# Police Helicopter Searchlight



## Flashanator (Mar 1, 2008)

Last Night I saw a Police Helicopter hovering around my area for about 5mins. It's spotlight was KILLER. Amazing, so bright & visable even 100's of meters away on flood. 

At first It was only using 1 big flood beam, then on its second pass it had 3 seperate beams. One center flood, with 2 very bright narrow beams searching the ground. I saw its flood beam light up some distance trees (about 150M away) like daytime. 

I wanted (BUT I WOULD NOT REALLY) to get me 20mill & shine it straight up in the sky NOT NEAR the helicopter in a hope to get the helicopter's attention, so it would shine it's light at me. Just to see my backyard turn to day. But Im shore id get in trouble for that.

Anyone know what kind of monster light these helicopters are using? Maybe they made 2 maxablasters for it?:huh:

Later.


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## DM51 (Mar 1, 2008)

The system is called Nightsun.


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## Flashanator (Mar 1, 2008)

thx 4 that.

Very impressive, I really like the big flood which looks amazing for a Short Arc Xenon, must have been 10's of 1000's+lumens. But is it normal for these helicopters to have more then 1 light? Like I said the helicopter had 3, was quite a sight.


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## DM51 (Mar 1, 2008)

They usually carry a variety of toys. The most useful light is often the IR one, which is used in conjunction with an IR-sensitive viewer/camera to show differences in temperature as little as 0.1°C. 

In this way it is easily able to distinguish bodies from the surrounding area, and (for example) spot suspects who have concealed themselves in undergrowth. Sometimes while this is going on, the main nightsun light is deliberately shone in a different direction, to fool the ungodly into thinking that the helicopter is looking in the wrong area.


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## light_emitting_dude (Mar 2, 2008)

Interesting video here.


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## Illum (Mar 2, 2008)

judging from the specs do you think this would be comparable in price to mount it on a car than the 1KW tank light lotsalumen has?
28V @ 65A =


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## Flashanator (Mar 3, 2008)

This Nightsun is nothing short of amazing, I cant beileve for a short arc Xenon how much light it puts out. Love to know how many lumens. Do they have large flood strobe mode to control large mass's of druck crazy ppl? LOL.

Forget long range throw, id much prefer the huge flood illumination in closer areas. Getting a handheld equivalent of the Nightsun is now my flashaholic fantasy.


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## Burgess (Mar 3, 2008)

Nevermind a *hand-held* equivalent,


I'd just wanna' mount it on the roof of my SUV.


:devil:
_


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## Taboot (Mar 3, 2008)

Here you go Flashanator! $600! Just hook it up to 12V to 240VAC inverter in your car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NightSun-Pro-Li...29944QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262


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## Dr Jekell (Mar 3, 2008)

Buy two & use them to replace your headlights

:naughty: :devil:


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## Burgess (Mar 3, 2008)

:lolsign:
_


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## Mercaptan (Mar 3, 2008)

DM51 said:


> In this way it is easily able to distinguish bodies from the surrounding area, and (for example) spot suspects who have concealed themselves in undergrowth. Sometimes while this is going on, the main nightsun light is deliberately shone in a different direction, to fool the ungodly into thinking that the helicopter is looking in the wrong area.



The reason they use those thermal cameras around here.... is for people who have jumped into the gorges killing themselves.

Sad, but true. Rarely a year passes here when I don't see a state helo flying passes over the gorge network looking for the latest 'missing victim.'


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## spyderknut (Mar 3, 2008)

30 million candlepower sounds like a lot but not when you compare it to a 15 million candlepower spotlight you can get for under fifty bucks. 

Of course, I don't think they need to be very powerful with dark-adjusted eyes of the viewers and a birdseye view. It's probably most helpful in guiding groundbased LEOs to a scene.

As has been mentioned, IR vision is probably a more useful tool in search and rescue missions.


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## Taboot (Mar 3, 2008)

spyderknut said:


> 30 million candlepower sounds like a lot but not when you compare it to a 15 million candlepower spotlight you can get for under fifty bucks.


 
I might be wrong, but I think some of the candlepower claims of the under-$50 spotlights may be exaggerated. I have seen the lights on LifeStar choppers here in CT, and they appear more than 4x brighter than my $20 10M CP Cyclops.

Regards,

T


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## Flashanator (Mar 4, 2008)

@ Spyder, 

trust me, those 15Million Candle Power lights are cheap lies. around half a million CP at the most. The nightsun looked to dwarf the maxabeam (7million CP), with its two super spot beams. I love the fact that you cant hide from the chopper with nightvision & IR.


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## spyderknut (Mar 4, 2008)

Look, I am not so naive to think 15000000cp advertised on a box is gospel. Just saying that chopper searchlights are within an order of magnitude of readily available lights. The tank light seen here I think is much more powerful. I have spoken with police chopper crews. My main point is that there is much more at work than sheer lumens of a search light under a chopper that makes it a very effective tool for LEOs.


