Light bars

[Forensics]

I have noticed that the emergency service are changing light bars

New ones:

Old ones:

EDIT: another old one:

What are the benefits of the new ones?

(new ones) How come when they are off they are clear but then when they are on they are on they have color?

Which do you prefer?

[randomperson139]

I prefer the new ones. I think they look better.

[hunter42]

Old ones they look better and easier to see.

[joachimnor]

The new ones have colored led's and doesent need color on the glass and the new ones looks best

[billyfromhill]

The new ones use colored LED's so they don't need colored filters. The old ones use incandescent white light bulbs with a rotator so they need a color filter to acheive the desired color.

[Forensics]

Thanks for the explanation

[joachimnor]

The old ones look more like strobes to me

EDIT: They are strobes and two leds on the bottom

[Forensics]

OK then added a rotator light.

Another old one:

[njboy13]

In general, I prefer the old colored ones, but I actually like a Mix of LED and Rotator. My favorite is the Federal Signal Vista, with the rotators on top, bot the lower layer of lights is LED instead alley/takedown lights.

[Guest miked9372]

you can changed the color on the new ones but you cant on the old ones cus its colored glass i think so at least

[MikesPhotos]

What are the benefits of the new ones?

The biggest benefit is cost over the long run. While LED technology and bars cost more then Halogen and Strobe, they save in the long run. Rotators, Bulbs, and Strobes have a shelf life of between 5-10 years depending on how often they are used and weather conditions. LED's on the other hand have no moving parts, and are rated by some manufacturers to last nearly 10x as long! Add to that is the fact that LED's draw less power and don't eat up the battery like Halogen and Strobes do, meaning less wear and tear on the electrical system, more power available to other equipment, and the units in the field don't worry about dead batteries when they leave their lights on but vehicles off.

Another key is the low profile bar increases fuel mileage and because of the lack of heat generated by a bulb or strobe firing, you tend to have less hazing/fogging of the lenses that occurs in various climates. There are some departments that have to change their lenses every couple of years due to weather issues that they are no longer experiencing with LED technology.

Overalls - Less moving parts, Less Power Consumption, Longer life, and increased fuel mileage are the biggest benefits over the older Halogen, and even strobe models.

(new ones) How come when they are off they are clear but then when they are on they are on they have color?

That is just how the technology works. The generation and type of LED, Light Emitting Diodes, used, only emit color and light when on, but are clear otherwise. This has led some departments to put colored lenses on their bars, or as LAPD and LASD have done with their arjents, place colored tops on their bar so they are still recognizable as Law Enforcement. Other departments and places prefer the clear look as it is harder to spot in both day and night while off. It just depends on your departments philosophy and needs regarding visibility in the public eye. I'm sure someone will ask, why would a dept not want to be seen, and so i'll just nip that question in the bud right now. Many departments who deal with traffic enforcement or have a philosophy of blending into the community as opposed to being a powerful vision of enforcement, may wish to be less noticeable when not engaged in an actual incident or call. Others believe in high visibility as a deterrent to crime and want their units to be out and about in the public and noticed as much as possible. Just different philosophies for different areas. Small towns usually prefer to be blenders, large towns with high crime usually go for visibility.

Currently one of the biggest complaints about the clear when off feature is how hard it is to distinguish between police and security guards and other similar issues. A key example would be an LA City Dept of Water and Power utility truck and an LAPD truck. Both are white, standard pickup trucks, with just a small seal and logo on the door and a lightbar on the roof. With clear LED's and no colored lenses, it'd be impossible to tell the difference between the two.

As for what I like.... I honestly could NOT possibly care less. It would be unfathomable for me to really give a ____ any less then I do. No lightbar ever put a fire out, no lightbar ever did cpr, no lightbar ever saved a child, cut open a roof, stabilized a rollover, or delivered a baby. Emergency vehicle Code 3 responses are no faster, nor any safer, according to US National highway statistics, so the only thing that matters then is... cost. I like whatever the dept buys at the best rate that doesn't effect my paycheck or my taxes.

[Forensics]

You sure know a huge amount about everything Mike

Thanks for talking your time to write that.

[szron]

And most important thing:

LEDs are way cooler than rotators.

[Forensics]

Just seen this lightbar:

Guess how much??

£804 / $1309.23 / 894 euro

Bit expensive, isn't it?

I knew they weren't cheap but that's a huge amount!

[Guest Grizzly]

i think the best lighbar would be a LED with coloured parts like this (swisse) :

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/det...c02882a83047172

[Ami89E1234]

no, rotating LEDs are the best. expensive, but look totally awesome:

cant wait till lightbars change to OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes) that are even better than standard LEDs

[917893678251]

The only reason why some LEDS are so expensive is that they are exported to other countries to get more money.BTW,countries would have their own LED manufacturing companies like China and the U.S. use their own manufactured ones.

[Xplorer4x4]

I dunno about that, I can go on ebay and order some LEDs from Hong Kong for cheap, and as many LEDs go in to one bar, I would imagine Fed Sig and such get great deals on them.

[Guest cbh84]

Just seen this lightbar:

Guess how much??

£804 / $1309.23 / 894 euro

Bit expensive, isn't it?

I knew they weren't cheap but that's a huge amount!

I bought this same lightbar for only $800 and it comes with a 5 year warranty

[pyrothijs]

I bought this same lightbar for only $800 and it comes with a 5 year warranty

You spent 800 bucks on a lightbar?!

[Guest]

i say led light they are more alsome

[Fuzzyface]

If it was me, i'd just sellotape a couple torches to a saucepan with some wheels fixed on it with blue/red filters, drill a hole in the middle of my roof and stick a piece of plastic down like on rotating blinds.

Spin that with the left hand while the right does the driving

[puppysboy222]

New ones. They look hella sick on Roseville's PD cars at night, for some reason. Also went to Sacramento, and they had some LEDs. Friggen awsome!