# Need info about this Russian pocket light



## wosser (Feb 3, 2019)

Just scored this awesome looking Russian pocket torch on ebay, just had to have it for the modest sum of £9.

Does anyone recognise this type of torch?







There are several other photos on the listing...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/vintage-...lashlight-untested-sold-as-seen-/183636564606

I'm particularly interested in what kind of battery this would have used, and what year it might have been manufactured (I'm wondering if it's 1960s vintage).

Stamped into the front is the presumably Russian word "СВЕТАИНА" (phonetically: "svetaina") which means "Light" in english.

I'm planning to refurbish it a little and put a large lithium battery in there and run a warm tint LED at a low power level for maximum duration as an ambient room light / night light.


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## Tachead (Feb 3, 2019)

I would ask Bykfixer. He knows a lot about flashlight history. I also would not mod it personally, as it is a piece of history and you will destroy its value and collectability. I would try and restore it to its original working condition without damaging or altering it if anything. Even polishing or altering the original paint/patina can severely hurt its value/collectability.


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## wosser (Feb 3, 2019)

Tachead said:


> I would ask Bykfixer. He knows a lot about flashlight history. I also would not mod it personally, as it is a piece of history and you will destroy its value and collectability. I would try and restore it to its original working condition without damaging or altering it if anything. Even polishing or altering the original paint/patina can severely hurt its value/collectability.



I figured the chances of finding a compatible battery would be practically zero, hence the idea to re-purpose it. I'll take your advice onboard though and I'll do some deeper research before I do anything with it.

I'll seek out Bykfixer also, is it acceptable to PM other users directly on CPF?


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## alpg88 (Feb 3, 2019)

i have a few lights like that, they use flat type of battery 4,5v 3lr12. that is not available in usa. but you can get an adapter for 3aa. i actually ordered one from Europe years ago for similar flashlight.


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## scout24 (Feb 3, 2019)

Looks like the same 4.5v battery thar Deutche Optik sells in their U.S. catalog. About $6.00. Though the AA adapter may be the way to go...


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## wosser (Feb 3, 2019)

alpg88 said:


> i have a few lights like that, they use flat type of battery 4,5v 3lr12...




I think I've seen these in hardware stores around here (UK), but not for a while now. I guess you have to bend the tabs upwards to make contact with the terminals?


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## Tachead (Feb 3, 2019)

wosser said:


> I figured the chances of finding a compatible battery would be practically zero, hence the idea to re-purpose it. I'll take your advice onboard though and I'll do some deeper research before I do anything with it.
> 
> I'll seek out Bykfixer also, is it acceptable to PM other users directly on CPF?



Yes, it is definitely acceptable to PM but, the downside to PM is there is no record of the info you receive which could help others down the road that may have a similar light. 

Oh, looks like you already have some helpful responses. Great, I hope you get her running👍.


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## alpg88 (Feb 3, 2019)

scout24 said:


> Looks like the same 4.5v battery thar Deutche Optik sells in their U.S. catalog. About $6.00. Though the AA adapter may be the way to go...


wow i wish i knew they were sold in usa, i would not have to pay over 20 bucks for adapter and delivery. they prbly do not sell many of those in usa, i have not seen a single device here that runs of such battery.


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## wosser (Feb 3, 2019)

Tachead said:


> Yes, it is definitely acceptable to PM but, the downside to PM is there is no record of the info you receive which could help others down the road that may have a similar light.
> 
> Oh, looks like you already have some helpful responses. Great, I hope you get her running.



Thank you. What I'm temped to do now is use a large flat lithium cell (the biggest I can fit inside the light) and simply use some alligator clips (or possibly spade connectors) to make contact with the existing terminals so that the light itself is 100% original. I'd rather run this at a lower power level than it would have originally been designed for, as it's hardly an EDC 

It has two sliders on the front, one that has a green gel attached to it, the other has a red gel. They can slide up and over the reflector to give GO/STOP traffic signals. I'll need to disassemble the light to some extent to fix them as they apparently get stuck half way up. Looks to be held together with bendable metal tabs, so I'm hoping it just needs a thorough clean in between the front panels.

I'll do a thread about the repairs next week.


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## wosser (Feb 3, 2019)

alpg88 said:


> wow i wish i knew they were sold in usa, i would not have to pay over 20 bucks for adapter and delivery. they prbly do not sell many of those in usa, i have not seen a single device here that runs of such battery.




https://www.batterystation.co.uk/sp...FUW_lg82Dn_IPrqMZEA1eKZCOMza4IehoCCLoQAvD_BwE

This battery has a few other names, aliases and AKAs, depending on what part of the world you ask about 

Aliases from that link:



> [h=1]Duracell Plus Power MN1203 3LR12 4.5V Battery | 1 Pack[/h][FONT=&quot]Product code(s): 3LR12, MN1203, 1203, 1289, AD28, 3R25, AD28VP, 1289, 3R12G, 3R12R, H1176


[/FONT]


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## bykfixer (Feb 3, 2019)

Thanks for the shout-out.

