# LED Emergency Flasher / Beacon



## pee10755

I have researched all the possibilities on CPF and on the internet and I am still not coming up with a suitable LED Flasher / Beacon. I want to see if any flashoholics might have knowledge of a product that will fit my needs.

I work as a police officer on a large Florida agency in a patrol first responder capacity. In that capacity I responded to traffic crashes and other events that require me to block roads and redirect traffic quicly. I recently worked a scene where cars were still almost striking me even with a patrol car in full emergency mode and me wearing a traffic vests. I purchased five traffic cones with reflective tape and now carry them in my patrol car. I am using them to set up a traffic pattern before me and my vehicle to add a safety zone. It has made a difference so far and works great during the day. If people are on the cellphone or otherwise occupied at least the sound of running over cones will wake them up prior to running over me.

Now for my question. I want to place LED flashers / beacons on the cones at night to further identify the pattern. The reflective tape is good, but it can blend into the urban landscape. I found products such as flare alert and power flare in research. I purchases a flare alert amber beacon this week. It is helpful but still doesn't have the visual punch that I am looking for in a flasher. Last night I performed tests with the a flare alert beacon, adventure lights VIP flasher and several flashlights on strobe mode. The flashlights are far more visually effective than any of the beacons. I think it is a combination of the P7 LED and the reflector. I want to find a P7 or similar LED in a beacon that puts out more light in a fast strobe. I was using the epsilon ED-P72 for comparison. It's flash rate and intensity were perfect for my goals. Can anyone recommend a product or a builder who could fabricate an LED beacon that would have similar visual characteristics as the ED-P72? I have had no luck finding any products. I also tried some maritime designed emergency beacons, but they were not visually intense enough to stand out from all the lights of an urban landscape. Thanks in advance.


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## SuperTrouper

Maybe something like Glo-toob would suit your needs.

http://www.glo-toob.com/main.html

Depending on which model you choose they can do always on, flashing, etc etc


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## pee10755

I need something with much more visual punch. This has to capture the attention of a distracted driver at up to interstate speeds (50-75mph). There will also be other emergency lights in the area that the beacon will be competing with at the same time. Thanks for the suggestion.


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## Roger Sully

I have a set of these in my trunk.
http://powerflare.com/

I think these are what you're looking for.:twothumbs


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## Vinniec5

Take a look at these they may be what your looking for
http://www.galls.com/style.html?assort=general_catalog&style=HS265

http://www.labsafety.com/store/Public_Safety/Police_-_Law_Enforcement/Traffic_Control_-_Barricades/ look at the eflare lamps (they also make portable landing zone kits for Helos)


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## pee10755

HSG:

I read the advertising on those but I have not talked to anyone who as actually field tested them. What colors LED design do you have and how would you rate their visibility compared to other lights?


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## Roger Sully

I have the yellow housing with the red LED's. The only testing that I have done as far as durability was throwing it about 25-30 ft straight up in the parking lot to see if it would survive.....it did. I also threw it about 50 ft across the parking lot and watched it bounce another 20 ft...It survived.
I then ran it over about 10 times with a Land Rover Discovery...
These things take a licking and keep on ticking ! 
While I was abusing the one light, it's 2 mates sat in a bucket of water. They stayed in there for about 45 minutes flashing away.
I don't know how bright they are compared to some other models mentioned in the thread but the visibility is definitely not lacking !


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## HKJ

The only thing I believe is close to the power you want, is the new Quark RGB, but is is not build as a beacon, but as a flashlight with some flashing modes.
Another possibility is to modify a flashlight, i.e. replace the white led with a red led, but that is not a trivial job.

Note: Using a white led with a red filter is not a good solution, it is better to use a red led without a filter.


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## Light Sabre

Here's an article about the different color of flashing lights on police vehicles and how they affect drivers. Police Vehicles and Lights

Here in Boulder CO I noticed after reading that article that all city, county and state police *only* have amber lights facing traffic coming from behind. They have the red, white, blue flashing lights facing oncoming traffic and the vehicle they pulled over.


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## gav6280

http://www.pelican.com/lights_detail.php?recordID=2130


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## pee10755

light sabre:

Can you please give the information on the article again. It is not in your post.


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## Flashfirstask?later

pee10755 said:


> light sabre:
> 
> Can you please give the information on the article again. It is not in your post.



The "Police Vehicles and Lights" link not working for you?


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## readyme

We carry turboflares on our firetrucks. We have had them a few years and they are still working great.


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## pee10755

Flashfirstask?later said:


> The "Police Vehicles and Lights" link not working for you?


 
I didn't notice it was a link. I have it now. Thank you.


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## SuperTrouper

pee10755 said:


> I purchased five traffic cones with reflective tape and now carry them in my patrol car.



A bit off-topic sorry but it's a bit unfair that you have to buy your own traffic cones!


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## Size15's

I've got a few PowerFlares (amber LEDs, yellow casing) and one red LEDs, yellow casing). They are wickedly expensive otherwise I'd have more.

They are tough and can take a beating in the wet and mud. They work - best used as a set though to inform drivers of a blocked road, or vehicle partially parked in the road ahead etc.

I'm disappointed with the battery life though. I suspect that modern high output long runtime amber LEDs exist and I would prefer to have the option to install a 2nd CR123A battery.

I also carry a set of pop-up 17" traffic cones and used in combination with the PowerFlares I've managed to ensure other road users give my vehicle a wide berth


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## Jay611j

You might try flashing cones instead of trying to add a light on the top of it. The whole cone flashing would be a better attention getter IMO. Link: http://www.edarley.com/finditem/26828#tabpos


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