The vintage California cop light company thread

[bykfixer]

Basically I got the Smoke Cutter going briefly. The switch was giving me grief so it's put aside for now.

Temporary fix to be corrected with a blob of solder later


Having a new 8 pack of Rayovacs I put the 4D Kel-Stream into action. If you are familiar with antique lights equipped with focus heads or the incan versions of Streamlights TL2 and Strion you'll recognize how the 4D was a focuser.
Hey sgt, does your excalibre focus?

Appologies for the picture issues. Photobucket changed their policy and now wants $39.95/ mth to host your photos at forums. Not 3.95... nope a nickel from $40.


"Post Image" does not

 

[LiftdT4R]

Plastic 2C Pro-Light



Yes, I switched the switches.




Kel-Lite D cell D-ring tail cap.

Very nice lights!!!! You have a nice collection there!!

A little bit of history on the plastic Pro-Lights...

A company called VSI was the original investor backing Don Keller in Pro-Light. VSI was similar to Brinkmann, they were a consumer products conglomerate mostly specializing in outdoor products. VSI sold after the first couple of years to another company called ITT. ITT insisted upon using a union shop as part of their marketing for Pro-Lights. After the cost analysis came back the lights were astronomically more expensive using union labor. As such ITT decided to change them to plastic to make up for part of the cost difference. Don Keller then went to John Bianchi, a gun leather manufacturer and continued to produce the aluminum style Pro-Light as a Bianchi B-Lite. ITT went out of business shortly thereafter and Pro-Light ceased to exist after only 5 or 6 years in business total.

The ones you have are probably some of the last ones produced. The plastic style is very rare because they sold so poorly and weren't as durable as the aluminum lights. They are awesome lights though and it's great that they still exist!! They are likely from around 1978 or 1979 because those were Pro-Light's last 2 years in business.

Do you have any backstory on them? Were they a fleabay find?

Also, Tony Maglica was a large supplier of parts for both Kel-Lite and Bianchi. When Bianchi decided to stop producing lights due to poor market conditions Tony and Don got together to form Maglite due to their prior relationship. And the Maglite story is pretty well know from here.

 

[SG688]

The plastic Pro-Lites came from a gun show 10+ years ago. $2 each, or thereabouts. All but a couple were orange. I bought a dozen. A few had the factory lens with ridges to diffuse the beam, but most had no lens. Mag-Lite lenses were slightly larger in diameter but were easy to grind down to size.

I gave away several and ran a couple with the then popular 3x123 conversion. Neither the straight 2C nor the 3x123 conversions were as bright as a Mag, which I chalked up to a lesser reflector and more internal resistance.

IIRC, Pro-Lite promoted a tactical light with a long switch cord tail cap. Toss the light in a target room, turn on the light remotely and then wiggle it around to shine on the BG. That sounds like a great idea; however, one reviewer wrote that he tossed the light through a door only to have it pop apart.

In about 1977, VSI advertised a plastic Farrant style revolver grip that looked good but never came to market.

 

[SG688]

A 1976 Pro-Lite ad.

This news release may be interesting - as published in the January, 1983 issue of Police Marksman.


STREAMLIGHT, INC. EXPANDS PRODUCT LINE WITH ACQUISITION OF KEL-LITE INDUSTRIES

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Stream- light, Inc., an originator and a leading manufacturer of high intensity, heavy-duty, rechargeable portable lighting systems for a wide variety of professional, industrial and consumer uses, has acquired the design, manufacturing and assembly operations of Kel-Lite industries, Barstow, Cal., it was announced here today.

"The Kel-Lite acquisition now allows Streamlight to offer a broader choice of high performance, portable lighting with one of the most complete product lines available in the industry," said C. Bradford Penney, President.

"In particular, the Kel-Lite product line allows Streamlight to penetrate the consumer market and enhance its existing position in its traditional markets," he said.

