LED vs Strobe and Halogen

[Stephen T Alcox]

I like the led better tahn the srobe or the halogen.If the led is used in a dome light reminds me of the older round ones in that u can takes good pic at night when they turned .The strobe flashes so darn fast u cant get a good pic. So I like the LED's better.
Stevge

[PimpOnDuty]

On the opposite of that, most companies don't pick up the LED due to high costs. I like the LED too, but I'm not shelling out that kind of cash for my fleet.

[Stephen T Alcox]

Thats up 2 u.Some depts can afford it while others cant.Just saying I like the LED :)

[PimpOnDuty]

Word. I love them, warning power vs. cost effectivness though. It just doesn't pan out for me.

[The Big One]

Sorry, but I disagree. LED lights are just the latest thing...they suck for main bar lights and intersection lights, since they are directional, if you are off at an angle, you can't see them too well, especially during the day. We still buy halogen bar lights (because there is no question you can see them during the day) and strobes for intersection lights. However, we did get the LED for the brake and turn signal lights. The word is the LED bulbs are good for like 100,00 hours or something like that. If they ever get them so you can see them as bright from all angles, they will be the poop.

[dlo]

We have a BC rig with full LED's, and it has the clear lenses. It is a bit hard to see it coming with the low profile light bar. However, we recently put in service our new platform, and it is completely LED'd out. It utilizes the red lenses for warning lights, and believe me, you can see it a mile away, from all sides, day, and especially night. I think that using the proper color lenses makes the difference in seeing the thing in the day. Also, as with all things, with all the competition between manufacturers, the prices will go down eventually. The benefit in their use is the lower draw on the electrical system, and the longevity of use with the led's. Also, if you've ever looked at those things, they could cause a siezure from all that blinking! I agree though, not everyone can afford the initial cost.

[Stephen T Alcox]

I think its good to have them clear because of the fact that unmarked untis need them.But I think colored oens for the marked untis shoudl be the standard
Steve

[ohfrmn89]

cincinnati oh, pd has a traffic car which they use for patrolling the interstates with, that has a clear LED bar on it. when lit up it flashes an awesome variety of red/blue colors. when not lit it makes the car look like any other vehicle out there which i guess is good for traffic enforcement. one of our deputy chiefs has LEDs mounted on the mirrors,grille and rear deck of his POV, doesn't look to bad. myself i still prefer a combination of red/clear halogen rotator lights, with either a combination of strobes or LEDs either in the bar itself or seperate flashers. strobes seem to be hard to see during the day. cincinnati also has there new medic ambulances equipped with LED flashers all the way around. no light bar whatsoever. doesn't look too bad especially with the wig-wag headlight flasher but still my opinion is it at least needs a light bar in the front.

[neb]

I think led`s are better then a strobe.

[5inchLDH]

Sorry, but I disagree. LED lights are just the latest thing...they suck for main bar lights and intersection lights, since they are directional, if you are off at an angle, you can't see them too well, especially during the day. We still buy halogen bar lights (because there is no question you can see them during the day) and strobes for intersection lights. However, we did get the LED for the brake and turn signal lights. The word is the LED bulbs are good for like 100,00 hours or something like that. If they ever get them so you can see them as bright from all angles, they will be the poop.


Yes, the Gen 1 LEDs (the 5mm ones) are very directional. This seems to be something that all the different warning light manufacturers are working on; many are using optic lenses to spread the light out to the sides, as well as leaving a concentrated light beam for head on viewing. The later generations (2 and 3, out now, such as Whelen's Linear8 and Linear 12, Sound-Off's Predator series [sold as Galls' brand name LEDs], and Code 3's LED-X series) are better, but not perfectly ideal (in my mind, anyway) for intersection warning.
As for intersections, ideally, I'd have either a self contained, 360 strobe beacon set to a rapid single flash with a high power power supply or a 360 rotating halogen beacon fir intersections.

[Jolly Roger]

I feel that LEDs have their place, but with the current state of LED technology, I don't feel they are good as primary warning devices. Our chief's buggies have them, and quite frankly, unless you are directly head on in front of the LED modules, you can't see them coming. The u/c strobes and hi-beam w/w gets attention better.

I'd be happy to get long winded if anyone wants clarification on my opinion.

[Smell My Coat !]

Nothing beats an 888 and twin beacon rays. Oh ! don't forget the Roto-Ray! :D

[BigBrother]

Nothing beats an 888 and twin beacon rays. Oh ! don't forget the Roto-Ray! :D


I couldn't agree with you more. There's an fd near me that uses three 888's on the front of their rigs. Very sharp.

[TheBigCityCo1]

the chief from harford county co.5 just got a new light rack with the LED and jeez they are bright. it hurts to look at them even during the day :eek:

[ENG12INE]

I've found that using a mixture of strobe,LED,halogen is the by far the best. That way you get lighting for all weather and ambient lighting conditions. Oh yeah, and I agree the roto rays and 888's are the bomb!!! Don't forget the flashing headlights too. During the daytime the headlights get more attention then anything else.

[pipehead36]

I have to agree that leds are longlasting and when you factor in the cost of replacing strobe bulbs every fews months even more if you are a busy company the cost of leds isnt so bad. But on the other hand Balto city Md. just got new medics with leds and they are brigther during the day but for some reson even with the brighter lights strobes just seem to grab your attention faster.I dont know maybe its just me but on city steets during the day i am noticing that the light from the leds doesnt radiate out very far. By the way Halogen emergency lights (other than in light bars) suck you cant see them during the day and they dont flash fast enough to get your attention

[5inchLDH]

I have to agree that leds are longlasting and when you factor in the cost of replacing strobe bulbs every fews months even more if you are a busy company the cost of leds isnt so bad. But on the other hand Balto city Md. just got new medics with leds and they are brigther during the day but for some reson even with the brighter lights strobes just seem to grab your attention faster.I dont know maybe its just me but on city steets during the day i am noticing that the light from the leds doesnt radiate out very far. By the way Halogen emergency lights (other than in light bars) suck you cant see them during the day and they dont flash fast enough to get your attention

I believe the reason that the strobes grab your attention (when contrasted with the LEDs on the BCFD medic units) has to do with the flash rate. The strobes pack 4 pulses into one flash burst (on a quad flash power supply, which is the default flash pattern for most Whelen strobe power supplies), whereas the pattern BCFD is using on their medic units is a simple on, off halogen-like pattern. So of course a faster flash is going to grab your attention; it's only natural. That's one reason why (in my experience) a faster flash pattern, such as one that flashes 3 times a second, is more eye catching than a pattern that flashes at 2 flash patterns.

You may also be interested in knowing that the flash pattern on the Whelen LEDs (and many others) can be easily changed. In the case of the Whelen LEDs, you simply remove the lense (which is really unnecessariy, except to protect the LEDs themselves, and to spread the light) and place a metallic object, such as a penny, between the 2 pins. See http://www.whelen.com/pdfs/install/134/13425.pdf for further information on changing the patterns.

Also, to address the light radiation issue...that's one problem with the LEDs - they're VERY directional. They point one way, and that's about it. The newer generations, such as you may see in many LED bars, are not as directional (translation: more light seen off to the sides).

[mackbakerscope]

I personally think a combination of strobe, halogen, and led is best. I especially like the roto-ray!! But yes led's do cut back on the amount of power needed in comparison to halogen/strobe.