many of the strobes available the description mentioned visible up to 3 km away. I attached the strobe to the back of the Mini 2 with a rubber band so it was pointing towards me as I flew so no reason not to be able to see it (photo). This morning I took it to my usual testing site which is a hill overlooking the sea. The day was cloudy so all the better to see the strobe. I took off with the light switched to flashing white. After 300 m I lost sight of it. I then switched to flashing red and this time I lost sight at 200 m and the same with flashing green. I then tried various combinations with the same results as above. The strobe is usable in VLOS of course but I am disappointed in the statement of “visible up to 3 km” as it comes nowhere near this claimed distance!
Sorry to say OldGuy, but how can you even think about seeing it more than 200m. Even that I doubt. 3000m (!) is nothing but marketing pure BS!
 
Sorry to say OldGuy, but how can you even think about seeing it more than 200m. Even that I doubt. 3000m (!) is nothing but marketing pure BS!
I've always been a bit gullible but hey 3 km down to 200 m is a bit much by any stretch of the imagination!?
 
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I ordered one , I like the idea that it can be used with the Wet Suit . As far as 3 Km maybe if you have two of them one on each leg , you might get there . Im going to get it to help my spotter find the drone as that has proven no easy task without time lost.

Phatnomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain .
 
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The brightest one I’ve found.
Like the Firehouse I don't think this one is available in Europe.
 
Like many fellow pilots I bought a strobe light for my Mini 2. Last year I ordered a Lume Cube but it got lost in the Christmas post. This time after researching I ordered a STARTRC strobe mainly because it weighed only 6 grams (Firehouse strobes do not seem to be available in Europe). Like many of the strobes available the description mentioned visible up to 3 km away. I attached the strobe to the back of the Mini 2 with a rubber band so it was pointing towards me as I flew so no reason not to be able to see it (photo). This morning I took it to my usual testing site which is a hill overlooking the sea. The day was cloudy so all the better to see the strobe. I took off with the light switched to flashing white. After 300 m I lost sight of it. I then switched to flashing red and this time I lost sight at 200 m and the same with flashing green. I then tried various combinations with the same results as above. The strobe is usable in VLOS of course but I am disappointed in the statement of “visible up to 3 km” as it comes nowhere near this claimed distance!

I was so disappointed I did not even make a video, the Cree and firehouse offer a cleaner image in the sky
Than the StarTrac , I had it strapped to the Tail of the Air 2S for a preset sun ride , no see

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.
 
Before I bought my Firehouse Arc V, I watched some videos. Here we have a 3 statute mile requirement for night flights, and the video showed a spotter exactly 3SM away from the pilot/takeoff/hover zone. They showed it, and you could definitely see it if you knew where to look, but even the firehouse was hard to spot at 3SM. I know that's greater than 3KM, but if it weren't pitch black outside in the video, it would not have been visible.

So I think when they say visible at 3 KM, they mean in very dark settings, optimal environment for a light. I can't think of anything my drones could carry that would be visible at 3KM in broad daylight. The Sun is so much more powerful than these strobes.

Im not a manned commercial pilot, but I've read that all commercial airlines keep their strobes on at all times under 10,000 ft. Which if true, even the strobes on commercial airplanes aren't visible in full sun daylight from 1000'.

Anyway, the color LEDs are either covers, which would block more light, or they are separate LEDs (not as common) but the lumen output for LED colors would be lower per watt, with white being the brightest. So makes sense that you got less distance from the colors, even though they might stand out more, they get drowned out by the Sun, which emits every color.

Wish I had a solution for you, if you find one please share.
 
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So I think when they say visible at 3 KM, they mean in very dark settings, optimal environment for a light. I can't think of anything my drones could carry that would be visible at 3KM in broad daylight. The Sun is so much more powerful than these strobes.

I feel even a very starry night, or mildly moonlit night would defeat most strobes, even the ARCV.
Agree, even those powerful airline strobes can get lost, and drone strobes are toys in comparison.

I am sure that the spirit of the 3 statute mile rule is for other aircraft to see your drone in the air, not so much the drone pilot.
That distance is far, FAR to great for a drone pilot to have ANY sort of situational awareness of other aircraft in the vicinity anyway, even in daylight that'd be a big ask !

At night how would you hear a heli say 4 or miles away coming towards you and your drones position (if the drone was even a mile out) ?
Have some sort of understanding what direction it's taking in relation to the drone ?
Hopefully the heli pilot would be able to see a decent strobe and avoid it.

Not many strobes would be effective at night to 3 miles, in my opinion the FHT ACR V is the best bet, but it shouldn't be used by a drone pilot to fly 3 miles away, only for other aircraft to see at that distance.

Closer in at night, used for reasonable VLOS daylight, yes a strobe is very good to have for some flights as deemed helpful . . . that little bit better visual contact with certain sky / ground conditions where a drone 'disappears'.
 