Penney outlined additional benefits directly attributable to the Kel-Lite acquisition. He said the move would result in streamlined distribution and greater availability of both the Streamlight and Kel-Lite product lines.

"West coast customers can expect faster distribution of both product lines because of our purchase of the Kel-Lite 15,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Barstow," Penney explained. "And, the acquisition will permit us to implement an aggressive national marketing strategy characterized by increased competitive pricing in all our markets."

He said that law enforcement, fire fighting and security will continue as three primary markets for the Streamlight and Kel-Lite product lines. Applications include professional patrol, search, surveillance, inspection, rescue, navigation and non-lethal defense. In addition, the company reports both product lines as having maintenance and inspection applications in a variety of markets including automotive, trucking, marine, utilities, military and government.

"The Kel-Lite product line will also allow us increased penetration into several consumer markets. The sporting goods field — including fishermen, boaters, hikers and campers — needs rugged, high performance, portable lighting at reasonable cost," Penney noted.

He added that home hardware applications make up another important market for the company.
Streamlight, Inc. has been manufacturing and marketing portable high intensity, rechargeable lighting products through its Norristown office for eight years. Kel-Lite Industries has produced a complete line of heavy-duty, non-rechargeable C and D cell flashlights for 12 years at its Barstow facility. Kel-Lite's existing work force will remain intact at the Barstow plant, with the addition of a Streamlight general manager, Penney noted.

Streamlight and Kel-lite products will now be designed and manufactured in both the Norristown, Pa., and Barstow, Cal., facilities. Corporate headquarters will remain in Norris- town.

 

[LiftdT4R]

Wow, great info and ad there!! I had always heard '83 was the Kel-Lite acquisition so that pretty much confirms that. I was always curious because I heard Norm Nelson took a position at Streamlight but I've never had any solid info on that.

I like that Pro-Light judo stick mini light too! I've never seen one in person but would love to one day!

 

[bykfixer]

⊙▁⊙ :wow:

So about that time in history a chubby accountant walks into a bar every Thurdays around 8pm and says "good evening everybody" and the crowd yells "NORM!!" ...

Wonder if this serial number on my Ca meets Pa Kel-Stream is from a left over Kel-Lite or just a coincidence... or perhaps the K means it was Barstow made, or perhaps a Kel-Lite design Streamlight, or perhaps it was made on Nov 1 (K= 11the letter)... or perhaps it doesn't mean a dawg gone thing but Coast to Coast radio each night has me believing Paul Revere was abducted by aliens and is now re-incarnated as Donald Trump.... and this serial number is code for that eventual event...

 

[sgt253]

Interesting...my 2C doesn't have a letter prefix...

 

[LiftdT4R]

Interesting...my 2C doesn't have a letter prefix...

The C cells didn't carry a letter prefix. The D cells carried a KA, KB, KC, KD, KE (possibly) or KF. I have a bunch of these lights, only one C cell though, they are pretty rare. The D cells started at KA000001 and when they hit KA999999 they rolled over to KB000001 and so on and so forth. Unlike the Maglites they didn't give any designation to cell size in the serial. When they made a batch of 4 cells they picked up where last batch of 3 or 2 cells left off. When they changed to the Excalibers with the one piece head the numbering scheme continued because the barrels were identical. The latest one I have is KF318849.

I think, but am not sure, that Streamlight switched over to Excalibers in 1986 or 87 when they gave the Kel-Lite name to Nordic? Nordic was a company Don Keller was a part of to produce small lights like the pilot light Abtomat has in his thread, but I'm a little rusty. The Excalibers continued until 1990 or so. So all in all at least 6,000,000 lights were made from 1983 until about 1990 (F is the 6th letter in the alphabet and 318,849 is the latest serial I have). I've never seen a KE serial though and I'm thinking they may have skipped E so it could be 5,000,000. Interestingly enough this is on par with the Maglite D cell sales. By 1990 Maglite had sold about 7,000,000 D cell lights. Maglite would go on to sell 7,000,000 lights a year in the mid to late 90s, a huge increase in sales. The reason I believe you see so many fewer 3rd gen Kel-Lites compared to 80s Maglites is because the quality of the switch was not up to snuff with the Maglite and the warranty was not as easy to keep up with. Mag had service centers in every state where Streamlight did not.

