Whelen - The "Seabiscuit" of the EV Equipment... IMHO

ford-dealer

Member
Sep 2, 2010
857
San Antonio
I thought I would take a few moments to discuss the "Unlikely Hero" that became of a small company in Connecticut.


Most of you younger guys, don't really appreciate the significance of what Whelen Engineering has actually accomplished, and just how unlikely it was to have happened.


"That Damn AMP connector!" How many times have you wondered... "Why in the HELL does Whelen use these confounded "Pins and Connectors! Why do the have to make it so hard? ANSWER: Because they aren't looking at it like Federal Signal and Code3PSE, and others. Did you know that a WHelen Edge Lightbar can withstand a "Lighting Bolt" Strike and survive? Indded it can. Do you want to know why? Sure you do... it is because:


Your Whelen Lightbar/Beacon is made in the same way that Aircraft Airframes are made. Have you ever noticed that there is NO grounding point on ANY Whelen product Frame/Base etc? Airplanes are designed to FLY... not crash! A plane that has its electronics open to interference by lightning/friction from clouds etc.. would make them unstable or worse, not worthy of flight. We have all seen planes struck by lightning right? Yet they still are air worthy. This is due to the fact that the electronics/avionics are "Isolated from the "AirFrame" or Skin/Structure of the aircraft. The plane simply acts as a shield to the outside electrical interference.


Now... you say... "What on God's Green Earth does THAT have to do with ANYTHING? Fair Question. But the answer is more simple than maybe many of you are aware of. Simply put, it is the fact that George Whelen, designed the Rot-A-Beam series beacons, (Still In Use Today) for AIRCRAFT. His beacons/Recognition Lamps/Landing and Taxi-Way Lights are still the most utilized equipment in the aircraft business. Did you know that?


G. Whelen first pioneered with "Strobe Lights" to eliminate the "Moving Components" of the aircraft beacons. Note: Planes to this day, still use strobes for recognition lamps.


It was then, that Whelen saw the success of companies like Federal Signal, Dietz and others in the "Emergency Vehicle Lighting" business. His idea? If I can put one on a plane.... why not a fire truck? Or a Police Car or an Ambulance for that matter?


Thus, the beginning of what you see today. But.... it really doesn't stop there....


Consider this: Most of us, look back on the Whelen, 5000,6000,8000 series strobe light(s) and think they look pretty weak in intensity. (Fair Enough). However, those products were VERY HIGH PRICED compared to other (More Effective) lights on the market. Think (Beacon Rays, Visibars, Twinsonics, Aero-Dynics, Code3 XLs etc...etc... The early Whelen stuff is RARE. This is simply not because they were the greatest products by comparison. But Whelen was LEARNING.... and LEARN they did!


In 1984, Whelen looked at their product "Weaknesses". (Brightness, Structural Integtity etc... and their solution? Another simple answer. The "I Beam". The "I-Beam is the strongest structural component. All skyscrapers are built with "I-Beams". This simple solution, also created the use of Directional Strobe Reflectors versus the 360* Fresnel lenses. This was the birth of the "9000 Edge Bar(s). Are you seeing something? Simple is often better that just doing something different.


The 9000 Edge bar, became VERY popular. Low profile, Durable, Very Bright and effective. The Edge 9000 was a "Game CHanger" in the industry. The little company from Connecticut, that was too small, privately owned and operated, was able to outrun the "War Admiral" that Federal Signal was at the time. If you look at historical lighting, and be honest, Federal Signal's last great bar was the Aero-Dynic. It was followed by the "Jet Series" and for the "Cheapskates", the Streethawk. The Vector/Vision products were good, but never really took over the market.


Code3PSE on the other hand, did take advantage of the "Lower Price" marketing at the time by graduating from the XL series, to the EVER popular LP6000 series lightbars. The LP Series and its big brother the MX7000 were Whelen's biggest competition. The LP6000 offered some pretty neat options/configurations for the price. The Edge 9000 was still more expensive. But ground was being made up, and made up fast. The advent of Whelen's "Value Bar" 9304/9004 series, which offered 4 Corner Strobes, inboard flashers, alley lights and takedown lights, allowed Whelen to get into the face of the price competition. And this they did with ferocity.


The 9000 Series started it all for that little company. And to this day, you are hard pressed to find a 9000 that doesn't work! Sure, the lenses may need replacing, or a halogen bulb...etc... but think about just how durable those bars REALLY are!


So the next time you look at a Whelen lightbar, consider this, it could PASS the FAA requirements for use on aircraft. This could come in handy to some of you that might take a patrol unit airborn at some point! ;) :thumbsup:
 
Last edited by a moderator:

ford-dealer

Member
Sep 2, 2010
857
San Antonio
dmathieu said:
And it all began with the invention, revisions, and evolution of the ROTA-BEAM.