Looks to be a military issue lantern. The era I could only guess at since USSR lighting technology stayed in the stone age for the duration of the cold war. Using the screw-in E10 bulb in the free world would indicate 1930's or older as by the 40's the slide PR bulb was being utilized in American military lights. But like I said, Russian tech was lagging so it could be as late as the Vietnam era. 

If the bulb has any remaining stamping on it, that might give a clue as to the voltage of the battery. Looking at the fastening setup it appears to be a one cell light. I don't think anything is missing after studying the photos at eBay. 

Overall it looks to be in great shape, so perhaps a general cleanup with a mild soap and some de-oxit to the copper would be good enough. The glass lens could use a spit shine. I've gotten some really dirty old glass lenses looking pretty good with a spit and polish with a t-shirt method.

Regarding a battery, well the sky's the limit on that one. Obviously a standard cell won't work. Other posts seem to have that nailed down. 

Good score. Have fun and please show us the after pics.


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## Tachead (Feb 3, 2019)

bykfixer said:


> Thanks for the shout-out.
> 
> Good score. Have fun and please show us the after pics.



👍

+1


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## desert.snake (Feb 3, 2019)

Yes, 3LR12, use adapter for 3*AA

there is a lot about these old batteries, use google translator
http://forum.fonarevka.ru/showthread.php?t=3677&highlight=%E3%ED%EE%EC+%E1%E0%F2%E0%F0%E5%E9%EA%E0

As for the lantern well ask a question here:
http://forum.fonarevka.ru/forumdisplay.php?f=365

maybe there is something in the old materials?
http://forum.fonarevka.ru/showthread.php?t=4617







It can also be a Soviet clone of German lanterns, look at this forum.
wo2forum.nl

http://forum.fonarevka.ru/showthread.php?p=53302#post53302





offtop:
this old advertisement is cooler than modern


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## Tachead (Feb 3, 2019)

Awesome info desert.snake and yes that ad is super cool👍.


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## desert.snake (Feb 3, 2019)

Yes, this is a photo from the 1961 reference book.
*Flashlight color-signal for use by military personnel. Produced before the collapse of the USSR.*









Here is a topic about Soviet lights, look here
http://forum.fonarevka.ru/showthread.php?t=389

page 8 - KSF-1 (КСФ-1) (K - pocket, S - *color-signal, F - flashlight, model 1)

*






i see oveready also made similar - down, left


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## wosser (Feb 3, 2019)

bykfixer said:


> Thanks for the shout-out.
> 
> Looks to be a military issue lantern. The era I could only guess at since USSR lighting technology stayed in the stone age for the duration of the cold war. Using the screw-in E10 bulb in the free world would indicate 1930's or older as by the 40's the slide PR bulb was being utilized in American military lights. But like I said, Russian tech was lagging so it could be as late as the Vietnam era.
> 
> ...



That's great information bykfixer, thank you very much. I'd be pleased with a 1970's era piece (before I was born), but I'd be over the moon with a 1930's light. I agree that it looks like it has had very little harm come to it (doesn't even look like any batteries have leaked inside it), perhaps a collector had it before now. One wonders what monetary value a military light might have, they are numerous in manufacture, but they tend to have hard lives.

When it arrives, I'll post a heap of preliminary pictures showing as much detail as I can. Then we can see what may be done.

I'm very grateful to everyone who has offered help in this thread, and so quickly! What a great forum and community.

Many thanks.


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## archimedes (Feb 3, 2019)

wosser said:


> That's great information bykfixer, thank you very much....
> 
> When it arrives, I'll post a heap of preliminary pictures showing as much detail as I can. Then we can see what may be done.
> 
> ...



Thank you all ... very interesting item.

Question for OP, and Byk, does it make sense to move this thread over to the "Incandescent" forum ?


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## wosser (Feb 3, 2019)

archimedes said:


> Thank you all ... very interesting item.
> Question for OP, and Byk, does it make sense to move this thread over to the "Incandescent" forum ?



Yes I think so. In the absence of a "Vintage" section


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## ma tumba (Feb 3, 2019)

I think that svetlina is a Bulgarian brand rather than a Soviet one.


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## archimedes (Feb 3, 2019)

archimedes said:


> Thank you all ... very interesting item.
> 
> Question for OP, and Byk, does it make sense to move this thread over to the "Incandescent" forum ?





wosser said:


> Yes I think so. In the absence of a "Vintage" section



Thanks ... and done


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## bykfixer (Feb 3, 2019)

Agreed about moving it.

