So what are some pros & cons to having clear domes with filters vs. colored domes on halogen lightbars?
Clear Domes w/filters VS. Colored Domes
- Thread starter Squad-6
- Start date
Clear filters make the lightbar less conspicuous, but IMO an all-light lightbar looks best if it's the got the same color domes all the way across, with the two exceptions being the Whelen Edge, and the FedSig Vector/Vision. I'd say colored domes look better overall. If you want to have multiple colors of rotator under the same dome, you almost always have to go with a clear dome and filters on the rotators.
This clearly has strobes, but it looks approximately the same with halogen rotators. Horrible paint job though.
This clearly has strobes, but it looks approximately the same with halogen rotators. Horrible paint job though.
That's the Whelen Centurion, most often used on police cars in New Jersey before being discontinued. Its rotators were, hands down, the best in the business. I'm quite sad they quit making it. It puts LEDs to shame.
This video is pretty good. Also available with front corner strobes, takedowns, alleys, front and rear flashers in the lower level, and round strobe beacons in the top level. (But I think the strobe beacons would be kinda pointless, since the Edge is a much better strobe lightbar)
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=VuuwVLKmv-Q
This video is pretty good. Also available with front corner strobes, takedowns, alleys, front and rear flashers in the lower level, and round strobe beacons in the top level. (But I think the strobe beacons would be kinda pointless, since the Edge is a much better strobe lightbar)
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=VuuwVLKmv-Q
grfd711
Member
Cons: It's my thoughts a halogen bar with colored inserts give a bit less output, due to the light having to get through two layers of plastic instead of one.
Pros: Makes things a bit more lo-pro. Also, one has the option of changing colors for cheaper.
Pros: Makes things a bit more lo-pro. Also, one has the option of changing colors for cheaper.
I have always loved the full color lenses: because you aren't going to be able to see or have as much hazing on color lenses as appose to clear. Clear ones fog up real fast and in colorado they get that way really really fast because of what they put on the roads in the winter. Also i always feel that you don't get the true color when using clear lenses just because you sometimes get some color conflict. And the best part of having color lenses is the fact of people being able to recognize you as ie fire, police, ems, tow. I would use color domes every day of the week. 
EL1998P71
Member
nerdly_dood said:
Were the rotators in the Centurion the same as what can be found in the Guardian Series Mini lightbars?
I've installed many of these mini lightbars, and they are very bright.
[Broken External Image]:http://www.whelen.com/_AUTOMOTIVE/images/Lightbars_Mini/Guardian/hiresweb/g1ma.jpg
I don't know if the Guardian uses them, but the rotators from the Centurion can't possibly produce less than 100,000 candlepower, they're AMAZING.
EL1998P71 said:
Oh No, whelen Centurion rotors are HUGE, atleast thats what I think I have only seen a centurion in person once.
grfd711
Member
I got a Centurion on my paid dept's frontline engine and we have a spare that was donated. The one on the engine is gonna be replaced with an LED bar soon, but we're moving it to our heavy rescue. The Centurion puts out the best light output IMO compared to any other halogen bar and the size of the rotators helps. I believe the Guardian and Centurion rotators are the same.
dmathieu
Lifetime VIP Donor
Clear lightbars are great for vehicles attempting to blend in with other vehicles on the road. The have their place on police and private vehicles.
Color lightbars generally look better, longer. Clear plastic tends to show wear and tear, and discolor due to the UV degregdation. IMO - I do not like the looks of large fire appartus and ambulances when the spec the truck with clear lenes. I really think the clear lenses look horrible on a full size truck.
Color lightbars generally look better, longer. Clear plastic tends to show wear and tear, and discolor due to the UV degregdation. IMO - I do not like the looks of large fire appartus and ambulances when the spec the truck with clear lenes. I really think the clear lenses look horrible on a full size truck.
dmathieu
Lifetime VIP Donor
I've never seen a clear dome/color filter light put out as much light as a colored dome light. They never seem as bright.
Dan
Dan
One of my departments trucks has a 58" MX7000 with clear domes & red filters & as much as it sucks in the daytime it looks awesome at night!
grfd711
Member
SBFD-E-9
Member
Personally I like clear with colored filters for bars up to 4 sections. Once they get bigger than that I like colored with a clear dome or two mixed in.
