Mayberry Light

cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
I am also little curious.
I can not remember any RB2 and unfortunatly I can not find my Mars catalogs.
There was the RB with two sealed beams, chromed brass base and wirh rear light cut off.
The RB-1 with two sealed beams, cast aluminum base and with rear light cut off.
The RB-363 with three sealed beams, chromed brass base and with rear light cut off.
The RB-10 with two sealed beams, chromed brass base and without rear light cut off.
There was a few with the Skybolt lens that I do not recall the model number on.
This is at least what I remember just now.

Michael
 

cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
According to the early brochure dated 1953, I believe, the RB had the rear light cutoff, and the RB10 was only 360 degree, no rear cutoff.
Maybe more came later.
Yes, that was what I wrote and I think that the RB-363 had rear light cut off too but I can be wrong.
I have both the RB and the RB-1 and both have rear light cut off.

Michael
 
May 21, 2010
418
Western Montana
Can someone post a picture of an RB2 , as there is no a single one anywhere on the net or this site that is viewable.

I posted this picture of my RB collection last year when this discussion arose (probably for the 8th time in ELB history) and while a bit distorted due to parallax, the first and fourth beacons on the top shelf (left to right) are RB-10's with two bulbs; the rest are 363's. I believe the left one to be identical to the Mayberry car's as it has a chrome base versus aluminum. (Interestingly, the other one (fourth from the left) has the cut out feature to the rear when rotating).

The one in the middle on the bottom shelf I'm assuming to be an earlier model as it has the galvanized base.

Always love a good mystery!

Mars RB 001.JPG
 

awca12a

New Member
Jun 22, 2018
11
Long Island
I posted this picture of my RB collection last year when this discussion arose (probably for the 8th time in ELB history) and while a bit distorted due to parallax, the first and fourth beacons on the top shelf (left to right) are RB-10's with two bulbs; the rest are 363's. I believe the left one to be identical to the Mayberry car's as it has a chrome base versus aluminum. (Interestingly, the other one (fourth from the left) has the cut out feature to the rear when rotating).

The one in the middle on the bottom shelf I'm assuming to be an earlier model as it has the galvanized base.

Always love a good mystery!
View attachment 213517

Thank You for reposting. I plan to make a simple site devoted to the equipment in Mayberry consolidating info from many sites. This hasn’t been a waste of time and I appreciate the efforts.
 

SDL

New Member
Oct 3, 2019
8
MD
Just came upon this post even though it is several years old. I think what people don't seem to realize is that the show ran for eight years and several cars were used. All were Fords because Ford was a sponsor of the show. It' equally true that different lights were used during the eight year run. I'm fairly certain that this is the reason for so many different answers. Many of them are correct even if they're not the same. Different years, different cars, different lights.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stansdds
Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
@SDL valid point. Also less we forget that there is a very, very small group of people who actually know.. or for lack of a better word even care about things being 100% correct for a fictional vehicle. Most of the shows fans will see it and never give it a 2nd thought regardless of how it's setup so long as its close.

The fansbase for this show is not getting any younger and that also contributes as it starts to fade from general recollection.

I've been fortunate to have some experience with TV vehicle builds.. and worked with vehicle suppliers for a few shows all FDNY or NYPD related for the most part. Mostly static shots with the vehicles in the background with some close shots or vehicle interiors. Interiors were just about always generic as the camera never focuses on equipment always the characters.

The best way to explain this is the 3 foot or 5 foot rule. If it looks good from that distance then it passes. They would frequently rent vans slap magnetic decals on them and toss a lightbar on top, and by toss I mean literally. Just plop it up there, hide some wiring off camera and good enough.
 
Last edited:

SDL

New Member
Oct 3, 2019
8
MD
I used to watch a BBC program from the '90s. They had a Garda police car in the show frequently. It had a sunroof under the lightbar, which I could see was held on by magnets! 99.9% of the viewers would never even notice it!
 

Wailer

Member
May 24, 2010
2,290
Canada
After listening to the siren sounds in the video clips, the siren sounds like a B&M S-8 to me.
 

John211

Member
Sep 30, 2013
39
Long Island, NY
Although this is my first post, I've done as much legwork as I could before asking for your help.
I am restoring a Mayberry Police Car replica that I picked-up in North Carolina. Thanks to a 2017 post in this forum where the various episodes were posted and discussed, my work was laid out for me to find a 2-light unit to replace the current 3-light RB-363 on the vehicle.

I've taken a screenshot of the car in broadside with the light clearly visible and superimposed a Do-Ray 4002 to the left and a Mars RB-10 to the right. Neither one is correct as the light actually on the car has a square dome roughly equal in height to the straight sided base. The correct light has an indented ring on top. The Do-Ray isn't roughly equal but it does have the indented top ring. The Mars has a rounding top with sloping sides on the base. Either would be OK as they are 2-light units but if someone here could recognize the correct model, I'd be very grateful.

.............
In the event some other Mayberry restorer comes by this post, as an FYI, the correct radio is Motorola TU-124 as seen in Season 2 Episode 2 Barneys Replacement shown at 8:21. Apparently the same failure to check the facts has lead most if not all Mayberry replica cars to show a much different radio. I just posted one for sale. It is the Mars RB 2 build beacon, none of those you have posted.

The correct light is the Mars RB
 

Attachments

  • CC679508-8D8D-4101-A292-37C19820F3B5.jpeg
    CC679508-8D8D-4101-A292-37C19820F3B5.jpeg
    81 KB · Views: 9
  • 6281DFDD-5AC0-449B-808C-74FAC2477487.jpeg
    6281DFDD-5AC0-449B-808C-74FAC2477487.jpeg
    88.8 KB · Views: 11

Jcspencers

New Member
Oct 10, 2023
4
East Tennessee
The correct light is the Mars RB
Hello, I’m restoring my “Barney” squad car. I was able to find the old Motorola radio from Season 2. I also found the correct fender spotlight mount. I’m looking for the correct door decal for 1963 and of, the MARS RB-2 light. I currently have a Federal model 14 light.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5296.jpeg
    IMG_5296.jpeg
    173 KB · Views: 8

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,962
Messages
449,805
Members
19,102
Latest member
Hilux01

About Us

  • Since 1997, eLightbars has been the premier venue for all things emergency warning equipment. Discussions, classified listings, pictures, videos, chat, & more! Our staff members strive to keep the forums organized and clutter-free. All of our offerings are free-of-charge with all costs offset by banner advertising. Premium offerings are available to improve your experience.

User Menu

Secure Browsing & Transactions

eLightbars.org uses SSL to secure all traffic between our server and your browsing device. All browsing and transactions within are secured by an SSL Certificate with high-strength encryption.