kerry4951
Member
I just picked up this very early Whelen 5000 Commander strobe. It has the first generation four sided glass fresnal, before Whelen changed over to the round plastic. It also has the early "hose clamp" style latch for the dome retaining band. When this was first posted by the previous owner, it was believed that this may of been a Frankenstein 5000 strobe due to it mysterious glass fresnal. One of the other veteran collectors was aware of these early Whelens as coming out in 1968 as the first run of Commander strobes, and that it was a legitimate 5000 Commander with the correct pieces. I own several Commander 5000 series strobes and this is the first and only "early" version with the glass guts. The bulb attachment and feed wire to the bulb is also completely different compared to the later generations of 5000 Commanders. 