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I feel even a very starry night, or mildly moonlit night would defeat most strobes, even the ARCV.
Agree, even those powerful airline strobes can get lost, and drone strobes are toys in comparison.

I am sure that the spirit of the 3 statute mile rule is for other aircraft to see your drone in the air, not so much the drone pilot.
That distance is far, FAR to great for a drone pilot to have ANY sort of situational awareness of other aircraft in the vicinity anyway, even in daylight that'd be a big ask !

At night how would you hear a heli say 4 or miles away coming towards you and your drones position (if the drone was even a mile out) ?
Have some sort of understanding what direction it's taking in relation to the drone ?
Hopefully the heli pilot would be able to see a decent strobe and avoid it.

Not many strobes would be effective at night to 3 miles, in my opinion the FHT ACR V is the best bet, but it shouldn't be used by a drone pilot to fly 3 miles away, only for other aircraft to see at that distance.

Closer in at night, used for reasonable VLOS daylight, yes a strobe is very good to have for some flights as deemed helpful . . . that little bit better visual contact with certain sky / ground conditions where a drone 'disappears'.
Oh, yes you are correct. A strobe isn't for the drone pilot and the FAA does state that, and no, it wouldn't allow for attitude or speed at that distance anyway. Since the OP was speaking in KM, I assumed not in the US, so I tried not to judge for the US rules since I am not knowledgeable about laws in other countries.

Having said that, on top of a drone with the ground as the backdrop, it would likely be much more visible if mounted on top.

The video I referred to had a parking lot exactly 3 SM from a parking garage, so the "spotters" sat about 3 floors up, and the pilot, in a lit parking lot, would fly up to about 200' I think and the spotters would try to see it.

But as far as attitude, speed, etc, and situational awareness for craft near your drone, no strobes should not be used to allow you to fly over 3SM in the US. Outside the US, well I've never flown there, so I do not know the rules and won't comment.
 
I bought one of these to test out a selection of cheap lights. I love the way it attached but it isn't very bright. Wish the ARC Vs had little hooks like this.
 
I was having issues with seeing my Mavic 2 Zoom at 2 miles during the day: https://amzn.to/3DPxKYP I purchased that unit and during the day I can find it now. I had to put the unit just behind the gimbal on the bottom. When my Mini 2 gets here I'll see if I can find a location on the bottom of the drone. At either case this is not for night flight, I fly looking for trash in rivers, canals and ditches.
 
I was having issues with seeing my Mavic 2 Zoom at 2 miles during the day: https://amzn.to/3DPxKYP I purchased that unit and during the day I can find it now. I had to put the unit just behind the gimbal on the bottom. When my Mini 2 gets here I'll see if I can find a location on the bottom of the drone. At either case this is not for night flight, I fly looking for trash in rivers, canals and ditches.
Wow you must have fantastic eyesight to see your drone at two miles with or without a strobe. I lose sight of mine at around 250 meters!?
 
I feel even a very starry night, or mildly moonlit night would defeat most strobes, even the ARCV.
Agree, even those powerful airline strobes can get lost, and drone strobes are toys in comparison.

I am sure that the spirit of the 3 statute mile rule is for other aircraft to see your drone in the air, not so much the drone pilot.
That distance is far, FAR to great for a drone pilot to have ANY sort of situational awareness of other aircraft in the vicinity anyway, even in daylight that'd be a big ask !

At night how would you hear a heli say 4 or miles away coming towards you and your drones position (if the drone was even a mile out) ?
Have some sort of understanding what direction it's taking in relation to the drone ?
Hopefully the heli pilot would be able to see a decent strobe and avoid it.

Not many strobes would be effective at night to 3 miles, in my opinion the FHT ACR V is the best bet, but it shouldn't be used by a drone pilot to fly 3 miles away, only for other aircraft to see at that distance.

Closer in at night, used for reasonable VLOS daylight, yes a strobe is very good to have for some flights as deemed helpful . . . that little bit better visual contact with certain sky / ground conditions where a drone 'disappears'.
The Borg strikes.

I've been ruminating about buying an Arc V here on the list, so what does Amazon do? They send me an email with links to the Arc V!

What could I do? I bought a white one. I should have it by early next week.

Interestingly, the white one cost a bit more than all the other color combinations.

TCS
 
I just got my Ulanzi strobe from ebay. $15
Looks very nice. Many functions and can select 4 colors. Very bright but I've not used it yet.
Happy with the purchase.
 
I just got my Ulanzi strobe from ebay. $15
Looks very nice. Many functions and can select 4 colors. Very bright but I've not used it yet.
Happy with the purchase.
Will be interested to know how far away you can see it both in daylight and at night?
 
I can see it is hugely bright. But I'll fly it first to be sure.
 
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