I was sitting, near sunset, on the outside dining deck of a too-expensive restaurant in Key West, enjoying a too-expensive seafood dinner (wine helps a lot with this) and watching the marina that the restaurant overlooked, when a cigarette boat came in, making a production of it. Apparently this was not just any cigarette “type” boat- the crew had t-shirts and such with “TEAM CIGARETTE” prominent, they were very disciplined, and handled the boat with extreme and obvious care, at the same time giving those of us in the restaurant quite a show. <br><br> In the process of shutting her down for the night they popped the engine hatch revealing impressive (if unidentifiable) large chromed shapes. Cute- at first I thought the engine hatch was damped, like the cassette door on a stereo deck, but it closed the same way, from the dashboard. Then they ran through a series of system checks. One of these system checks was somewhat surprising- the operator did something on the dash, and a tall, thin wand, something like a retractable radio antenna but much longer, telescoped up out of the forward deck. When it was fully extended, a very bright pinpoint source of white light at the tip started methodically flashing an SOS. They let this run a few cycles then retracted the gizmo. Cute.<br><br>Anyway, this came to mind in playing with the new Photon 3 LED micro-lights. The second “button” on the light has seven programmable modes, which amount to dimmer and flasher settings, and one useful power-saving setting, all “microprocessor controlled”. <br><br>I’d gleefully trade at least 5 of those programmable modes for an SOS. <br><br>Given that there’s a “chip” of some sort in the device already, that shouldn’t be a huge deal. Not that I don’t know how to flash an SOS manually, mind you- but if you do it for 5 minutes, by the clock, you’ll understand what a chore it would be to keep it up for hours. Being able to set one of these and walk away from it would be worth a lot.<br><br><br>

If the Photon III was or could be programmed to blink "SOS," I'd send in an order right now.<br><br>

Maybe they never thought of it.. I can see a downside, I guess, that if these things continue to get more common and less expensive (a virtual certainty), it could run into a "boy who cried wolf" situation, where any little kid can set up a perpetual SOS on a whim.. still, it seems like such an obvious and desirable feature that someone's bound to do it. Some of the programs in the current Photon III (the power-saving mode) seem at least as complex.<br><br><br>

Today I spoke with David Allen, of LRI and the father of Photon MicroLights. Apparently during the research and development phase of the Photon 3 an SOS signal flasher was considered. It was decided that this feature would not be incorporated into the new light. No plans currently exist to produce an SOS/Rescue Photon MicroLight. The Photon 3 should be just as effective for emergency signalling purposes if programmed to one of the flash/strobe modes. Sorry, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask though.<br><br>

>>Apparently during the research and development phase of the Photon 3 an SOS signal flasher was considered. It was decided that this feature would not be incorporated into the new light. No plans currently exist to produce an SOS/Rescue Photon MicroLight. <<<br><br>Did he say why?<br><br>>>The Photon 3 should be just as effective for emergency signalling purposes if programmed to one of the flash/strobe modes<<<br><br>I respectfully disagree. If people are already looking for you out in the woods, maybe, but envision yourself out on the water in a boat at night. There are lots and lots of lights around, some of them flashing. An SOS is unambiguous- I'd certainly report any that I saw. A mere flashing light will more than likely go ignored.<br><br>>> Sorry, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask though.<<<br><br>Their choice, of course, but I think they're making a mistake- if they don't do it, someone else will, and they will take that chunk of the market. It is a shame that the first company incorporating a logic chip doesn't see the value of the feature, that will delay things- but in the end, someone will do it. Might be on someone's drawing board right now.<br><br><br>

Latest word from LRI is that the Photon Fusion will incorporate an SOS feature. See it at:<br><br>http://www.photonlight.com/fusion/index.html<br><br>

Well, I wasn't really in the market for a headlamp, but I guess it's a step in the right direction.<br><br>Interesting that the description actually says the "modes" will be just like the Photon 3. Perhaps, if it really is going to have an SOS, and the chips are interchangeable, that means there's some hope for an SOS in the Photon 4, or 3.2...<br><br>I have to admit I'm beginning to wonder about their marketing decisions. With 3 AA cells and 6 LEDs, this has to be a lot bigger and heavier than, say, the Petzl Zipka. Presumably it's a lot brighter, too, but I get the impression that these mini-headlamps are used for reading in the tent (or on board a boat, whatever) 95 percent of the time, as opposed to spelunking or on-trail use.. so I wonder just who they're targeting with this. The trend is clearly to much lighter and smaller gear, and this seems like a step in the other direction.<br><br>