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## Flashanator (Mar 4, 2008)

order of magnitude In terms of CP, not lumens. No handheld short arc xenon light can even compare in lumens. I saw the flood on this thing, nothing short of amazing. I love it.


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## Burgess (Mar 4, 2008)

So Fenix, are you listening ? ? ?

:twothumbs




(said in an *extremely fast *announcer voice: _Extension cord not included_)
_


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## DM51 (Mar 4, 2008)

Ra's Maxablaster is *52* million CP.


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## That_Guy (Mar 4, 2008)

The 15 million candlepower spotlights are not within an order of magnitude of the Nightsun. The claimed CP figures on those spotlights are not exaggerated, but outright lies. Complete and utter BS. The 15 mcp Thor is actually around 300 000, or 0.3 million candlepower. That is one hundred times dimmer than the Nightsun, so it is out by two orders of magnitude.

In lumens they are closer, but still not close. The 1.6kW Nightsun produces 60 000 bulb lumens. The 15 mcp Thor uses a 130W H4 automotive bulb if I am not mistaken, which produces around 3200 - 3300 lumens, but that is at 13.2V. In the Thor spotlight the lamp is undervolted, so it will produce significantly less lumens. Probably around 2000 – 2500, or around one thirtieth of the lumens of the Nightsun. This still isn't anywhere near an order of magnitude.

Ra's engineering masterpiece really is more powerful than a helicopter searchlight, but only in throw. It produces only a small fraction of the lumens. This results in the Maxablaster having a much tighter beam than the Nightsun.


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## Flashanator (Mar 4, 2008)

@ that Guy, thanks for your reply. I tried tellin him that a cheapo 15MCP is a joke compared to nightsun. Even Maxabeam wasnt bright compared to the 2 beams I saw.

So 1.6kw with 60,000 lumens? Thats very imressive. That explains its blinding flood capability i saw.

:thumbsup:


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## TECENG (Mar 4, 2008)

DM51 said:


> The system is called Nightsun.


 
I actually did some preliminary product renderings of the Nightsun as a consultant for Hughes/Spectrolab. You can see one of the images on my web site: http://www.tecengineering.com/render_images_1.html

I have some others that were kind of cool...different colors, even one with cammo for military use. I'll try to dig them up and post.

Too bad I couldn't snag a prototype unit or two


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## BVH (Mar 4, 2008)

I find it very interesting that I interviewed for a position with Spectrolab in their Sun Valley site back in the early 70's, just out of high school. Took a mechanic's job instead. Good thing!


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## Ken_McE (Mar 4, 2008)

Flashanator 500mW said:


> I love the fact that you cant hide from the chopper with nightvision & IR.



I would say you could hide, but your average low life wouldn't know how to do it.


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## elamh (Mar 11, 2008)

Check out the CHIS land/vehicle based spotlight on the spectrolab website - A portable(ish - 86Kg) monster providing 200-300 million candlepower!


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## Burgess (Mar 11, 2008)

Weighs ~ 84 pounds, not Kilograms.


But where are we supposed ta' get 26-28 Volts DC ? ? ?


Sorry, my *aircraft* are currently unavailable. 




Oh, to *elamh* --


Welcome to CandlePowerForums !

:welcome:

_


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## BVH (Mar 11, 2008)

Same place I get 27 Volts for my tank light and Locators - two sla's in series.


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## CM (Mar 11, 2008)

I wonder how much one of those searchlights cost.

Edit: Never mind. Found it.


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## BVH (Mar 11, 2008)

I thought Short Arcs were typically over 100 Lumens per Watts which would put Lumens output at a minimum of 160,000.


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## That_Guy (Mar 12, 2008)

Xenon short-arc lamps are the least efficient of all HIDs. Most are around 30 - 40 lm/w. Efficiency rises with wattage, peaking at about 50lm/w for the really big lamps (10kW+) and going as low as 15 lm/w for the smaller lamps like the one used in the Maxabeam (75W).


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## Jay_Ev (Mar 12, 2008)

Would the NightSun on the police helicopters be any more bright than those search lights commonly seen at high profile celebrity events in Hollywood? The ones that are so large they are on their own trailer in groups of 4 pointed upwards into the sky. To get a mental image of what I am talking about, picture the "Bat Signal" (from Batman). 

-Jay


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## BVH (Mar 12, 2008)

Jay, the lights to which you refer are actually "spotlights", not "searchlights" and are usually 2KW or so HID fixtures. They are somewhat comparable to the night sun. The rigs usually have either 2 or 4 fixtures on them.

A true "searchlight" is a completely different class of light.

search·light (sʉrc̸h′līt′) 

noun

an apparatus containing a light and reflector on a swivel, for projecting a strong, far-reaching beam in any direction


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## Mach1 (Mar 23, 2008)




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## e2x2e (Mar 23, 2008)

Helicopter included?

That thing is AWESOME.


