WhelenNDealin
Member
This one seems like a strange thing to ask about, but what lights and/or sirens have sentimental value to you, such as reminding you of a family member, a good friend or your childhood.
As a kid, I loved the AeroDynic, but it doesn't really have a ton of sentimental or nostalgic value, per se. I still love Aeros, of course. For me, three lightbars immediately come to mind in the "sentimental value" department.
The first is the Dominion Auto crossbar. When I was a kid, the Ontario Provincial Police had these on their cruisers. I always loved them and it was one of the first lightbars that I ever got to fire up. Something about hitting the button for the roof lights was an incredible experience. The four-beam r/w beacon and the alternating reds had a great look to it along with the cheese-grater speakers.
The second is the Smith and Wesson lightbar. This one has some real sentimental value. It was the first lightbar that I ever got to fire up. My uncle was serving with Smiths Falls Police at the time, before transferring to the OPP. He retired last January after 43 years in LE. The cruiser pictured may even have been the cruiser whose lights I fired up. Him taking me on a tour of the station is one of my best childhood memories. I remember asking an old Staff Sergeant why they don't carry side-handle batons (I thought that they were the coolest things when I was 6). The S/Sgt was a mountain of a man, gruff, but an old-school gentleman cop. You could tell that you really didn't want to tangle with him, but at the same time, he'd give you a very fair break. I asked him about the batons and he chuckled saying: "Son, we don't use those sissy things here. We use what REAL cops use." He walked over to a closet and takes out a well-worn wooden baseball bat and says with a joking laugh: "This is what the bad guys around here get smacked with. We don't need any flashy Yank batons around here!" As for the S&W lightbar, I remember it having a slow rotator speed and will NEVER forget the bored look on my older cousins' faces as red lights whirled across them.
The last one is a crossbar that no manufacturer ever built. There was only one of it ever produced. It was the crossbar on my wagon. It went through a few versions. It consisted of some aluminum square stock with two round red reflectors on both ends, an amber cheapo plug-in rotary beacon in the middle and two toy electronic bike sirens. This was bolted to my red wagon. It was made to look like the Dominion Auto crossbar. When I got another of the same beacon, the bar was changed to look like what I can best describe as bit like a Signal Stat crossbar. Of course I had two red round reflectors bolted to the back of the wagon as rear "lighting" and a little switchbox to "control" everything. As a kid, I could do a really good impression of a wail, a yelp and an airhorn (strange, I know...). I had the best damn red wagon in the neighbourhood, especially considering the police-issue reflective tape that I got from a neighbour that was in LE. That wagon followed me around as I wore my uniform consisting of a Smiths Falls Police blue duty shirt, RCMP peaked cap from a Mountie uncle, a Sam Browne belt with a baton loop with a home-made PR-24, a handcuff holder with those toy steel handcuffs, a flashlight/flashlight holder and a police-issue holster with a toy revolver in it. Best wagon on the street, best police costume on the street . I miss those days.
So, what lights and/or sirens are special to you? Good lord, that sounded syrupy....
As a kid, I loved the AeroDynic, but it doesn't really have a ton of sentimental or nostalgic value, per se. I still love Aeros, of course. For me, three lightbars immediately come to mind in the "sentimental value" department.
The first is the Dominion Auto crossbar. When I was a kid, the Ontario Provincial Police had these on their cruisers. I always loved them and it was one of the first lightbars that I ever got to fire up. Something about hitting the button for the roof lights was an incredible experience. The four-beam r/w beacon and the alternating reds had a great look to it along with the cheese-grater speakers.
The second is the Smith and Wesson lightbar. This one has some real sentimental value. It was the first lightbar that I ever got to fire up. My uncle was serving with Smiths Falls Police at the time, before transferring to the OPP. He retired last January after 43 years in LE. The cruiser pictured may even have been the cruiser whose lights I fired up. Him taking me on a tour of the station is one of my best childhood memories. I remember asking an old Staff Sergeant why they don't carry side-handle batons (I thought that they were the coolest things when I was 6). The S/Sgt was a mountain of a man, gruff, but an old-school gentleman cop. You could tell that you really didn't want to tangle with him, but at the same time, he'd give you a very fair break. I asked him about the batons and he chuckled saying: "Son, we don't use those sissy things here. We use what REAL cops use." He walked over to a closet and takes out a well-worn wooden baseball bat and says with a joking laugh: "This is what the bad guys around here get smacked with. We don't need any flashy Yank batons around here!" As for the S&W lightbar, I remember it having a slow rotator speed and will NEVER forget the bored look on my older cousins' faces as red lights whirled across them.
The last one is a crossbar that no manufacturer ever built. There was only one of it ever produced. It was the crossbar on my wagon. It went through a few versions. It consisted of some aluminum square stock with two round red reflectors on both ends, an amber cheapo plug-in rotary beacon in the middle and two toy electronic bike sirens. This was bolted to my red wagon. It was made to look like the Dominion Auto crossbar. When I got another of the same beacon, the bar was changed to look like what I can best describe as bit like a Signal Stat crossbar. Of course I had two red round reflectors bolted to the back of the wagon as rear "lighting" and a little switchbox to "control" everything. As a kid, I could do a really good impression of a wail, a yelp and an airhorn (strange, I know...). I had the best damn red wagon in the neighbourhood, especially considering the police-issue reflective tape that I got from a neighbour that was in LE. That wagon followed me around as I wore my uniform consisting of a Smiths Falls Police blue duty shirt, RCMP peaked cap from a Mountie uncle, a Sam Browne belt with a baton loop with a home-made PR-24, a handcuff holder with those toy steel handcuffs, a flashlight/flashlight holder and a police-issue holster with a toy revolver in it. Best wagon on the street, best police costume on the street . I miss those days.
So, what lights and/or sirens are special to you? Good lord, that sounded syrupy....
Last edited: