Best Rotator Bar.

[HFD eng1ine]

I like the streethawk and the mx7000


KP

 

[HILO]

The one lightbar I wish I still has is the whelen val-u-bar. 4 rotators, and hella effective.

 

[nerdly_dood]

The one lightbar I wish I still has is the whelen val-u-bar. 4 rotators, and hella effective.

They should have given it a better name, they might as well call the Justice their "Val-U-Bar II" or something.

 

[theolog]

They should have given it a better name, they might as well call the Justice their "Val-U-Bar II" or something.

LOL!

 

[DLuccia]

I voted other because ive always been a fan of the Whelen 8000,Whelen Advantage or Federal Signal JetStream for Full size Rotator bars and Federal Signal Mini Jet for a mini bar

 

[John Smith]

Also, the Xcal intersection sweeps suck! You never know if they are going to work. But i would still take Xcal over an ugly Streethawk anyday!

Matt, I have a Code 3 Excalibur bar on my CVPI, it is an LED bar with incandescent alley lights/takedowns/and intersection sweepers (The one bulb on each end does all 3 functions). On Code 3, like you stated, the lights only go on and sweep about half of the time. The other half they don't turn on, or sweep. I guess this is a common problem with the Excaliburs, is there anything I can do to fix it? I only have 2 more of these bars (It's a semi rare bar here), but I'm not sure if the others function any better or worse.


Thanks!

 

[kitn1mcc]

The Centurion and the Delta Used the Same Rotars. The Centurion is a bright bar and can be built up in many differnt ways


The Advantedge is just cool

 

[signal12]

where's the rotating strobe bar?

 

[nerdly_dood]

I'm serious though - with a name like "Val-U-Bar" people are going to assume that it's cheaply priced, and therefore cheaply made, so they won't buy it. FedSig has their Jetstream and Code 3 has the LP6000 as theiir "low-end" lightbar, and they don't have the slightest mention of "value" in their names, so people buy them (and almost invariably use them on tow trucks) - but I've never seen a Whelen Val-U-Bar. I wonder why.

 

[redneckwelder87]

Aerodynic(geared)/Aero-Twinsonic/Twinsonic for old school lighting, MX7000 for modern lighting.

 

[philyumpshus]

I'm serious though - with a name like "Val-U-Bar" people are going to assume that it's cheaply priced, and therefore cheaply made, so they won't buy it. FedSig has their Jetstream and Code 3 has the LP6000 as theiir "low-end" lightbar, and they don't have the slightest mention of "value" in their names, so people buy them (and almost invariably use them on tow trucks) - but I've never seen a Whelen Val-U-Bar. I wonder why.

+1 it sounds like a cheap POS. I've seen one and they are really bright; it's too bad Whelen didn't sell more.


As far as the favorite, I'd go with an Aerodynic with big cascade mirrors, independent rotators, and a couple of Intersection clearing lights in the center. And two PAR36s doing a slow alternating flash to the front.

 

[kitn1mcc]

i got a shelf with 6 new Val-U-Bar sitting on it in the box

 

[WireKing]

I'm serious though - with a name like "Val-U-Bar" people are going to assume that it's cheaply priced, and therefore cheaply made, so they won't buy it. FedSig has their Jetstream and Code 3 has the LP6000 as theiir "low-end" lightbar, and they don't have the slightest mention of "value" in their names, so people buy them (and almost invariably use them on tow trucks) - but I've never seen a Whelen Val-U-Bar. I wonder why.

You'd be surprised though. Here in Texas, many of the Public Works depts in various cities use the Val-U-Bar. Ive built and reconfigured many of them myself also. They use a thick extruded aluminum base, 3 year warranty rotator assemblies, and "never going to rust" mirrors and reflectors. Its really not a bad lightbar. The small amount of interior room inside the domes means there is not much space to mount options like takedowns and alleys, etc (even though Whelen offered the options to do so). But its still a good bar. At $350 for the basic 4 rotor version, its got alot of bang for the buck.

 

[JohnMarcson]

The Centurion and the Delta Used the Same Rotars. The Centurion is a bright bar and can be built up in many differnt ways

The Advantedge is just cool

Are you sure? Centurion bars used much bigger rotators from the looks of it... they don't use the same bulbs either.


Delta rotator part number is 02-0484131-02


Centurion part number is 02-0363225-00

 

[localhero800]

My vote is an MX7000. It looks good on just about anything. My 1997 Suburban, a 2001 Blazer(diferent district), Brush truck, Pumper, 2 city police cars, ect ect. You can do pretty much anything with them. Mine is set up as an All Light with clear domes. B<>B< /A-C\>B<>B, Intersections, alleys, and 4 takedowns with the 35watt bulbs.

 

[dmathieu]

You're right John. They do not use the same rotators.


Dan

 

[kitn1mcc]

i thaught they did my bad


the value bar frames can have lots of options built into them i know of a few custom ones on tractors around here

 

[JohnMarcson]

i thaught they did my bad

the value bar frames can have lots of options built into them i know of a few custom ones on tractors around here

Similar rotators though.....


The value bars did have all sorts of options...


