Beacon Ray model 17 blue

jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
How much is one of these worth in this condition? It has cracks and may be soon for sale. It is all working.


Also video,

 

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Jun 18, 2013
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I love how its all crickets in this thread.

I'll start with the disclaimer.. as I am not a beacon guy so YMMV.

Appears to need a new dome..
Does the tag read just model 17? or are there any letters or something behind it?

Taking that at face value.. assuming it works..

What I would pay.. $50 to $75

$75 being on this high side IMO if the internals are super clean.

Again YMMV.. if a beacon guru wants to step in a take a whack at this be my guest.

Rob
 
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jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
I love how its all crickets in this thread.

I'll start with the disclaimer.. as I am not a beacon guy so YMMV.

Appears to need a new dome..
Does the tag read just model 17? or are there any letters or something behind it?

Taking that at face value.. assuming it works..

What I would pay.. $50 to $75

$75 being on this high side IMO if the internals are super clean.

Again YMMV.. if a beacon guru wants to step in a take a whack at this be my guest.

Rob

It is a model 17 and nothing follows. Thank you for helping. Honestly for that price I’ll just keep it. I was assuming somewhere between $50 and $100. I don’t know much about them either... but they are cool as heck!
 
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I started to respond earlier but resisted because the 17 “ain’t my cup of tea”...and being from that region in that era, here’s my assessment: 1. It’s not an early 17, therefore it is less desirable as a vintage/collectible. We can stop there because the later models are insignificant to the later iterations of the BeaconRay IMHO. For grins and giggles, get the SN and decode it for date of Mfg. 2. Condition! Dome and skirt are in deplorable condition...’nuff said. 3. Blue Lexan dome is in lousy shape...if it had KSP (KY State Police) provenance it would have a red dome and be a 1st gen dome & skirt...again, ’nuff said.

So...yes, it works, but as a “collectable” I’d say $25 at best...you’ll have to replace the dome and skirt to make it presentable. as a very common mod 17.

Was that a bit harsh.? Sorry. But want to help a fellow Oldham Co. resident get a descent deal!
 
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jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
I started to respond earlier but resisted because the 17 “ain’t my cup of tea”...and being from that region in that era, here’s my assessment: 1. It’s not an early 17, therefore it is less desirable as a vintage/collectible. We can stop there because the later models are insignificant to the later iterations of the BeaconRay IMHO. For grins and giggles, get the SN and decode it for date of Mfg. 2. Condition! Dome and skirt are in deplorable condition...’nuff said. 3. Blue Lexan dome is in lousy shape...if it had KSP (KY State Police) provenance it would have a red dome and be a 1st gen dome & skirt...again, ’nuff said.

So...yes, it works, but as a “collectable” I’d say $25 at best...you’ll have to replace the dome and skirt to make it presentable. as a very common mod 17.

Was that a bit harsh.? Sorry. But want to help a fellow Oldham Co. resident get a descent deal!

Thank you for your honesty! I have zero dollars invested so I won’t waste my time with it. It has character and looks cool as a wall hanger so I’ll keep it as such! I’m actually happy it’s not worth anything because I’d prefer to keep it as is.
 
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Jun 18, 2013
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So...yes, it works, but as a “collectable” I’d say $25 at best...you’ll have to replace the dome and skirt to make it presentable. as a very common mod 17.

lol ouch..

I'm not THAT critical of it.. ;p
 
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Thank you for your honesty! I have zero dollars invested so I won’t waste my time with it. It has character and looks cool as a wall hanger so I’ll keep it as such! I’m actually happy it’s not worth anything because I’d prefer to keep it as is.
There ya go! Perfect as a wall hanger...by the way, I may have been using 80 proof logic when I wrote that....:)
 
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dg0223

Member
Feb 20, 2011
703
USA/Texas
I'm sure my comment won't be looked at favorably, but threads like this always make me scratch my head. These are similar to those people who go on shows like Pawn Stars, expecting whatever the item is they bring in is worth some insane amount of money, then when they realize the item isn't worth all that much, they say something like, "Oh, well at that price, I'll keep it; it's worth more to me in sentimental value."

Funny how a low price makes sentimental value skyrocket. If you have nothing invested in the piece, and you were considering selling it when you thought it was worth more, why wouldn't you consider selling it at a fair price to someone who might want the light (for the record, I am not interested in it, I'm merely making an observation)?

As the years go by, it really is sad to see how things are more about the bottom line and how much money you can squeeze out of something rather than trying to help out a fellow collector.
 
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Jun 18, 2013
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@dg0223 Valid point, but the whole point of knowing what something is worth is mostly to decide if you want to keep something or not. Often times if something isn't worth much its not really worth the time or effort to attempt to sell it.

In this instance.. I would replace the dome, and get some nevr dull or some 0000 steel wool if the base is chrome and go to town on it. With some minimal effort you should be able to polish it up without going crazy.

The beacon is at least worth that.. and doing so in turn would raise the value of the beacon itself if one chose to sell it in the future.

Not that I am telling @jmamrak what to do with it.

As the years go by, it really is sad to see how things are more about the bottom line and how much money you can squeeze out of something rather than trying to help out a fellow collector.

Yes such is the open marketplace for all its positives and negatives.
 

jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
I'm sure my comment won't be looked at favorably, but threads like this always make me scratch my head. These are similar to those people who go on shows like Pawn Stars, expecting whatever the item is they bring in is worth some insane amount of money, then when they realize the item isn't worth all that much, they say something like, "Oh, well at that price, I'll keep it; it's worth more to me in sentimental value."

Funny how a low price makes sentimental value skyrocket. If you have nothing invested in the piece, and you were considering selling it when you thought it was worth more, why wouldn't you consider selling it at a fair price to someone who might want the light (for the record, I am not interested in it, I'm merely making an observation)?

As the years go by, it really is sad to see how things are more about the bottom line and how much money you can squeeze out of something rather than trying to help out a fellow collector.

Here’s my point of view. The item has no sentimental value to me at all. I do collect some various antique items and I would be willing to keep it. If it was worth more I would consider selling because there are other projects that need funding. For me personally some things have a “cool” factor. For $25 bucks I would rather keep it in my collection. I’m not here to give things away and neither is anyone else. Economics are supply and demand, so a low priced item should be in a large supply so I therefore couldn’t be hording items from other collectors. Maybe in 50 years it will be worth something and maybe it won’t. Regardless, everything is a cost-benefit analysis. I’m not trying to squeeze money out of people but everything has a “fair” market price.
 

kadetklapp

Member
May 21, 2010
1,568
Indiana
I ran across two of these about ten years ago during my Craigslist craze. They were badged as Darleys. They were 6 volt lights but ran best on 12. I think I got around $120 each shipped for them.
 

Skulldigger

Member
Aug 23, 2015
1,739
Georgia / USA
For a different opinion, I enjoy restoring these things and with just a little elbow grease and polish you can do a lot. The base can be re-chromed for about $75 The dome can be polished with a good wet sanding and McGuires. Here is one I did a few years ago that may be an encouragement. I do agree in current condition about $50 .

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