LED lightbars?
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With no response so far im going to have to assume the answer is no. The only LED lightbars Ive seen I think were the "patriots" on a couple cruisers. I like that fact that they are cheap (in terms of repair only), bright, very discrete, and usually come with an obscene amount of flash patterns. However, I dont know if it's worth it to a dept to spend the extra $500-1500 on one. If anyone thinks otherwise please let me know, but so far i cant see recommending these.
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Well here's my take on the LEDS...first off my Dept doesn't use them, we have regular strobes..personely I find that the blue in them just doesn't look right...it's almost a cobalt color and the flash patterns I've seen in combination with the blue give a unatural look...plus the cost of the bar's themselves...A good strobe or halogen rotator bar with a few and I stress few secondary lights is more than sufficent...Honestly how many times must lightbar company's try to re-invent the wheel so to speak..just my 02
I've only seen a few of them, but I can say they are discreet. There is this all white Ford Excursion, with a very thin LED light bar mounted on the roof. Not sure what agency it is, but I've seen it in Danvers and Nahant. Unless you were really looking, you would never notice it was there. So I guess in that aspect, it is pretty good if your looking for concealment on an unmarked vehicle.
G
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·I've yet to see one yet but do they stop these idiots from slamming into the back of the cruisers like moths to a flame? Bad enough they do that, now we have to contend with the gas tanks exploding. I guess you could call the C/V the new Pinto of the Millennium. Any thoughs on this? Are they easier on the eyes?
The problem with strobe lighting is the flashes and pulses of light are difficult to track with your eyes. Think about how many times you have been on a long stretch of dark highway and have seen strobe lights off in the distance. Often you cannot tell which lane or which side of the highway they are on. Toss in a couple of pops at the local gin-mill and the problem increases. The best way to mark a location with a light is a steady beam. The LED lights offer the warning power of the strobe pulses, but the flash patterns can be altered to produce non-pulsing lights without losing the intensity. I will add that the blue color is a bit different.
Personally, I think that many departments, mine included, put too much lighting to the rear of the vehicle. Most of our fleet has an 8 head strobe lightbar (4 front and 4 rear) 'flash-backs', strobes in the reverse lights and tail lights and wig-wags. It's nice to have the rear warning power, but you still need to get the traffic out of your way when enroute to a call. It gets difficult having front warning power when 2 of the front-facing strobes are out!
My 2-cents.
Personally, I think that many departments, mine included, put too much lighting to the rear of the vehicle. Most of our fleet has an 8 head strobe lightbar (4 front and 4 rear) 'flash-backs', strobes in the reverse lights and tail lights and wig-wags. It's nice to have the rear warning power, but you still need to get the traffic out of your way when enroute to a call. It gets difficult having front warning power when 2 of the front-facing strobes are out!
My 2-cents.
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8,897 Posts
Well since you asked...............HousingCop said:
1. You don't actually have to contend with exploding gas tanks ("we" do)
2. As pointed out in C/V tank thread, statistically the cruiser is not even close to the poor record of the pinto.
3. Chapter 90 enforcement is/was/always a RISKY task.
:roll: :wink:
G
Guest
·Oh, you are so right MCCPD61,
You do sooooo much traffic enforcement in the 3 parking lots you own & control in Brockbury and Cantonpan! Those high speed 15mph crashes you suffer on a weekly basis in those lots really put you at risk of becoming roasted chicken.
Should I go to your website and post what what crime the 13th & 14th graders have to deal with to deserve such a heroic police officer like yourself?
I will not get into a pissing match over any cops job. We all take risks when we put on a blue shirt and gunbelt. Who's trying (And failing miserably) now to sling arrows? Not me.
You do sooooo much traffic enforcement in the 3 parking lots you own & control in Brockbury and Cantonpan! Those high speed 15mph crashes you suffer on a weekly basis in those lots really put you at risk of becoming roasted chicken.
Should I go to your website and post what what crime the 13th & 14th graders have to deal with to deserve such a heroic police officer like yourself?
I will not get into a pissing match over any cops job. We all take risks when we put on a blue shirt and gunbelt. Who's trying (And failing miserably) now to sling arrows? Not me.
MSP Grafton has a new 03' dark blue unmarked vic, and it has only LED lights, behind the heavy tint (for the police dog right) in the rear, it is not that bright, and not very noticable during the day unless your driving at it head on.
I think LED's look good, and they are definitely low pro, but they aren't the cure all for lighting
I think LED's look good, and they are definitely low pro, but they aren't the cure all for lighting
The best advantage of LEDs over strobes is the distance they can be seen at -- I have seen some of the new MSP LED/strobe combo lightbars, and you can see the LEDs going from *MUCH* farther away, day or night. I think a reasonable mix of the two technologies is going to turn out to be the best in the long run.
-Mike
-Mike
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:L: :L: :L:HousingCop said:
That's right, you were being so positive and upbeat right dude!? Make me laugh so hard your ego bruises so easily!
In any event, while backing up East Bridgewater #209 I noticed the LED lightbar cycles WICKED fast, and the take-down lights look weak. I agree that perhaps a mix of Standard and LED might make sense.
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4,408 Posts
We have the Whelen strobe lightbar with 7 strobes in the rear and seven in the front, intersector strobes and all, and it's so bright that I worry sometimes that these drivers will hit my car. It does have a HI/LO switch on the lightbar control panel. I hit LO at night and its not as powerful. The only LEDs are the Chief's new car, pretty cool. They are clear but you can see them when they light up.
MPD61 you the man, tell 209 dude I said hi. Ignore HousingSecurity Guard because he has no idea what it's like to work for a real department.
MPD61 you the man, tell 209 dude I said hi. Ignore HousingSecurity Guard because he has no idea what it's like to work for a real department.
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4,768 Posts
The new MSP lightbars are 90% strobes and 10% LEDS. The advantage of LEDS are that they are more visible from directly behind than strobes, in addition to the reasons already listed. I agree that a mix of the new technologies is probably the best answer. Also another new neat feature of the new Code 3 lightbars is that they incorporate bright white corner strobes for those intersection runnings.
Personally I have LED lights on my cruisers and all of you are RIGHT! the only good thing to them is that there clear and hard to see on the cars, and PRETTY to look at while the car is parked. LOL..... My Department spent about $2500.00-$3000.00 each light bar, I personally would have like to see the money spent on better equipment.
Stay Safe.
Stay Safe.
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9 Posts
Hi all. There are a couple of basic Ideas behind the LED's being better than strobes or halogens. LED's use a mineral not a bulb or tube, so they are not susceptable to vibration, and they last much longer. Led's are also engineered to emit a specific color, so unlike strobe or halogens, they do not need to be filtered, and therefore do not lose any of the intensity. We have all seen the light output difference between a clear strobe and one with a filter on it. Led's also use much less power.
Companies are still trying to perfect the LED lighting, but it is getting better and better all the time. Before anyone flames me, I am a retailer for 911EP and I think there newest products are excellent, but I was just trying to talk about LED's in general here.
Stay Safe all,
Companies are still trying to perfect the LED lighting, but it is getting better and better all the time. Before anyone flames me, I am a retailer for 911EP and I think there newest products are excellent, but I was just trying to talk about LED's in general here.
Stay Safe all,
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