Early Aerodynic?

[local_sheriff]

Hello; while I've been lurking this site for years it's just recently that I've become a member so this is my first post.

Now, while I'm no stranger to vintage FS beacons ( I own several) I'm a newbie to the Aerodynics. Chance would have it that I stumbled upon a 24EH bar - in the attic at work of all places - and long story short it ended with it coming home with me. Judging by the metal end light holders I knew from the get go it had to be a fairly early model, now I undestand a '77 or '78.

As it was to be my winter project I dug into it this weekend. My question to the members is whether anyone has an exact date as to when FS started manufaturing these bars? The motor itself carries a 9'76 inscript which to me looks like a date. I understand that components could've been manufactured weeks or months before being installed into complete bars. For those of you that are more experienced with the Aeros; are there any other tell-tale signs or even 'hidden' stamps which can help verify any date?

I'll point out that I'm the 3rd owner of it; the guy I got it from bought it in the 80s from the company that bought it to their then new tow truck, and during the decades he used it the motor was never replaced.

Also,does anyone know what the 'C' designation after the 'series A1' in my tag should indicate ...?

Thanks

 

[Maxim2Eng]

The easiest way to id first gen AeroDynics is the upper speaker housing. It will have the same number of perforations on all the rows. Later productions were “indented” on the top two rows to improve aerodynamics (the original design became an air dam at highway speeds).

BTW, Welcome to eLb!

 

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

As @Maxim2Eng stated the grille is 1 way, there are others. Just judging from your pictures, I see 2 things that show early manufacture. 1.) the frame/base is silver and not painted black 2.) The Revision is A1C which designates an early manufacture.

Nice find!

Rob

 

[stansdds]

You are correct on the date stamped on the motor's label, September 1976. The Aerodynic hit the market in early 1977, so it is possible that yours is one of the first. It is also possible that the motor is not original and is a replacement for a worn out motor. Let's see more pictures of this bar.

 

[local_sheriff]

Thanks for your response guys!

The bar is aluminum on the inside however it's satin black on it's underside. And judging by your info I suppose the speaker grill is of the later design right? Any intel on when this revised grill was introduced? What I believe is that this bar can have been unsuccessfully apart and/or damaged at some point - the plastic supports that separates the speaker housing from the dome sections were attached to the frame with two different silicones. I assume the black silicone was probably applied at the factory to prevent water dripping into the speaker housing from entering the dome sections?

However there were gobs of clear silicone crudely attached on each side of these supports and two of the bolts securing the support on the opposite side of the motor were already broken. So the bar may very well have received a whack sometime in its life and someone has made an attempt to fix it.

What I find intriguing is that if the motor was replaced I'd assume the replacement motor would have had a later date or no date at all. The reason I'm saying this is because this bar has spent its entire life in Norway (remember how it was pre-internet...?) so any replacement would've had to be ordered new from the national FS dealer. While Aerodynics weren't unicorns here they were still fairly rare and not seen on vehicles other than US sourced wreckers - so parts-Aeros were probably non-existant here in the 70s/80s.

I'm aware it sounds geeky to delve so deeply into it, and honestly it doesn't make me less fond of this bar even if it's not as early as it seems. But I'm sure many here also will agree that it's cool to have it verified that you have an early version of a vintage piece right?

 

[stansdds]

Your stationery lamp holders are the early, metal lamp holders. The speaker cover is the later style. Clear silicone sealant is a sure sign that this bar has been repaired during its life. The motor is known as a Series 3 motor and Federal Signal started using them in 1976. It's always possible that your 9-76 motor is original and that your Aerodynic, although damaged and repaired at some point, was among the first Aerodynics to be assembled.

 

[Maxim2Eng]

@stansdds is correct, the speaker grill is not an early series.

 

[local_sheriff]

Now I found some pics of the early style speaker cover and I must admit it looks even better than the later style I have - not that I'm gonna lay down and cry for mine not having it though. Does anyone know when FS went away from the all perforated early grilles to the 'indented' version?

I also noted Rob mentioned its frame isn't painted - mine is indeed aluminum on its inside however it's satin black on its underside. Should an early version be aluminum/silver on the underside too? Due to it having several scratches on its underside it'll need a new coat of paint to be nice again anyway so I might as well do it right. Also; what concerns the SeriesA1'C' revision; anyone have any clue at all when this revision was put into effect and what it included? Was that a revision for the 24EH version only or the Aerodynic line as a whole? If the design was revised I'd believe there'd also be both a 'B' and a 'D' revision ; when were those and what they include?

