Big Beam #264 cool flashlight/beacon

[Stillgottimefor1]

Got this for $6.00-should clean up nice, looks like it never had batteries in it. Any of you have one like this?


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[h~moto]

I have one similar but takes one 6V battery. Looks like yours holds two 6V batteries. They are good to have in your car. The red lens will flash on and off. Also have a model 166 that I keep in the house that does not have the red light option. Also have his big brother, model no. 766C.

 

[bob from indiana]

My GrandPa had one without the red light. They are still made. I almost ordered one once.

 

[pharmerphil]

Cooool!

 

[southalabama]

I'm a gear and flashlight junkie.

That is cool

 

[M_George]

My father had one like that when I was about 6. That would have been around 1959. Brings back memories.

 

[6PTsocket]

They sure are.
http://www.bigbeam.com/big-beam-hand-lanterns/
I would have thought that led technology would have put them out of business with those big clunky lantern batteries and incandescent bulbs.

My GrandPa had one without the red light. They are still made. I almost ordered one once.

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[TwoInch]

I have one of these, but no red beacon. In very good condition too. It was my grandfathers, he passed in 2005 I think. I found the light this summer in his old back garage, and sure enough... It turned on...

I was flabbergasted that the battery had held some amount of charge for at minimum, 13 years, and I'm sure quite a number of years more.

Very neat little lights. I've considered dropping in some LED guts into it, make it throw 1000 lumens or so... That could be fun.

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[disston]

Back in the day they didn't sell "lumens". They just called it "Big" and were done with it.

Nice light.

 

[rustyzman]

If you look around you can find a D-cell 6V adapter unit that allows you to use those lights without buying the more expensive 6V battery. That is what I did with mine and it works great. D-cells are cheap and easy to find. Great flashlights.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-VOLT-LAN...h=item33f8a2035c:g:IBEAAOSwCPRay9qL:rk:1:pf:0

 

[shanny19]

So a warning, it's quite possible to go into a hardware store and find lantern batteries that are seriously old stock. At the very least, make sure the battery has the manufacturer s website on it, so you know it's only 20 years old haha. If it was me, I'd be putting them on a multimeter before purchase.

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

All reply: I am thinking about making a rechargeable modern battery pack for this and retrofit LED bulbs. Looks Cool And Works Modern.


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[6PTsocket]

So a warning, it's quite possible to go into a hardware store and find lantern batteries that are seriously old stock. At the very least, make sure the battery has the manufacturer s website on it, so you know it's only 20 years old haha. If it was me, I'd be putting them on a multimeter before purchase.

Rustysman (previous post) solved that problem. Get a D cell adapter. A lantern battery is made up of four 1.5 volt cells so it is basically 4 D cells, anyway. A lantern battery is a carbon zinc battery, like the cheap flashlight batteries. With the adapters you can use alkalines. They have more capacity and a shelf life of 10 years and they are cheap. The down side is alkalines tend to leak and can make a mess in your device.

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[Supa Dexta]

Neat old thing