mr. awesome
Member
hey all, sorry for the lack of updates!
So the order from VSS ended up being a total bust. not to mention a month's wait to even get the order cancelled! what a nightmare!
the light wasn't in stock, they couldn't find one. the stickers as well. i wouldn't recommend ordering through there any more.
i did get from ebay a firebeam with the mirror, in blue and amber. it came with the mounting plate with suction cups for the windshield. i got the light in pretty rough shape, but not to worry.
a little lexan restorer for the three lenses, new suction cups for the bracket, and some mirror vinyl for the multi flash mirror, all from amazon, and she is good as new and in active service now.
i took the amber half lens off and put the blue half lens to the rear of the light, rather than the front. This makes the main flash white, with 4 blue flashes to the front, instead of 4 white flashes. a really neat side effect of this is having a big white pop at the intersection angles.
You'll need a right angle DPDT switch and a 50 ohm 2 watt resistor. That's all it takes to turn it into a dual speed, but it must have the high speed motor.I tried the 'factory' blue setup first and it was ok, but the white to the sides really washed the blue out and I found it less effective in traffic.
The big downside to this setup now is flashback! I get a bright white streak across the dash. I had to cover the top of the light with tape to get the glare out of the whole windshield.
Not very useful when you can't see out the damn truck!
I did buy a very very used FB3 with an all blue lens that I may try out. This one also has the circuit board for dual speed, with no switch though, so I will have to look into that as well.
If I could figure out a way to get an Aerodynic to sit on my dash.. I'd have you all beat...
Obviously this is very subjective, but I believe the Federal dual-speed Firebeam (especially when upfitted with 100w bulb) is the best, brightest option.
You gotta know the right people!Finding decent firebeams with the multi flash setup is proving to be difficult
Unless you had the "special" split red/blue front lens!Front and side are equally effective, there is no difference. The reason for the side mounted is to allow for 2 different color 1/2 domes to give a 2 color signal. That is the only difference, and the only reason. It is very easy to convert side to front, or front to side by switching the arm hole in the black rotator gear.