Here's the flyer for the 1996 options

 

[kitn1mcc]

i have seen that one at the chester airport in action it is a damn nice bar

 

[towtruck]

MX7000 hands down, I build my own 69" bars for all of our wreckers. 7 rotators, 4 diamond mirrors, 2 flat mirrors, front and rear intersection lights, 8 lamp arrow stick. yeah, no one even comes close to comparison with our trucks. s <> f <> f / f \ f <> f <> s 1920 fpm not including intersection lights or microthin strobes on the rest of wreckers. We dont just arrive and get the job done, we also provide loss of eyesight at scene. Shues seen one of our 14 ton wreckers a while back towing a vehicle, he was impressed of the light output and effectiveness

 

[PC Comms]

For me it's the all-light StreetHawk.

+ 1,000,000!!!!

 

[Lightbarnut]

I'm getting one!!!!

 

[MX7000Guy]

Matt, I have a Code 3 Excalibur bar on my CVPI, it is an LED bar with incandescent alley lights/takedowns/and intersection sweepers (The one bulb on each end does all 3 functions). On Code 3, like you stated, the lights only go on and sweep about half of the time. The other half they don't turn on, or sweep. I guess this is a common problem with the Excaliburs, is there anything I can do to fix it? I only have 2 more of these bars (It's a semi rare bar here), but I'm not sure if the others function any better or worse.

Thanks!

It sounds like you have smart intersection sweeps with a bad "brain" if they're only moving and turning on sometimes. If they were just not moving at times I'd guess the position sensor, but if the light isn't illuminating it might be the "brain" that's bad.

MX7000 hands down, I build my own 69" bars for all of our wreckers. 7 rotators, 4 diamond mirrors, 2 flat mirrors, front and rear intersection lights, 8 lamp arrow stick. yeah, no one even comes close to comparison with our trucks. s <> f <> f / f \ f <> f <> s 1920 fpm not including intersection lights or microthin strobes on the rest of wreckers. We dont just arrive and get the job done, we also provide loss of eyesight at scene. Shues seen one of our 14 ton wreckers a while back towing a vehicle, he was impressed of the light output and effectiveness

You have pics?

 

[shues]

The light output was impressive to say the least. I've seen towtruck's work up close a couple of times, but I had never seen his trucks in service or while in traffic. I was amazed by the quantity of amber light reflected off of the glass in the front of the post office, in broad daylight mind you, while I observed it through the tinted windows of the Fazoli's. The truck was still five blocks away! I must say that towtruck builds an outstanding MX7000!

 

[kadetklapp]

Me love me some MXs. I have two. I try to keep at least that many on-hand!

 

[liberal noob]

Star Aerostar w/ clear domes and the FedSig Aerodynamic

 

[jazi23firefighter]

I would have to say the MX 7000, streethawk, aerodynic, but my favorite it the vector I like the smart vector though cuz of all the things you can do with it as long as you have the right controller for it!

 

[sargeek]

For Halogen Bars - I like the old Smith and Wesson Lightbars. The use of the high beam headlight is awesome. Running through an amber filter to the rear, and could be sceen for miles.

 

[Tunes]

The Centurion was a big, ugly bar that only looked right on 7.5tonne plus trucks and terrible on the little euro cars i used to fit them on but i don't think it can be touched light output wise. The Delta certainly wasn't as bright.


The 4000 was a great bar though. Very flexible, anything could go in there. We used to use its bulk to hide the head of our vertical, through roof mast in. Strobe versions were a PITA to repair power supplies though.


The Val-U-Bar, or Nova as we called it was a good bar, much better suited to euro cars. We used to fit dichroic spots, alleys and rear flashers in the bar with cutouts and filters in the domes. Downside was very noisy rotators though. My first homemade light was a square throw light made out of two dome ends and a rotator from the scrap bin. it looked great and still does.


Overall though my favorite rotator bar is the Premier Hazard Midimax. Not because it's bright or particularly reliable just cos it looked sweet on anything and still does in LED form.


[Broken External Image]:http://www.tammivilkut.com/ezimagecatalogue/catalogue/variations/42-400x500.jpg

 

[kitn1mcc]

i also have a new 60inch wrecker centurion that needs a good home as well

 

[toon80]

-For the efficiency and versatility, I'd say the MX7000.


-For the coolness factor, the gear-driven AeroDynics.

 

[VFVFCo.68]

Though i voted for the Vision/Vector, which i love, i got to give credit to the XL5000 for being a very widespread, reliable lightbar. My company has 2 trucks with XLs and they work great, but we have 1 truck with a Vector that i like even better. And we have another with ViewPoints.

 

[toon80]

I know this has been discussed many times but i never been in a close call with a firetruck. Whether on foot, bicycle, or driving.


Regardless of the lightbar/beacon/flashers/leds on and around the truck, I see them in ample time and have therefore enough time to react and get out of the way. (Some truck have halogen flashers only on the back. Maybe in those cases we see them a bit later...)


Be it a XL5000, Vision, Beacon Rays, led Vectors... if it blinks: I leave.

 

[kd0giz]

Gonna have to go with ECCO/Hazard's Series 60 evolution bar. Very bright halogen bar and uses belt drive w/ euro rotators!

 

[WireKing]

Great stuff guys!


Keep it coming! I know there are others on here who have not chimed in yet!