Somehow I KNEW you would "Chime In" with that little tidbit! ^^Fives^^ But keep this in mind Dan, I was relating to 20th century technology! :razz:
 

ford-dealer

Member
Sep 2, 2010
857
San Antonio
Dan, This is the proper view of them hanging UNDER an airplane! :yes:


ai147.photobucket.com_albums_r302_ford_dealer_rota_zps006a05a4.jpg
 

Wailer

Member
May 24, 2010
2,290
Canada
I'm also hearing more Whelen electronic sirens these days and a lot less Federal stuff. They must be doing something right in the siren department too.
 

kitn1mcc

Member
May 24, 2010
2,566
Old lyme ct
they were the first to have an electronic outdoor siren.


the whelen's are from Illinois not sure how they landed in deep river of all places
 

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
kitn1mcc said:
they were the first to have an electronic outdoor siren.

the whelen's are from Illinois not sure how they landed in deep river of all places

Hence, Joliet, Illinois on the RB10 tag, and early RB11s re-badged for Pyle National of Illinois.
 

Liberty703

Member
Dec 11, 2012
268
Maine
Great history lesson. We did an engine refurb last winter, new poly tank, foam system, suspension, paint and lights. New Whelen Liberty bar and pair of L31's on the rear. The best part was peeling the sticker off the Liberty "Made in USA, Thank you for buying American". This sticker is now proudly displayed on my Snap-On toolbox. :yes:
 

Sarge619

Member
Jul 19, 2011
522
Central Massachusetts
Excellent post David!! The strength, longevity and simplicity of the Edge 9000 was legendary! We purchased the first Edge 9000 bars in our region in 1986 (w/the exception of the state police, who were our catalyst for purchasing them). We bought a pair of 9308's. The surrounding towns were so impressed that they also purchased 9000 series bars. At the time, there was a serious prejudice against Whelen products by local emergency equipment vendors, and they'd jack the price up considerably and call them "overpriced junk". I approached Whelen and established a direct account. I was getting my 9308's for about $760.00 while the area vendors raped potential customers by demanding over $1300.00 for the same bar. As a result, several area departments ordered their Edge's on my Whelen account, and they blossomed in the region. They became so popular (again, as you said, FS and Code 3 was their most major competitor in my area) that they even eclipsed all other products and became the predominant lightbar in the state. Vendors were forced to offer the products at a reasonable price due to overwhelming demand.


The Edges were extremely user-friendly, and upgrades involved basically plugging in a module. We upgraded our original 9308's with rear halogen flashers a few years after the initial purchase. It was simple and fast. Those original 9308's were in service from 1986 until 1995 with only one power pack failure and the replacement of a handful of corner strobe tubes. Not bad considering the "vaunted" Aerodynics we had been using from 1984 until 1986 had been unreliable, required numerous electrical and mechanical fixes over their two-year work life (perhaps we just got a bad batch).


In 1995, we replaced the 9308's with 9908's (with the addition of takedowns fro the first time) which served flawlessly until their eventual replacement by Whelen Liberty LED bars in 2007.


I'll admit I'm biased about Whelen products, having spec'd them for 20 years (with damn good reason) on our growing police fleet as well as collecting antique Whelen beacons, and I'll stand by my opinion they were the best, most reliable bars we ever had.


As an aside, in 1988, when our department was allowed to have three cruisers (we purchased a new one, but did not trade in the older car as usual), we didn't have a lot of money to equip it (and we had trashed our Aerodynics). A good friend and firefighter in town let me know that one of the original Whelen setups from the early seventies we had (my chief was a pilot and LOVED Whelen products) was still sitting in storage in the fire station. This was a 3302 bar with a 1200 series strobe beacon on each end of the crossbar and a Dietz 711 mounted in the middle. This two decades old setup was still in good cosmetic condition. The third car was set up as a slick top. Using some ingenuity a la Connecticut State Police quick-disconnect power plug, we mounted the bar on the roof, and to our delight, it worked like new. It looked kinda funky sitting next to two cruisers with low-profile Edges, but I liked it. The car could now be utilized as a slicktop or fully marked car. And those circa 1974 strobes and power supply were still working strong. Gotta love that Whelen tenacity!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Jarred J.

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
11,580
Shelbyville, TN
hi. mr downer here... airplanes survive lighting strikes because in the air they "aren't grounded" put an airplane on the ground and let it get hit by lighting... see what happens.


Leds have made their way onto airplanes... and helicopters. all the med choppers around here are led...


other than that uhhhh go whelen?


:D
 

Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
ford-dealer said:
I thought I would take a few moments to discuss the "Unlikely Hero" that became of a small company in Connecticut.

Most of you younger guys, don't really appreciate the significance of what Whelen Engineering has actually accomplished, and just how unlikely it was to have happened.


"That Damn AMP connector!" How many times have you wondered... "Why in the HELL does Whelen use these confounded "Pins and Connectors! Why do the have to make it so hard? ANSWER: Because they aren't looking at it like Federal Signal and Code3PSE, and others. Did you know that a WHelen Edge Lightbar can withstand a "Lighting Bolt" Strike and survive? Indded it can. Do you want to know why? Sure you do... it is because:


Your Whelen Lightbar/Beacon is made in the same way that Aircraft Airframes are made. Have you ever noticed that there is NO grounding point on ANY Whelen product Frame/Base etc? Airplanes are designed to FLY... not crash! A plane that has its electronics open to interference by lightning/friction from clouds etc.. would make them unstable or worse, not worthy of flight. We have all seen planes struck by lightning right? Yet they still are air worthy. This is due to the fact that the electronics/avionics are "Isolated from the "AirFrame" or Skin/Structure of the aircraft. The plane simply acts as a shield to the outside electrical interference.


