Thread: LED Terms 101 and colors

Not totally sure if this was reposted, but its good info.. hopefully it becomes a sticky again..

http://www.freeyabb.com/elightbars/view ... elightbars

If it can be done right for example the newer new york state police cars they have nicely done it with color lens but on other hand if it can't be done right just stick with led color. my 2 cents.

Originally Posted by Alovebaby41

If it can be done right for example the newer new york state police cars they have nicely done it with color lens but on other hand if it can't be done right just stick with led color. my 2 cents.

Uh, what?

Originally Posted by unlisted

Originally Posted by Alovebaby41

If it can be done right for example the newer new york state police cars they have nicely done it with color lens but on other hand if it can't be done right just stick with led color. my 2 cents.

Uh, what?

+1. I'm more confused than usual

I think he means the NYSP new patrol cars have colored lenses on their Liberty lightbars and they work well. I put the LED the same color as the lens. I put red vertex's behind my red turn signals in the rear. I tried out the white vertex behind red lenses it didnt look right. Strobes is a diff story. I would say always match the lens and the LED color.

Originally Posted by VolEms

I think he means the NYSP new patrol cars have colored lenses on their Liberty lightbars and they work well. I put the LED the same color as the lens. I put red vertex's behind my red turn signals in the rear. I tried out the white vertex behind red lenses it didnt look right. Strobes is a diff story. I would say always match the lens and the LED color.

Right, that is what this "repost" already discussed.. in depth.

also see viewtopic.php?f=17&t=593

Originally Posted by JohnMarcson

also see viewtopic.php?f=17&t=593

Ah crap, I thought I had seen it posted on here somewhere before..

Care to "kill" this thread and sticky yours John?

Written by Responder PSE

When it comes to leds, what does Gen3 really mean?

Light Emitting Diodes, those magical illuminating semiconductors, have been around now for more than four decades. In just the last ten years or so, the led has undergone a tremendous evolutionary transformation. Originally only able to produce light in the red wavelength, they can now produce nearly any color in the spectrum. In addition, the achievable power levels of leds have increased exponentially. This has led to explosive growth in the emergency vehicle lighting (EVL) market.

The term “Gen1” generally refers to the traditional 5mm led which has been with us for most of the last forty years. The 5mm led typically has a light dispersion angle of approximately 10-15° but the overall light energy is relatively low. Because 5mm diodes were the only affordable option when emergency vehicle lighting began to incorporate them almost ten years ago, generating enough light to meet emergency vehicle lighting standards required using large number of these Gen1 leds to do so. This is why Gen1 products are made up of tens, if not hundreds of leds. Products based on the Gen1 led are economical to produce and therefore provide an affordable entry level option. However, it’s important to understand the inherent limitations of these lights. They have a very narrow angle of visibility and they tend to lose their effectiveness in bright sunshine.


The Gen2 led, also known as the Super Flux led, is widely used in automotive applications due to its higher energy output, much wider viewing angle and stout architecture. However, it did not find its way into many emergency vehicle lighting products. This can be attributed to both its size as well as the need to group large numbers of these leds together to produce a significant light output. Currently there are very few products using Gen 2 LEDs.


Today’s high tech leds come in a wide range of configurations. It’s no longer an apples to apples comparison. The reference to Gen3 is more akin to the fact that these new leds are able to operate at much higher energy levels for longer periods of time. This translates into a significant increase in light output. So it only takes a few of these high output leds to provide the required light output required for EVL. In addition, these leds have very wide viewing angles, in some cases as much as 160 degrees. Because of this, products utilizing these leds have a greater effective warning signal. The Gen3 moniker therefore, is a misnomer. A much more accurate classification of these leds is wattage. leds used in most EVL products are either 1w or 3w. Higher power levels have been developed, but the heat they generate is greater than can be effectively dissipated. This means that for the foreseeable future, this is where “Gen3” warning lights will remain.


What does all of this mean? In short, Gen1 products offer generally acceptable performance at an economical price point. Products such as the Hawk I and Hawk II provide an economical entry point for the first responder. Gen3 led products are the current industry standard. These products offer the greatest performance in light output and wide angle visibility. Dash lights, such as the Titan series, and grille lights, such as the TLED04 and RECT-14 are brilliant day or night. They provide the greatest level of visibility and when you get down to the heart of the matter, being seen is the key to being safe when responding. Conspicuity is the key and emergency vehicle lighting incorporating Gen3 leds are the best performer.

© Responder PSE

Nice review.
Why not add information about the technologies used to focus and distribute the light from LEDs, explaining the Conical and TIR terms, mirrored backing, etc?

