Here I am

Submitted by Eric Daniel

Getting lost sucks.  There’s simply no better way to describe it.  Getting lost in a place where you are likely to die unless you get un-lost in a hurry sucks even more.  One thing you can carry with you on your adventures, whether in the military or as a civilian, is a good lightweight strobe light.  The one I originally carried was the SDU-5/E strobe (with both the IR and “blue light” filters) which was issued to aircrews as a piece of survival kit.  But as batteries became harder and harder to find (the SDU-5/E takes a mil-spec BA-1574/U mercury battery, which, if you can find it, will run you $30-40 each) I switched over to the ARC MS-2000(M) strobe.  While slightly larger than the SDU-5/E, it comes complete; the IR and blue light filters are incorporated into the construction, and, most importantly, it runs off of AA batteries.

ARC MS-2000(M) strobe light

Comments

[Mark]

I have the SDU-5/E and I like it. The batteries are expensive but last long but I have a couple cuz i get them for free but the SDU-5/E is a good strobe light too.

[bobby ricky]

yeah, they are also great when you turn the lights off with the ladies around the end of yr holidays and you just turn it on while carolling and such and what not.

[Joseph Salomon]

Give me some info on this
strobe light. You can use it
in a hot zone toask for help ? Clue me in what if it was a
bunch of sand jiggers useing
you for bait ? Who the he--
wants to play tag with
you ?
What ever happen to every man
with a compass ?Keep in
actual contact coordinate &
account for your location.?
Wont a strob mark the spot
U R in? Funny way to run a
war depend on do dads
but h-ll what do I know Im
just an old fart.
Did WWII & Korea. The world
has pased me by. But I think
its a no brainer. If we used
a strob we would have a
battery of artilery down on
us.Or a size 14 boot up our
a-- , As they say diffrent
strobes for differnt folks!!!Maybe you know something I don't know.
so teach me, Never to old to learn.I'm never to old to learn.Young 81....

Reply to Uncle Joe.
2blueskyent@midtel.net

[HighlandRancher]

Great when you loose radio contact in mountain areas when hunting on horseback and you have a hunting accident. It would helps Search and Rescue locate you from air. But to be use in a was zone and when you have non-friendlies around you ....Hell No ..If you do use it you get what you ask for dump shit!!!!!!!!!!!!

[David Dougherty]

First for Uncle Joe, easy there you old war horse. I just finished my second year in Iraq in Feb 06 and was proud to have the ARC MS 2000 strobe. The blue filter folds over the visible strobe and can is easily identified at great distances (Uncle Joe is correct that in his day the arty would've been thicker than skeeters in Mississippi in summer) with any generation night vision device, goggles, scopes, etc... I kept on on my chest rig and demanded all my squad leaders and Bradley crews had at least two. They are great as marking devices in any light conditions, at night (concealed and blacked out) as markers for either helicopters or fixed wing a/c, and for countless uses in general signaling with or without night vision devices. They weigh about nothing and that's with the 2 AA batteries and last for many hours. I have (many times) used these as we moved on foot in tight urban conditions with the blue filter on as a method of keeping my air integration assets situationally aware of my location. The civilian uses seem practical to me but my uses prevented fratricide in chaotic combat conditions. Your generation lacked Night Vision Uncle Joe and I've been to Korea in the winter with lightweight insulated gear and Gortex, I can say without doubt that the WWII and Korean warfighters had tons of heart given the conditions (and lack of advanced gear) you've endured!! My respect Uncle Joe!

[Bill Honaker]

Strobes can be lifesavers. I was in Viet Nam in 1970, in the central highlands near the special forces camp of Dak Seang (which was under seige by the NVA at the time). I was doing Search and Recovery (Graves Registration) when we came under attack. We hunkered down for the night and about midnight the NVA started probing our perimeter. Our Infantry liason was positioned in the center of our defense perimeter and when things began getting hairy he called in a spooky gunship to assist. As the spooky came on station the liason turned his strobe on to identify our location, then he ordered fire to be placed, in a circle pattern, 300feet out from the strobe. We had two spookys alternate positions over us the rest of the night, and at first light we evacuated the area and were lifted out that afternoon. Strobes saved our lives!.

[Old Ed]

OK, I am a Vietnam Vet that used the old SDU-5s with good results. I was given one of these new strobes from a friend's son that is in the Army, been to Iraq twice & going again! It's full military issue & I see the IR shield, you have to flip it up & out of the way to get the clear white light, but where the heck is the "BLUE" filter that is supposed to be on there some where? One of you young guys help an old Fart out here! Am I blind or is it an add on or what? It is the newest issue MS-2000 strobe that operates on AA batteries, please let me know what the deal is on the blue filter!! Thanks, Old Ed

[Steve]

If you have an SDU 5/E you can buy a $10 part that will adapt it to use two of the Lithium Surefire batteries. It will save you from having to pay $100 for a new strobe. I have both and they work great. I think the SDU 5/E is brighter though.

[josh]

the blue filter is the dark cover/shield. it filters out the visible higher wavelength blue light. doing this leaves allows only the lower end of the visible light spectrum known as infrared to pass through. what passes through the filter can be seen with IR imaging equipment

[BUDDYLOVE]

FOR BOAT & TINA NEEDS ONE TOO (MY BIRTHDAY IS SEPTEMBER 4TH!!!)

[John]

Just what I have been looking for. I have one of those green yard frogs that light passes through. I want to put a strobe in it with a motion sensor so that when the maniac's drive past my house too fast they will know someone is watching!

[Stephane]

Actually the unit has two filters. The first one is back and converts the light emitted to IR. The blue filter simply changes the white strobe to blue. The IR, blue, or white light can be used to differentiate conditions, personnel, tactics...

[Jack Darwin]

We used these strobes on occasion in Iraq back in '04 and '05 to draw sniper fire at night so we could track the rounds location since they were too stupid not to use tracers. Another neat trick was to take a "Screaming Meanie" Tape some flares around it, set it for 30 seconds and toss it in the window of your neighborhood terrorist hideout. See how they run.

[ShadowHCSO]

If you have the old SDU-5, forget about spending your money on the battery adapter! Just save the brass cap and put 2 CR-123 Batteries in it. You can get them almost anywhere. The cap won't screw all the way down, but it works just fine. Just make sure you don't puncture the CR-123's.

[Andez]

The SDU-5 will run just fine on one CR-123 battery with a little ball of aluminum foil placed inside the bottom of the battery cap, and then the cap will screw on tight against the o-ring for wet work. I've got SDU-5's set up that way and tethered to my offshore type 3 PFD's for my sailboat kit and ditch bag.

[LJimbo]

As a retired Navy Rescue Swimmer and someone who worked on and flew with both of these for over 10 years, i can say that this new strobe is superior to the old SDU-5/E. We used regular old COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) AA batteries instead of the hard to get special batteries for the SDU-5. I also like the built-in covers. If using in a tactical environment, be carefull of the outer IR cover. I have inadvertantly activated my strobe (only negative feature) sliding it into my CMU vest , and didn't know it was on until I "Goggled-Up". Assume that the bad guys have NVGs and can use them. I kept all my gear and take it camping, "just in case"