Hide Aways

theroofable

Member
May 23, 2010
1,379
New Jersey
Hi, I tried searching for this but had no luck at all. I currently run a strobe Hide Away kit in my truck. I am soon going to be getting my new vehicle, and I cant figure out if LED Haws are the way to go. I know strobes are good at night time and have a "pop" to them, but they dont do all that well in the daytime. Although it is all about placement in the light housing, I would assume that a LED Haw would do better than a strobe in the daytime, but I have heard complaints about the Whelen Vertexes light output in view of the sun. And then again I have heard of people who love them. I was looking at some Soud Off LED Haws and they seem like they would do better in a light housing because of the different ways they can refract the beam of the diode in the light housing's reflector. I have yet to see any LED Haws in "real life" so mabye someone out there who has installed different manufactures and strobe/leds could tell me, and others interested, which is better in the day light. I have seen videos where LEDs do good in the light and others where they plain out suck. But thats only a video, the camera itself could suck, and videos dont usually do justice to the true brightness of lights.


Thanks for reading, and I hope I didn't waste anyones time. :D
 

mcpd2025

Member
May 20, 2010
1,557
Maryland, USA
I replaced my 90 watt power supply with Axixtech hideaways in the front and Sound Off hideaways in the rear. I tried the SOS hideaways in the front of my crown vic, but wasn't happy with the brightness. The Axixtech's blew them away, so I put the SOS's in the reverse lights. They are okay during the brightest part of the day, and awesome at night. Since the different brands distribute light in a different manner, you may have to try a couple in YOUR light and see how they work. I was fortunate enough to have a dealer that let me try the Axixtechs before buying them, and they worked great.
 
May 24, 2010
1,627
PG County, MD
mcpd2025 said:
I replaced my 90 watt power supply with Axixtech hideaways in the front and Sound Off hideaways in the rear. I tried the SOS hideaways in the front of my crown vic, but wasn't happy with the brightness. The Axixtech's blew them away, so I put the SOS's in the reverse lights. They are okay during the brightest part of the day, and awesome at night. Since the different brands distribute light in a different manner, you may have to try a couple in YOUR light and see how they work. I was fortunate enough to have a dealer that let me try the Axixtechs before buying them, and they worked great.


:cool:
 

grfd711

Member
Jun 23, 2010
1,546
Sherwood, AR
I've tried the Whelen Universal and the original Sound Off HAL. Of the LED HAWs I've seen, it's been Whelen Vertex and Universal HAL. With that being said, I wasn't impressed by any of them.


Put at least 20 watts to a HAW strobe, and it'll be seen. That's been in all kinds of different housings, moving or stationary. I've seen too many HALs on law enforcement and utility vehicles, along with a couple of EMS or Fire Command vehicles, and was NEVER impressed, regardless of stationary or moving.


I firmly believe that even though a light may not be the primary means of warning, it should still be seen all the time. Why waste your money on a light that can only be seen half the time, like during night use? Hell, an original Federal Fireball can be seen of the night.


Based on recent posts, you should give the Sound Off's a shot, as they have the different lenses to put over the lighthead that affects the way the light is spread. I haven't heard too much about the Axixtechs and haven't seen any in person, so my comments will remain neutral about them.
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,964
Messages
449,809
Members
19,103
Latest member
Safetylight5

About Us

  • Since 1997, eLightbars has been the premier venue for all things emergency warning equipment. Discussions, classified listings, pictures, videos, chat, & more! Our staff members strive to keep the forums organized and clutter-free. All of our offerings are free-of-charge with all costs offset by banner advertising. Premium offerings are available to improve your experience.

User Menu

Secure Browsing & Transactions

eLightbars.org uses SSL to secure all traffic between our server and your browsing device. All browsing and transactions within are secured by an SSL Certificate with high-strength encryption.