Why a flashlight need SOS mode?

[Smjsychj]

God bless you won't need it ever.
God bless you have it when you need it.

 

[Esperologist]

Personally, I like the idea of having an SOS mode available... but I want it out of the main line yet still easy to access. If I hit it when I accidentally over-shoot the regular mode I want then it is in a bad spot. If it is at the end of the auxiliary mode line so it takes me a while to get it active, it is in the wrong spot.
I have 5 flashlights and they 3 of them have SOS mode (including the 395nm UVA). The D25AAA and D25LC2 Mini, I keep hitting the strobes and SOS accidentally.. while the G25C2 MkII I'm not sure where in particularly the SOS is in the auxiliaries so I would have to hunt for it if I needed it.
If I was worried about needing SOS, I'd want a flashlight that was like 'triple click to SOS'... and a separate flashlight for strobe - or at least a separate auxiliary line.

 

[smokinbasser]

Being a bass (duh) fisherman I go out at night and there are all sorts of problems you could have like shearing the pin securing the prop to the shaft , draining the batteries moving around at night, tagging a stump , or running out of gas at the most inconvenient time like at the back of a bay just off the main lake. I have a 1&1/2 gallon tank I use on my whitewater raft but I set up the fuel connections so I can carry it in the bass boat too. If you only go out in the daylight it might not be needed at all but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[terjee]

God bless you won't need it ever.
God bless you have it when you need it.

I think this pretty much sums up my feelings on the issue.


I also think that it would be nice to have an SOS-feature, but I think we have the wrong one. What I'd like to see, is for when you're thinking:

"I have called/radioed (or can't), and I'm falling asleep. Oh my God, how are people going to find me?"

I think morsing SOS is fine, but I think what would make such a feature usable is battery-conservation, rather than the morse code. Being able to just enable the mode on the light, and have it do sensible things. You probably wouldn't need to morse at 4000 lumen. You also probably wouldn't need it to continuously morse it, and not doing it continuously could even be a good thing for grabbing attention. A continuous stream is easier to mentally tune out.

Could even consider sequences such as:
- rapid flashing for 3 seconds
- one SMS
- wait 3 seconds
- morse SOS three more times, 1-2 seconds pause in between
- wait 15 seconds
- repeat from step one

Basically have a fairly low "on time", or otherwise be tweaked so you'd get 12 hours of use out of the flashlight, even if you're at 30% battery. Could even take into account the current battery status when you enable SOS-mode, and budget power so you'd make sure you have runtime for at least X hours, for some wise definition of X.

If something bad happens to you, and you're injured or disoriented, best would be if there were just two very simple instructions for how to kick in such a mode. Something as simple as "enable the mode, point light to large reflective thing, hillside or similar". Something you could follow even when not thinking clearly.

While I'm not sure if anyone has been found due to SOS-modes of flashlights specifically, it's probably no surprise that people have been found due to the light on their cellphone, and similar. While I agree that any strobe mode could for the most part replace an SOS-mode, I think a battery conserving mode could actually end up making a difference.

As to it being a selling-point, that's probably true, but I'm not sure I mind too much. There hasn't been a lot of false alarms due to SOS-modes (that I'm aware of), and if these things can be used to sell flashlights to inexperienced hikers taking on a trip they're not prepared for, everyone wins.
(half joking on the last point, I do get that it's mostly a matter of selling point over competing lights).

Bottom line for me, is that if I were considering two otherwise identical flashlights, but only one of them with a battery conserving SOS-mode that I could easily but not accidentally enable, I'd easily choose that one.


terjee

 

[markr6]

I also think that it would be nice to have an SOS-feature, but I think we have the wrong one. What I'd like to see, is for when you're thinking:

"I have called/radioed (or can't), and I'm falling asleep. Oh my God, how are people going to find me?"

That's a good point. Given this happens about never in your lifetime, it should be a HIDDEN mode. Not the crap that comes on every time you cycle they the modes twice.

Some manufacturers have the right idea. For example, many Fenix lights require you to hold down the mode button for a few seconds. That makes perfect sense to me.

 

[terjee]

That's a good point. Given this happens about never in your lifetime, it should be a HIDDEN mode. Not the crap that comes on every time you cycle they the modes twice.

Some manufacturers have the right idea. For example, many Fenix lights require you to hold down the mode button for a few seconds. That makes perfect sense to me.