So, out of all that, Mr. Fixer, I'm willing to bet even money that the KA serial you have has the removable bezel, and not the one piece head of the Excalibers. It is likely a true Kel-Lite. I can't see the head in your pic, so that would be a heck of a guess, right?!

 

[LiftdT4R]

Coast to Coast radio each night has me believing Paul Revere was abducted by aliens and is now re-incarnated as Donald Trump.... and this serial number is code for that eventual event...

Can confirm, am part of the Illuminati.

 

[irongate]

Can confirm, am part of the Illuminati.

You two are drinking some really nice wine-or shinning your flashlights at something out of the swamp! Coast to Coast and the what Illuminati-never heard of that? Keep working on those rare flashlights you two:tinfoil:

 

[LiftdT4R]

Keep working on those rare flashlights you two:tinfoil:

Yes sir! That's a good idea before I end up in Gitmo or hanging out with JFK and Elvis.

Mr. Fixer, I'm going to have to hijack you thread again. This time I'm going to have to rename it "The Vintage Pennsylvania Woodsman Light Company Thread".

This light is a 4C 3rd Gen Streamlight Kel-Lite. I figured I'd post it since we're on third gen Kel-Lites. What makes it rare is that it's a C cell and Camo pattern. All of these Camo Kel-Lites also had a D ring tail cap as they were designed for hunters, hikers, woodsmen, and campers who would frequently use the lights in conjunction with a lanyard so they wouldn't be lost or fall and break if they were dropped while maneuvering outdoors. Those that have hiked and hunted in PA are familiar with the rocky terrain that has destroyed many a lights.

Like most other companies the C Cells sold very poorly compared to D cells. So much so that Streamlight dropped the C cell when switching over to the Excaliber series. This is a ~31,000 serial which is near the end of the production run. This light went unused over the years as it was bought by another flashlight company for R&D use. I plan to fire it up for the first time and use it on St. Incand's day for work. It's shown below with a 2C Excaliber for scale and to show the difference between the Excaliber and Kel-Lite series. The Excalibers did not have a removable bezel and therefore the reflector and lens could not be changed. This was certainly less expensive to produce but made for a less durable light. I'm a big fan of the 3rd Gen Kel-Lites but not so much the Excalibers.

/HIJACK

 

[bykfixer]

So, out of all that, Mr. Fixer, I'm willing to bet even money that the KA serial you have has the removable bezel, and not the one piece head of the Excalibers. It is likely a true Kel-Lite. I can't see the head in your pic, so that would be a heck of a guess, right?!

It's the one I call the Kel-Stream
Removable bezel yes.
Beam focuses too.


Waiting on some info on an acquisition that comes with a Monadnock baton holder
(Broken link to photo removed)
Looks like a Code 4.
I'm hoping Ed Tor can shed some light on.
Yes, pun intended.

IG: I listen to Coast to Coast at 3am while doing my paperwork at work. Or while we pause in paving so the Union factory workers don't get stuck in traffic at shift changes...

 

[1pt21]

Yes sir! That's a good idea before I end up in Gitmo or hanging out with JFK and Elvis.

Mr. Fixer, I'm going to have to hijack you thread again. This time I'm going to have to rename it "The Vintage Pennsylvania Woodsman Light Company Thread".

This light is a 4C 3rd Gen Streamlight Kel-Lite. I figured I'd post it since we're on third gen Kel-Lites. What makes it rare is that it's a C cell and Camo pattern. All of these Camo Kel-Lites also had a D ring tail cap as they were designed for hunters, hikers, woodsmen, and campers who would frequently use the lights in conjunction with a lanyard so they wouldn't be lost or fall and break if they were dropped while maneuvering outdoors. Those that have hiked and hunted in PA are familiar with the rocky terrain that has destroyed many a lights.

