You have to use the same color LED behind the same color lens. Not white. This will brighten them up substantially...halogen or better level of brightness.
I personally think halogen bulbs in rotators are the way to go. I have seen many LED conversions done on old rotators and the light output is very little.
@@StephenNurn Because the light is emitted in all direction with a halogen bulb. Therefore the reflector is fully lit. I paused @ 4:35 to check and the reflector of the LED is only lit on half of its surface. Reflectors are mirrors. they will reflect what is in front of them. If the top of the buld (LED) is black plastic, it will reflect black plastic, not light.
Love your choice of old school! I'm running a Federal Signal Nighthawk with blue outer lenses and a clear center. Looks like I'm going to follow your lead and replace the halogen bulbs with LEDs.
Never thought about how much noise these older style light bars made. We use new code 3 led bars and there is zero movement from not having moving components and no relay clicking, just silent operation
I put 5 watt LED bulbs in each unit on my Federal Signal Street Hawk in 2005 and it was awesome. I could leave it on when I blocked a road for hours and didnt drain my battery below 11 volts. It was at least as bright as halogen but the light was "crisper" looking.
I have the Excalibur bar and it is mint condition and I am planning to convert it from 150w halogen to LED and before anyone goes to bash, I will be doing wattage equivalent to halogen. Reason is to reduce the power strain on my vehicle by cutting out 5 150w bulbs and 8 50w traffic control, also coming up with a design to install Feniex LEDs into the bar as mine doesn't have alley, takedown, intersection and I don't have the kind of money to spend on a whole system of LED outfitting so using what I got for response as First Responder. I would like to see a nighttime video and a distance look at lights instead of close up as that may not be helping with video cause you cant really see how well they are doing on camra like you can with the naked eye. Nice job.
Who's up for going back to rotator lightbars (& maybe even rotator beacons), but with LEDs in place of halogen or incandescent bulbs? (for reduced current draw, longer life, no heat, & probably brighter light output too) Heck from what I've been told rotator bars are supposedly _more_ aerodynamic than LED bars, probably because the bar being raised above the roof a couple inches allows the wind to pass both below *_&_* above the bar, compared to an LED bar where the wind can only go over the bar.
I put a completely re furbed MX7000 on my 21’ ford service truck. Halogen bulb still. Not worried about power since truck is always running anyway on the roadside
@@TheCarson116 Yep I’ll always run one as long as I have parts to fix if needed. And that shouldn’t be any issue because I have 7 various MX’s I can use for parts. Plus one whole complete working bar recently pulled off a retired volunteer fire truck that had pretty low run time.
@@SkippyPB.Yes, along with the Navigator, but that's it: no other manufacturers are making any other rotator lightbar models (compared to when they were the norm some decades back).
Been wondering about this for a while, I currently am running a Whelen Edge 9000M. Planning to pop some mini LED pods into it in place of the halogen flashers.
Good idea with because LEDs are only slightly weak, there are flashlights where there is a large LED with 150,000 lumens that is installed in the direction of the mirror and then it gets bright hell but still good work and a good idea 👍🏻
@@LeSedici We used Whelen 8000 series strobe bars in the early 80's and those generated a very distinctive "whoop-whoop" sound everytime the strobes would fire.
What bout hte brightness of the LED bulbs ? I've paused and saw that the reflector in not fully reflecting because the top of the buld is black plastic. You can see the black top being reflected. Since the full surface of the reflector is not fully enlighted, i'm afraid the light output is way lower than a halogen bulb. Did you observed the same ?
The more you know. I always thought these lightbars were all halogen but I was wrong. Also our old Australian NSW police cars used to have these. Now we have either Code 3 Defender Tricore or Code 3 Pursuit (There is another and it had the exact same light pattern as the defender Tricore but not sure what it's called.)
What bulb does the intersections use? The ones like the outer rotators?(the twist and lock ones) I just converted my rotators minus the middle....for now and wanna do the intersections next
the LED bulb mod was not an improvement. - These bars were wicked bright with massive warning power during the day. Like many departments, they didn't bother polishing or refresh the lenses and they frosted over with UV damage, and then these bars really lost their full potential.
Has anyone found an H1-55 type LED that is bright? I am using and original early 90s Fed Sig Vector which is super bright and looks amazing on the newer vehicles still, but I'd like to lower my amperage draw. I have ordered a few but none were brighter than the halogen surprisingly. Any ideas?? Cool video!
How much is one of these worth pre-restored? I got one from a garage sale that is in pretty good shape but not show worthy at the moment, and i'm unsure of whether it'd be worth it just to sell it or maybe try to get it to work? The cord is cut though, easy enough fix I imagine, but I don't know the first thing about these things.
I've got a couple of these kicking around my shop...they aren't worth much these days. Parts are pretty much obsolete unless you scour ebay or hack something together, output isn't that great, and there are lots of mechanical assemblies to break or stop working. Unless you're selling to a rural volunteer fire department or tow company that has older equipment, you probably won't be able to sell it for more that $50-$100, provided everything works. If it has anything wrong with it, most people won't touch it. That's my experience anyway.
We use to use them on our firetrucks but they found something else. I ask them if we could get something like this for are cars or trucks so when we are responding to the fire station and go out on calls we can get people out of are way but the state i live in they don't let the volunteers use them or maybe is the city i live in. Not sure but are fire chief said no.
@@baddriversofthenorcalarea500 well, first of all, LED bars aren't the future, they're the present. Nobody knows what the future holds. That's why it's called the future. Nobody is advocating halogen lights replace LED lights. I'm simply saying this particular lightbar was not designed or engineered to be used with LED bulbs. One thing has nothing to do with the other.
Agreed, im a lightbar collector and the MX7000s are my all time favorite, Ill be running one with my fire dept here soon! Id run an MX over an LED anyday,
If anybody knows where to get NOS parts for MX7000's, or even whole lightbars, msg me. I ran across a website once that was selling new in box MX7000's super cheap.....cant find it now...….good job on those lenses tho brother....
i honestly love the rotator bars better than the led crap on the markets these days...
This is why I love the NYPD FS Vision SLR. They are LED but rotate and give “pop” effect
Me too
The halogens will always look better.
You have to use the same color LED behind the same color lens. Not white. This will brighten them up substantially...halogen or better level of brightness.
wow, i didnt remember how noisy those light were...
I personally think halogen bulbs in rotators are the way to go. I have seen many LED conversions done on old rotators and the light output is very little.
Nice for collection only.
I just put led bulbs in my federal signal streethawk and It definitely isn't as bright
@@NightWolf551 it won’t be. Halogen builds “pop” much better then LED
@@Guillotines_For_Globalists what’s nice for collection only, halogens ??
@@Terk131 still looks great for indoor use
You need to make your videos at night so we can see the difference in brightness.
That's what I was thinking
LED bulbs are not usually brighter. If anything the halogen bulbs are actually brighter surprisingly
I like during the day so it proves you can see it at night if it’s bright during the day
@@StephenNurn Because the light is emitted in all direction with a halogen bulb. Therefore the reflector is fully lit. I paused @ 4:35 to check and the reflector of the LED is only lit on half of its surface. Reflectors are mirrors. they will reflect what is in front of them. If the top of the buld (LED) is black plastic, it will reflect black plastic, not light.
Love your choice of old school! I'm running a Federal Signal Nighthawk with blue outer lenses and a clear center. Looks like I'm going to follow your lead and replace the halogen bulbs with LEDs.
Never thought about how much noise these older style light bars made. We use new code 3 led bars and there is zero movement from not having moving components and no relay clicking, just silent operation
One of the best light bars ever made
I put 5 watt LED bulbs in each unit on my Federal Signal Street Hawk in 2005 and it was awesome. I could leave it on when I blocked a road for hours and didnt drain my battery below 11 volts. It was at least as bright as halogen but the light was "crisper" looking.
Do you have a link to your bulbs as their quality may varies from ont ref to another.
I have the Excalibur bar and it is mint condition and I am planning to convert it from 150w halogen to LED and before anyone goes to bash, I will be doing wattage equivalent to halogen. Reason is to reduce the power strain on my vehicle by cutting out 5 150w bulbs and 8 50w traffic control, also coming up with a design to install Feniex LEDs into the bar as mine doesn't have alley, takedown, intersection and I don't have the kind of money to spend on a whole system of LED outfitting so using what I got for response as First Responder. I would like to see a nighttime video and a distance look at lights instead of close up as that may not be helping with video cause you cant really see how well they are doing on camra like you can with the naked eye. Nice job.