Now... you say... "What on God's Green Earth does THAT have to do with ANYTHING? Fair Question. But the answer is more simple than maybe many of you are aware of. Simply put, it is the fact that George Whelen, designed the Rot-A-Beam series beacons, (Still In Use Today) for AIRCRAFT. His beacons/Recognition Lamps/Landing and Taxi-Way Lights are still the most utilized equipment in the aircraft business. Did you know that?


G. Whelen first pioneered with "Strobe Lights" to eliminate the "Moving Components" of the aircraft beacons. Note: Planes to this day, still use strobes for recognition lamps.


It was then, that Whelen saw the success of companies like Federal Signal, Dietz and others in the "Emergency Vehicle Lighting" business. His idea? If I can put one on a plane.... why not a fire truck? Or a Police Car or an Ambulance for that matter?


Thus, the beginning of what you see today. But.... it really doesn't stop there....


Consider this: Most of us, look back on the Whelen, 5000,6000,8000 series strobe light(s) and think they look pretty weak in intensity. (Fair Enough). However, those products were VERY HIGH PRICED compared to other (More Effective) lights on the market. Think (Beacon Rays, Visibars, Twinsonics, Aero-Dynics, Code3 XLs etc...etc... The early Whelen stuff is RARE. This is simply not because they were the greatest products by comparison. But Whelen was LEARNING.... and LEARN they did!


In 1984, Whelen looked at their product "Weaknesses". (Brightness, Structural Integtity etc... and their solution? Another simple answer. The "I Beam". The "I-Beam is the strongest structural component. All skyscrapers are built with "I-Beams". This simple solution, also created the use of Directional Strobe Reflectors versus the 360* Fresnel lenses. This was the birth of the "9000 Edge Bar(s). Are you seeing something? Simple is often better that just doing something different.


The 9000 Edge bar, became VERY popular. Low profile, Durable, Very Bright and effective. The Edge 9000 was a "Game CHanger" in the industry. The little company from Connecticut, that was too small, privately owned and operated, was able to outrun the "War Admiral" that Federal Signal was at the time. If you look at historical lighting, and be honest, Federal Signal's last great bar was the Aero-Dynic. It was followed by the "Jet Series" and for the "Cheapskates", the Streethawk. The Vector/Vision products were good, but never really took over the market.


Code3PSE on the other hand, did take advantage of the "Lower Price" marketing at the time by graduating from the XL series, to the EVER popular LP6000 series lightbars. The LP Series and its big brother the MX7000 were Whelen's biggest competition. The LP6000 offered some pretty neat options/configurations for the price. The Edge 9000 was still more expensive. But ground was being made up, and made up fast. The advent of Whelen's "Value Bar" 9304/9004 series, which offered 4 Corner Strobes, inboard flashers, alley lights and takedown lights, allowed Whelen to get into the face of the price competition. And this they did with ferocity.


The 9000 Series started it all for that little company. And to this day, you are hard pressed to find a 9000 that doesn't work! Sure, the lenses may need replacing, or a halogen bulb...etc... but think about just how durable those bars REALLY are!


So the next time you look at a Whelen lightbar, consider this, it could PASS the FAA requirements for use on aircraft. This could come in handy to some of you that might take a patrol unit airborn at some point! ;) :thumbsup:

Thank you Dr. Dave! :p
 

Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
Wailer said:
I'm also hearing more Whelen electronic sirens these days and a lot less Federal stuff. They must be doing something right in the siren department too.

Since they started building their own sirens just like Star/SVP does, they've improved drastically. I like the little Gamma II siren I got through this board. At one time Carson built for SVP and Whelen. I have an original Carson-built Whelen siren.
 

Tristar

Member
May 24, 2010
899
MA
Sarge 619 - why was there a serious prejudice against Whelen products by local emergency equipment vendors in your part of the state?
 

Sarge619

Member
Jul 19, 2011
522
Central Massachusetts
Tristar said:
Sarge 619 - why was there a serious prejudice against Whelen products by local emergency equipment vendors in your part of the state?

Good question. Possibly they had been vendors for FS and Code 3 so long they were more comfortable with their products. Not to name names, but the three biggest vendors of emergency lighting equipment at the time (1986) bad-mouthed them, and if you still wanted them their prices, as noted in my previous thread were exorbitant. Maybe they got better "sales incentives" from FS and C3?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
dmathieu said:
Hence, Joliet, Illinois on the RB10 tag, and early RB11s re-badged for Pyle National of Illinois.

Pyle was part of North American Signals.....or maybe vice-versa; but N.A. marketed the Pyle motordriven siren for many years under the name of the Pyle Siren Master. N.A. has since used the Siren Master name for many years on their line of pushbutton electronic sirens.
 

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