Whelen Remote Spotlight model 6500

[bitzer]

I recently purchased a Whelen spotlight that has a remote control unit that mounts in the dash..... there is a cigarette plug and a control panel with three switches..... it is a little difficult to make out but the factory id tag appears to indicate that it is a model 6500...... the bottom is heavy stainless steel and the top is a clear bubble.... the bulb is 12 volts and is labeled as a aircraft landing light.... the unit will rotate both around and around and up and down utilizing an internal motor and gears....the box it was shipped in has a date of nov 1970...... i bought it at an estate auction of a retired policeman in a small rural Iowa town....... i am not a collector but a vintage mechanical equipment junkie....... the unit is NOS and works wonderfully...... the attachment hardware (j bolts)was still in its original factory packing...... i have not been able to find any info regarding this particilar model ...... thought this might be a good forum to get some additional info...... thanks

 

[JohnMarcson]

I'd love to see some more pictures of the mechanism, at the very least the vertical control, portions. This is very cool.

 

[bitzer]

I'd love to see some more pictures of the mechanism, at the very least the vertical control, portions. This is very cool.

i will take a few more pics

 

[bitzer]

pic

 

[JohnMarcson]

I have never seen one of these before; advertised or in person. Whelen is known to both experiment in small batches and make small runs of products for specific industries, so when things like this surface it's always a welcome surprise. 1970 puts this right at the aviation and motor vehicle crossover period. I don't remember the release date of the Federal Visabeam, but this is close; the earliest ad I have is 1976/77/78 for the visabeam

Patented in 1980
(see pdf below)







Whelen released a similar product in 2010 using an LED spotlight.




Overall very cool... It's not every day we see a previously unknown product from Whelen!

 

[bitzer]

Well.... interesting..... something i find interesting..... one of the buttons on the control panel is a round rotary dial...... it appears that its only function is to control the speed of the motor....turned all the way down the rotation in both directions is slow......turned all the way up the rotation in both directions is much faster..... the rotation is controlled by a joystick type of switch that moves to 4 positions...... i have not ran it at night, however the light seems pretty bright if you look directly into it......

 

[bitzer]

i have also noted that the mechanics of this thing appears to be of very good quality.... heavy and machined very nicely..... the stainless base is awesome..... just seems very well made....

 

[bitzer]

The bulb is a General Electric 4509 100W 13V Aircraft Landing ...................... it has an elaborate bracket to hold the bulb

 

[JohnMarcson]

The bulb is a General Electric 4509 100W 13V Aircraft Landing ...................... it has an elaborate bracket to hold the bulb

This is all "very Whelen". They always put the engineering in "Whelen Engineering". I wonder if this is a limited run (purpose built for a department or agency) or a product that never took off? Most of my early 1970s literature is in the form of paphlets for specific products, I don't have a full year catalog until the mid to later 1970s. This clearly uses the "88" series chassis, but the other parts look borrowed from aviation if I had to guess. The controls, or the way they are described as working, is also a departure from similar products that would be offered by other companies.

Very cool. Perhaps a one of a kind.

 

[stansdds]

Never seen one of those before! Very nice, and I'd say very rare, find.

 

[dmathieu]

I remember these when they came out. Built on the original 5000 frame. Thet did not stay on the market for very long. I'll try to find some literature on them.

 

[kitn1mcc]

awsome never seen oone before

 

[tsquale]

Wow that is cool! Not only is it something I have never seen before, but WOW is it MINT!

 

[JohnMarcson]

Whelen also sold this unit later for their 80XX lightbars, the controls look similar.

 

[Maxim2Eng]

That unit was a common marine light from the 60s utilized on pleasure craft of the era.

 

[JohnMarcson]

That unit was a common marine light from the 60s utilized on pleasure craft of the era.

I wonder if they used the controls or adapted the mechanism? Local power company had similar ones on their trucks in the 70s too.

 

[Maxim2Eng]

My dads boat had one, but I’ve slept a few times since then. The controls were mounted in the dash (it was installed by the manufacture…Jeffboat, Jeffersonville, IN.) I only recall the power switch and the motion toggle.