Fenix solution sounds good. For two-button flashlights, it could also be something like holding down one button, while pressing the other button three times. Hard to do accidentally, easy intentionally, and hopefully easy to remember.

terjee

 

[mcnair55]

I have no use for it but wild campers and other outdoor anoraks may find it useful.Prefer it a hidden feature.

 

[CelticCross74]

where I live getting knocked off the road into a deep ditch or ravine is a frightening possibility. If I am stuck the SOS and beacon modes could be life savers

 

[d88]

Various reasons why I prefer an SOS mode.

I like to go climbing in the Scottish Highlands and no matter how experienced and skilled climber you are, accidents do happen.

Secondly, due to the nature of my work there's always the possibility of me ending up in some remote area or bit of water I didn't plan on being in .

So why an SOS mode? Apart from the obvious it's the international distress signal, even someone who does not recognise it as SOS, will still see a light source giving off irregular patterns which is out of the ordinary and hopefully peak their interest enough to further investigate or at least call the relevant authorities.

Furthermore, at night it may not be unusual for climbers/walkers /campers to be out using their torches in certain areas. So having an unusual light pattern stands out immediately for any would be rescuers.

Finally , a few years back I was fortunate to speak to a SaR pilot working the Scottish Highlands. He stated that as soon he turned his helicopter into a Glen (valley)looking for a casualty, usually it was a case of searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack, which could take hours. If the casualty is signalling with a distinctive light source such as an SOS, this would grab their attention straight away and depending on the terrain, weather, altitude their at etc, they could easily spot the casualty 10-20 miles away.

I do agree though, it should definitely be a hidden mode and hopefully with good luck, you'll never have to use it for it's intended purpose.

One other thing, if you are going into remote or higher risk areas, a good quality whistle is also useful. Distinctive sound and light patterns are your best allies in attracting attention.

 

[Fcmem]

I don't know Morse code, I'd not be able to recognize sos even if I seen it.
I can see it being useful though if you just put it on sos and you don't have to keep working the light.

on the other hand day 2 day I find strobe and sos just get in the way..

my preference is either 1 mode.. or 3 mode high.med.low, but most 3 mode lights are'nt that.

 

[Going_Supernova]

I've read this thread through from beginning to now, and it seems to me that the main complaint about SOS mode isn't having the mode on the light, but it being inconveniently placed within the user interface to where it keeps getting activated when not needed, thus being an annoyance. IMO, the mode should NOT be hidden, but made prominent on a dedicated button. You never know whether you will be the one able to use your flashlight--you might be knocked unconscious, but someone else may be able to use it. If the mode is "hidden", the mode's existence and the method of activation known only by you, then the other person will have zero to little chance to activate the mode. The SOS mode button should be prominently displayed as such. There should be some kind of safety lock on the button, so that it cannot be pressed accidentally--perhaps a spring-hinged clear hard plastic cover over a recessed button...

 

[terjee]

I don't know Morse code, I'd not be able to recognize sos even if I seen it.

I get that, it and probably applies to a lot of people. A lot of people that took the time to learn it probably wouldn't be able to actually use it anymore either, due to disusage. I certainly fall into that category.

Some do know it though, and the more trained your are as a rescuer, the higher the likelihood is that you'll recognise it. As has been mentioned previously in the thread, even if you don't know it, the repeating pattern well certainly appear to be signalling *something*, and that can increase the chances that someone will check it out.

The SOS-code is much more well known that morse code in general though, and it's an easy to remember pattern; three short, three long, three short. There, now you know it too.

If you don't remember which is which (if it's the first/last or the middle that's long), just remember that it's the one option that'd use less power (2 of the sequences are short, 1 long, rather than the other way around).

And finally, just like SOS is one quick character away from SMS in ASCII, it is with morse code as well. Nokia made morse code for SMS famous with their SMS-notification (dut, dut, dut.... duuuut, duuut... dut, dut, dut).

IMO, the mode should NOT be hidden, but made prominent on a dedicated button.

I see your points, but I disagree with your conclusion. First off, if it's a dedicated button, it won't be used regularly, and there's a risk of malfunction going unnoticed. Secondly, anyone arriving at a scene where you're unconscious are very unlikely to start looking for a flashlight with an SMS-mode. They're far more likely to focus on you, and then on their own equipment.

