What lightbar to go with??

ncfd4303

ncfd4303

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May 20, 2010
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Corning, NY
Well, I finally head back to work tomorrow from being laid off in February. This being said, I will again have money to play with. And of course the boys must have their toys...


Currently I have a Whelen 9m 12 strobe lightbar. Here is what I'm debating on doing soon and want your opinions...


Upgrade the heads to double stacked microman 4" heads, running them off of multiple ULF44's


Buy a Whelen Liberty (Galls special)


Buy a Sound Off ELP9000 Lightbar.


Kinda stuck between a rock and a couple hard places. All have their benefits and drawbacks. This will go on a 2002 Ford Explorer.
 
I think the microman idea is cool but time consuming although probably the most economical too!


But i had a liberty on my department car and it was really a great bar that was hella bright!
 
Go with the liberty adam.....I did and I love it! Lots of options and can still have the arrow if you want it!! Go with the lo pro look again.
 
Oh i totally overlooked that! Sorry my mistake! So yea, buy from HPD84!
 
Keep the 9M and install 6over6 400 series LEDs in place of inboard strobes. Leave the corner strobes with clear lenses and put 400 series 6over6 LEDs in the alley spot if you don't need alleys. Best part of it is you don't have to remove the bar and go through much re-wiring.
 
Stay with the Whelen Edge 12 head strobe bar. The bar should give off plenty of light, so save your money. If you feel the need for some leds put a set on the rear deck and in the grille.
 
Rather than trying to make a really bright lightbar I would save the funds and buy a Liberty. You can get a fully loaded Liberty from us for under 1500.00 with LED TDs and Alleys. This lightbar will be worth something down the road where the other bar will be worthless if its pieced together with different leds and flashers. The Liberty is by far still the best bar made.
 
DEPUTYSTEPHENSON said:
Stay with the Whelen Edge 12 head strobe bar. The bar should give off plenty of light, so save your money. If you feel the need for some leds put a set on the rear deck and in the grille.
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Best advice yet.


Maybe re-lens the current bar and update some secondary lighting.
 
SBFD-E-9 said:
+1!! County Sheriffs in my area got a few new cars with these on them, and they are BRIGHT! But they have a heavy price tag too.


Dan
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They may be effective, but IMO they're ugly as sin. There are plenty of other effective lights that look better.


I really like the MX7000, it can be anything from a 2-rotator budget bar up to a fully loaded streetsweeper with whatever kind or combination of lights you want.
 
Thanks for all of the feedback!


Is there a reason why no one has said go with the sound off? I have seen it in person and had it put on my SUV for looks and it looked great. For secondary lighting, I already have 2 pimp pods in the grill, 4 in the rear window, clear HAWs in the front corners, a pair of blue HAWs in the reverse, and HAWs in the tail lights.


I really am leaning to the microman idea. I'm also thinking of ordering all of the LEDs in clear, because around my parts, officers change based on popularity, and apparently I like to run a tight ship and some people aren't fans, this way, if I do lose my spot, all I have to do is change the lense colors.
 
I've seen the Sound Off bar, but only in green, which wasn't all that effective. Now, the LED takedowns were a different story, looking pretty effective.
 
Liberty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now that you can get them for less then a grand that is the way to go. I have one on my Crown Vic and love it.
 
I've seen the SoundOff lightbar, but it wasn't turned on so I can't say whether or not I recommend it. I have seen the Liberty in use, so it's pretty safe to say I do recommend it.
 
SBFD-E-9 said:
+1!! County Sheriffs in my area got a few new cars with these on them, and they are BRIGHT! But they have a heavy price tag too.


Dan
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The Scorpion is actually relatively inexpensive. It's similarly priced to a Liberty, if not cheaper.
 
dynastar666 said:
Clear LEDs don't work using colored lenses, it severely limits output.
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Not true!! As the NYS troopers here in the corning area do have clear in there libertys with color lenses.
 
The troopers here in the corning area have the clear leds in the bars and the colored lenses, as we were curious and my buddy is good friends with a trooper here in the area and they took the light apart to see and they are all clear leds in the bar from one end to the other.
 
