S.O.S. mode on JetBeam JET-I Mk II TAD edition

(Sorry if this may be old news but I did a perfunctory search of the forums and didn't find any mention of it)

Hi all,

So I found myself up at TADGear in San Francisco earlier today and after mentioning to one of the guys that I found out about the place through CPF I eventually found myself purchasing, among other things, a JetBeam JET-I Mk II light. Very impressive little beast. What did surprise me though, after looking at the JET-I Mk II review on flashlightreviews.com and the description on the TADGear site is that the flashlight I have actually has five (5) modes instead of just four (4). It has medium, low, high, strobe and an additional S.O.S. mode (in that order). Not particularly annoyed or overjoyed about it either way, but I just thought I should mention it to anyone who may be thinking of getting this light, in case it makes a difference.

What exactly does an SOS mode do that a strobe light does not? Wouldn't they both just flash? I don't know morse code and what are the odds that even most law enforcement would know what it means?

deranged_coder said:

the description on the TADGear site is that the flashlight I have actually has five (5) modes instead of just four (4). It has medium, low, high, strobe and an additional S.O.S. mode (in that order).

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Huh? I can read "4 output modes: 3 brightness levels (65% - 5% - 100%) + strobe", or somewhere at the bottom "4 very usable modes makes this light a must have in every pocket," in your link.
So maybe you were dreaming?!?
Or you've muddled it with the Jetbeam AAA? This one has 5 modes.


Dirk

Man, I've been waiting for TAD to get the Jet 1 MKll in. I'm definitely getting one. It sure is a nice little light. I'm also going to get the CR123 body for it.

Can't hardly wait


:thanks:
Bob

Hello CyByte,

Strobe mode just flashes.

SOS mode flashes a sequence of flashes that are 3 short flashes, followed by 3 longer flashes, followed by 3 short flashes, followed by a pause. We have ...---... ...---... ...---... and so on.

Originally it was designed to be used on telegraph wires. It was picked as a signal that could not be confused with anything else, and meant that assistance was needed.

Watching people carrying lights in the woods reveals that the light appears as a flickering beam. This is similar to a strobe function. However, the SOS mode is very distinctive and not easily confused.

On the water, lights on ships that are bobbing up and down in the waves will also generate a flicker or strobe light effect. Once again, the SOS signal is very distinctive.

If you have a momentary on type of switch, you can do a manual SOS, but an automatic mode lets you do other things while you are signaling for help at the same time.

Modern times have replaced ... --- ... with dialing 911, but I still thing it is a useful signal to know about. You never know if the cell phone towers may have a malfunction and you will have to revert to more primitive means of signaling for help.

The big problem with signaling SOS with a light is that someone has to see it and know what it means.

Tom

naturelle said:

Huh? I can read "4 output modes: 3 brightness levels (65% - 5% - 100%) + strobe", or somewhere at the bottom "4 very usable modes makes this light a must have in every pocket," in your link.
So maybe you were dreaming?!?
Or you've muddled it with the Jetbeam AAA? This one has 5 modes.


Dirk

Click to expand...

Oops, that is a typo on our site.

The Jetbeam AA does have 5 modes just like the AAA keychain version.

Medium
low
high
strobe
sos

CyByte said:

What exactly does an SOS mode do that a strobe light does not? Wouldn't they both just flash? I don't know morse code and what are the odds that even most law enforcement would know what it means?

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I'm sure the battery life would be much longer running SOS rather than the strobe mode.
Norm

naturelle said:

Huh? I can read "4 output modes: 3 brightness levels (65% - 5% - 100%) + strobe", or somewhere at the bottom "4 very usable modes makes this light a must have in every pocket," in your link.
So maybe you were dreaming?!?
Or you've muddled it with the Jetbeam AAA? This one has 5 modes.


Dirk

Click to expand...

I have the light in my hands and it definitely has five modes on it. And yes, I do most definitely know the difference between a AA and a AAA battery. I am not that stupid.

EDIT: Ah, I see EVAN_TAD has posted an update mentioning the typo on their site.

@EVAN_TAD: Was the addition of the S.O.S. mode a recent change? The review on flashlightreviews.com only mentions four modes, not five.

My Jet I MK II has only 4 modes 65. 5 ,100, stobe. It is one of the original s when Warren 1st sold them.

I bought my Jetbeam MK II from Pacific Tactical Solutions awhile ago; and it only has 4 modes.

http://www.pts-flashlights.com/products/product.aspx?pid=67-6218


I did order the CR123 tube for mine. But, have no experience in upgrading a flashlight, I have no idea how to get the tailcap switch onto the CR123 body. Can you guys help me with that, please? TIA.

TKC said:

I did order the CR123 tube for mine. But, have no experience in upgrading a flashlight, I have no idea how to get the tailcap switch onto the CR123 body. Can you guys help me with that, please? TIA.

Click to expand...

............ easy peasy, it will unscrew off the original AA body, just screw it onto your new cr123 body ......... you can use rechargeable RCR123 batteries too

deranged_coder said:

I am not that stupid.

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I'd never said that you are stupid.

deranged_coder said:

I have the light in my hands and it definitely has five modes on it. And yes, I do most definitely know the difference between a AA and a AAA battery. I am not that stupid.

EDIT: Ah, I see EVAN_TAD has posted an update mentioning the typo on their site.

@EVAN_TAD: Was the addition of the S.O.S. mode a recent change? The review on flashlightreviews.com only mentions four modes, not five.

Click to expand...

This is our first shipment of lights and they all have 5 modes. I've never seen the older model with 4 modes.

Hmm. I thought this is a special version for you. I've got a brand new Jetbeam Mk-II from cpf-member litemania and it has got only four modes: primary-low-high-strobe.

And it works fine, I don't need any SOS-mode...

This AAA version has modes?

I just received mine today (thanks Evan) but if it has modes they have been cleverly hidden from me.

Citori said:

This AAA version has modes?

I just received mine today (thanks Evan) but if it has modes they have been cleverly hidden from me.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the JetBeam does not come with a manual to explain how to switch between the modes. :thinking: The only reason I knew how to switch between modes is that the gent at the store had one of his own and showed it to me (which, incidentally, was the reason why I got one in the first place; I got to play around with his JetBeam and found it to be the neatest thing).

It would guess that the AAA version works the same as the AA version that I own. Once you have clicked the light on, soft-press the tailcap switch to switch it to low mode, soft-press again to switch to high mode, soft-press one more time to switch to strobe, then soft-press to switch to S.O.S. mode. Another soft-press and it will go back to the primary mode and the cycle will repeat.

Hope that makes sense.

The AAA version doesn't have a tailcap, just a twisty head. I looked for a switch on the inside of the head but nothing appears to be there.

Citori said:

The AAA version doesn't have a tailcap, just a twisty head. I looked for a switch on the inside of the head but nothing appears to be there.

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Then screw it on, off, on...
It's not so difficult to try out.


Dirk

Has anyone ever got the head aprt on one of these? Pics or detail would be appreciated.Great light in need of modern led!