3-Sealed Beam Beacon? - Who made them?

rescue161

Member
Feb 7, 2017
40
Hubert, NC
Back in the mid 1980s, my parents knew a volunteer fireman and he had a beacon on his truck that was fairly large, but it only had three sealed beams. It stuck in my memory as all of the ones that I saw before and after were always one, two or four. He let me climb on the bed of the truck to take a closer look and it definitely had three bulbs, evenly spaced and they rotated like any other normal two or four beam rotating beacon.

Was his light some creation/modification or did someone actually make a beacon with three sealed beams?
 

rescue161

Member
Feb 7, 2017
40
Hubert, NC
Wow! Thanks. It was definitely not a wobble light and the dome was not rounded off like the Mars. But I guess they were more popular than I originally thought.
 

shues

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
10,276
NW Indiana
The best I can do, so far, is a photo of a Federal 143, courtesy of @JennyCop, from an eBay auction she posted about several years back:

6E5b9c2.jpg
 
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southpaw

Member
May 7, 2015
723
South-West
Mars did make an RB3 beacon.
 

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shues

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
10,276
NW Indiana
Some older threads suggest that Baader Brown made a three-bulb beacon which is similar in appearance to Federal's model 173. I believe its model number is 303. I can't find a photo, yet.

Those same threads indicate that Dominion Auto made a three-bulb beacon. I'm unsure of its model number.
 

rescue161

Member
Feb 7, 2017
40
Hubert, NC
From my memory, it was smaller than a Dietz 7-11 and the dome was squared off at the top, but that is it. The last time I "inspected" it was in 1987 when my Grandfather died. He came to my Grandfather's house and I asked to see the light. I was always fascinated with how quiet the larger beacons light could be. It never failed when I would ask if the light was loud (as in gears grinding), I always got the response, "I don't have a siren." or "It doesn't go woo-woo." It was like pulling teeth to get them to understand that I was talking about the mechanism of light. This particular light was very quiet, almost that you'd not know it was on while sitting in the truck.

Years later, I volunteered myself and the lightbars that we had on the trucks were fairly loud. It just wasn't the same.
 

rescue161

Member
Feb 7, 2017
40
Hubert, NC
It was a lot more quiet than that one. I did a search for the above mentioned lights and if the Federal 993 looks like a 992, then I think that is it. I seem to remember a flat top and slightly bulged or angled side of the dome. It just looked different enough for me to take a closer look. It was turntable quiet.
 

shues

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
10,276
NW Indiana
The slightly angled lens you describe sounds a lot like a Signal Stat 375. Have a look at @CFD125's Ernest Holmes S-4, which is a rebranded Signal Stat 374 beacon.

wMGu1RZ.jpg


Yes, I realize this beacon has four bulbs, and that the Signal Stat 370 has two bulbs. I don't believe Signal Stat made a beacon with three bulbs.
 
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Lt.214

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
587
Southwest Ohio USA
KD Lamp out of Cincinnati made them, model 888. The Amber light is a re badged version. The red light is made by North American Signal. It is a rebadged pyralite made in 1980, model 103, and yes, it is a factory mag mount version, believe it or not. I believe NAS still makes them as the 300X model.

Chris
 

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rescue161

Member
Feb 7, 2017
40
Hubert, NC
I do believe that it is the 993! Thank you very much for putting my memory to rest. It has always bugged me that I never found out. I joined this forum a while back to find out info on an old install that came into our shop. I got answers then and got great results this time. Thank you very much. Stay safe!
 

CrownVic97

Member
May 21, 2010
3,350
Hazen, ND
Tripp Lite also made a 3-beam model, the RF-63. Fit in an RF-6 setup, just with 3. Bulb changing these are a task though...uffdah o_O

Video by chrisv4096
 

police-jimmy

New Member
May 23, 2010
112
Netherlands (Europe)
Some older threads suggest that Baader Brown made a three-bulb beacon which is similar in appearance to Federal's model 173. I believe its model number is 303. I can't find a photo, yet.

Those same threads indicate that Dominion Auto made a three-bulb beacon. I'm unsure of its model number.

This is my Baader Brown 3 lamp beacon : >
 

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