Oscillating and traffic clearing lights thread

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
  • Like
Reactions: Skulldigger

tsquale

Lifetime VIP Donor
Oct 12, 2010
10,511
Minnesota, USA
JohnMarcson said:
I have a updated my edge plus populated with three pierce alerts and two piercers.



Pop some red lenses on the Pierce Alerts and I would swap this out with our trucks LED Edge Plus in a heartbeat! Very cool!
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
tsquale said:
Pop some red lenses on the Pierce Alerts and I would swap this out with our trucks LED Edge Plus in a heartbeat! Very cool!

Until the wires that run up through the reflectors on the pierce-alerts snap... :( The same assembly was used in the advantage OSC and were prone to failure unfortunately. I do agree though, it's a real light show.
 

Phillyrube

Member
May 21, 2010
1,272
Flatistan
Question:  In looking at Sirenman's website, there are several lights shown that are unfamiliar with:

Carpenter Wig Wag.   I think this is a moving reflector that moves horizontally only.  I knew a guy who had something similar as a dash light many years ago.

Sterling Osci-Lite.

Dorgan HKR.  Frankenlight?

Mars early 888, bulb type.

Thanks.

In keeping with my thing for moving lights, our new ambulance came with 6 front mounted red-white red LED lights, and the center white is a Whelen Rotabeam flush mount, in white.  I'll get some photos.
 
May 25, 2010
7,072
Tunkhannock, PA, USA
A throw back if you will...  A custom lightbar I made years ago, and I believe sold it to a member on this forum...

I started with a standard Whelen Responder DXII.  

- First modification i did was change the polarity on the one rotator motor to make it spin in the opposite direction of the other rotator.  

- Second modification I did was remove the front portion of the Diamond Mirror and replace it with a Code 3 Oscilaser.

- Third mod was wiring, I took a length of strobe cable I had laying around and tied all 3 grounds together, then gave individual control to the 2 rotators and the Oscilaser.

 

894

Member
Jul 14, 2014
1,028
North Central US
I was perusing around this thread and noticed the lack of the mention of a Federal Signal FB4. Since I just came from the "split dome" thread, I figured I would kill 2 birds with one stone by displaying this 2-speed FB4 w/ a split dome!

 

Attachments

  • 100_5396 - Copy.JPG
    100_5396 - Copy.JPG
    125.7 KB · Views: 4

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
Yours is set up as a FB4S side facing reflector, meant for just this application.
The MagnaBeam is, what I consider my favorite, and the most effective dash light out there.
180/280 FPM
Thanks for the video!
 
  • Like
Reactions: lenny77

894

Member
Jul 14, 2014
1,028
North Central US
Oh, contraire! If you notice, the speed selector switch is located on the rear of this FB4 light w/ the rear black 1/2 filter. The front filter is a split R/B unit (which I used to stock) to meet our color requirements. FB4's WERE available in the side-output option but then you would have one red 1/2 filter and one blue 1/2 filter. I attached a shot of the R/B split 1/2 filters I stocked... I might even have one or two others laying around but I wouldn't hold my breath...

The 1st picture shows a pile of those beacons being taken out-of-service back in the day and how the FB3 w/ the UF7 adorned two of those split filters to achieve what I mentioned in the above post. The other is of those mentioned split 1/2 filters.

I also agree on it being the brightest dash light which is why I saved mine from the swap meet sales table, back in the day, when it was taken out-of-service.
 

Attachments

  • 101_0858 - Copy.JPG
    101_0858 - Copy.JPG
    144.3 KB · Views: 33
  • 101_0861.JPG
    101_0861.JPG
    90.8 KB · Views: 30
  • Like
Reactions: Tony P

894

Member
Jul 14, 2014
1,028
North Central US
I can't promise any FB4's but I might have a split filter still buried deep... I'll look later this week if I get over there...

That was the standard FB4 configuration unless you specially ordered the FB4S. If my memory serves correct, I believe ALL FB4's were also dual-speed. The ability to make a FB4 an FB4S was just a matter of pulling the pivot arm and placing it in a different hole in the reflector... no brain surgery whatsoever. I can post some pictures of the guts if anyone wants to see them...
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 7d9_z28

894

Member
Jul 14, 2014
1,028
North Central US
OK, Here's some more of the guts...
 

