SOS Signal

I am out at night a lot. If I see a flashing light going off & on in the woods I would not give it a moments thought. Do these people really think that this SOS mode is going to save them? Please correct me if I am wrong about this point.

Some would recognize the pattern for what it is, a distress signal.

In a situation where one needs help, an additional means to communicate that need increases the probability of a successful outcome. Is it a guarantee? Absolutely not. But, in such a situation, sending the signal is generally better than not sending the signal.

Of course, anyone can send an SOS signal with their light if they know the Morse code for the two letters. The dedicated mode simply automates that process.

To me, having an SOS mode on one of my lights is similar to having an airbag in my car. Ideally, it's never needed, but if it is ever needed, I'll be glad it's there.

Personally, I have no use for such a thing. For 99% of edc uses I see no point to it. However, if you were deep in the woods or in a remote region, and needed a way to signal rescuers, this would be useful. That's about the only use I can see for it, but it in a situation like that, it would be very useful.

It doesn't take much to get tangled up, trapped, incapacitated, hobbled, caught, or any number of things just out of earshot of people. You could have your ability to communicate diminished and expire in a modestly populated area.
It's easy to imagine needing it if you use it for anything beyond wall hunting.
Maintenance, early/late walking, hiking, hunting, exploring, if you're handicapped, if you're at risk of heart attack, if you travel in a car or motorcycle, if you work during darkness, you may need to communicate non-verbally.
These lights are no longer single use devices.

As much as I hate replying to this question I have to in the off chance that some manufacturer reads the "disco haters" opinions that will inevitably show up and think they represent everyone.

I would hope that a search and rescue team would at least know what sos is, some of us understand morse code.

Dont worry, every cheap maker in the world would put more disco modes than normal ones nowadays.

Joking aside, I dont hate disco modes per-se, but I am really pissed when I am forced to pass through them to get the desired normal one.

ragweed said:

I am out at night a lot. If I see a flashing light going off & on in the woods I would not give it a moments thought. Do these people really think that this SOS mode is going to save them? Please correct me if I am wrong about this point.

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Yes, you're wrong about this point. This subject is one of our "severely beaten dead horse" subjects so feel free to search here for similar threads, or out on the net for actual cases where someone signaled SOS and was rescued.



But here's the really funny thing . . . . because of your flashlight, you NOW KNOW what SOS is and I would bet that you WOULD give it a moments thought now!!

Wattnot said:

because of your flashlight, you NOW KNOW what SOS is and I would bet that you WOULD give it a moments thought now!!

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Flashlight = educational tool.
Nice thinking Wattnot!
These lights just may keep 3 letters of Morse Code alive for centuries to come and perhaps catch some young geek's attention as something interesting to learn.
I can see it now; teens learn Morse Code so they can communicate surreptitiously. That would be so awesome. They would be naturals because they've already reduced so many words to 3 letters for texting, this would be a natural progression.
http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp

If you get lost out in the woods or snow and you've got search parties our looking for you, it could save your life. For general every day use, though, I think it is a big annoyance, in most cases, unless you're clever like 4Sevens and make it so you've got to cycle through the light levels more than once to get to it. If you're going out on some long hike or you're the kind of person that wants to ski in unapproved areas that could be dangerous, it couldn't hurt to carry a small light with some type of blinking feature.

I think the only time I wouldn't mind having an SOS feature, is if you didn't have to scroll through the modes.
Because its really annoying going from hi, to med, then if you want to go back to hi again, you have to go through med, lo strobe, and sos. That gets really annoying. But if its a dial or some other method of changing modes, then I wouldn't mind having it.
Not that I would ever need it, mostly to show my friends that I have it.
I think the only practical scenario would be if you where stranded on an island and the only near life where helicopters to signal at.
Next time I'm seriously stranded, and/or incapacitated, I'll pull out my cell phone.

On a related note . . . .


I would think younger folks, especially,
would LOVE to have a small flashlight
which could also flash (in Morse)

W _ T _ F



_

ragweed said:

I am out at night a lot. If I see a flashing light going off & on in the woods I would not give it a moments thought. Do these people really think that this SOS mode is going to save them? Please correct me if I am wrong about this point.

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Obviously they'd be better off if anyone else here saw them. :shakehead

vali said:

I dont hate disco modes per-se, but I am really pissed when I am forced to pass through them to get the desired normal one.

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I'm with you there Vali!

Wattnot said:

Yes, you're wrong about this point. This subject is one of our "severely beaten dead horse" subjects so feel free to search here for similar threads, or out on the net for actual cases where someone signaled SOS and was rescued.



But here's the really funny thing . . . . because of your flashlight, you NOW KNOW what SOS is and I would bet that you WOULD give it a moments thought now!!

Click to expand...

We can hope. Do you think this will be the final thread on blinking modes? :shrug:

Has anyone here ever been in a situation where they had to use or know of someone that used the SOS feature?

My other thought is that if I was stranded somewhere, I wouldn't want to waste my batteries and leave my light on using the SOS feature...

I've looked at the SOS sequence on my Quarks and it seems too slow to me. I feel that if it was as least twice the speed it would look like a packaged SOS signal but to me at the current speed it doesn't look like it's spelling anything out at all.

imo, you wanna have it, and never need it, not otherwise.

One would think if rescuers are out looking for you, they would be checking out any light source. Without knowing there are rescue efforts, your SOS is apt to attract creepy murdering types like from the Texas Chain Saw Massacre or Kevin Bacon from that rafting movie.

Ksailork said:

your SOS is apt to attract creepy murdering types like from the Texas Chain Saw Massacre or Kevin Bacon from that rafting movie.

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there you go, you just found a way to lure creepy murdering types,

Burgess said:

On a related note . . . .


I would think younger folks, especially,
would LOVE to have a small flashlight
which could also flash (in Morse)

W _ T _ F



_

Click to expand...

Yeah, when I was 10 years old, I would have loved it, but now that I'm not playing hide & go seek or army with friends, on a dark street, it isn't so useful, especially when I'm forced to cycle through it.

JaguarDave-in-Oz said:

I've looked at the SOS sequence on my Quarks and it seems too slow to me. I feel that if it was as least twice the speed it would look like a packaged SOS signal but to me at the current speed it doesn't look like it's spelling anything out at all.

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I agree, it is way too slow; same with the beacon modes; only one that is at a good rate is the strobe.
If had my EDC lights, I'd first use my LiteFlux LF2X for a good SOS, next my Photon Microlight II's SOS, and use my Mini 123's SOS as a last resort.

Yes it's odd why they make SOS so slow. The only lights I have that come close to a decent speed is the XL100 and some DX lights. And even then I feel they should have been a little faster.