Whelen Edge evolution
- Thread starter 1968
- Start date
sure are, look @ the sticky for the diagnostix, we covered some there
mix of V and J tube
A surprising number of early Whelen crossbars and even some 8000s were that way. You had to pay more for an option to run both.
Can anyone touch on the 'DOT' edge bars? I'd love to see catalogs, or gain a better understanding on the part numbers and components...
"DOT" is generally used by Whelen as a term for amber/construction/snow removal applications. The amber division has been called "amber", heavy duty, and DOT. The products offered generally follow the other product lines as far as components. There have been DOT and amber specific mini and micro edge models, usually mirror mount and sometimes components are installed differently i.e. directional heads vs. end strobes. DOT power supplies will also allow of an uneven number of heads to allow a center roof beacon. There were times when there were/are specific other products like the power supplies I mentioned or the "HELS" strobes which were aircraft wingtip strobes marketed as side of dump truck bed strobes.
As far as full sized bars, there were tow specific edge bars that had STT lights and rear floods by default. There have been, at times, base model edge bars offered in specific configuration listed in amber and DOT catalogs. Usually they focus on what you would expect, scene lighting and rear warning. These bars pretty much "option up" into the same setup as the rest of the product line in most cases. Again I don't recall any components in DOT bars that were not offered in other edge bars. I have a few amber market catalogs throughout the years, I will look and see if there are any interesting "base model edges" listed in any of them, I don't recall anything major.
Thank you for the info. I was unaware. Because I know the IDOT ones would run off remote ISP188s but I didnt know if others were that way...
Oh, you mean the SSF or "snowflake" line. That is a halogen and strobe synchronized line of products that included the 360 beacon with the internal supply (I have one) and multiple remote applications.
There was a mini edge version (I have one and the power supply too) but the cables were cut and I need to rewire it. It used the combo reflectors, synching the halogen light next to the end strobe alternating sides. Essentially it was thought that the slower flashing halogen synchronized with the strobe would give you the best of both worlds and be a cumulative improvement in snow, sun and fog (where the SSF designation came from). LEDs kind of killed this idea, but I liked the theory. Sticking with the idea that the DOT line used stuff from the main line, the components were the same internally, the only difference was the external supply which isn't unheard of in the regular line (remote edge plus on ambulances, remote tailboard edges on fire vehicles etc). I have seen the same external supply used to synch the hsn35 bulbs that used to flank the linear strobe inside the 9E and linear 900 strobes used on an ambulance. I have also seen the supply used with sidebeam lights to make the halogen/strobe combo version synch on the bumper of a heavy rescue. So yes there were some special DOT bars but nothing you couldn't build with the parts from the regular line. I will post a few catalogs when I get home. I really need to get that SSF or "snowflake" mini edge rewired too.
Right, ok... I do remember reading about the halogen/strobe combo in some 2000s catalogs. So it's nice to hear a bit more detail on that. Overall I think the combination of strobe and halogen technology was logical and pretty effective! I do look forward to seeing your "snowflake" mini edge in the future!
Here are some PDFs about the halogen/strobe synched line. This happens to be a micro edge version still using the combo reflectors (with the halogen end trimmed down). I screen captured a few parts as jpgs and added those too. Also attached are a few PDFs of SNF beacons and systems.
Here is my SSNF mini edge and the newer ISP8HS that was running it. Note the cable "chop" and that the number of pairs of wires I will have to redo. I also attached a data sheet for the updated power supply. There are also two pictures of the type of combo turbo reflectors used. These are the type with a single snap-in halogen slot, no additional attached linear strobes or multi-use/twist-lock sockets. Also attached is a picture of the bars with the power supplies being sold off together as surplus, showing that these slightly later models were often paired. A later system is pictured below as well, with the "SSNF" heads not in the edge portion but combined in the 700 series halogen/strobe lights. At one point you could get a three linear strobe micro edge (pictured below). However eventually that was replaced with a 3 LED micro head with 700 series LEDs (GEN 1) and you could only get two strobes in the micro platform. I attached a diagram of some of the ways you could build a micro edge near the end of the "strobe era" and beginning of the "LED era". A halogen/strobe combo 700 head replaced the combo reflector in the micro edge if you wanted halogen and strobe inside.
Mini edge SSNF 28"
ISP8HS
Cable cut
Reflector type in SSNF mini egde 28"
SSNF bars auctioned with their ISP8HS supplies
3 Head strobe version
SSNF with halogen portion external
Halogen/Strobe micro now accomplished by 700 combo heads, 3 head version now LED.
Mini edge SSNF 28"
ISP8HS
Cable cut
Reflector type in SSNF mini egde 28"
SSNF bars auctioned with their ISP8HS supplies
3 Head strobe version
SSNF with halogen portion external
Halogen/Strobe micro now accomplished by 700 combo heads, 3 head version now LED.
I summed up some points of confusion and contradiction here
elightbars.org
What's the difference between the Whelen 90h series and 91h?
Just curious what the differences are between the two. From what I know the 91h was an update or revision of some sort of the 90h. Also was a similar thing done to the 80h? Also another thing I haven't figured out was when was this series fazed out entirely. From what I've seen they appear to be...
elightbars.org