Attachments

  • 100_5399.JPG
    100_5399.JPG
    105 KB · Views: 23
  • 100_5400.JPG
    100_5400.JPG
    82.3 KB · Views: 31
  • 100_5401.JPG
    100_5401.JPG
    109 KB · Views: 36
  • 100_5402.JPG
    100_5402.JPG
    103.2 KB · Views: 33
  • 100_5405.JPG
    100_5405.JPG
    111.7 KB · Views: 34
  • 100_5398.JPG
    100_5398.JPG
    71.4 KB · Views: 24

CPSS

Member
Aug 1, 2013
54
Clifton Park, NY
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldnt the split red and blue just show up as a purple light from a distance?

I've noticed locally ( on NY State Police ) whelen led bars that have the red and blue leds, that the flash pattern doesnt alternate the colors and from a distance it just looks like a purple light.
 

lotsofbars

Member
Jul 20, 2010
1,999
NYC, New York
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldnt the split red and blue just show up as a purple light from a distance?

I've noticed locally ( on NY State Police ) whelen led bars that have the red and blue leds, that the flash pattern doesnt alternate the colors and from a distance it just looks like a purple light.
Not so with halogen lights. LED lights generally yes because of the color wavelengths that the LED's produce, but halogen tends to not blend.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CPSS

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
I've been looking hard at this light, and do not believe it is oscillating. It is a trick being played by the eye due to just the right circumstances.
If you look at the top right section of the reflector, you'll see a small flash at each ROTATION of the reflector. This is , in my opinion, rotating, not oscillating.
 
You could be right...those of us old enough to remember Saturday morning TV shows like "Sky King" might also recall that the bud wheels on the trucks appear sometimes to be moving backwards. A friend of mine in the film industry explained that the camera shutter is moving at a constant rate and the film at ~24 frames per second, so when the wheel rotation changes, it appears to go backward on film. That may be what we are seeing here...if not, that's a dang narrow oscillating pattern!
 

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
Yeah, I'm sure it's a trick of the eye. There was not a teardrop made that oscillated. It would have had to have been one heck of a customization, and surely not made for the film industry. I've been going back to this video for quite a while now, and am fairly certain of my thoughts.....Watch somebody prove me wrong, LOL.
 

Skulldigger

Member
Aug 23, 2015
1,739
Georgia / USA
My first ambulance had two fireballs mounted on the hood. the dome was half blacked out, so it would not shine into the cab when they spun. They were permanent factory mounted and shaded. When I saw the one on the roof your discussing, it reminds me of how it looked. I bet it is blacked out to the rear, causing that look.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jph2

jph2

Member
Apr 21, 2012
2,122
USA Michigan
My first ambulance had two fireballs mounted on the hood. the dome was half blacked out, so it would not shine into the cab when they spun. They were permanent factory mounted and shaded. When I saw the one on the roof your discussing, it reminds me of how it looked. I bet it is blacked out to the rear, causing that look.
I always thought the Fireballs on the ambulance hoods were cool. Good for you thinking about them as the reason for the illusion of an oscillating light in the first video. The last one posted, the light is obviously rotating, but you can see it's blacked out in back and no shroud or cover there.
 

lenny77

Member
Aug 12, 2014
470
n.y
to be 100% fair the above video is a homebrew of mine its a magnabeams internal setup fitted in a fireball housing. just wanted this to be a little different.
 

res1cue2001

Member
Dec 10, 2012
74
Central Virginia
I'd love to get a clear dome for the oscillating whelen commander... it oscillates a lot further than the 174, It oscillates like 180 degrees! I could do red, amber, blue clear bulbs and make it so the clear only showed front and side, and the amber shows rear and side. That would be very cool.


Pimp you know the fact that this setup is even possible pretty much requires you to give me you clear commander dome.:mrgreen:
Hell, I'd love to find a Whelen Commander period!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tony P

Phillyrube

Member
May 21, 2010
1,272
Flatistan
Question: In looking at Sirenman's website, there are several lights shown that are unfamiliar with:

Carpenter Wig Wag. I think this is a moving reflector that moves horizontally only. I knew a guy who had something similar as a dash light many years ago.

Sterling Osci-Lite.

Dorgan HKR. Frankenlight?

Mars early 888, bulb type.

Thanks.

In keeping with my thing for moving lights, our new ambulance came with 6 front mounted red-white red LED lights, and the center white is a Whelen Rotabeam flush mount, in white. I'll get some photos.
Anyone?
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,967
Messages
449,816
Members
19,104
Latest member
airflores

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.