Thread: MARS Skybolt

I found some New in the Box MARS Skybolt (US Army) lights with new blue domes. Are these fairly old and if so what do you think they are worth?

Plastic or metal base? Voltage?
Dan

If they are the 24 volt models with the plastic speckled finish bases, probably not very old or worth too much.

they are 12 volt with plastic gray base.

12 volt helps a lot. I've seen them new for $50 to $75. Grey base is probably late 80's or early to mid 90's. Got pics? Are the domes smooth inside or do you see ridges? What is the diameter?

I got the exact one you have for $100.00 from Ford Dealer long ago. Trilite still manufactures the same model
except its not the US Army kind, its got a chrome plated short base regular.

I bought one from "coleman surplus" store like 5 years ago for $30... shoulda bought more. They go from $50 to 100

I would like to see pics!!

Still available:
http://store.colemans.com/cart/index.ph ... cription=1

Guess that settles the worth!
Dan

Originally Posted by dmathieu

Guess that settles the worth!
Dan

Nice... I can't believe they still have some.

I thought maybe I had found a deal but colemans is better deal. Thanks for the info.

Are they 10" in diameter or 8"?
If it is 10", it was made about 1986 for the US Army.

The colour of the base of the standard version do not indicate the age. The standard colour was gray, yellow, white, red and silver but chrome coloured base was a higher price.
The contemporary version has black as standard colour.

The hight of the base is a better indicator to the age.

Old thread. I just bought one of these from Coleman's after they got marked down again. Basically I paid for the 2 4416 bulbs inside it and got a new rotating assembly/base/dome for the $18 it costs to ship it!

Cant say much about that one, but I ordered two Mars Skybolts off ebay. Cheap enough but the quality sucks. Both arrived well packed but in pieces,the bulbs came loose inside the domes and beat them up in shipping. Sent them back to the seller. One bulb holder was made of wire, and the other a elastic type band. Sure seems to me that the heat of the bulb would surely melt that elastic retaining band. After reassembling them I put power to them and put the domes on and the Twist lock retaining ring on and turned it to lock it. The light quit turning at that point on both of them. Sent a letter to Tri lite about the quality of their product. The president sent me an email wanting the lights sent to them, however I had already sent them to the seller.

Originally Posted by Hoser

Cant say much about that one, but I ordered two Mars Skybolts off ebay. Cheap enough but the quality sucks. Both arrived well packed but in pieces,the bulbs came loose inside the domes and beat them up in shipping. Sent them back to the seller. One bulb holder was made of wire, and the other a elastic type band. Sure seems to me that the heat of the bulb would surely melt that elastic retaining band. After reassembling them I put power to them and put the domes on and the Twist lock retaining ring on and turned it to lock it. The light quit turning at that point on both of them. Sent a letter to Tri lite about the quality of their product. The president sent me an email wanting the lights sent to them, however I had already sent them to the seller.

Were they these?
mars,skybolt beacon rotation warning light | eBay

The one from Coleman's isn't really a Skybolt is it? The base and dome are completely different...

Originally Posted by Hoser

Cant say much about that one, but I ordered two Mars Skybolts off ebay. Cheap enough but the quality sucks. Both arrived well packed but in pieces,the bulbs came loose inside the domes and beat them up in shipping. Sent them back to the seller. One bulb holder was made of wire, and the other a elastic type band. Sure seems to me that the heat of the bulb would surely melt that elastic retaining band. After reassembling them I put power to them and put the domes on and the Twist lock retaining ring on and turned it to lock it. The light quit turning at that point on both of them. Sent a letter to Tri lite about the quality of their product. The president sent me an email wanting the lights sent to them, however I had already sent them to the seller.

I bought one of those and it was packed well. When I got it one of the bulbs fell out, It also was blown and yes it had the two elastic retention bands. It also makes a very loud grinding sound when it runs. I was very disappointed, I have always been a fan of Mars and loved there products.

I still have mine, I figure that it will cost me more to ship it back than the light. Hey Hoser can you PM me the info for that Tri/Lite guy?

Maybe he can help me with mine

Thanks

Here is the information, Mine sounded horrible. My garbage disposal runs quieter than those lights

"Robert Herling" <Robert_Herling@triliteinc.com



Bob Herling

President

Tri Lite Inc.