As an update I will mention that the first thing I did after removing its domes was to remove the motor to ensure it would even spin - it rotated quietly and without any imbalance. After I made sure its reflectors would rotate freely I gave it a go - just minor 'nodding' of the reflectors, even all 10 bulbs lit up! Soaked idler and rotator axles with WD40 equivalent, let it sit for a couple days. removed them and cleaned them up and it now rotates without any issues or sounds at all! So I'll give it a thorough cleanup, proper lube+ paint its underside, then it seems like it's ready for another 45 years service

 

[Maxim2Eng]

A worthy find and an excellent specimen of an early AeroDynic.

From what I was told, Michigan State Police were asked to evaluate the AeroDynic at their state-of the-art evaluation facilities. (The reason MSP maintained use of the Unity RV-26—and its led version successor—for so long was that it produced less drag/fuel consumption/top speed reduction than any light bar…period. This was determined through rigorous testing at MSP.) The highly vaunted TwinSonic was rated a “brick” by MSP and FS was eager to come up with a better “all-in-one” package. MSP discovered the full rows of slots in the speaker grill acted as an air dam and the drag coefficient of the AD was little better than the TwinSonic. (In terms of aerodynamics, it’s not the front profile that causes drag, but how the wind eddies are “resolved”, thus an 18 wheeler or Greyhound bus with it massive frontal projection can be more efficient than a standard sedan. Thus the wind dams on underside and back doors of 50’ trailers on the interstate. Think NASCAR drafting.) The resolution was eliminating the top two rows of perforations…better, but still a considerable drag.

Having said all that…FS released the AeroDynic anyway and the local outfitter that I used to work for asked me to hawk the bar for him. It was one of the first gen bars with 6 rows of perforations, and shortly afterward, FS offered the “upgraded” speaker housing. I would venture to say that yours is an early AD, but not 1st gen.

 

[JohnMarcson]

Here is mine which has plastic bulb holders but a "full" grill. The overlap on parts is interesting. Also taking into consideration repairs is important, people used to actually move lightbars from old cars to new.

Aerodynic 24EAH A1F

I have acquired a working aerodynic. It could use some TLC but the gears seem tight, the motor runs, the rotators all turn and the end lamps light up (all steady burn). It has the mirrors on the speaker housing to help offset the alleys blocking the sides. I am not sure why the front and back...

elightbars.org

 

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

So Aero's at least early generation ones, also had unpainted frames on the inside, while the bottoms were painted. I'm not aware of a complete list of changes and what letters they correspond with during the bars production run, but most have already been discussed. Metal Par36 holders, "Full" speaker grille, unpainted inner frame, And just recently apparently the height of the mounts for the motor and drive cage has popped up. There are probably plenty of others that I have missed, I think the real early bars were all incandescent, Halogen came along abit later, but I could be wrong about that.

 

[local_sheriff]

And I who thought the Aerodynic - not only due to its shape but also its frikkin' name - was designed to have superior aerodynamic properties...? Then after all the development and design work it turned out that the beacons that hit the market 10-15 years earlier were better...?!

It'd be interesting to learn whether there were any tests conducted with the speaker grill on both sides(would probably produce some whistling sound?) or ; for those ADs without the integrated speaker; with the rear cover on both sides.

It's also interesting that it's mentioned the halogen bulb version may have come later since it struck me when I had this bar apart just how much of an afterthought the construction of the H1 bulb holder looks. One thing is replacing a H1 bulb once you have the bar on the floor or desk. However when installed on a vehicle I can easily envision it to be a true PITA starting the shift with finding out one of the bulbs has blown, in the middle of the winter wearing mittens trying to replace one of the innermost H1s with a tiny screwdriver while your trying to avoid bending down the vehicle roof... when replacing an incandescent bulb is just a twist and push operation.

Anyone on this forum have an early official FS product bulletin showing what AD models they offered from the very start?

 

[stansdds]

The Aerodynic was a huge aerodynamic improvement over the most popular light bar of the mid-1970's; the TwinSonic. No lightbar will be more aerodynamic than a single beacon, but the TwinSonic, the very first fully enclosed lightbar/siren system, had the aerodynamics of a brick. The Aerodynic incorporated everything the TwinSonic offered with the exception of speakers, the Aerodynic could house only one speaker instead of two, and was far more aero-friendly than the flat-sided TwinSonic.

