ok guys so here is the deal i am a firefighter and really want one of them new LED lightbars for my truck... well at just under $3,000 i decided i would try to build one first.
so after a few weeks of work and a little thinking i finished it, i used an aluminum plate for the base, made all the brackets and hardware, i bought a flasher unit from rimindustries.com and got the lights from work. i used defective (visually) third tail lights that go to the lexus SUV's well the finished product turned out awesome looks really nice and lights up good at night but i am not so happy with the daytime performance, i mean you can see it but i just dont care for the lower output i guess part of it could be that i removed the red lense so all i was left with is a 3/4" X 10" strip, with a white refector ( this way i can leave the light on the truck if i go out of state)
soo here is the question i have been searching around and i found these LEDs at superbrightleds.com i want to use some red along with white and here is what i have picked out
5mm LEDs
white: luminous intensity :18000 mcd with a 30 degree view angle (also 18 aval.)
and the reds: intensity: 12000 with an 8 degree view angle
if i go this route i will probably put an LED about every half inch (approx 100" perimeter) so i will use approx 200 LEDs for a cost of about $100
NOW one other rt i see is to go 1 WATT units here they are: XLAMP 1W LEDs
white: 51 (lm) 100 degree view angle
and reds: 40 (lm) with 100 vegree view angle
if i go this way i will use probably one every 2 inches. The drawback is that if i go this way with only 50 Leds i will be looing at a price in the $500 range
i need to know if anyone could tell me how the 5mm will compair to the 1 watts, i am not really concerned with the lights actually lighting up an area (like a flashlight) i am more concerned with the brightness of these from other cars view as i am driving up behind them
any helps is GREATLY appreciated thanks, chris MTFD
ps sorry for the rambling but every seller i E mail tells me there specs are on the web but they rate standrd LEDs differend than ones that are ment for flashlights and things
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05 orange blast aem SRI, MPX 3"tb exh, ED hard pipes, HKS SS BOV , motegi Mr7 semigloss black/polished
I ordered 50 5mm Blue LED's off of EBay for around $30. They are good quality and came with the resistors. I would go that route if you are looking for bulk. I think I have seen them in 100, 200, and 500 quantities on there as well.
Search for TopBright88 on EBay.
Thanks,
Steve
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Steve - 2004 E-Blue Dodge SRT-4 Beware The Penguin!!!!
cool is there any way you could take a quick daytime vid of one lit? or a pic would be nice? i am interested in daytime performance , something from a distance say 50 ft or so? and also do you have the luminous intensity values of them??? thanks man, by the way if you could get a vid send it to my e-mail: MILFORD76FIREFIGHTER@YAHOO.COM
cool is there any way you could take a quick daytime vid of one lit? or a pic would be nice? i am interested in daytime performance , something from a distance say 50 ft or so? and also do you have the luminous intensity values of them??? thanks man, by the way if you could get a vid send it to my e-mail: MILFORD76FIREFIGHTER@YAHOO.COM
In my signature, click on my links for the LED in Door Switch. You can get a somewhat idea of brightness. At night my pillars and roof glows pretty bright from a power window switch. But they are really bright. Probably red would be brighter.
yes i did and i appreciate the help but i am not thinking that there going to be bright enough so i wanted to see what other input i could get from others, remember these are going to be on the roof of the truck (just like the cop cars) and they need to be VERY visible durring day in other words blinding at night. i am thinking i will need something in the 1 watt range basically almost as bright as a headlight if you want to look at it that way i am hoping to find someone that bought some 18,000 mcd white or 12000mcd red leds on here so i can get an opinion as to how they perform compaired to the 1 watt LEDs
You're going to find/receive better input from the link haknlash provided you then here. That sub forum is DEDICATED to LED lighting and there are many knowledgeable people there who have done retro fits and will be able to give you feedback on the many different diodes on the market.
Click the link, register and make a new thread and I'm sure you'll get the help you need.
yes i did and i appreciate the help but i am not thinking that there going to be bright enough so i wanted to see what other input i could get from others, remember these are going to be on the roof of the truck (just like the cop cars) and they need to be VERY visible durring day in other words blinding at night. i am thinking i will need something in the 1 watt range basically almost as bright as a headlight if you want to look at it that way i am hoping to find someone that bought some 18,000 mcd white or 12000mcd red leds on here so i can get an opinion as to how they perform compaired to the 1 watt LEDs
i do appreciate the help thought
You must not of read any of the info in the LED section then .
The guys there don't use mickey mouse LEDs that are dim. They use the EXPENSIVE stuff and its bright night or day.
yes i did and i appreciate the help but i am not thinking that there going to be bright enough so i wanted to see what other input i could get from others, remember these are going to be on the roof of the truck (just like the cop cars) and they need to be VERY visible durring day in other words blinding at night. i am thinking i will need something in the 1 watt range basically almost as bright as a headlight if you want to look at it that way i am hoping to find someone that bought some 18,000 mcd white or 12000mcd red leds on here so i can get an opinion as to how they perform compaired to the 1 watt LEDs
i do appreciate the help thought
You must not of read any of the info in the LED section then .
The guys there don't use mickey mouse LEDs that are dim. They use the EXPENSIVE stuff and its bright night or day.
ok ok ok i looked at your personal links, sorry i will register anf check out the other info, thanks again man. again not so sure how i passed that part out
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not srt but who really knows LEDs
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