Vehicle warning strobe,, Whelen TIR3?

Almost got nailed by a fool talking on the cell phone a few days ago. Standing just aside my car taking some pictures for work. Put in a request and the company says they'll pick up the tab for some warning lighting on my vehicle. I was thinking two Whelen TIR3 strobes in the back window would do the trick. Anyone seen or used these models? They're 3 led, and you can tie them together to alternate, which is what I'm looking for. What would be the best color? Red Blue Amber or White? I picked these because they're somewhat inexpensive, don't require a flasher. Other ideas would be welcome, also. Thanks!

Hi, just a few comments on emergency lighting in general. I spent 7 years as a Paramedic in several large urban departments. Each plave I worked had a different light setup, from incandescents to strobes to a comination and in all different colors. This was in the 80's so we didn't have LEDs.

Last summer, one of my old partners (who is now head of EMS for the State of Oklahoma) was in DC for a conference so I drove in one night and we walked around looking for a place to eat. We came upon an accident and saw several DC emergency vehicles there. Several of them were sporting LED lighting so we stopped and talked about the merits of different systems.

We agreed that you cannot beat a strobe light (non-LED) for an attention getter. The incandescents have the advantage of being able to locate the vehicle quickly in the dark once you see the flash, but they are old tech and a huge power drain.

The strobes have the disadvantage of being hard to locate on a moving vehicle in the dark if only 1 or 2 are used (as the car is moving quickly down the street, the eye will catch the flash, but it will appear to be moving as a phantom at times, hope this makes sense) but they easily catch the eye, reflect off objects and light reflective traffic signs with a flash (important when approaching traffic from the rear) and have a much lower power drain.

Now, LEDs. The bean counters love them. They draw virtually no power, are easier to wire, and don't need replacing, BUT, they just don't cut it as far as emergency lighting, especially in the daylight IMHO. They do not project light onto objects, which may not be a factor for your type of use, but in a moving E-vehicle, it is very important. As a side note, our town has Police cars with strobes and some with all LEDs. While the LEDs are cool, you can really see the difference when there are 2 cars at one scene and you can compare them side by side..

Check with your State vehicle codes on what colors you are allowed to use, I am pretty sure you will be limited to yellow.

I would look at the Whelen Dash-Miser series in yellow, or, in yellow/white if your state will allow it. I think you will be much happier in the long run.

John

Thank you JohnnyB. While I'm a bit partial to led's, I think I will widen my search efforts a bit. Though, they say the TIR3 strobe heads are very bright. They are the units you see in the traffic directors under the light bar on cop cars. (The ones that flash to the left or right) I think they use eight in those. The amber seems to show up very well in them. I am an "official" public safety officer, I wonder if that means I can use any color? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Can't you have red facing rear, at any rate? I found they also make them in green, would that be best, being the color the eye is most sensitive to? I'm curious about the red, too. You can wire these up to do a constant burn as additional brake lights.

I've been a paramedic in three states over the last 25 years, and New York and Connecticut reserve green lights for EMS personnel. North Carolina uses red/white combo for EMS. I use a Whelen Talon in yellow in the back of my vehicle, and like it much better than either strobes or halogen. Especially with the selectable patterns.

Also a firefighter/EMT ... as I recall blue and/or amber at eye level were found to be the most effective; although transitional ambient lighting, such as at dawn and dusk, tended to negate the effects of the emergency lighting. You might want to review some of the lighting at a large supplier, such as Galls (www.galls.com), to acquaint yourself with some of the offerings. Might I also suggest you wear a protective colored vest or other bright clothing.

I just put 4 of the TIR3 white on our security van,damm there bright in the daytime. they would appear to be using LUXEON 3 WATT in them. at night you can light up a large area. I bought mine from LSH LIGHTS for $63 each.

Hello Anti Candescent,

At a recent trade show, I was impressed with the display provided by www.tomar.com .

Tom

I have 4 blue TIR3's mounted on my rear deck. They work great and draw next to nothing. They're very effective, even during the day. Here are some pics of the install:
TIR3 Install Let me know if you would like some vids of them in action. Also, I dont know what line of work you are in, but are you authorized to use all those colors?

You might take a look at 911EP.com. They have several options using LUX emitters also.

Thanks for the links to sites for purchase. I had only found them above 70$. Thanks ResQTech, those pics kind of made it a done deal for me. I would like to see that video, also. Is it on that same site, I looked but could not find it. I checked and I'm a go for any color facing rear, anything but red facing front. What do you think about green and blue? That would grab some attention, no? I still like the idea of green because of the eyes sensitivity to it. I was surprised no one has chimed in on that.

I would go amber and blue to the rear. Amber means slow/caution and blue is an emergency color IMHO. In NJ, Im only permitted to use blue and clear/white although amber would be the best to the rear. Most say "no clear to the rear" as it is blinding and disorienting esp at night.

On the TIR3, can you rig them to be constant on with your brake lights, then strobe via switch? They're four wire units, right?
How bout' that video, ResQTech??
and thank you for the info.

the 4 wires are as follows RED+ BLACK- GRAY = SYNC WHITE/VIOLET= PATTERN SELECT. you must touch the pattern wire to the red or positive about ten times to get to the steady mode. all gray wires get put together, this is how they sync up with each other. the flash patterns have a phase one and phase two to them, example.. you want alternating comet flash. you touch the pattern select wire until you see comet flash phase 1 on the first light (about 4 times), then on your second light you do the same thing but keep touching the pattern select until you get to the second set (phase 2) of flash pattterns(about 8 times) and pick comet flash. now they will alternate in sync. (hint) DO NOT CONNECT ALL OF THE PATTERN SELECT WIRES TOGETHER. they will not select the same pattern together,( done tried it)

Re:

I figured we would have some public service types who could help.

After I replied to your post, I traveled out of town for a reunion. On my way, a Maryland State Trooper passed me on I-70. His car was equipped with an all LED light bar but it wasn't switched on. He was going about 10 MPH faster than me so, he was soon out of sight. A few miles down the road, I crested a hill and, about 1 mile away, saw a Police car on the shoulder. He had passed a broken down motorist, pulled over, and was backing down the shoulder to check on him.

It appeared that only the right side of his light bar was activated and it was flashing a rapid "RED". The left side appeared to be off. I figured this was not the case, so I removed my brown tinted, polarized sunglasses and looked again. Nope, nothing on the left. As I got closer, I realized the left was flashing blue, but I could not pick up the color at any kind of distance.

Even though it appears I am in the minority, I still believe LED is the least effective form of emergency lighting.

Good luck in your decision and best wishes to remain safe at work.

John

ps: Found some interesting reading

http://www.pfmmag.com/MarchApril2004/MarchApril04emergencylights.htm