/HIJACK

Holy Hell am I FEELING THAT CAMO!!!!! SICK!!!

Beauty!!!!!

:rock:

 

[sgt253]

bykfixer,
Sent you a PM, to shed some light on the subject! Bad pun... :twothumbs

 

[bykfixer]

bykfixer,
Sent you a PM, to shed some light on the subject! Bad pun... :twothumbs

Great Pun!! lol

Yeah, I messaged Don as soon as I pulled the trigger hoping it was not a special order'd GT Price. Seems like it's an actual (pre-Price'd) LA Screw made number.

Now I stumbled across another little company from California called Tek-Tite. They made Tekna lights... so I bought one.

It's a little plastic floating krypton'd number pre-6P.
It's reportedly from the early 1980's and was apparently carried by officers as miniature backups to augment their much larger primary lights.

Anyway the light has a domed lens, which causes me to think it may be a fairly bright little number considering it's vintage. I'm not looking for 6P bright, but something comparable to a 3C or D light of that era.
I thought it would be a neat addition to the vintage cop light museum.


Appologies for the photo issues.

The Micro-Lith arrived today.

 

[LiftdT4R]

Holy Hell am I FEELING THAT CAMO!!!!! SICK!!!

Beauty!!!!!

:rock:

Thanks dude!! I like the anodized camo vs. the painted on camo of the Mag.

I always thought it was kind of funny because when I used to have the time to hunt we always made fun of guys that carried camo'd out knives, guns, etc. We always figured if you want to find something you dropped in the woods it better be bright so you can find it. Camo is the last thing you'll see and most animals are color blind anyway. I always opted for safety orange on knives, lights and guns so I could find them.

 

[1pt21]

Thanks dude!! I like the anodized camo vs. the painted on camo of the Mag.

I always thought it was kind of funny because when I used to have the time to hunt we always made fun of guys that carried camo'd out knives, guns, etc. We always figured if you want to find something you dropped in the woods it better be bright so you can find it. Camo is the last thing you'll see and most animals are color blind anyway. I always opted for safety orange on knives, lights and guns so I could find them.

Ahh, it's ano'd.. Didn't realize that off that bat for some reason, but it certainly explains why it popped out to me so much! Reminds me of the special edition SF's that came in camo.

Again, beautiful score buddy!!!

 

[bykfixer]

I have stumbled across some information about a company that was quite possibly the missing link between the days of multiple C and D cell lights made of sprinkler pipe to the days of palm sized lights with the output of a 5D light. Tekna.

Quote in italics copy/pasted from the tek-tite web site:
Tektite-TEKNA History
The original Tekna company, formed by talented designer and entrepreneur Ralph Osterhout in 1978, was broken up and sold in 1990. This unfortunate situation resulted in product lines being sold to various manufacturers. Most of the flashlight products went to Ray-O-Vac (discontinued in the early '90's); an ex-Tekna design engineer bought most of the knife line (Roger Moriano, RAM Design); and the scuba products went to the new Tekna/Ocean Edge scuba company (later Ocean Reef). The Tekna underwater vehicle was eventually purchased by Oceanic.
TEKTITE became involved in 1990-91 by making diving flashlights for the new Tekna/Ocean Edge scuba company that was formed by leading scuba industry executives. From the outset, we were regularly asked about the availability of parts and service for Tekna items, and we began offering limited Tekna replacement parts and service in the mid-1990's, as well as some direction for owners whose products we could not assist with. Over the years, we have added to this list, and began distributing the Tekna knife product line as well.
In 2004-06 we purchased the original Tekna knives production tooling and inventory from companies in Europe and the U.S., and arranged for the production of the knives, flashlights and parts contained herein. In many cases, the original Tekna vendors supply components for these items. We are the world's leading experts on the original Tekna flashlights and knives, with our human resources including original Tekna dealers, service techs, production vendors, and design engineers. We offer the most comprehensive parts inventory and service for Tekna Knives and flashlights available anywhere. We offer 21st Century LED upgrades for most classic Tekna flashlights, so you can keep your beloved Tekna Lites, AND have modern performance and battery cost saving, too. We have added additional products, including additional improvements to the classic Tekna designs. The new Tekna flashlight designs offered here are where Tekna would have been in the 21st century. We manufacture the best, most rugged, U.S. made LED flashlights; we have the patents to prove it.