One thing I think is messing people up... Bare LEDs are always clear. But when you turn them on, THEN they produce color. WHITE LEDs do not work well behind colored lenses; colored LEDs work just fine behind a dome that's the same color. (That's why NYSP patrol cars use red domes in front and red, blue and amber domes in back)
 
TVFD39 said:
The troopers here in the corning area have the clear leds in the bars and the colored lenses, as we were curious and my buddy is good friends with a trooper here in the area and they took the light apart to see and they are all clear leds in the bar from one end to the other.
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Were they on at the time?
 
dynastar666 said:
The Scorpion is actually relatively inexpensive. It's similarly priced to a Liberty, if not cheaper.
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Yep! I can put anyone into an all LED High powered Tomar Scorpion for $1650.00, less if more than one is being purchased. This bar has 12 diode corners, 6 diode front and rear modules, LED alleys and quad (4 modules) Hi Power LED takedowns. The all LED Liberties I see running around my area are going for $1800.00-$2000.00. I have a couple of ALL BLUE 49 inch ALL LED Tomar Scorpions in stock if anyone is interested.
 
I think many of the responses on here are based on brand loyalty and not actual comparisons. Every lightbar is unique and has their pros and cons. With respect to the liberty vs SOS Pinnacle, I had the opportunity to view both lightbars in a side by side comparison. The SOS was superior from every angle. The quality is on par with Whelen and the lightbar itself is just as bright if not brighter than the Liberty. Both lightbars were blue/blue with LED TDs and alleys. The off-axis lighting in the pinnacle was better than the liberty. The liberty’s super LED takedown lights had the edge over the SOS but not by much.


We run the whelen ultra freedoms with my agency and they are okay. The alley lights burn out all the time, and regardless of the weather stripping/seals the bars fog up and retain moisture after each rain. They are not as easy to work on in comparison to the legend. I have not had to work on a Pinnacle bar yet so I cannot say much about that. As a matter of fact, many agencies here are switching from the liberty to the legend.


Brand loyalties are perfectly normal but give credit where credit is due. SOS makes great high quality products on par with Whelen and Fedsig. All honesty, after viewing both I would be perfectly happy with either bar strapped to my roof. The only company I’ve heard nightmares about is Code3. Our agency will not use their LED products.


Here are some videos with the new pinnacle LED bar. I am sure you will be impressed.


And here is an elightbar member’s review after comparing the SOS pinnacle, Tomar blade.


viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3220
 
I would recommend the Sound Off Pinnacle. I have seen all the lightbars being discussed so far (with exception of the Tomar) and they all are impressive. I think the Pinnacle just has a slight edge on the others. It is priced very well and loaded with options. I'm not saying this because I can sell Sound Off. I can sell Tomar and Sho-Me too. I also have always been a fan of Whelen products. No matter what LED bar someone goes with these days from the big manufactures I think oh will be happy. Brand loyalties aside you should go with the one that suits your needs the most in terms of cost, performance, and options. I think for most people he Sound Off Pinnacle will fit the bill and I know they won't be disappointed.
 
A local agency here has some Pinnacles they got last year and a couple are already sagging in the middle. Not sure if it's a frame issue or because their mounts are positioned incorrectly or tightened down too much. I'll try to get a closer look.


Another thing is that the blue color from the Pinnacle appears to be more of a soft pastel blue than a crisp royal blue. Not really liking that......
 
Interesting, sagging has never been an issue with any soundoff light bars. It must have been an issue with the instillation. I have seen some legends, and code 3 2100 series bar down here sagging. A city department here in south Florida was testing the legend and liberty. It appeared both all their lightbars were sagging. When the Sheriff’s office down here switched to the legend they looked fine. The city found they tightened the bars too much which caused them to sag. The frame on the Pinnacle is a dual metal frame constructed in a very similar fashion as the liberty. Color I guess that is subjective. I think the blue color is very sharp. I do remember a few years ago star/SVP having some issues with their blue LEDs but never SOS. Out of curiosity, what agency are you refereeing to?
 

Both these are SOS Pinnacle and you can see with these videos the bar is not sagging on either of these patrol vehicles. The blue looks crisp too. I would say definitely an installation error with the bars you’ve seen.
 
liberty by far, but if you are stuck on the edge look, use a whelen edge freedom
 
Since you are worried about switching from red back to blue, maybe price an Axixtech Torrent in full red/blue. You can run it all red, then if you need to switch back to blue it's just a wire swap.
 
fp13-2 said:
Since you are worried about switching from red back to blue, maybe price an Axixtech Torrent in full red/blue. You can run it all red, then if you need to switch back to blue it's just a wire swap.
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Just searched for it and couldn't find it, and I might be mistaken, but I believe the only dual color parts at this time are the arrow; red or blue for primary, and amber for arrow. The other modules are one color.
 
i believe the brand new liberty has the ability to choose all red, all blue, or amber for the arrow stick.

 
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