New User and Strobe Beacons

Hi folks- Long time lurker, first time poster. LEO/EMT/SAR enthusiastic about preparedness.

A query, if this is the appropriate venue:

I have opportunity to purchase a large quantity of strobe beacons. They are DOD surplus, marked "Light Marker, distress", NSN 6230000675209. I know little about these. Does anyone have any advice on what to check when inspecting these? Input on their degree of utility? Serviceability? Durability? A source for spares?

Thanks for your replies.

Skintop911:
First and foremost, welcome to our community. Second, I do not believe this question violates any rules. You are merely requesting information. Not trying to sell something, which can violate rules, check with Chris K. about this and visit the forum rules pages for more info. Now to answer your questions.
I believe you have the Military Distress Marker Light known as the SDU-5E. Also known as an Emergency Beacon Strobe. These were normally issued by the DOD to all pilots as a part of their "survival gear" NASA also issues them to all astronaut crews. The main contractor for these was ACR Electronics in Ft. Lauderdale FL. Incidentally, ACR builds a 406 MHz PLB, which Doug has mentioned on the equipped homepage. Look for the heading PLB. There is a newer model known now as the MS2000 on their website. I am not certain if it available to civilians or not. You may also find some information about them here. and occasionally find them for sale on eBay. There is a replacement Battery cap for the Mercury stick battery and Battery cap, which allows for use with CR123 Batteries, such as those for the Surefire lights. I hope this helps.

Take care,
Stargazer

ASAP = Always Suspicious, Always Prepared

Ms2000 is available to civilians thru www.actiongear.com or ebay. I have one it rules.

MS2000 at actiongear

Matt

I'll second it...the MS2000 is an excellent product with better features than the SDU5 it replaces.

--it takes AA batteries...don't have to worry about finding that expensive replacement for the SDU.
--incorporated blue flashguard...no more looking for the blue cellophane wrappers to flash 'safely'. Just pull the green sleeve up, and the blue filter pops into place, allowing you unidirectional signalling.
--incorporated IR flashguard...but is it 'truly' IR? My Sony camera picks up the flash when the "Nightshot" feature is off. Maybe Sony's filters pick it up...anybody know?
--battery compartment is on a leash...you can't lose it unless you *really* try to do so.
--available in different flavors...regular strobe, another version that activates on contact with water, one that is photo cell activated, a water and photo cell activated one, a diver version good to 200 feet (other ones good to 50 feet) and the one I got, the Doublefly, which adds a second steady incandescent lamp...use the switch once to activate the strobe, use it a second time to activate the lamp. (8 hours battery time on strobe, 2 hours on light.)
So far, in R&D tests, it lives up to every claim it states it can...except it's too damn cold now to test the 50 foot waterproof...there is no way *I'm* testing that one now!

MS2000 break quite easily.
The blue filter can come out of alignment the reed switch has a bad habit of breaking after frequent use and the battery housing wire breaks as well. Use good quality nicle cadmium batterys as your normal batterys can corrode easier and stuff it up as well.
The SDU series even though old hat are very robust, simple to operate and the only dramas I have had with them is that the rubber boot on the switch can tear around the base where it screws in.
Berfore you all jump in and tear this post to shreds, I have 15 years experience with this equipment, and though others rave about the MS2000 I don't agree with its great reputation.
Cheers all.

There is a gentleman on EBAY selling these with a converted battery setup. The mercury batteries are very expensive, hard to find and a liability to dispose of properly. Do you plan to remarket these or distribute among friends? You may want to crunch some numbers To see what your final unit cost will be. Surplus can be very tricky. Sometimes incredible stuff slips through. A former Blue Angels F- 14 is on EBAY, additional assembly recquired. On the otherhand, theres a reason for surplus: obsolescence, design failure and gross wear. Again, for all posters: A brief mention of your association with, or commercial offering of a product is no problem. If your posts come with neon banners and high kicking emoticons for " Square Deal Donnie's survival gear and herbal supplements" it's another issue.

Thanks much to all who replied. For clarity, my interest in these units is entirely non-commercial and non-resale. Though I appear to be within the rules, let that leave no doubt. Pointers were helpful. Additional websearches produced helpful info as well.

Thanks again.