^^ Their brief history. Thanks goes out to Tek-Tite owner Scott Mele who has been helpful in providing information that'll be used in the future. The quote in italics was copy/pasted from the history page at the tektite web site.


The "missing link" lineup


And some bulb info.

Note, to anyone who acquires a "micro-lite" or "micro-lith" a pair of N cells will make it go.

I did some research here at CPF and found there was keen interest in these lights back in the days before 200 lumen LED's. And best I can tell Tektites current lineup are US built items.
This post and further Tekna posts are not meant to derail this thread of big lights. It is meant to continue to chronicle the morph between baton sized lights and those little lights we now carry.
I've reached out to Tektite in hopes they will chime in and add some history as well. Afterall, they too began as a small game changing California company about the time Tony Maglica was releasing his game changers.

Edit: 'post image dot org' is the source for these photos from my gallery. So long photobucket.

Nother edit:
Tek-Tite has parts for the old Tekna lights including E10 LED drop in's with tiny little 5mm emitters that fit just like oem into the reflector.

 

[SG688]

In the same vein as the Tekna as transitional 1980's cop lights:

Not the first DL123 light, but MY first DL123 light, the UKE 2L, here rebranded as the Buck Lite 2L, from the late 1980's. The UKE 2L was a Candlepower favorite. Price was about $20 with the major cost item being the batteries. If the batteries went dead, might as well buy a whole new light. I had the same response from a rep. when I inquired about replacement bulbs. Never had a bulb burn out in any case.

The twist head on/off is not ideal for a tactical light, but one-hand sideways pressure against the head worked for intermittent on/off. I carried one of these for about a year before moving up to an early SF 6P - with 6LF module - in 1989. Pictured for size comparison with a Z2.

 

[bykfixer]

^^ Heck yeah!!!
I love see-ing old light collections getting dusted off.


Welp, the generic light listed at eBay as a Cruiser Club Carrier turned out to be a Monadnock baton holder with a free flashlight... a Monadnock special LA Screw Code 4.

Here are some observations: First thing I noticed was the tailcap. Breaks down into two pieces
Part to hold that giant knot. Second half has a removable false bottom disc. But when you pull out that disc there's room for a spare bulb. GE PR12 in this case.
Also noticed Patents Pending.
A clue to the vintage perhaps.

Next thing I noticed was the max agressive knurling end to end except for the smooth switch assembly and head assembly.

Using the 2 cell barrel up front allows it to balance best with the switch in between barrels..
My thought was a 3 cell light would be brighter than a 2 cell so for portability I'd probably use a 3 cell barrel up front and carry a PR3 in the tailcap. But from a balance perspective where the switch is at the best center of gravity a 2 cell barrel up front is best. Then in fast paced scenarios just removed the 2 cell chamber, fasten the switch to the head and put up with a lower output for the time being. When seconds no longer matter I could swap in the PR3.

A quote from Ed Tor
"It looks very much like it's from a special order of Code 4s to Monodnock. I can't tell size but if it takes D cells it looks like a L.A. Screw 5 cell with lanyard. Of course, it's put together 'wrong' as is so often the case. The switch goes between the 2 & 3 cell barrels.

I sent Ed a seller photo in an email and that was his response. He noted the switch was up front and not in between the barrels like it should be.



A 'post image' link'd photo of the Monadnock edition LA Screw Code 4 disassembled.

Appoligies for the links to pix issues. Broken links to pix and associated comments removed.