I do agree that it shouldn't be too hard to get to the mode though, and it should be possible to get to it in a reduced state.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I see your points, but I disagree with your conclusion. First off, if it's a dedicated button, it won't be used regularly, and there's a risk of malfunction going unnoticed. Secondly, anyone arriving at a scene where you're unconscious are very unlikely to start looking for a flashlight with an SMS-mode. They're far more likely to focus on you, and then on their own equipment.

I do agree that it shouldn't be too hard to get to the mode though, and it should be possible to get to it in a reduced state.

A dedicated button would add a lot of cost to most lights because it would require two buttons and a circuit board that would handle two buttons also and I don't think most people would pay even an extra $5 more for SOS on their light. Personally I see flashing mode on lights a little more useful than SOS as you can use it to get attention also and disorientate people it also saves power over constant on modes.
IMO people who know that they will need a rescue "beacon" could buy one specifically designed for such separately that way when they really need it in an emergency they won't find the batteries dead in their flashlight with SOS mode unable to help them after using it half the night on high mode.
Almost every cheap 5-mode Chinese light has strobe and SOS modes on them which IMO are 1.5 wasted modes because not very often is even strobe that useful to most folks.

 

[Aries256]

I kind of like the SOS mode, more of a Id rather have it when i need it, than not have it. Manually pulsing out SOS if it should be needed would be tiresome imo. Location mode, now that one Im not sure what use i would have for that, but again its a mode I have should I need it.

 

[Light Bringer]

I believe that someone's marketing department was brainstorming on features for a new light. Someone probably said it should have a momentary button so the user could use it to send code like SOS. Someone else said let's make it easy and program an SOS mode so they just have to turn it on. They all thought that was a great idea so it became a feature. Once their light hit the market everyone else rushed to do the same so that hey could claim that feature too.

Plus, the strobe/sos is a few extra bytes of firmware in the uP, so costs *nothing*, vs an extra capacitor or resistor, which might cost a few pennies per unit.

But it's "extra!!!", an extra mode or two, so it's *perceived* extra value at zero cost.

For the luxury of EDC, I'm okay with a driver that has a uP on board, and has useful modes (from firefly to turbo). But that uP can go mental, as it did on a SK98 I have. Worked fine for over a year, starting in high as it was programmed to. Now it starts on low instead of high, so I have to go through strobe and SOS to get to high, something I don't want to do, so I no longer carry it. It could have just as easily gotten stuck on strobe or SOS... or off!

For the ultimate in reliability, stick with a 1-mode driver, just a few 7135s and diode. A mental uP can switch modes at random, get stuck in the wrong mode, or just get stuck in "off". For a TEOTWAWKI light, it's 1-mode for me, and multi-mode for versatility when I have the luxury of swapping lights.

Point being, after my roundabout preamble, that if a light has a uP at all with *any* modes to play with, some idjit will stick on strobe, SOS, you name it, for the "extra value" to the consumer.

 

[seery]

Used to despise SOS mode, but another [similar] thread convinced me it's a nice option to have. As long as it's [deeply] hidden, it's all good.

But in today's world, if I were lost, stranded, or needed to attract attention, I honestly feel that Strobe mode would be much more effective.

 

[bassthumper]

As others have stated, it's not particularly a deal breaker for me, but if I had the choice between two identical lights (one with, one without), I'd probably choose the one without SOS.

My 4sevens quark has it, but it is so slow that anyone actually looking for it would probably be long gone (or asleep) before it finished cycling one time.

If, as a light manufacturer, you just absolutely MUST put it in the light, make it cycle in about 3 to 4 seconds. I know part of the issue is power savings, but having it take 10 seconds to cycle SOS just doesn't seem reasonable from a "recognition" standpoint. All things being equal, I'd rather just have a strobe as I think it's much more effective than a delayed SOS.

Now, just a quick story: When my and my brother were kids, we went fishing up in Canada and got lost. After getting some rough directions back to camp, we started back in the boat, only to run out of gas. As it was getting dark, I could just BARELY make out what I thought was my buddy's boat in the distance. I pulled out my disposable camera and flashed it a couple of times, and he saw it and came and picked us up. Point is, if you're out in a boat and someone is looking for you, ANYTHING can work to get somebody's attention.

By the way, I'd love to have had ANY kind of flashlight at that time, but I was young and very ill prepared. Even an old single mode would have been better than nothing, and arguably just as effective.