Clear Domes w/filters VS. Colored Domes

nerdly_dood

Member
Jun 15, 2010
2,312
Georgia
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.


aimages6.fotki.com_v76_photos_4_49373_1166135_hnpca1236_vi.jpg


aimages16.fotki.com_v278_photos_4_49373_3016859_cnpca4536_vi.jpg
 

nerdly_dood

Member
Jun 15, 2010
2,312
Georgia
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
 

grfd711

Member
Jun 23, 2010
1,546
Sherwood, AR
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.
 

Alovebaby41

Member
May 23, 2010
354
Texas
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
May 23, 2010
704
Sterling Heights Mich

nerdly_dood

Member
Jun 15, 2010
2,312
Georgia
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.
 

grfd711

Member
Jun 23, 2010
1,546
Sherwood, AR
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.
 
S

sargeek

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.
 

nerdly_dood

Member
Jun 15, 2010
2,312
Georgia
So it's settled... Use a Whelen Centurion lightbar with colored outer domes. :D
 

jdh

Member
May 21, 2010
1,555
Geneva, FL
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.

I allways thought the Streethawk was the brightest.
 

Squad-6

Member
May 21, 2010
1,322
N. GA
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!
 

SBFD-E-9

Member
May 24, 2010
1,359
Washington IL
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
 

luckyducky

Member
May 22, 2010
262
NorCal
SBFD-E-9 said:
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

+1


My code 3 MX loaded d-techs is way better than my other colored one
 

nerdly_dood

Member
Jun 15, 2010
2,312
Georgia
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.
 

toon80

Member
May 24, 2010
2,487
Laval, Canada
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:
 

MikeD

Member
Jul 3, 2010
135
Richmond, MI
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...
 

AerodyMANIAC

Member
May 1, 2012
113
Northeast
MikeD said:
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...


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
 
Apr 28, 2012
1,038
Knox County, ME
I think on most bars clear lenses with colored filters.

C_7_large.jpg

mx7000rb.jpg
 
Jul 13, 2010
154
Lehigh Valley, Pa
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.
 
Apr 28, 2012
1,038
Knox County, ME
countryboy1365 said:
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.

Yes that is true. But it doesn't seem to make that noticeable of a difference.
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
dmathieu said:
I believe that clouded domes severely reduce the sharpness and effectiveness of all types of warning light, strobe, halogen, and LED.
Dan

Yeah... I love love the pseudo science online.... hazed lens doesn't effect some lights... colored filters make colored LEDs put out MORE light....
 

nerdly_dood

Member
Jun 15, 2010
2,312
Georgia
FGS said:
On an off topic. Anyone know whether the blues on the Tennessee State Trooper are halogen flashers, steady burns, or strobes?
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.

JohnMarcson 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....
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.
 
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