 

[Maxim2Eng]

FS came out with the TS-200 for the AeroDynic…it was two 100w drivers connected to a Y tube through 1 TS horn…fit well with the ample room in the rear of the AD speaker housing.

Found an interesting news clip from 2018 showing the “bubble” light. Another article here.

 

[local_sheriff]

Yeah; I knew from before that MSP still used a traditional beacon and the 'stop' shark fin however I always thought they did that solely for traditional reasons not functionality

 

[JohnMarcson]

The Aerodynic was a huge aerodynamic improvement over the most popular light bar of the mid-1970's; the TwinSonic. No lightbar will be more aerodynamic than a single beacon, but the TwinSonic, the very first fully enclosed lightbar/siren system, had the aerodynamics of a brick. The Aerodynic incorporated everything the TwinSonic offered with the exception of speakers, the Aerodynic could house only one speaker instead of two, and was far more aero-friendly than the flat-sided TwinSonic.

I also find it interesting that the guts of the twinsonic being put into the areodynic (aerotwinsonic) came after the invention of the geared rotator aerodynics. I wonder how much NYPD played a role in that product line.

 

[Eric2.0]

That's cool.

I have an AreoDynic, don't know much about it, it it was free so I took it. It's a boring, firetruck one, just has rotators, no TD, AL or any other lights.

I think mine is a later version, wish they t was a first gen.

Nice find, I love finding lights when you don't expect it.

 

[stansdds]

I also find it interesting that the guts of the twinsonic being put into the areodynic (aerotwinsonic) came after the invention of the geared rotator aerodynics. I wonder how much NYPD played a role in that product line.

Don't know, but I tend to doubt NYPD had anything to do with the introduction of the AeroTwin. My guess is that the AeroTwin, which was introduced in 1982, was an aerodynamic option for agencies that liked the visual warning power of the TwinSonic. The TwinSonic production ended in 1984 and around 1985 the AeroTwin RMV was introduced, I presume as a replacement for the EV versions of the TwinSonic. NYPD bought their custom ordered RMV's in 1988, so a pretty big gap between the introduction of the AeroTwin and the NYPD order.

 

[JohnMarcson]

Don't know, but I tend to doubt NYPD had anything to do with the introduction of the AeroTwin. My guess is that the AeroTwin, which was introduced in 1982, was an aerodynamic option for agencies that liked the visual warning power of the TwinSonic. The TwinSonic production ended in 1984 and around 1985 the AeroTwin RMV was introduced, I presume as a replacement for the EV versions of the TwinSonic. NYPD bought their custom ordered RMV's in 1988, so a pretty big gap between the introduction of the AeroTwin and the NYPD order.

That's a good point. I wasn't specific I guess, but I was more referring to how long it stuck around and the fact that it got "new" versions. It was chain drive and sealed beam; the last chain/belt drive par 36 bar if I remember correctly. I agree it was a direct attempt to keep people from deserting Federal and get people back to Federal who liked the twinsonic and were not on board with the "reflector based" way Federal was going. I'm not sure the number of units NYPD bought or how many copy cats departments used it. I would say NYPD is more of an example of the type of customer that it was aimed at vs. a direct reason of why the bar existed.

 

[Maxim2Eng]

... I agree it was a direct attempt to keep people from deserting Federal and get people back to Federal who liked the twinsonic and were not on board with the "reflector based" way Federal was going.…

+1. The introduction of the AeroTwin was a no-brainer improvement over the original AreoDynic.

And now, I’m going to go ahead and say it out loud: IMHO, the AreoDynic was nothing more than eight synched VitaLites in an enclosure. Adding alley lights and/or takedowns exacerbated their warning effectiveness. Even the halogen bulbs, which were a vast improvement over the incandescent bulbs, were not as effective as the PARs. I sold a lot of early AreoDynics, but they never compared well to the visual effectiveness of the TwinSonic, especially with 60w or 100w bulbs. Just my $0.02.

 

[Eric2.0]

I have an AreoDynic, not sure what year it is or anything, but it says s AreoDynic on it, lol. Mine is a 40ish long, red domes and chrome center. It is gear drive and has 6 rotators, nothing else. When I got it I hooked it to power and it worked(for a little while) then the motor(I think) started sto stutter and would stop, now won't do anything now.

