Interior Lightbars?

TangoDown

Member
May 22, 2010
96
Montana
What do you all think about:


Axixtech Stealth


Whelen Inner-Edge


SoundOff Pinnacle


SVP Phantom


I've seen some really, really bright interior lightbars, and some horribly underpowered ones. Anybody care to steer me clear of any specific bars?
 

tnems7

Member
May 21, 2010
407
USA Nashville Tennessee
IMHO, it is going to depend a lot on the vehicle in which they are installed, and factors such as:


Windshield or window tinting, and degree of tint;


Rake of the window glass,


Any angle of mounting?


Vehicle Body height (height of lights above roadway)


colors arranged in light array


glare shielding, and


flash patterns.


So you need someone who has made installations of similar bars in like vehicles to provide a proper assessment.


A lot of our appreciation of lights is from our own perceptual opinions and isn't scientific. To the individual modifying their own vehicle, if it looks good and feels all right, and meets state emergency vehicle laws, do it.


If it is a government agency, then you have to consider your budget, purchasing, and installation requirements. Nashville Police Department has a lot of vehicles (Impalas) where the eight lights in the "lightbar" are actually Whelen Talons mounted on their own custom brackets.


And the roof mounted bars now specified for Nashville and Knoxville Police Departments are custom flash effects from Whelen. Some departments may do that for interior bars too.
 

HPD84

Member
May 16, 2010
1,693
City of Houston,Texas
my opinions below...


Axixtech Stealth- no comment :roll:


Whelen Inner-Edge- the best/most common! go for the lin6 or linz6 model :D


SoundOff Pinnacle- bright but way to slim/thin


SVP Phantom- cheap design,not really bright.


but yet it all depends on your budget and vehicle applictaion :ugeek:
 

fp13-2

Member
May 20, 2010
358
Harrisburg, PA
HPD84 said:
my opinions below...

SVP Phantom- cheap design,not really bright.
While I would agree 100% on the GEN1 Phantoms, after seeing the new ones at the Harrisburg Expo, I was pleasantly surprised by how bright they were!!
 

HPD84

Member
May 16, 2010
1,693
City of Houston,Texas
TangoDown said:
Just out of curiosity, why would you pick the LIN model over the TIR model?

well the lin6 has a larger footprint and has more coverage,the linz6 has more leds than the lin3/tir3 model and has more options,it's also way to thin i think :ugeek:
 

WTFD

Member
May 21, 2010
28
Indiana
HPD84 said:
Axixtech Stealth- no comment :roll:

And what's your beef with the stealth visor? Have you seen one in person? It has the same number of LEDs as a LINZ6 inner edge... I realize it's not the whelen name, but for less money it does a damn good job.
 

RL1

Member
May 20, 2010
1,649
Ga
Axixtech Stealth- only seen in use once but was pretty good looking (though most do at night)


Whelen Inner-Edge- seen TIR3 model and the old one with liberty style heads. Older one is awesome, looks just like a liberty. Newer one's not bad, but didn't really grab the eye behind dark tint


SoundOff Pinnacle- the housing officer at my dept has one in the front of his charger. Bright, even through deep tint. Haven't seen the take down's on, but they flash really bright I too think it's a little too thin.


SVP Phantom- old fire chief had an all read 5mm version. Didn't punch through tint, but you could tell it was on.
 

PJD642

New Member
May 20, 2010
1,543
east of Cleveland
The only one I've used is the SOS Pinnacle - EXCELLENT bar, imho. Plenty of light output. Not sure about TDs since I didn't get 'em and use external ones. Thin is nice since it doesn't obstruct my view of stop lights, etc. Plenty of different flash patterns, just make your own mounting brackets and install with rivet nuts, 'cause the visor-mounts don't hold it that well. Same probably goes for most other interior bars re: mounts.
 

rwo978

Member
May 21, 2010
5,196
ND, USA
WTFD said:
And what's your beef with the stealth visor? Have you seen one in person? It has the same number of LEDs as a LINZ6 inner edge... I realize it's not the whelen name, but for less money it does a damn good job.

Possibly the horrible mounting problems that has plagued and otherwise good interior bar with good output???
 

tnems7

Member
May 21, 2010
407
USA Nashville Tennessee
Battalion 22 indicates his bar is very bright and effective. And that's street use, not just seeing the videos on the forum.


But what is his vehicle and the light color scheme?


And that was my point in raising issues that weigh our light selection. Cost is a very big consideration. Some of us can get discounts and better prices on lights that are not, the "Big Three" which traditionally have been Federal, Whelen, and Code 3.


Once upon a time I thought my LED Show Me Microlight (red/red double row Gen 1 5mm LED) was pretty effective, too. And I actually had people tell me they could see my red light better than Blue Talons in Police Chevy Tahoes. My Ford has OEM windshield tint and I mounted the light beneath it, whereas the Tahoe had bluish- grey aftermarket tint that their light had to punch through. Then a couple of folks told me it wasn't my windshield light that moved them out of the way at all, but the grill lights and HLF? The flash pattern I used was quad flash. But that is another variable, and don't we get three to six times different flash patterns with LED lights than we ever did with halogens or strobes? Still, our vehicles paled when marked vehicles with lightbars arrived on scenes.


If it were not for LEDs, it is doubtful that we would see many interior lightbars as the current consumption is minimal, glare and bounce back can be reduced and managed, and an effective warning system can be acquired in a smaller package. And you could have a great system that is spoiled by poor installation.


The thread is really about "preference" and not "effectiveness" based upon what we have been able to observe. But each of us is entitled to their own preference.
 
May 25, 2010
275
Quincy, Illinois
I've used C3 Supervisor, Phantom front and rear, and the Whelen Inneredge with the mixed tir/lin modules.


If you want straight bright TIR light heads go with the C3 Supervisor with 6 led modules. If you want a very nice all around bar go with the Whelen with the mixed lin/tir light heads. I hated my Phantom to the front but loved it to the rear of my Impala.


ai299.photobucket.com_albums_mm291_deputystephenson_th_100_0723.jpg
 

LED138

Member
May 31, 2010
114
Bergen County, NJ
PJD642 said:
The only one I've used is the SOS Pinnacle - EXCELLENT bar, imho. Plenty of light output. Not sure about TDs since I didn't get 'em and use external ones. Thin is nice since it doesn't obstruct my view of stop lights, etc. Plenty of different flash patterns, just make your own mounting brackets and install with rivet nuts, 'cause the visor-mounts don't hold it that well. Same probably goes for most other interior bars re: mounts.

+1 for the SOS Pinnacle! I did get mine with the TD's in it. Ive seen the Inner-Edge and compared it to the SOS. They are both on a level playing field as far as brightness. Although the SOS does have the IE beat with the height/visibility. I dont agree with the mounting bracket issue on the SOS though. I have mine mounted in an 08 Expy for several months now with no issues of mounting or it holding.


Video can be found here.
 

crt6mrt-265

Member
May 23, 2010
800
Central NJ
one thing i wondered with the interior bars. When they first came out, the make up of them was with foward facing lights and two 45 degree angle ones. Now it seems like all of them are all foward facing and no more of the 45 degree angles. Any ideas why? I know there are tiny leds now for stealth placement, and HAW's and all but still they have inner beams but no 45 degree "intersection" lights. any ideas?


On the topic more, i have seen whelen, axixtech, code 3 and the phantom (gen 1) Basically comes down to the vehicle mounting, and tir/lin All of them are bright, even the Phantom for gen 1 lighting, it comes out nicely, not like the gen 3 of the others but like i said all depends on the application.
 

tnems7

Member
May 21, 2010
407
USA Nashville Tennessee
The answer concerning 45 degree intersection lights lies with the fact that earlier bars used exclusive TIR technology or 5mm LEDs, which did not have good off-axis warning. Linear light technology picks up on side warning + or - 45 degrees. It doesn't "punch" as much straight ahead as does TIR technology. Column-collector technology will focus an LED and is used to magnify a beam, used in take-down lights.


Inner beams are angled within the Linear lighthead to be off-zxis for intersection warning.


As addressed elesewhere, many of us now recognize the old "Brighter is better" argument may no longer be accurate. The light array is the technological advantage with newer LED lightbars, whether exterior or interior.
 

PJD642

New Member
May 20, 2010
1,543
east of Cleveland
The lights in the SOS Pinnacle are actually arranged on a slight convex curve. Just estimating here, but is seems like you have at least one light head pointing directly at you from about 320 degrees to 40 degrees, moving clockwise with "0" degrees being straight ahead of the vehicle.
 

nmemergency

Member
May 23, 2010
82
Northern Michigan
Federal Signal has a very bright interior lightbar (ILS) that good coverage from all angles and the 2 center modules are on an angle. From a distance the ILS almost appears to be a full lightbar that would be on the roof of a vehicle.
 

ELS

Member
May 21, 2010
129
USA NY
I have not made a post for the new forum yet, but if you pm me or email me I can set you up with a good price on an interior bar to whatever your specifications...
 

crt6mrt-265

Member
May 23, 2010
800
Central NJ
i know that tir versus the lin technology and all which is what etc. Even with the linear technology, 45 degree lights pointing directly i think are better then trusting the off axis of the linears. Bright sunlight could defer the light off axis and now you dont have anything versus the 45 degree lighthead always shooting that way. I have a dual talon up front myself, and the off axis is ok but not a big footprint. I made a 45 degree light setup with two tir lightheads, and they give that bigger footprint for intersection then the talon, at least in the day. being im able to compare them directly in person that's why i was wondering why interior bars got rid of them.


The soundoff... i thought that it looked slightly curved.. makes sense on that one.
 

GranPrix

Member
May 23, 2010
530
FL
nmemergency said:
Federal Signal has a very bright interior lightbar (ILS) that good coverage from all angles and the 2 center modules are on an angle. From a distance the ILS almost appears to be a full lightbar that would be on the roof of a vehicle.

Finally someone mentioned the FedSig Solaris ILS. That thing is super bright!!
 

crt6mrt-265

Member
May 23, 2010
800
Central NJ
see i havn't seen the new bars with the curved set up in perosn so i can not comment on them. I know jared how knowledgable you have been on here so i will go with you on it as far as the curving being better with newer bars. its something though, whelen had the angled lightheads, then made a straight line bar but now make inner beams..
 

nmemergency

Member
May 23, 2010
82
Northern Michigan
The Federal Signal Solaris ILS has modules that are placed in different positions/angles as show in the pic below. FS ILS is very bright day and night, also has a dimming mode to reduce the brightness especially for nighttime use

Front ILS.jpg
 

Fast LT1

Member
May 24, 2010
2,018
Sedgwick County, KS
I can personally attest to the Whelen Split Inner edge bar up front and the rear deck inner edge bar. We had them in our traffic cars i was really pleased with them. Basically they're just as bright as a liberty. If your worried about Intersection lighting just throw a set of linz6's on the mirrors thats how we set up our cars and they were perfect.
 
May 16, 2010
2,340
Torrington, WY
I have owned both a SV and Inner Edge, and we use the SVP Phantom light at work.


The SVP is not bright during the day, ok at night. Mounting is ok and pretty easy.


The SV the light output was good, mounting was kind of hard. I wish they would give you the option of changing the optices like the IE when you order it.


The Whelen IE light output is great. Changing the optics is perfect.


IMO I would go with a Whelen IE the LINZ6 one.
 

Rusted413

Member
May 25, 2010
265
Blacksburg, VA
Saw my first Fed Sig ILS yesterday. Huge footprint (from what I understand it is almost too big on the inside), looked like a full sized lightbar and very bright. Would be worth checking out I'm sure. I remember talk about Tomar coming out with an interior bar, but that obviously has not happened yet.
 

Klein

Member
May 22, 2010
966
Texas
FS ILS is pretty much the brightest bar on the market, IMO. The SV56 is outstanding for the price. Yea it has weird mounting issues but if you can get it mounted correctly, it is nasty bright. The new Whelen Inner Edges are pretty cool but more $ than a SV. The ILS is also probably the most expensive bar but it is also worth every dollar. There is a video of mine and I love it. I had to customize the mounting because they do not make one for an Explorer but it was worth the work. FS were geniuses with positioning the heads at different angles on the frame to make sure that there is no dead spot. You can see for yourself in the video that even from the side the intersection protection is still intact. It has some great patterns, the TD are super bright and wiring is a breeze.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bog5E6F1PgE
 

TangoDown

Member
May 22, 2010
96
Montana
Klein said:
FS ILS is pretty much the brightest bar on the market, IMO. The SV56 is outstanding for the price. Yea it has weird mounting issues but if you can get it mounted correctly, it is nasty bright. The new Whelen Inner Edges are pretty cool but more $ than a SV. The ILS is also probably the most expensive bar but it is also worth every dollar. There is a video of mine and I love it. I had to customize the mounting because they do not make one for an Explorer but it was worth the work. FS were geniuses with positioning the heads at different angles on the frame to make sure that there is no dead spot. You can see for yourself in the video that even from the size your intersection protection is still intact. It has some great patterns, the TD are super bright and wiring is a breeze.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bog5E6F1PgE


Klein - your setup is great! What do you have in your vehicle?
 

Klein

Member
May 22, 2010
966
Texas
Thanks, Tango and Hawk. :)


Oh and the SOS Pinnacle is pretty slick, I forgot to throw in my two cents. That was going to be my next choice if I didnt like the ILS.


http://lonestarpse.com/2010cvpi.html I did this install. It is pretty sweet. Kinda small which can be good and/or bad. Good for visibility for driver but has a small footprint. It is super light (weight) as well. The price is not too bad either. More than a SV56 and IE less than ILS. For the money though, SV56 best bang, again. :)
 

GranPrix

Member
May 23, 2010
530
FL
Klein said:
FS ILS is pretty much the brightest bar on the market, IMO....

Yup, I think so to. I am very impressed with the ILS in direct sunlight.


What do you have in the back of the Explorer?
 

Klein

Member
May 22, 2010
966
Texas
cbpdogboy said:

Yup. I bought it R/B and switched the heads around to RBBRRBBR for dept policy (red on widest point) then recently (the night the video was shot but afterwards) swapped two whites from the U4 up front to the back so now the back is like RBWRWBR which is just nasty bright. and the U4 up front is RRBB. Ultralites are awesome.
 

hitman38367

Member
May 23, 2010
881
West Tennessee, USA
Klein said:
FS ILS is pretty much the brightest bar on the market, IMO. The SV56 is outstanding for the price. Yea it has weird mounting issues but if you can get it mounted correctly, it is nasty bright. The new Whelen Inner Edges are pretty cool but more $ than a SV. The ILS is also probably the most expensive bar but it is also worth every dollar. There is a video of mine and I love it. I had to customize the mounting because they do not make one for an Explorer but it was worth the work. FS were geniuses with positioning the heads at different angles on the frame to make sure that there is no dead spot. You can see for yourself in the video that even from the side the intersection protection is still intact. It has some great patterns, the TD are super bright and wiring is a breeze.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bog5E6F1PgE
That Explorer is just sick!!! Very nice!!!! Lovin the ILS!!! Now I know what the next big paycheck is going towards!!! lol!!!
 

fireman616wfd

Member
May 24, 2010
2,126
Oxford, MS
Rusted413 said:
Saw my first Fed Sig ILS yesterday. Huge footprint (from what I understand it is almost too big on the inside), looked like a full sized lightbar and very bright. Would be worth checking out I'm sure. I remember talk about Tomar coming out with an interior bar, but that obviously has not happened yet.

thats what i was about to say... Those things are HUGE. Yea the light output is pretty dang good but geez its big, one of my friends purchased one to go in his slick top because he traded some stuff to a sales rep for it and it was a demo and he talks about how big it is.. Also if i remember correctly to change the patterns is a pain in the ass also.


Sound Off Pinnacle :!:
 

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