What's the worst lightbar made by a well-known company? (FedSig, Code 3, Whelen)
- Thread starter lotsofbars
- Start date
richmaster
New Member
fedsig7 said:
We have them on our engines and they kick ass, although I think the mechanic changed the rotators.
Not a big fan Advantedge. The plastic slide in trays that the rotators mount on result in a lot of rotator vibration. We have one one our heavy wrecker and the rotators went to crap, so I gutted it and replaced it with strobe heads.
kadetklapp
Member
Not in any specific order-
Code 3 Excalbur
FS Vista
MX7000 strobe
Whelen Val-U-Bar
Code 3 Intensity
Whelen Fasstcrapps
Code 3 code 360* thing
Aero-Dynic (Tow version only!)
And I'm sure there are others...
Code 3 Excalbur
FS Vista
MX7000 strobe
Whelen Val-U-Bar
Code 3 Intensity
Whelen Fasstcrapps
Code 3 code 360* thing
Aero-Dynic (Tow version only!)
And I'm sure there are others...
NPS Ranger
Member
fedsig7 said:
bfd740 said:
I think the halogen Code 3 XL's are the 2nd brightest rotators after Streethawks. The old style Code 3 XL with sealed beams was a dog.
Looks wise I agree with that stealth fighter mini bar, but those things kick out a decent flash. The brick shaped version is a bit more pleasing to the eye. To my knowledge they only came in clear domes too.
lotsofbars said:
Any lightbar you see on a wrecker, even the new LED bars are made with the economy style led and not properly designed for proper warning protection, but to answer the actual question; The "Areo-dinosaur" gets my vote, especially the wrecker version, but in second place is the "jetstream led."
My wrecker has a slightly modified (by me) 60 inch Jet Strobe with 6 rear facing, 4 front facing, and 1 each cheap china made fed sig leds to side, just for a little added protection I have 2 red whelen tir 3's rear facing.
FL DOT has started changing out the Whelen strobe lightbars on their pickups to the new LFL Amber super led this year and they are by far the brightest out there.
How so?kadetklapp said:
Mine is insanely bright (Arguably too bright), but it does what it needs to. It outperforms our MX7000s and 2100s in red/blue output, off-axis output, directional arrow visibility, take down light output, and alley light output. The only downside is its size compared to the 2100, but it's smaller than the MX. It draws a lot less current than the MX, though about 3 times as much as the 2100 (Which is still very little).
Overall, for its time it was a good bar. Nowadays I'd rather have the 2100 though.
[Broken External Image]:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/AaronZ34/Pictures/Lightbar.jpg
kadetklapp
Member
John Smith said:
I'd say the exact opposite. The Excalibur on my squad car is a dull piece of garbage. It sucks amps, has minimal light output (the halogen flashers are a joke), alleys and take-downs are useless. I love the MX-7000....for what it is, which in today's world means a lightbar more suitable for a large vehicle that emits a lot of voltage from it's alternator. The Excalibur is the perfect example of a solution in search of a problem. It can't do anything that the MX-7000 already did (and did a better job of it) and I think it looks disproportionate on just about every vehicle (IMO).
FYI, amp draw was only marginally more on my MX-7000 "all-light" with arrowstick compared to my squad car's POS Excrapular without an arrowstick.
kadetklapp said:
So it's not the Excalibur, it's the light package you have in it. Because while most MX7000s were outfitted the same way, it seems every single Excalibur was different. Yours probably has the alley sweeps on the bottom half right? Mine use the larger, H1 I think, bulb in the top half. It's basically a MX7000 rotator, except it does 120* intersection sweeps, alleys, and takedown. So plenty bright. And because all of the red/blue/amber lights are LEDs, the current draw is really low. When I click it to position 3, it kicks on all 4 halogens (Outer 2 do an intersection sweep, inner two wig-wag), and the top half LEDs, and I notice the current draw then, as the headlights dim for a second. But it's still far less than the MX. That's the problem we have with the MX, the cars equipped with them need an alternator every 2 years.
Proportionately, it looks better than the huge MX, mine draws much less current, is much brighter, etc. Halogen for halogen, I agree with you. But when the Excalibur is packed with state of the art LEDs, it's a whole different bar.
kadetklapp
Member
Well if we are talking about LEDs, that's a different story. AFAIK the Excalibur was not offered fully populated with LEDs. Custom work is not what we are talking about here.
I still believe, and always will, that the Excalibur was a solution in search of a problem.
I still believe, and always will, that the Excalibur was a solution in search of a problem.
Station 3
Member
kadetklapp said:
I'm not sure what to say, because it's fully populated with LEDs, and a department our size, we don't exactly custom build light bars, and we've got 3 of them, all identical. I think it came straight from Code 3. We went through a period when LED bars were first coming out, we were looking to replace our MX7000s. So we tested a number of different light bars, and these were some of them. They weren't fully ordered as we went with the 2100s, but I'm pretty sure these are right from Code 3.
In halogen or strobe form, I agree with you. But in LED, the light bar is excellent. However, for what we need, the 2100 is better.
kadetklapp
Member
I have another bar to add, the 911EP Galaxy.
I am a huge fan of 911EP, love their light sticks, but the lightbars suck. The finish peels off in flakes off the top, the modules burn up, the power supplies burn up, and they look funny.
I am a huge fan of 911EP, love their light sticks, but the lightbars suck. The finish peels off in flakes off the top, the modules burn up, the power supplies burn up, and they look funny.