Dan
Dan
It just occurred to me that if you get a strobe version of a lightbar that's typically available as a halogen rotator lightbar - like a FedSig Vista or a Code 3 MX7000 - it doesn't matter how clouded the domes are since strobes don't rely on the lightbar dome being perfectly transparent. Along the same line of things, if you get a strobe/halogen combo (which I happen to totally love) then if the domes are cloudy, you will still have strobes for 24-hour visibility and rotators for additional night visibility.
Thing about strobes is they catch your attention but they don't hold the attention as much as halogen rotors.
dmathieu
Lifetime VIP Donor
I believe that clouded domes severely reduce the sharpness and effectiveness of all types of warning light, strobe, halogen, and LED.
Dan
Dan
toon80
Member
What I've noticed is that, for instance, between colored XL5000 and clear-filtered LP600, that the filtered lightbars seems to emit somehow more constant light but is less eye-catchy than the colored domes. You don't get as much "POP" as the colored domes. The filters always seems to be less "coloring" and all lights looks somewhat clear whatever the filter.
Red looks pink, blue looks teal, amber looks amber... green looks teal too... The contrast appears a lot less.
On the esthetic side, clear domes looks awesome, though. And I agree with the fact that alternating between clear and colored domes on long bars is awesome.
But another pro for the colored domes, as long as you don't need stealth, is the passive warning sent by the colored domes. It shows what you are without being turned on.
Keep the rotators alive!!! :lol:
Red looks pink, blue looks teal, amber looks amber... green looks teal too... The contrast appears a lot less.
On the esthetic side, clear domes looks awesome, though. And I agree with the fact that alternating between clear and colored domes on long bars is awesome.
But another pro for the colored domes, as long as you don't need stealth, is the passive warning sent by the colored domes. It shows what you are without being turned on.
Keep the rotators alive!!! :lol:
MikeD
Member
My first bar (Force 4 XL) had clear domes & colored filters.... output was terrible in the daytime.... clear domes filled with sunlight drowning out the lights + the mirrors & refelctors filled with glare also...
MikeD said:
negatives of clear dms w/filters
-in my force 4 bar i used to have the filters would add extra wieght on the rotator reflector causeing it in time to bend off or break .
-and slow down the rotating speed of the reflector due to weight
Pros of color domes
-they are more easily avaiable then clear domes at junkards or shops
DefianceEngineCompany
Member
some one please correct me if im wrong but wouldn't the light output and beam pattern be slightly less on a filter and lens combo as the beam would have to pass through 2 pieces of plastic vs one? Im sure it would be only a slight difference but it makes you wonder.
DefianceEngineCompany
Member
countryboy1365 said:
Yes that is true. But it doesn't seem to make that noticeable of a difference.
FGS
Member
On an off topic. Anyone know whether the blues on the Tennessee State Trooper are halogen flashers, steady burns, or strobes?
JohnMarcson
Administrator
dmathieu said:
Yeah... I love love the pseudo science online.... hazed lens doesn't effect some lights... colored filters make colored LEDs put out MORE light....
Only the dimmest and least eye-catching strobes ever made. The European versions may be better, but most American Vista strobe lightbars like that were terribly dim. The halogen rotator version, on the other hand, was very bright and effective.FGS said:
It's not that colored lenses make LEDs actually produce brighter light - they don't. What I think happens is that when sun is shining on a light with a clear lens, the light gets reflected off (just like any other surface) and since the clear lens doesn't filter out any light, that's a lot of light being reflected. With a colored lens, a lot of the light is filtered out, so it appears darker. When the light is actually turned on is when this becomes much more significant - the increased amount of light being reflected from a light with a clear lens interferes with the colored light produced by the LEDs, and the perceived difference in brightness between the "on" and "off" periods is decreased. With a colored lens, less light is reflected, so this effect is diminished, and so the light appears brighter. At night when there isn't any light to reflect off a clear or colored lens, this is a total non-issue and the lights will be of nearly equal brightness.JohnMarcson said:
Last edited by a moderator: