OK, it's official.....

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
I approched a scene with multiple police vehicles... all w/ LED lightbars. From a distance and then up closer I couldn't tell a brightness difference. There were whelen bars, code 3 and federal. It's official, all modern major manufacturers are more than adequate. I'll be going by price and size/style.....
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
fireman616wfd said:
you buying a LED bar? :twisted:
Not myself.. but next time I am in a position to spec one I'll worry less about brand
 

grfd711

Member
Jun 23, 2010
1,546
Sherwood, AR
Awesome. My area has been Whelen heavy for a while, but earlier this year, the county SO switched to FedSig LED bars, with ASP following suit. For the average motorist, they're not gonna nitpick stuff like us lighting enthusiasts. Either one did good and both look good on a cop car (CVPIs, a few Impallas and some Chargers).
 

03crownvic

Member
May 8, 2010
1,033
Louisiana
A local city agency uses an assorted mixture of roof mounted and internal lighting on their cars. Some have strobe and some have LED, depending upon who won the bidding when the cars were purchased and introduced into the fleet. The LED bars include a few Sound Off Pinnacles, which are not that great IMO. They are not that bright and the blue LEDs have a pastel look instead of a true royal blue. Their unmarked traffic units, investigator cars, and even their "meter maid" parking enforcement vehicle all have the same cheesy type of blue/white LEDs that look like China specials. Even the white is weak and barely noticeable until you are right up on it. At least the pastel LED bars aren't turquoise/aqua like some of their strobe bars!


Otherwise, everyone around here pretty much uses Whelen Liberties.
 

nerdly_dood

Member
Jun 15, 2010
2,312
Georgia
You can get an Excalibur, MX7000 or Code 360 in all-LED, should you feel the need to pay through the nose for extremely bright lights that IMO look better (except the 360) than LEDs. Code 3 is waaay expensive if you look at their list prices, but they do make decent lights. (They list some 47 and 48 inch Defender lightbars as over $5000 apiece!)
 

SoFlaDep

Member
Aug 24, 2010
27
South Florida
03crownvic said:
A local city agency uses an assorted mixture of roof mounted and internal lighting on their cars. Some have strobe and some have LED, depending upon who won the bidding when the cars were purchased and introduced into the fleet. The LED bars include a few Sound Off Pinnacles, which are not that great IMO. They are not that bright and the blue LEDs have a pastel look instead of a true royal blue. Their unmarked traffic units, investigator cars, and even their "meter maid" parking enforcement vehicle all have the same cheesy type of blue/white LEDs that look like China specials. Even the white is weak and barely noticeable until you are right up on it. At least the pastel LED bars aren't turquoise/aqua like some of their strobe bars!

Otherwise, everyone around here pretty much uses Whelen Liberties.

LOL. I have been on here two days and come to the realization that if it does not say Whelen on it, you think its garbage. You are the only one on here from all the posts I read through that thinks the Pinnacles are not bright. The blue color is fine. With all due respect maybe it’s time for a trip to the optometristj/k. Sure it is safe to say that I prefer SOS, but I would love to have a liberty too. Regardless, either bar is very bright and a great asset to your car.
 

03crownvic

Member
May 8, 2010
1,033
Louisiana
Who, me? I never said anything about any manufacturers stuff other than Whelen being garbage. I made the comment about everyone around here using Liberties because it is simply a fact for this area.


The Pinnacle comment was a personal opinion that is based on actual observation, not any type of statistic or theory, and my eyesight is just fine, thank you. I still think they are weak compared to some other manufacturer's LED bars, includng Whelen. I also have opinions of various other LED bars, also based on actual observation, but I'll not get into picking on them now.


It's always a treat to have a newbie come on here and instantly jump into an oldtimer, especially about something so debatable as an opinion. This is a first for it to happen to me though. I guess you know what they say about opinions and a--holes, everybody has one.


BTW, welcome to the board. Where in southern Florida are you located? Maybe we can discuss this further over a brewski......if so, let me know.
 

ELS

Member
May 21, 2010
129
USA NY
lol lights really only need to be visible from like 2500 feet away at night...


Cars are not coming at you from outer space that you need to have a supernova attached to your roof.
 

fp13-2

Member
May 20, 2010
358
Harrisburg, PA
ELS said:
lol lights really only need to be visible from like 2500 feet away at night...
But on that note, I know people like all the little blinky flash patterns, but turn a bar on where each module flashes independently, and one where it flashes left side/right side, and go 2500' away. The L/R bar will be much more visible, and the other bar will just twinkle. That of course, is just from personal experience.
 

ELS

Member
May 21, 2010
129
USA NY
fp13-2 said:
But on that note, I know people like all the little blinky flash patterns, but turn a bar on where each module flashes independently, and one where it flashes left side/right side, and go 2500' away. The L/R bar will be much more visible, and the other bar will just twinkle. That of course, is just from personal experience.

that has nothing to do with the brand though. Most bars, especially full size light bars have the option to do one or the other.
 

SoFlaDep

Member
Aug 24, 2010
27
South Florida
03crownvic said:
Who, me? I never said anything about any manufacturers stuff other than Whelen being garbage. I made the comment about everyone around here using Liberties because it is simply a fact for this area.
The Pinnacle comment was a personal opinion that is based on actual observation, not any type of statistic or theory, and my eyesight is just fine, thank you. I still think they are weak compared to some other manufacturer's LED bars, includng Whelen. I also have opinions of various other LED bars, also based on actual observation, but I'll not get into picking on them now.


It's always a treat to have a newbie come on here and instantly jump into an oldtimer, especially about something so debatable as an opinion. This is a first for it to happen to me though. I guess you know what they say about opinions and a--holes, everybody has one.


BTW, welcome to the board. Where in southern Florida are you located? Maybe we can discuss this further over a brewski......if so, let me know.

All I was pointing out is everyone else who has seen the Pinnacle in action has stated they are as bright or brighter than the liberty. I posted several links and videos. You are right; for the most part it comes down to opinion and preference. LEDs are only so bright, the optics do help. I for one do not think the Legend is as bright as some make it sound. A lot of agencies down here have switched from the liberty to the legend. SOS has always been known to have some bright LEDs. Reading through all the post pertaining to SOS and the Pinnacle on here (Yes I did read through them all) everyone else gives raves about it and there is a lot of knowledge on these forums. Sure folks have their preference and nothing trumps brand loyalty. Aside from that, I was joking when I said time to take a trip to the optometrist. You are the only one who thinks the pinnacle is weak, so as a joke I made that comment and even put j/k in the message.


I've seen the liberty and pinnacle side by side and like I said the pinnacle had the edge except for the TDs which the liberty was sporting the 12 LED work lights which were kick a$$!!


Yes I am the newbie on here. I did have a name under HKPro on the older elightbars forums back in 2007. I was testing out some Star/SVP equipment back then. I apologize if I came across as "jumping on the oldtimer" that was not my intention. Anyway, I apologize that we are debating about our opinions and have come off topic. I am in Palm Beach County and would not mind meeting you for a brewski.
 

03crownvic

Member
May 8, 2010
1,033
Louisiana
No prob, and thanks for the reply. At 1 AM in the morning when I wrote my reply post, I am usually in my "take everything seriously" mode and it seemed that you were being pretty critical, especially when I was singled out.


Sorry it set you off when I said the Pinnacle just doesn't do it for me. That's simply my opinion, which is based strictly on actually seeing them in action, so maybe the ones I've seen around here are defective if they are supposed to be so much better. They aren't junk, just not my cup of tea.


I am coming down to a little Sumter County burg named Webster in a week or two for the winter, and it is north of Tampa and west of Orlando. Of course, Palm Beach is not in that area, but I plan to do some exploring around the state while I'm there so maybe I'll eventually work my way around to your neck of the woods. If so, we can do that brewski.


Until then, take care and stay safe, and continue to have fun here on the board.
 

Stendec

Member
May 21, 2010
816
Contending that one lightbar is better than another is as pointless as debating calibers and makes of handguns. Shoot somebody 3 times in the face and they probably wont be able to tell you the make and caliber of the gun, likewise a driver will ignore a red Whelen or a blue Federal or a magenta Code 3 equally.
 

J. Thompson

Member
May 24, 2010
48
Gulf of Mexico
JohnMarcson said:
I approched a scene with multiple police vehicles... all w/ LED lightbars. From a distance and then up closer I couldn't tell a brightness difference. There were whelen bars, code 3 and federal. It's official, all modern major manufacturers are more than adequate. I'll be going by price and size/style.....

I agree!


Also, add in applicability of the product to the vehicle your specing on the buying decision.
 

Warn1

Member
May 24, 2010
23
Alabama/SE
Yeah, I quit looking at which is brighter several years back!!!! We have been purchasing based on specific functions, Customer Service, Price, and Warranty!!


Warranty is by far the most important these day's!!! So far Tomar Has been Awesome to work with and build a great product!! Just my opinion!
 

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