There was a lot going on with the MX7000. The good ole days.
Who's up for going back to rotator lightbars (& maybe even rotator beacons), but with LEDs in place of halogen or incandescent bulbs? (for reduced current draw, longer life, no heat, & probably brighter light output too) Heck from what I've been told rotator bars are supposedly _more_ aerodynamic than LED bars, probably because the bar being raised above the roof a couple inches allows the wind to pass both below *_&_* above the bar, compared to an LED bar where the wind can only go over the bar.
I put a completely re furbed MX7000 on my 21’ ford service truck. Halogen bulb still. Not worried about power since truck is always running anyway on the roadside
@@WilleJamesHuff Glad to know you for one still have confidence in rotator lightbars; seems like nobody does nowdays.
@@TheCarson116 Yep I’ll always run one as long as I have parts to fix if needed. And that shouldn’t be any issue because I have 7 various MX’s I can use for parts. Plus one whole complete working bar recently pulled off a retired volunteer fire truck that had pretty low run time.
They already have one. The Federal Signal Vison SLR
@@SkippyPB.Yes, along with the Navigator, but that's it: no other manufacturers are making any other rotator lightbar models (compared to when they were the norm some decades back).
Nice light bar there is a lot going on in there 😂
Been wondering about this for a while, I currently am running a Whelen Edge 9000M. Planning to pop some mini LED pods into it in place of the halogen flashers.
Find modules from a Whelen freedom, they'll fit right in place
Good idea with because LEDs are only slightly weak, there are flashlights where there is a large LED with 150,000 lumens that is installed in the direction of the mirror and then it gets bright hell but still good work and a good idea 👍🏻
www.google.de/shopping/product/1?q=LED%22s+150000+lumen&start=20&client=safari&hl=de-de&biw=375&bih=544&tbs=vw:l,ss:44&prds=num:1,of:1,epd:51089275912040304,paur:ClkAsKraXwnURQRcX83xC0tsS_gNdjT9OUGx6PixVwdeghMVc1z6a7pF_R13uhRwvTmVbGkdQEFNR_V8AlJkrgfNlgX5pwutnQVdGEGgNtHh7b-8zkXFN0rIrxIZAFPVH71buMCYrWYH6d5ljr1s3hg1x-0qgQ,prmr:1,pid:51089275912040304,cs:1
Those older light bars had a ton of strange noises. I remember the chain driven ones...
And the holagen strobes that had that pulsing sound, and you'd hear them back feeding into the radio.
@@LeSedici We used Whelen 8000 series strobe bars in the early 80's and those generated a very distinctive "whoop-whoop" sound everytime the strobes would fire.
What bout hte brightness of the LED bulbs ? I've paused and saw that the reflector in not fully reflecting because the top of the buld is black plastic. You can see the black top being reflected. Since the full surface of the reflector is not fully enlighted, i'm afraid the light output is way lower than a halogen bulb. Did you observed the same ?
I have the exact light bar but not the led lights how do you power for display ???
Can you provide the information where to find those light bulbs?
Is it actually better though with LED bulbs?
You want to be putting in thin LEDs, those fat ones are just messing up the reflector spread compared to the halogen.
I have one of these, but I need to make a switch panel for it. Can I see the one you used for this video?
What kind of bulbs do i need for led
The 90's called they want thier beacons back
Lol
The more you know. I always thought these lightbars were all halogen but I was wrong. Also our old Australian NSW police cars used to have these. Now we have either Code 3 Defender Tricore or Code 3 Pursuit (There is another and it had the exact same light pattern as the defender Tricore but not sure what it's called.)
Couldn't you used brighter LED bulbs or something? Like with more watts and whatnot?
Nicely done! Where did you get your bulbs from?
Police agencies need to incorporate these into existing lightbars
Those LED bulbs suck. The center bulb is way brighter
What bulb does the intersections use? The ones like the outer rotators?(the twist and lock ones) I just converted my rotators minus the middle....for now and wanna do the intersections next
I'd have to look at one of mine, but I'm pretty sure they use the round base, twist-lock ones.