Funny things is, current LED tech makes the entire incan section 'the vintage' section.

Awesome info desert snake.

About Daylo: Eveready had a contest in the late 1910's to rename the flashlight. Since the tungsten filament had been invented it no longer poofed quickly so an electric light could run steady instead having to flash on and off before the lousy batteries failed or the carbon filament popped. Runtimes were now in the minutes instead of seconds. Later Charles Burgess created batteries that could last hours with a shelf life beyond a few weeks. He was the PK of that era. The casings were perfected by shoving zinc tubes over tool handles. C size was a rake handle and D was a shovel handle. The chemistry was perfected using funds paid by a local phone company during his spare time.

What a marvelous thing that must've been. Electric fire on a stick that burned longer than a match stick. Woohoo.

Anyway, owner of Eveready Conrad Hubert did a promo to come up with a name and the winner was the term Daylo that indicated "daylight" from a flashlight. He spent millions on the promo that did not catch on. 

He wanted folks to call his battery powered lights Daylo's instead of flashlights. Eveready Daylo lights were issued to America troops during the first world war. That was part of the Daylo promotion. 

So that Ruskie light could have been used while fighting the Nazis during the second big one.


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## peter yetman (Feb 3, 2019)

What a facinating thread. I do remember the type of battery that fitted that light, but for the life of me couldn't name it.
We have an amazing collective knowledge on CPF, long may it last.
P


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## xxo (Feb 3, 2019)

These types of lights were popular during the WW1 era, particularly with the Germans, but other countries used them including the US (the "Beacon Army Light"). Usually they were intended to attach to the buttons of a military tunic or overcoat for hands free use. These were again widely used during WW2, although the US mostly used angle head flashlights by then. The Swiss were still making a more elaborate version of these lights with built in colored filters well into the 1990's. Not sure about the Soviet/Warsaw pact nations, but I think they were still using them at the end of the cold war, some of these had the colored filters as well.


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## archimedes (Feb 3, 2019)

And this thread was started less than twenty-four hours ago ...


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## desert.snake (Feb 3, 2019)

ma tumba said:


> I think that svetlina is a Bulgarian brand rather than a Soviet one.


[h=3]You are right 100%[/h]I asked the greatest expert on vintage lanterns (whom I know), he confirmed - Bulgaria, 1970-80s

Here is his topic
http://forum.fonarevka.ru/showthread.php?t=16626


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## bykfixer (Feb 3, 2019)

So that light in the topic of this thread was produced in the 1970's or 80's?


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## n3mo (Feb 3, 2019)

My dad had such light from the East German army (NVA). Was funny for us to change the color. Today I miss those easy pragmatic ways to e.gm use an modern LED as night lamp.

Those batterie were also very common in East Germany. It was the essential part of every boy*s electric toolbox. Some reasons
-Huge connector, so one could easily attach a cable.
-Long bendable connectors could be used as switches
-A lot of power in it
-And the best, it was easy to test is there was „juice“ left. One could simply lick on the contacts, as there are s close to each other  if you felt something then there was juice left  remember that feeling like it was yesterday.‘
Here in Europe (specially in Germany) you can still buy those batteries. 3L12 yes, but just google for „4,5V Flachbatterie“.


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## novice (Feb 3, 2019)

wosser,
Here is another 3xAA adapter that Petzl made. It is different than the picture of the other one above in post #4, so I don't know which one would work better for you. I got one of these for a surplus Swiss military headlamp that I have, and have not yet gotten around to either filing or moto-dremeling it to get it to fit in the case. To find this at Amazon, put in the search phrase, "Petzl - AA Battery Adapter for Zoom Headlamp".


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## Finkin (Feb 3, 2019)

I agree on Bulgarian version, since "светлина" means "light" in Bulgarian, and their online marketplaces have lots of Svetlina and other brand flashlights.
Here's your model, for example, which sells for equivalent of just above £2:
https://bazar.bg/obiava-20471191/staro-fenerche-tritsvetno


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## ZMZ67 (Feb 3, 2019)




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## broadgage (Feb 4, 2019)

Regarding the similar lights but with colour filters as shown in post #15, these are still fairly readily available from fleabay. I have several, both two color and three colour.
AFAIK they are no longer manufactured but large inventories still exist.

The 4.5 volt batteries are available worldwide but are less common in the USA than in Europe.


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## wosser (Feb 9, 2019)

It's arrived: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/v...Svetlina-signaller-s-lamp-Restoration-Project

A nice light, certainly a lot of fun, if not lumens


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