773-384-7765

773-384-5115 fax

This is his sec. email Kathy Mann" <Kathy_Mann@triliteinc.com

Originally Posted by Hoser

Here is the information, Mine sounded horrible. My garbage disposal runs quieter than those lights

"Robert Herling" <Robert_Herling@triliteinc.com



Bob Herling

President

Tri Lite Inc.

773-384-7765

773-384-5115 fax

This is his sec. email Kathy Mann" <Kathy_Mann@triliteinc.com

Got it, Big Thanks

Originally Posted by patrol530

Still available:
http://store.colemans.com/cart/index.ph ... cription=1

Not bad for $24.95!

Originally Posted by Skip Goulet

Not bad for $24.95!

That's what I was thinking. $18 shipping stung, though. Especially when their online shipping calculator was a few bucks cheaper...

With this thread about the Skybolts, I have to mention something. In 2002 I bought a '74 GMC VanDura Type II ambulance that came from a small town in OK, NW of OKC. It came with a pair of the two-lamp Skybolts up on the hightop. Both domes were badly faded, but I got two new domes from Tripp with no problem. The problem came with the clamp ring that hold the domes in place. It has a turn and twist mechanim to keep the domes in place. But for some reason I lost domes twice. That was enough! I replaced the two Mars lights with a pair of Junior Beacons that I had: one red, one blue. Did the trick!

Well these things are certainly built down to a price. Not very impressive build quality. Pulled mine out of the box and put power to it and I've got a dead bulb. So much for getting new bulbs!

The light pictured in the Coleman's catalogue is not a Skybolt. It is a light designed specifically to fulfill a Federal contract. Although made by Trilite/MARS, it does not carry the "Skybolt" designation. Let's call a spade a spade.
One more bit of info that some may find useful. When securing the lens ring to a skybolt, use a small self tapping screw or sheet metal screw through the ring into the lower section of the light to lock it in place. These rings very commonly vibrate loose.
John Dorgan

Here's a photo of the tag on one I bought from Colemans. The mounting diagram included is dated April of 1986. It's nothing like the Skybolts that I remember but, apparently MARS recycled the Skybolt name for these US Army versions.

I'm going to post over on SteelSoldiers and see if anyone there can tell me what application these were used on.

I know you are the vintage light authority, John, but these are indeed marked as "Skybolt" beacons. Obviously they share virtually nothing in common with a real skybolt (rotating assembly might be the same, IDK) but I see your point.

*ETA*
Someone on steel soldiers claims that these lights were used on MP Humvees.

Originally Posted by kadetklapp

I'm going to post over on SteelSoldiers and see if anyone there can tell me what application these were used on.

I know you are the vintage light authority, John, but these are indeed marked as "Skybolt" beacons. Obviously they share virtually nothing in common with a real skybolt (rotating assembly might be the same, IDK) but I see your point.

*ETA*
Someone on steel soldiers claims that these lights were used on MP Humvees.

I think I might have found one....


Although it sort of looks more like a Tripp-Lite. I will continue digging.

And another possible-



(If a mod wants to join those posts together since I'm unable to edit that would be ok with me)

Originally Posted by Sirenman

The light pictured in the Coleman's catalogue is not a Skybolt. It is a light designed specifically to fulfill a Federal contract. Although made by Trilite/MARS, it does not carry the "Skybolt" designation. Let's call a spade a spade.
One more bit of info that some may find useful. When securing the lens ring to a skybolt, use a small self tapping screw or sheet metal screw through the ring into the lower section of the light to lock it in place. These rings very commonly vibrate loose.
John Dorgan

Thanks for that info, John. I lost two new domes that way. They must've vibrated loose as you noted, as I wasn't driving fast when they "disappeared".

Originally Posted by kadetklapp

I know you are the vintage light authority, John, but these are indeed marked as "Skybolt" beacons. Obviously they share virtually nothing in common with a real skybolt (rotating assembly might be the same, IDK) but I see your point.
.

I gotta agree with ya. In spirit they aren't skybolts to me.... but they do say skybolt right on them. I guess it's like when I see the new version of a classic car I like..... to me it's not the same car...... to the manufacturer it's still that model.