Non-Pyrotechnic Distress Signals

There are surprisingly few non pyrotechnic distress signals on the market that meet US Coast Guard carriage requirements. Besides the federal requirements some states might have additional requirements. Be sure to review your state's requirements to make sure you are operating legally.

If a flash of light hit you in the eye would you think someone is signaling you? This question arose with non pyrotechnic distress signals. Since these products do not function like pyrotechnic flares there is a concern that the signal, even if seen, will not be perceived to be a call for help. Boaters have become accustomed to reacting when they see a flare in the sky, the same might not be true when they see a red, green or white light, all of which could be confused with navigation lights.

Most of the non-pyrotechnic products on the market today use fairly new technology. Environmental concerns regarding the use of pyrotechnics, such as discharge and disposal, have been one of the driving forces for the development of many of these products now entering the market.

Unlike pyrotechnic flares, many non-pyrotechnic devices rely upon batteries to function. A boater using a battery operated non-pyrotechnic distress signal should check the status of the unit often. A battery replacement schedule with expiration date labeled on the unit will help increase the reliability of the product. Since there’s no expiration date, these devices require more diligence than traditional flares. Not only are there dud pyrotechnic flares, a battery-powered non pyrotechnic flare can be a dud if it is not properly maintained.

Lights & Flags

The ACR Electronic DistresS.O.S. Night Visual Distress Signal is not to be confused with a traditional flash light. This product when switched on will signal an S-O-S pattern ( short, short, short, long, long, long, short, short, short). This product meets Coast Guard approval for night use only. We found during our test that the SOS flashing white light could easily be confused with shore lights in a densely populated area. The local lights, or back scatter, made it hard to pick out the SOS light and left us questioning whether another boater or person on shore would respond appropriately—even if they did see it.

The Distress flag when compared to the smoke flares, made a comparatively small impression. At a ¼ mile our observers could hardly tell what the black shapes were on the flag. Any type of movement in the breeze reduced the viewing area and made it harder for our observers to see. As a last resort the distress flag should be used along with any other impromptu screaming and waving of the arms.

The Powerflare P/F 200 Safety Light is an LED light used in other applications including: military, marine construction, and law enforcement. For most car drivers this is the perfect replacement for a road flare. This product was tested because it is advertised as having boating applications, but we found that brilliance was too week for the boating environment. At ¼ of a mile we had a very difficult time seeing it but again, it would be good for drivers coming up to a car accident. This product was not Coast Guard approved.

Laser Lights

The Greatland Lasers are high powered rescue devices that have an incredible range of 20 – 30 miles in ideal conditions. The presentation laser pointers with which you might be familiar, focus their laser beam into a small dot—while the Greatland products focus the beam into a linear shape. At a close distance the beam is only a few inches wide but at a ¼ mile the beam grows to several feet in width. The linear shape enables the user to sweep the beam (held vertically) back and forth across the intended target.

We found this product to be heavily affected by the atmospheric conditions during our night testing and difficult to see at all during our day test. With a half moon and the glow of an urban sky, the red Greatland Rescue Laser Flare Magnum proved to be much more difficult to see than the Greatland Green Rescue Laser Flare. Aiming both of the lasers proved difficult due to the ¼ mile testing distance as even a moderate amount of ‘sweeping motion’ by the tester made it difficult for the observers to see the laser. Without radio confirmation it was difficult to tell if the signal was even received. Aiming the green flare into the water and slowly guiding it up to the target proved to be a good method. These products will require a lot of practice to perfect a successful aiming technique.

Observers wondered how many people would know what the symbols on the flag mean.

The SOS Distress light, though it blinks the Morse code for S-O-S still looks like little more than a buoy light.

The green laser was easier to spot from shore than the red laser; it was able to illuminate entire sections of the beach.

The red laser was bright but didn't catch our observers' attention and was very difficult to aim.

Lights and Lasers make up the non-pyrotechnic options, but not all of them are USCG-approved and our obervers found that performance was lacking.