LED's VS STROBES!

[Srebeiro]

Okay,
Ourd department just go tthe Whelen LED' light system. Our standard light bar is the CODE-3 MX7000's. and we have one V-Type lightbar. Which is your fav.

[99TAC]

The only LEDs I've seen in person were built into the bottom of Rotating lightbars. The blue looked like baby blue and the red looked pink.

[Srebeiro]

Belmont has thoughs..half/and half.

[hwpd]

Vector
http://www.drebel.com/assets/images/light003.jpg

This is the same light combination our PD uses

[Srebeiro]

I dont like the V Lightbar, not enough protection from behind in my opinon..like the traffic advisor is great when its all lit up but...nuh huh. CHP is switching to all LED's.......

[hwpd]

what do you mean not enough protection from behind?

[Somebody]

I like LEDs because they have a lower profile but are still recognizable as an emergency vehicle, and are very bright.

[gdowkpc]

We use the Code 3 MX-7000 with D lense rotators and LED lights underneath. We added LED's into the front grille, strobes in the front turn signals, wig wags, and are testing LED's on the back deck.

We have an LED test car with the LED lights. The Code 3 MX-7000 is far superior for maximum visibility. Each bar has 5 rotators alternating from red to blue without the annoying flash. They are expensive, but they are highly visible.

For a demo of our cars: http://home.comcast.net/~kd6kpc/ppb/lightbar.htm

[aussie1]

We still use standard halogen lightbars for General Duties cars and a mix of rotating halogen lights and strobes for HWP.

The Ambulance service has just gone to LEDs and they are so much better. The light bars are so small yet are really bright and they have a random flash pattern which really grabs your attention.

I have heard thought that the alley lights are average. I think the ambos are still using the standard halogen alley lights which are built in to the side of the truck.

How kool are deck blasters!!!!

[dizza]

The local PD uses MX-7000's with D Rotators, and LED Traffic Advisor on the lower back of the lightbar, and 2 LED lights on lower front (1 Blue, 1 Red). The rest of the lights on the lower front are halogen flashers I believe. They might have strobes in the lower corners. Can't remember. On the push bars they have 1 Blue and 1 Red PAR strobes. In the lights, they have a wig-wag setup, with corner stobes. I have a video of one of the local cars, but its quite big.

David

[Seand442]

Leds are the way to go. brighter, lower profile, use less power. Expensive to buy at first, but you don't have to replace an alternator every year and maintenance is a snap

[hwpd]

yeah bu the LEDs are hard to see wrom the side while the rotating light let it be V shape or MX 7000 can be seen 360 degrees with out a problem.
And in my opinion rotating lights are more vesible than leds.

[gdowkpc]

I don't think strobes or LEDs are the way to go because of their one moment they're on and one moment they're off appearance.

Rotators have a constant glow.

Strobes are also harder for the human eye to track. A person may see a strobe light out of the corner of their eye, and as they turn to look in the direction that it was coming from, they either looked in the wrong spot or the car has moved. Without a constant glow, it's difficult for drivers to determine the speed that the car is travelling and to actually locate where it is.

Also, strobes have a tendency to blind officers at night. If you are following directly behind in a pursuit situation, it is incredibly difficult to look towards the flashing strobes ahead. Then in a high-risk situation where you are using your car for cover, the strobes can either blind you, or play tricks on you about what is moving around you.

LEDs also blind and have the on and off effect, but at least they stay on a little longer per flash than a strobe.

[P01IC3M4N]

my lightbar is very low-profile. it's a strobe/halogen/LED combo called a whelen patriot. our other cars are all strobe, but are going to patriot bars.

i've been in plenty of pursuits with those cars and the strobes never seem to bother me or cause problems with vision.

the LEDs are great. i can turn off the car and turn on the LEDs and not worry about the battery running down anytime soon. they are bright and easy to see since they don't pop like the strobes do.

having said all that, the old school rotator bars are my favorites, but they're no longer practical. i remember having to smack the side of the vector bar to get the rotator to spin, or getting a bulb burn out, etc. they just don't last near as long.

halogen is so 80s.

[DltUNH]

Speaking of lights, anyone from Va here and can remember when the Va state police got rid of the single rotator? I can remember when they had the one and I believe that was the last agency I had seen that still had the 1. This is when I was younger so time is a little iffy.