Thread: MARS Skybolt

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

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.

A very good analogy, that.

I wonder why the regular Skybolt wasn't suitable to the .gov?

I found another pic of an MP Humvee, and this is definitely not a MARS light. I'm thinking Tripp-Lite still-

Originally Posted by kadetklapp

A very good analogy, that.

I wonder why the regular Skybolt wasn't suitable to the .gov?

I found another pic of an MP Humvee, and this is definitely not a MARS light. I'm thinking Tripp-Lite still-

I have bought military surplus that was "not optioned" or made in small batch and presented to the army but the army went with something else instead. I wonder if this was the case here. I have never seen the coleman version of the skybolt on a military vehicle.

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

I have bought military surplus that was "not optioned" or made in small batch and presented to the army but the army went with something else instead. I wonder if this was the case here. I have never seen the coleman version of the skybolt on a military vehicle.

That's something I was sort of wondering as well. They probably put out some specs for bid, everyone submitted something and they went with one or the other. These got tossed in a shed at the DRMO lot and the rest is history. Ah well, makes an interesting conversation piece.

Originally Posted by kadetklapp

A very good analogy, that.

I wonder why the regular Skybolt wasn't suitable to the .gov?

I found another pic of an MP Humvee, and this is definitely not a MARS light. I'm thinking Tripp-Lite still-

I had 2 lights that dad the same shape as the one in the picture (iI believe). They were Military spec., and had a Tek-Lite brand, with a Julian MacDermott dome. Same plastic base construction as the Coleman.
On these, the rotator consisted of a plastic teardrop assy. with the base cut to fit under the dome. Extremely poor quality. I can't believe that our tax dollars pay for this crap. (Probably a good deal more than we pay for a real light.)

Originally Posted by dmathieu

I had 2 lights that dad the same shape as the one in the picture (iI believe). They were Military spec., and had a Tek-Lite brand, with a Julian MacDermott dome. Same plastic base construction as the Coleman.
On these, the rotator consisted of a plastic teardrop assy. with the base cut to fit under the dome. Extremely poor quality. I can't believe that our tax dollars pay for this crap. (Probably a good deal more than we pay for a real light.)

Ugh, go figure.

Originally Posted by kadetklapp

That's something I was sort of wondering as well. They probably put out some specs for bid, everyone submitted something and they went with one or the other. These got tossed in a shed at the DRMO lot and the rest is history. Ah well, makes an interesting conversation piece.

That would be my guess.... I still wonder what the specs looked like... and how they ended up with such an over-sized base.

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

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.

I have to agree with you here, John. If they were true Skybolts, even the colored domes, they would have the true Skybolt fluting inside the domes that allowed for colored inserts inside the clear domes. The comes that I mention above that were lost were solid red and blue, and they were made the same way as to accept the inserts, although that wouldn't work with a colored dome, obviously.

Since we are on the Skybolt theme.
I recently got one from Fleabay.
Do the newer ones accept the filters like the old ones?
Can you still get filters?
I wanted to add Red ones to the amber dome (the base is Black Plastic).

Originally Posted by EL1998P71

Since we are on the Skybolt theme.
I recently got one from Fleabay.
Do the newer ones accept the filters like the old ones?
Can you still get filters?
I wanted to add Red ones to the amber dome (the base is Black Plastic).

Adding red to the amber dome will make it look like a muddy dull dim blob. In order to add filters you need a clear dome.

To answer your question, yes. The clear domes and colored inserts are available new from Tri-Lite/Mars.

Originally Posted by pc0k894

To answer your question, yes. The clear domes and colored inserts are available new from Tri-Lite/Mars.

Oh yeah? Nice!

Originally Posted by pc0k894

To answer your question, yes. The clear domes and colored inserts are available new from Tri-Lite/Mars.

Don't know if they still have them or not, but Radio Shack carried the same inserts in red, amber, blue and green at one time. I had bought a set of two Mars SPECTRA minibars for an ambulance back in the mid-80s. The lights had three-bulb beacons on the outside and the 888 mechanism to the inside. Inadvertently they got sent with clear domes but no inserts. I got enough red and blue inserts to put on the beacons, but left the 888s clear. That was an awesome light package for its day.

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

Adding red to the amber dome will make it look like a muddy dull dim blob. In order to add filters you need a clear dome.

Not really, It's almost the same as putting a red bulb behind the amber dome.
It's just a display anyway.
Since there are 12 insert slots, I was think going 3 red, 3 amber, 3 red, 3 amber. or all red on one side.

Dietz used to make their split red / amber domes by tinting 1/2 of the amber dome red on the inside. Their tint was always a bit cloudy, and took the sharpness out of the flash, but the red filters with the amber dome would look nice.

Originally Posted by dmathieu

...took the sharpness out of the flash....

Originally Posted by EL1998P71

Not really, It's almost the same as putting a red bulb behind the amber dome.
It's just a display anyway.
Since there are 12 insert slots, I was think going 3 red, 3 amber, 3 red, 3 amber. or all red on one side.

Yes...really...

It takes away more than the sharpness in these lights.
I have personally tried this with mars lights both skybolts and spectrasystems, amber behind red and red behind amber. The filters added to the colored dome darkens and blurs the color significantly..... much worse than say red STTT in an amber XL dome. Red behind amber is obvious the better of the two. Not to mention it makes the internals hard to see. Even for "just a display" this doesn't look good at all. You might be able to get away with it on some models, on these it looks bad. Of course that's an opinion... others may like a dull flash and not being able to fully see the internals.

Try it if you like, I'm just trying to save you the trouble having been unhappy with the results after trying it myself.

The clear domes can still be had through trilite's industrial division.

I agree, the clear dome would be the better option.

Dan

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

Yes...really...

It takes away more than the sharpness in these lights.
I have personally tried this with mars lights both skybolts and spectrasystems, amber behind red and red behind amber. The filters added to the colored dome darkens and blurs the color significantly..... much worse than say red STTT in an amber XL dome. Red behind amber is obvious the better of the two. Not to mention it makes the internals hard to see. Even for "just a display" this doesn't look good at all. You might be able to get away with it on some models, on these it looks bad. Of course that's an opinion... others may like a dull flash and not being able to fully see the internals.

Try it if you like, I'm just trying to save you the trouble having been unhappy with the results after trying it myself.

The clear domes can still be had through trilite's industrial division.

I understand your point. But since 99% of the time it will be unpowered. I don't see how a possible blur would matter.
I would hope the filters are much cheaper than buying another dome(being that if I get a clear dome, I'm stuck with an amber one)