Whelen ROTA-BEAM Family History

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
I remember back in the late 60s-early 70s, buying a green dome for the Model 66.

I was not impressed because it was a clear dome with a green coloring sprayed on the inside.

Definitely not as nice as the solid green domes on the other ROTA-BEAM models.
 

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
S6304407.JPG Size comparison.... ROTA-BEAM SENIOR / Beacon Ray Junior / ROTA-BEAM Model 22/44/55/33/77.

Also note that the magnifying lenses in the ROTA-BEAMS are much larger than the Beacon Ray Junior

S6304407.JPG
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Skip Goulet

stansdds

Member
May 25, 2010
3,533
U.S.A., Virginia
The lenses in the Whelen Senior series are larger than those in the Junior Beacon Ray, but the Junior Beacon Ray used a 64 watt, 100 candle power bulb to produce 40,000 candle power flashes, Whelen used 27 watt, 50 candle power bulbs and produced only 10,000 candle power flashes.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
On the larger SENIOR series beacons Whelen did use a Whelen numbered W200, and later W44 bulb, supposedly higher powered, and with a larger filament to give more beam spread. 

A major brightness problem with the ROTA-BEAMs was the adjustable filament to lens placement. If the filament was not adjusted properly to the center of the glass lenses, the brightness straight on suffered greatly.

The Beacon Ray Junior and most other simarly designed bulb/lens lights had a fixed bulb focus.

Whelen actually advertised the adjustable focus as a feature in their ROTA-BEAMs.
 

stansdds

Member
May 25, 2010
3,533
U.S.A., Virginia
The bulbs in Whelen's beacons was mounted in a base up position, so the heat produced by the bulb goes up and into its base.  This is not good for bulb longevity.  I'm sure the 1019 bulb created a lot of heat, it probably would not last long mounted in a base up position.
 

Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
The bulbs in Whelen's beacons was mounted in a base up position, so the heat produced by the bulb goes up and into its base.  This is not good for bulb longevity.  I'm sure the 1019 bulb created a lot of heat, it probably would not last long mounted in a base up position.
I would guess that's why Federal mounted them base-down in the Juniors, then.  They do create heat.  As I've noted on another thread, we put a 1019 bulb in an old Mars DL8 light that went on a '60 Chevy ambulance we had. That thing was bright, and you could feel the heat if you stood near it when it was on. For a very short time it was fender-mounted and later went on the roof, where it could been seen.

This is a pic, received form Skip Goulet, of a 1952 Packard ambulance with a Version One RB11 STANDARD ROTA-BEAM, as the main 360 degree beacon, rarely seen on an ambulance.

 AmeriCar The Beautiful's Photos 

Skip, the 1019 bulb was not offered.
Thanks for posting, Dan.   I hadn't noticed the AmeriCar link before. Some very neat old cars.
 

fferguy07

New Member
Feb 14, 2015
3
Vermont
Hi. I found a RB11 in my basement. Looks like the 1954-1957 version according to a post on Page 6. It was built in Deep River, CT. Can anyone advice as to what bulb is suppose to go in this light? I read a reply about converting a 6V rota-beam to a 12V and someone mentioned the 1196 bulb. Can I use that in this one? Thank you. 
 

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
Look at the inside of the socket. If it is double contact the 12 Volt bulb is 1196. If it is single contact, the bulb is 1195. For proper beam make sure you get the older bulbs with a vertical or "V" shaped filament as opposed to the newer horizontal filaments. Then make sure that you raise or lower the socket to put the filament in the middle of the magnifying lenses for brightest beam.

Put some pics up, and I can tell you exactly what you have there.

Many of the 6 Volt ROTA-BEAMS had a resistor that can be cut to make the motor run on 12 Volt. The only thing you would have to change, if this is the case, would be the bulb.

Recheck page 6 pictures, I labeled the pictures to avoid confusion as to which vintage you have.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
The one you found will work. I added a pic of an old one from ebay.

Sorry about the confusion with the pictures. They didn't seem to upload in the order that I wanted them too.

I do have a version 1 RB11 in my FOR SALE thread if interested.

$(KGrHqF,!i0FBzVdTmNWBQvT)kF1ew~~60_57.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: Skip Goulet

fferguy07

New Member
Feb 14, 2015
3
Vermont
Thanks for your help. We have light and rotation! Needed to troubleshoot some grounding issues but once I figured out that issue I was able to get it working. It looks awesome :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: kitn1mcc

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
Just a note to add to my first post in this thread......

I just received some information from a gentleman who worked for Whelen in the early years. Whelen Engineering did indeed begin their operations in Illinois, in their living room. They soon moved to Deep River, CT to be closer to family. Production was continued in their garage in Deep River.

Thank you to that former worker!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,963
Messages
449,806
Members
19,102
Latest member
Hilux01

About Us

  • Since 1997, eLightbars has been the premier venue for all things emergency warning equipment. Discussions, classified listings, pictures, videos, chat, & more! Our staff members strive to keep the forums organized and clutter-free. All of our offerings are free-of-charge with all costs offset by banner advertising. Premium offerings are available to improve your experience.

User Menu

Secure Browsing & Transactions

eLightbars.org uses SSL to secure all traffic between our server and your browsing device. All browsing and transactions within are secured by an SSL Certificate with high-strength encryption.