Respondcode3 said:
Can't vouch for the rotator version - being so slim it couldn't be all that great - but the strobe version holds its own just as well as a Whelen Edge.
topflight
Member
nerdly_dood said:
I have the rotator version and it is plenty bright, I had it mounted and used it and loved it far better then my Excalibur. The only reason I took it off was because I made an interior Pimp Pod lightbar for the front and back. The takedowns and allies are very bright IMO as well.
EL1998P71
Member
I would have to say every brand has a handful of poorly designed bars.
I never liked (even though I've had owned some and still own some)
Smith & Wesson (bad rotators)
Vista Strobe (older tubes failed alot)
Jetsonic (speaker section has alot of wind noise, and the sync rotators were dim)
Jet stream (rotator gears stripping the teeth off)
Raydian (Super heavy)
Code 3 XL (Oversized shape)
Aerodynic (any version with par 36's on the end)
Yankee bar (rotation parts inside the par 36 holders always breaking)
Code 3 2100, (Patterns and MR 11 blubs)
Code 3 Intensity, (Water leaking inside, filters brittle)
Federal Legend (even without over tightening, bar bends in the middle and you have to send out a whole side for repair)
AdvantaEdge (for the large shape it seems like most parts barely fit like in the center section)
Fasttraxx ( double face tape not the best idea)
I never liked (even though I've had owned some and still own some)
Smith & Wesson (bad rotators)
Vista Strobe (older tubes failed alot)
Jetsonic (speaker section has alot of wind noise, and the sync rotators were dim)
Jet stream (rotator gears stripping the teeth off)
Raydian (Super heavy)
Code 3 XL (Oversized shape)
Aerodynic (any version with par 36's on the end)
Yankee bar (rotation parts inside the par 36 holders always breaking)
Code 3 2100, (Patterns and MR 11 blubs)
Code 3 Intensity, (Water leaking inside, filters brittle)
Federal Legend (even without over tightening, bar bends in the middle and you have to send out a whole side for repair)
AdvantaEdge (for the large shape it seems like most parts barely fit like in the center section)
Fasttraxx ( double face tape not the best idea)
EPD0407 said:
I personally love the design of these and the light output is great for what it is..not as bright as some other bars..whelen fastraxx are the worst imo
WhiteLite03
Member
Vista Strobe... My FD is running an all red bar on our Suburban, It's probably the weakest bar in the fleet. The brightest lights on it are the takedowns and the intersection strobes. :hissyfit: I added a LED pod in the empty lower center section and it drowns out all of the upper strobes. :duh: We have a Force 4 XL on our second out engine that is brighter than that damn vista. 
Newberry13
Member
Although it's not an American manufacturer, I have to add this: PINTSCH BAMAG: TOP - 2
It's one of those ideas that's great in theory, and definitely practical. However, it is an ugly SOB. That being said, I still want one!
It's one of those ideas that's great in theory, and definitely practical. However, it is an ugly SOB. That being said, I still want one!
EL1998P71 said:
I'm glad someone finally pointed out this gem...
Locally this bar has replaced a couple major city PD fleets that were running Smart Vectors for most of the last decade. The lack of sync'd patterns combined with the joke of MR11s for TDs and Alleys make it a shoe in for this list.
The best example is the "demo" car the county SO setup... LEDX modules for the corners, MR11 alleys, pair of LEDX modules to the front, MR11 TDs in the center and LC Gen1-ish style modules to the rear for an Arrow Stik... Basically invisible when turned on during the day and looked like it was shorting out at night with all of the out of sync dark time...
STT Installer" data-source="" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">STT Installer said:
the only way a 2100 was decent was if every single module was set to single flash so there was no downtime
cory y said:
The SO to the north of us went with a "very" basic setup of Optix6 corners and outboards... Lots of dark time when setup on the cycle flash pattern.
Station 3
Member
STT Installer" data-source="" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">STT Installer said:
Local School PD has a ford F-150 with this bar its a very basic bar has the four corners Optix6 then has a few leds in the TIR type leds in the center and in the back i think it has either LEDX or some sort of LCD leds im not really sure all i know is the thing looks like crap since its all on random flash. That is the only form of lighting it has besides a HLF
lotsofbars
Member
Jesse Volanti
Member
LED's are just a light that flashes no pop like a rotating lightbar beacon or strobe there too pricey and just plane boring. opcorn:
opcorn:
fleetcomm
Member
txff914
Member
Wow i cant believe nobody has brought up Sho-me light bars all their bars suck with the little 5mm leds in them.
MESDA6
Member
RBRONKEMA GHTFD said:
whelen never had one on fire chief trucks in fdny....the one u talking about was a mcdermot higriser
although aerodynic was popular it was teh worst for many reaasons.
The one with the flashers on teh end and 6 rotator reflectors lapd models.
Lights could not be seen from side intersection views because side flood lights and flashers were blocking.
And that is why lapd decieded to put aftermarket side grote flood lights hanging from the roof brackets .
It was basically a bar that only was really benefical from front and rear NOT side.
The one with the flashers on teh end and 6 rotator reflectors lapd models.
Lights could not be seen from side intersection views because side flood lights and flashers were blocking.
And that is why lapd decieded to put aftermarket side grote flood lights hanging from the roof brackets .
It was basically a bar that only was really benefical from front and rear NOT side.