Not a bad overview, but I would argue several of the points you make, especially your focus on viewing angle:

Gen-1 is not inherently limited to a small viewing angle. 25-30 degree viewing angles are common on 5mm LEDs, and viewing angles up to 80-120 degrees are widely available.

High Current Gen-1 LEDs are available, LS Diodes sold great ones that were 80-100mA, much higher than the typical 20-30mA of a Gen-1 LED and higher than most Gen-2 LEDs.

Gen-1 LEDs have been around about 10 years, prior to that LEDs were primarily used as indicators and were not useful for illumination, I guess you could call them Pre-Gen-1 LEDs. They had a much lower current draw than the typical 20-30mA of Gen-1 LEDs.

IMHO Gen-2 LEDs did not take off in the "EVL" market because there was not much time between Gen-2 being released and the first Gen-3 LEDs being announced. Manufacturers were reluctant to retool circuit boards with the prospects of a new technology on the horizon.

Gen-3 LEDs are well defined, and my no means a misnomer. You could argue that calling a 3 Watt Surface Emitter or Rebel LED a Gen-3 is a misnomer, but a 1-Watt Surface Emitter is most definitely Gen-3.

Gen-4/Gen-3.5 - Depending on Manufacturer, Lumiled Rebel LEDs may be considered a Gen-4 or Gen-3.5 LED. They have significantly different characteristics and much higher efficiency than Gen-3 Emitter, and offer output comparable to 3-Watt Gen-3 Emitters with much less heat output.

-Jared

Examples for telling the difference:

Generation 1:




Generation 2:




Generation 3:

Thanks for the info. I kind of guessed what gen 1 & 3 was but I never knew exactly what it was. Could you also give an overview of linear leds and TIR - like tnems7 said.
I have seen a work vehicle around my area with a gen 1 LED lightbar - has to be almost round because you can only see what is facing straight on.
In quite a few unmarked vehicles they also use gen 1 Able 2 Visor lights - not only primary but the only visual warning, but the siren is worse. Had one sitting on out tail, not talking, no music but thought we had run over a bird or something. Anyway, will be doing some work for Fleet Management in a couple of weeks! See if I can get them to use better equipment on their unmarked cars :lol:

nice thread very informative, just a question - what kind of led do they use for lin3? and how it differs with tir3?

Same as a TIR3. The change is in the OPTICS.

It should also be noted that LED colors refer to the color of light produced, as almost all LEDs produced now are clear when off. That means LED warning lights come in WHITE, NOT clear. Clear is not a color of light and no manufacturer refers to their white LED products as clear (even though Whelen product codes use C for white LEDs, the color is plainly stated as WHITE).

For this reason the dome and the Led color should match. Red LED behind a Red lens.

is this light generation 1??
http://www.galls.com/style.html?assort= ... tyle=DL212

Yes, Mini Phantoms are Gen 1.

Originally Posted by Pimp

Yes, Mini Phantoms are Gen 1.

If you are looking for one new, we have much better prices than Galls.

-Jared

When it comes to LED's the LED's and the lens should be the same color, including vertex's , LAW's and all HAW. This M7 is Red LED's and Red lens

Well, you can always used colored LED's and a clear lens too..

and daumn do I like how that m7 looks on that mirror!

Thanks . You can use Colored LED's with a clear lens. I am still a big fan of colored lenses on marked vehicles. Here is a pic of the M7 custom job.

Ok, here's something that has me confused. The new Gall's brand vertex look alike has clear LED's & comes with multiple colored lens to pick from. Isn't this just going to dim the output? Has anyone seen these lit up in person? Just wondering how well this works, since it seems to go against what even Gall's say about LED color vs lens color.

http://www.galls.com/style.html?assort= ... tyle=GR318

They suck. (Galls LAW) Diminished light output with a filter. I've actually tried one before.

I know vertexs look horrible in white behind colored lenses as with most. The several NYSP Patrol Cars Ive seen have the colored lenses across the back but also have the same color LEDs behind it.

I have a pair of white TIR6's on the front of my truck with amber len's on it.
It looks decent, the yellow is a lighter color then a regular amber LED.
Also I now have 4 Vertex's (2 green 2 amber) and inside a small reverse light they were horrible.
So I put the clear strobes back in. But by themselves, surface mounted they are very bright.

Something is if you going to us color lenses you have to go with color lenses all the way around what i mean is if you have colored lenses on perimeter lights but not on a light bar, it just doesn't match. Stick with one and go with it.

Originally Posted by Alovebaby41

Something is if you going to us color lenses you have to go with color lenses all the way around what i mean is if you have colored lenses on perimeter lights but not on a light bar, it just doesn't match. Stick with one and go with it.

Couldn't agree more. I hate apparatus that has colored lenses and a clear lightbar. I think that with colored lenses the light shows up as a much more bold signal verses clear lenses.