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Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:15 pm
by dapaq2
I have a question for you guys that deal with LED and Strobes on a daily basis. Which manufacturers make the brightest LED and/or Strobe tubes? I have seen several installations out there on all kinds of vehicles and equipment over the past several years both LED and compact strobe tubes in tail lights, headlights, and backup lights and I havent a clue who makes them or what model or part numbers they are. Some are bright, others are brighter, But every now and then I see some REALLY BRIGHT ones and I am curious to know who's making these really really bright ones. If anyone can educate me a bit on this subject it would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to learn more about LED's and Strobes, especially which ones are the brightest. Thanks much,
Doug

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:11 pm
by tvsjr
In the case of strobes, it typically has to do with the size of the power supply being run, and how much wattage is getting dumped into each tube. Some supplies aren't regulated, so you can buy a 4 or 6 head supply, attach two tubes, and dump lots o' watts into a tube. The downside is two-fold - the tube may not survive well, and it will generate significantly more heat, possibly causing melted housings.

The second major consideration is head placement vs. reflector. A Whelen Vertex LED mounted along the bottom edge of a housing is likely to look terrible. Mounting it where it shines into the reflector, thus illuminating the entire light housing rather than just a spot, looks much better.

From my experience, these two considerations are far more important than which manufacturer you select, assuming you are using any of the "common" manufacturers (Whelen, FedSig, Code3, Tomar, etc.)

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:29 pm
by SlimBob
Just make sure you wire in the night-mode sensor....

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 7:59 am
by ResponderPSE
Currently, Nova offers one of the brightest hideaway led units available. It uses six Cree LEDs and it's nearly as bright as a strobe light hideaway. The Sound-Off universal hideaway is also extremely impressive, especially with the interchangeable lenses. Whelen has some very impressive performance with their Vertex LED and lastly, for the money, the Feniex Fairy LED is a top contender.

Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions. We'll be happy to help you find the right hideaway for your application.

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 5:05 pm
by Wowbagger
ResponderPSE wrote:Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions.
It would be nice to disclose what relationship you have with this company....

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 6:43 pm
by nrembis
I dont think you can go wrong with Whelen led's, but maybe im biased because I have a full whelen liberty bar on my truck. It moves traffic pretty well....well, except for the dumbshits yacking or texting on there cell phones while driving :o

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:09 pm
by ResponderPSE
Wowbagger wrote:It would be nice to disclose what relationship you have with this company....
I thought it was obvious from the name of my account. But just in case it's not, I'm the owner of Responder PSE.

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:21 pm
by ka8ypy
While the SoundOff and Whelen units use 6 LEDs per head, Axixtech HAL09s use 9 Cree LEDs per head and are a good bet as well. ( I sell and install Axixtech, Whelen, Code3 and SoundOff)

TVSJR hit it right, with LEDs it all depends on the location with respect to the center of the reflector. Also color matters, Red LED behind Red lenses, Amber for amber, etc.

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:38 pm
by Pj
Even with strobes, placement is everything for "hideaway" lighting. For LED's, it will also come down to the optics, placement and all that stuff. I have vertex's behind the turn signals near the center of the lense (04 avalance) and look decent for what it is. Prior to that, I had low power strobes and they basically sucked.

I've used an ISP188 power supply in an older vehicle and the taillights were nice, front turns not so great. Optics of the inner and outer lens will also come into play.

What it comes down to, is find someone with the same/similar vehicle with an installation and see what works or doesn't.

Worse case, a conventional behind the grill or window setup will have to do :)

FWIW, Whelen was recommending lower wattage strobe supplies in the Chey plastic for the 2002-2006 (and possibly later) vehicles as Chev (and other manufactures) were using thinner plastics subject to overheating/melting.

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 12:33 am
by LanHarjochee
LED strips use 12 V, which means you need a step-down transformer and a DC supply.

I suggest showing to an electrician, before use. He/she will easily check and let you know.

*it is also possibly designed for the mains, but that is not recommended for a fish tank at that high voltage, directly. :lol:

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 8:57 am
by Pj
Why would you need a step down transformer on a 12v led on a 12v electrical system?

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 12:51 am
by chinatown
hat i would be interested in seeing would be the above product installed in co-ordination with a brakelight flasher, as that would get the most functionality out of one product. If i had a pickup, i would be more inclined to install the stop/tail/turn as it would give me more functionality more of the time, than the couple of minutes a week i would have my emergency lights o

Re: Question - Brightest LED & Compact Strobes?

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 7:54 am
by Billythompson
chinatown wrote:hat i would be interested in seeing would be the above product installed in co-ordination with a brakelight flasher, as that would get the most functionality out of one product. If i had a pickup, i would be more inclined to install the stop/tail/turn as it would give me more functionality more of the time, than the couple of minutes a week i would have my emergency lights o
I am satisfied with your thought even I will follow same strategy.