Law Enforcement Lights - Where we Were (c1939)

zespectre

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Today is the Anniversary of my Grandfathers passing at the too young age of 68 years old.

He died in 1985 after what we, today, would consider an awfully short life but it was a very busy one including being one of the original group of "Florida Highway Safety" Officers, a group later known as the Florida State Police.

As a tribute, and for the fun of it, I decided to do a brief retrospective of what a cop had to work with c1939 when my Grandfather had just started his patrols along the Florida coastal areas near Clearwater.

One of the really wonderful images I have of my Grandfather was an old photo my Father had of Grandpa David posing for a newspaper photo. The picture was Grandpa (about 22 at the time) holding his Colt police positive service revolver and a flashlight both pointed at another officer who was pretending to be the "bad guy". The picture gave a really clear view of the light and I was able to identify it as a mid 1930 production "USA Light" incandescent running on 3 "D" cell batteries.

A few years back the "Sundance" company ran a limited number of "reproduction antique" flashlights that, to my amazement, were nearly perfect replicas of Grandpas light with the notable exception that the reproductions have a leather wrapped handle.

So if you were a Florida cop in 1939, in a brand new department, with a brand new budget, THIS was the high tech illumination tool you were issued! (Just kidding, all the officers had to buy their own flashlights).

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The reproduction I have tests at a solid 42 lumens in a super tight spot with the weirdest beam pattern you have ever seen. It takes about 4 hours to drop to 50% of initial brightness. Making a rough seat-o-the-pants calculation about older style zinc batteries and older bulbs I still think it reasonable to assume the officers were handling about 36 lumens for at least two hours "back in the day".

One of the really advanced design elements of this light was the tailcap which had a VERY strong "captured spring" design. This meant that the batteries were pressed together very firmly and forced to have solid contact with the cap that enclosed the base of the light bulb resulting in good conduction and the brightest possible light from the design. The switch also had dual-wipers, I assume for the same reasons of reliability and making a strong electrical connection.

In 1939 this was some serious technology for a lowly flashlight!

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The head also had some really interesting features. There was at least an attempt to make the bezel "anti-roll". It wasn't much but the attempt was there and I'm sure it made the light rather more expensive to machine/produce. Also they were experimenting with stippled reflectors (which I clearly remember in Grandpa Davids light because I thought the reflector was broken as a kid). The turbo-head design took almost every available lumen and threw it out to maximum distance for use (roughly 50 yards tops).

Because bulb production was somewhat inconsistent, the head can also be screwed in or out much light maglight did later. This wasn't to give you a flood or spot, this was because different brands of bulbs had their filaments in slightly different locations so if you wanted the good tight searchlight beam you had to "fine tune" the reflector for each new bulb.

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How did that work? Well by todays standards it was bad to the point of frightening, and any decent bump would move the bulb around inside the head giving you an off-center beam. But again, in 1939 a flashlight that could project out 50 yards was a SUPER LIGHT!

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I hope you enjoyed this brief trip back into history with me.
 
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LiftdT4R

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Awesome post and story! Gotta love those old school 42 lumen lights. What a wold of difference back then. Actually up until about 1998 or so that's all I had was 40 or so lumens. My oh my we've come a long way!
 

wweiss

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Made my day!!! Reminds me of my first Boy Scout light in 1962. Had to fiddle with the reflector to get the beam to come out the front - usually came out anywhere but the front.
 
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Burgess

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Great thread idea !

Tell us, please --

What BULB does it use ? ? ?

a Threaded socket ?

or a PR-x type base ?
 

zespectre

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The bulb is a screw in type E10/Edison 10 that is protected by a cap inside so if you drop it the batteries shouldn't smash the base of the bulb.
however the protective cap itself allows a lot of side to side play hence the off center beam.
Still, an off center beam would be better than NO beam (from a broken bulb) right? (LOL)

I'm reasonably sure that the bulb is either a 3.7v or 4v overdriven to 4.5 when the batteries are fresh.
 

XR6Toggie

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It's interesting that technology didn't really change much through the years until LEDs were introduced. I would expect our police were using electric lanterns back in those days.
 

bykfixer

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If I recall correct it's called a #13, but I cannot say for certain as I'm not near my supply right now.

IMG_20180226_204914.jpg

They are 4.5 volt E10's (E for Edison screw in, 10 for 10mm).

IMG_20180226_204803.jpg

Burgess Range Finders of the 1930's had a fixed bulb holder that slid forward/backwards.
 

DUQ

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Great little story and vintage tech review. Can you imagine what Floriday was like in 1939? Nothing but swamp with a highway running through it.
 

bykfixer

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I posted "#13" before. It's not a #13 and I cannot find my box of replacement bulbs for the T8 (I think) sized globe for 4.5 volt E10 bulbs.
So far google searching thinks I either want to upgrade to LED or I want to shop a light bulb selling e-store.... that does not have this bulb as a choice.

The bulb in the Range Finder only says 4.5 volts and Made in China.
I digress.... but the search continues.....
 
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