When it was working tho, it was super bright and I believe it was brighter than my MX7000. I can see why those were such a popular bar and made for so long. I never seen a twinsonic, but I wouldn't of thought those would be brighter than an AreoDynic. She re would like to find one some day.

 

[local_sheriff]

Eric; if you own a 6 rotator Aero that's '40ish' long you may have something many regard as a desirable bar. Though I'm fairly new to the Aerodynics it didn't take long before I realized there's a plethora of different variants, to some the shorter the more desirable apparently. Count the number of panels it has, anything less than 4full panels and it's either a 24M(edium) or 24S(hort) model. Its tag should also help you verify whether yours is one of those shorter bars.

As for your Aero quit spinning here's a free tip - whenever I've bought a used unrestored beacon I've made it a practice to always remove motor and check it + the rotating assembly that they will actually turn without any binding before even consider introducing power to it. Fail to do so and that's an extremely effective way to fry a motor or strip gears...

 

[stansdds]

+1. The introduction of the AeroTwin was a no-brainer improvement over the original AreoDynic.

And now, I’m going to go ahead and say it out loud: IMHO, the AreoDynic was nothing more than eight synched VitaLites in an enclosure. Adding alley lights and/or takedowns exacerbated their warning effectiveness. Even the halogen bulbs, which were a vast improvement over the incandescent bulbs, were not as effective as the PARs. I sold a lot of early AreoDynics, but they never compared well to the visual effectiveness of the TwinSonic, especially with 60w or 100w bulbs. Just my $0.02.

The first time I saw an Aerodynic, my though was that is was just a bunch of Vitalites synched together!

 

[Maxim2Eng]

The first time I saw an Aerodynic, my though was that is was just a bunch of Vitalites synched together!

I’m glad to know I haven’t been harboring this feeling in solitude.

In bright daylight, they were just about as effective as a VitaLite, so we offered to black out the upper portions of the domes to “improve” visibility…something FedSig did on the early JetSonics.

 

[stansdds]

I’m glad to know I haven’t been harboring this feeling in solitude.

In bright daylight, they were just about as effective as a VitaLite, so we offered to black out the upper portions of the domes to “improve” visibility…something FedSig did on the early JetSonics.

The halogen bulb versions were better than the incandescent versions, but nothing really beat the intense "pop" of the sealed beam AeroTwins, especially when equipped with 60 watt 4464 bulbs like the TwinSonic.

 

[Eric2.0]

She what is being said here? Areodynic suck? All I ever heard was how great they are.

 

[JohnMarcson]

I’m glad to know I haven’t been harboring this feeling in solitude.

In bright daylight, they were just about as effective as a VitaLite, so we offered to black out the upper portions of the domes to “improve” visibility…something FedSig did on the early JetSonics.

what is being said here? Areodynic suck? All I ever heard was how great they are.

They were and are cool lightbars, but maybe we are finally coming to terms with the fact that they didn't blow their predecessors out of the water with effectiveness. The end lights blocked the side flash and they were not especially bright compared to existing stuff. They got points for innovation, esthetics and customizability. The fact that retroactively putting twinsonic guts into their shell made them brighter is pretty telling in other ways.

 

[redrdr67]

IMHO, Aerodynics were superior "pop wise" over the Twinsonics at night. Beacons were all "OK" back then compared to todays's LEDs during daylight(my opinion). The fact that you can adjust the flash pattern was pretty awesome for that time. For the record though, all lights are awesome, thats why I've been here, and still am.

 

[stansdds]

The Aerodynic was not without flaws. Personally, I found the end and alley lights to greatly limit its effectiveness when viewed from the side. Those little mirrors attached to the speaker section bulkhead did not provide a really bright flash and from the front, they blocked nearly 1/2 of the innermost reflector.

 

[local_sheriff]

FS could've easily solved the issues with reduced side flash associated with the end lights by having them switch places with the rotator closest to the speaker housing (or any other rotator other than the outer for that matter). There should be enough space for an idler gear between the PAR holders to install end lights anywhere along the bar, though they wouldn't correctly be 'end' lights then...

Also, I don't understand why FS didn't swiftly adopt the LAPD solution with an externally mounted ally light - but I must admit the integrated ally light gives the Aero a much cleaner visual impression