Thread: CanTrol

I spent the last couple of days at Cantrol programming school. All I can say is WOW!

Is that fully available now?
Is there any pricing available on it?

It is available now, and there is pricing. You can only buy it from a whelen dealer who has gone through the training, and whelen is not including the software with the unit. The average end user will not be able to do their own programming, you have to take it to your dealer for programming.

Originally Posted by b8man

It is available now, and there is pricing. You can only buy it from a whelen dealer who has gone through the training, and whelen is not including the software with the unit. The average end user will not be able to do their own programming, you have to take it to your dealer for programming.

Ah, ok. That throws it right out for me. We don't have one worth considering.

So my understanding from the description on Whelens website is that the new CanTrol system is designed to be like an ambulance or fire trucks control system with the master sequencing and independent light control plus the added bonus of flash pattern programming and a siren. Is that an accurate assesment?

iT IS WHELENS NEXT GENERATION OF SERIAL CONTROL AND IS VERY EXPENSIVE MOST LIKELY OUT OF REACH FOR MOST DEPARTMENTS. IT WILL FORCE YOU TO USE ALL WHELEN EQUIPMENT AND WILL OFFER YOU COMPLETE CONTROL AND PROGRAMMING OPTIONS. WE ARE STILL 6 MONTHS OR SO FROM FULL RELEASE IF ALL GOES WELL WE TRAINED ON IT 3 MONTHS AGO AND ARE RUNNING A BETA SYSTEM NOW.

TURN IT OFF.

Originally Posted by dpm9917

IT WILL FORCE YOU TO USE ALL WHELEN EQUIPMENT AND WILL OFFER YOU COMPLETE CONTROL AND PROGRAMMING OPTIONS.

Can you explain this some more? Are you talking about LED heads or other options? I'd think that if the Cantrol outputed the required voltage to a correctly attached wire, it would have to work.

You are in no way "forced" to run all Whelen components...
The use of certain Whelen products will allow you to take full advantage of what this system has to offer.
Will the system work with other brand lightheads/speakers? Yes.

How does it differ from CenCom Gold ???

Originally Posted by citypolice

How does it differ from CenCom Gold ???

The CenCom Gold has 12 output wires, the CanTrol has 19 output wires with a Can3 , and 43 output wires in the Can1. WeCan lightbars plug right into the box, and don't use any of the outputs. You should never again worry about running out of outputs. You can take all of the LED's on a vehicle, set them on steady burn and sync the entire car's flash patterns through the CanTrol. You also have a bunch of inputs, including analog inputs for things like temp sensors and photo cells. A bunch of the things that you used to have to do externally with diodes and relays, you can now do internally through the CanTrol programming. The Programming is intense, it is not just the simple user interface that the Cencom has, it is much more like writing code, which is why Whelen is requiring people to be trained on it before they will give you the software. Only dealers and municipalities who want to send a tech to training are going to be able to program the units. Even with the training, you can expect to spend many hours setting up any given program. The final result on a well equiped car is amazing. You can make any car look like a show car.

Originally Posted by b8man

The CenCom Gold has 12 output wires, the CanTrol has 19 output wires with a Can3 , and 43 output wires in the Can1. WeCan lightbars plug right into the box, and don't use any of the outputs. You should never again worry about running out of outputs. You can take all of the LED's on a vehicle, set them on stady burn and sync the entire car's flash patterns through the CanTrol....

I love it and want it!! So how much is the new system?

Originally Posted by b8man

The final result on a well equiped car is amazing. You can make any car look like a show car.

Any videos of past installs, by chance?

Originally Posted by Doug

Any videos of past installs, by chance?

I haven't installed one yet. I need one of the cities that I do installs for to step up and order the system first. List price for it is around $1700 for the Can1, so it is a big investment. I've seen a WSP car with it, and my Whelen Rep. has it on his demo car. Very cool.

Sounds like another way to waste tax payer funds on unnecessary, over priced toys when current equipment works well. But then again, it keeps money flowing even if wasted.

I also spent the last two days in CanTrol training and I now know why they require the training because it is unlike any light controler you have used before. I ordered a blue/white wecan light bar and a CanTrol CAN1 two weeks ago and the car this week. I will post as soon as the car comes in and can get everything installed. I don't look for the car to be here before Feb. or march.

Originally Posted by Dr. Dennis Stouffer

Sounds like another way to waste tax payer funds on unnecessary, over priced toys when current equipment works well. But then again, it keeps money flowing even if wasted.

I agree that for most people it would be a waste of money, but for those that will actually use the CanTrol to it's full potential, it is well worth the money. It is interesting when you look at it from the point of view of the evolution of emergency lighting. It used to be that the user would flick a switch, turn on his lights and siren, and that was it, he didn't have any other options. However, as lighting and siren systems got more complex, so did the user's involvement. The user had to decide what lighting he wanted under which conditions, and he had to make that decision in what could be a very stressful situation. The CanTrol is geared toward giving you the best of both worlds by limiting the decisions that the user has to make while maintaining the versatility of modern lighting systems. You can take the slide switch away, and make all of those changes without the user having to do anything. From a police standpoint, it could make a big difference to officer safety.

Well said.

Originally Posted by fleetcomm

Well said.

Agreed!

Any pics of this system yet?

Here is the training box with the Cantrol in it. I will have the car in about 4 months and the equipment has already started coming in for it.DSC00410.JPG

anyone besides AndyL got the canTrol system videos yet?