Where can I find the led bulbs ?
need 2 sets in solid blue 😉
the LED bulb mod was not an improvement. - These bars were wicked bright with massive warning power during the day. Like many departments, they didn't bother polishing or refresh the lenses and they frosted over with UV damage, and then these bars really lost their full potential.
Agreed, im a lightbar collector and the MX7000s are my all time favorite, Ill be running one with my fire dept here soon!
Is not wery brigth why dont keep halogen bulbs
Has anyone found an H1-55 type LED that is bright? I am using and original early 90s Fed Sig Vector which is super bright and looks amazing on the newer vehicles still, but I'd like to lower my amperage draw. I have ordered a few but none were brighter than the halogen surprisingly. Any ideas?? Cool video!
I would love to see this at night
Is there a wiring diagram for the mx7000?
2:20 Federal light and Signal corp calls them street sweepers
Where can I get one
How much is one of these worth pre-restored? I got one from a garage sale that is in pretty good shape but not show worthy at the moment, and i'm unsure of whether it'd be worth it just to sell it or maybe try to get it to work? The cord is cut though, easy enough fix I imagine, but I don't know the first thing about these things.
I've got a couple of these kicking around my shop...they aren't worth much these days. Parts are pretty much obsolete unless you scour ebay or hack something together, output isn't that great, and there are lots of mechanical assemblies to break or stop working. Unless you're selling to a rural volunteer fire department or tow company that has older equipment, you probably won't be able to sell it for more that $50-$100, provided everything works. If it has anything wrong with it, most people won't touch it. That's my experience anyway.
Need something like this our brush truck lightbar is a mx7000 need brighter bulbs
We use to use them on our firetrucks but they found something else. I ask them if we could get something like this for are cars or trucks so when we are responding to the fire station and go out on calls we can get people out of are way but the state i live in they don't let the volunteers use them or maybe is the city i live in. Not sure but are fire chief said no.
Watching this makes me want to go clubbing
Особенно смотрятся белые перемигивающиеся огни, которые резко зажигаются и тухнут, так как это диоды, но синяя полоска лишняя…
The Queensland Police Service removed all the rotators, and replaced them with strip LED lights.
Looks like a wolo light bar now lol
Great video but the motors are too loud
1:07 please somebody make a song with this sound
I forgot how noisy the rotators were...
These lightbars are not engineered for LED bulbs. Halogen all the way.
@@baddriversofthenorcalarea500 well, first of all, LED bars aren't the future, they're the present. Nobody knows what the future holds. That's why it's called the future. Nobody is advocating halogen lights replace LED lights. I'm simply saying this particular lightbar was not designed or engineered to be used with LED bulbs. One thing has nothing to do with the other.
Agreed, im a lightbar collector and the MX7000s are my all time favorite, Ill be running one with my fire dept here soon!
Id run an MX over an LED anyday,
If anybody knows where to get NOS parts for MX7000's, or even whole lightbars, msg me. I ran across a website once that was selling new in box MX7000's super cheap.....cant find it now...….good job on those lenses tho brother....
Email on the way!
Yes
I love the noise but this led bulbs is weak
my favorite lightbar barnstable regional airport tender 43 has this same lightbar
Awesome!
Those cheap shitty LED bulbs From China are really bad You need to get the bulbs back in there ASAP
Damn those pretty...
LED's just don't have the cutting power of "real" light bulbs, IMHO
The 90s were noisy
Wrong 80 and 90 was good times
@@tommyn.j3628 he was talking about the light bar...
These wont ever come back. Way to many moving parts which are prone to breakdown.
The rotators are way too fast. And not a big fan of the led's.
Antique!!!!
They aren't that antique, they were discontinued by Code 3 in 2017, started production in 1989.
Instead of using cheep shitty chiense LEDs you should of use Diode Dynamics LEDs!!!
อยากได้🙏🏼
Как трактор
Strobes are the way to go... Much brighter....no motors.. outdated mechanical
😎👍💪🇻🇪
Another great vintage bar destroyed by crap led’s fix it right or sell it to a collector who will treat it right will ya !!!!!
Underwhelming and gay lightbar.
Its great when it has the proper bulbs in it
Where can I find one