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## husky20 (Mar 23, 2008)

I think that guy still has a chance to getaway


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## jonpmc (Mar 24, 2008)

husky20 said:


> I think that guy still has a chance to getaway



Two guns pointed at your back and at least a step and a half to the wrong side of the nearest object that could slow down a bullet is not the kind of chance I would bet on. But if you want to try that we can get some paintball markers and see how it turns out.


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## Anigmalistic (Sep 18, 2010)

Hey there,

Slight risk of a mild de-rail here but I found this forum whilst searching for the specs of a police helicopter searchlight.

My predicament is this: I am an officer on board an offshore supply vessel and we have been instructed to perform some fairly delicate manoevres at night. I have been put in charge of sourcing two searchlights for this operation but I dont really know a lot about the subject.

The searchlights we have on board are 1kw Halogen things and to be honest they are pretty rubbish, I have been given authorisation to order up something far more.... substantial.

Would the police helicopter nightsun be suitable for maritime use? I see that it is a Xenon light not Halogen so does anyone know of a supplier of super-bright Xenon searchlights for maritime use (i.e. it wont break down if subjected to a lot of salt water spray)

Money isn't REALLY an object... within reason. I like toys, so if anyone knows of some bad-*** equipment that I can boil the sea at 2 miles with I would be very appreciative!

Rgds,
A newbie.


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## Walterk (Sep 18, 2010)

I think you might look for the model 'Aurora' from the manufacturer Francis from the UK.


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## Lips (Sep 18, 2010)

Anigmalistic said:


> Hey there,
> 
> Slight risk of a mild de-rail here but I found this forum whilst searching for the specs of a police helicopter searchlight.
> 
> ...






*Marine Grade power-house lights here*:
http://www.carlislefinch.com/


Small thread here also
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/250739


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## chanjyj (Sep 18, 2010)

Ken_McE said:


> I would say you could hide, but your average low life wouldn't know how to do it.



You can hide, but you will need preparation time.

If in an urban area and you are running from the police? That's *easy*


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## Anigmalistic (Sep 18, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. We are looking at a Francis FX 560 RC now... 560mm lens, 3000 watts (although they make them up to 15kw!!) 150 million candlepower and visible at 13km! I would say that is a pretty awesome light... pity it needs a 400v 3-phase supply or I would get one for my car.

Thanks again CandlePower guys

P.


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## DM51 (Sep 18, 2010)

I think you'll find the primary systems on most Police/military helicopters nowadays are IR, coupled with real-time video capture. They're able to detect temperature differences of 0.1degC, and the advantage is that the person being lit up and filmed doesn't realise he's on Candid Camera, as IR light is invisible to the naked eye. 

Quite often you'll see police helicopters circling around with a big white light pointing somewhere; but you can guarantee that is just a deception tactic to confuse the person they are tracking - the real light, the IR one, is locked on to where the real action is, and the perp won't have any clue about it until Officer Krupke grabs him by his shirt-collar.


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## Turboman7 (Sep 18, 2010)

Flashanator said:


> Last Night I saw a Police Helicopter hovering around my area for about 5mins. It's spotlight was KILLER. Amazing, so bright & visable even 100's of meters away on flood.
> 
> At first It was only using 1 big flood beam, then on its second pass it had 3 seperate beams. One center flood, with 2 very bright narrow beams searching the ground. I saw its flood beam light up some distance trees (about 150M away) like daytime.
> 
> ...



Take a look at this one! I've been drooling and watching this one for quite a while.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...9056173&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MESINDXX:IT


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## Lips (Sep 18, 2010)

DM51 said:


> I think you'll find the primary systems on most Police/military helicopters nowadays are IR, coupled with real-time video capture. They're able to detect temperature differences of 0.1degC, and the advantage is that the person being lit up and filmed doesn't realise he's on Candid Camera, as IR light is invisible to the naked eye.
> 
> Quite often you'll see police helicopters circling around with a big white light pointing somewhere; but you can guarantee that is just a deception tactic to confuse the person they are tracking - the real light, the IR one, is locked on to where the real action is, and the perp won't have any clue about it until Officer Krupke grabs him by his shirt-collar.




Here's a marine light with IR built-in also installed on a police boat, pretty neat but it's $23,000: *Nighthunter II*



























short video of it installed on patroll boat: (double click on bottom left photo)
http://brmes.com/searchlights.html



.


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## Echo63 (Sep 19, 2010)

I went out and had a chat with the crew from the local police chopper a few months ago.

They rarely use the nightsun except for pointing stuff out to ground based units.

They do have a ir laser for covertly pointing stuff out, and it can be slaved to the gps/navigation system.
Basically google maps with a big green beam to follow.

The FLIR gear, and night vision equipment is very cool too, the NVGs they fly with turn from night to what looks like daytime, looking through toilet rolls with green cellophane over the end

I would love a night sun though, along with a 60" carbon arc light


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## river rock (Sep 20, 2010)

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Stearns-Black-Multi-Mount-Spotlight/10727540 mount that to your car 1 million candle power plugs in to your 12v plug in your car and only $40


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