Tear Drop Spolights - Will they be a thing of the past?

[Xplorer4x4]

Noticed my local PD has a new charger rocking the new Fed Sig Valor lightbar. I have to say I like the design more then the old Arjent lightbars but of course looks aren't everything. Watching the video though, the Alley and Takedown lights are very effective looking. There was a small man hunt with K9s tracking 2 car thieves the other night and one of the units had his entire lightbar lit up as soon in the video and let me tell you, those damn things are bright! Too bright to distinguish what kind of lightbar it was, but maybe it was the Valor given the way it lit up. Regardless seeing this in person and combined with the info from the video, makes me wonder, do you think tear drop spotlights will ever be a thing of the past? The officer didn't know jack about his equipment but did mention he felt it was low profile(but maybe he just got his charger seeing as this is the only one I have seen with the Valor bar which means he would have probably been rocking a CV with an MX7000 previously, but possibly a CV with an Arjent but my guess is probably not). His low profile comment got me thinking and the one dead give away to any slicktop or unmarked cop car is almost always the tear drop spotlight. Doing away with the tear drop would make them blend in so much more(well for unmarked/slicktops anyway).

Thoughts?

[Guest]

Love the video

[MCERT1]

Tear drops won't be going anywhere soon. The ability to put the light right where you want it is a tremendously valuable asset.

[Newfoundking]

Will spotlights become a thing of the past? Until we can easily create lights that light EVERYTHING up, then no, they won't. Spotlight exist to focus light where it needs to be, easily. That being said, I do see the idea of a teardrop style light mounted on the exterior of the vehicle going away soon to be replaced by more covert methods, and not just that, but out-of-the-way methods. Perhaps either mobile lighting, such as high powered flashlight type devices, or even hidden devices similar

[Xplorer4x4]

I guess I can see where they still have there use when it comes to distance seeing as this has a longer range but I can tell you if that was a Valor I saw in action the other night, them things are F'in BRIGHT for LEDs and cast a ton of light at a good distance considering this has been a weakness of LED, and that was 360* lighting at that. The normal red and blue leds on the arjent are bright as hell but they don't tend to cast out much light in terms of directional lighting...if you get what I mean.

NFK I am surprised this already has not become a common issue. Yes a slick top or unmarked adds some stealth but the tear drop is always a dead give away that it is or was a cop/fire chief car(AMR doesn't have any Vics, supervisors roll a Ford truck. F350 Super Duty I assume with an enclosed utility camper shell on the back).

[RangerDog]

Cool, but the lightbar isnt really unique xD

[Xplorer4x4]

Cool, but the lightbar isnt really unique xD

In what particular way? I was mostly referring to the design. I wouldn't be surprised that there are lightbars capable of multi core led technology and so forth but design wise it seems like an improvement over the arjent which was praised for its visibility

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[Miercolini]

NFK I am surprised this already has not become a common issue. Yes a slick top or unmarked adds some stealth but the tear drop is always a dead give away that it is or was a cop/fire chief car(AMR doesn't have any Vics, supervisors roll a Ford truck. F350 Super Duty I assume with an enclosed utility camper shell on the back).

Atleast around me, any crown vic that you see that is not a yellow taxi is a dead giveaway that it's a unmarked, so having a teardrop spotlight on it does not make a real difference in determining its the police. And unless your going right next to the unmarked unit at night, your more than likely not going to see it on the car. The stealthiest some on the unmarks in the NYPD. I have seen them using everything like honda mini-vans as unmarks and other cars that you would never even look twice at. 

[Newfoundking]

Here it's only recently they've been using teardrops again, and it's only on marked cars. That being said, unmarked aren't exactly inconspicuous. Impalas/chargers with steel rims, and interior lighting...

[Guest]

Is teardrops the spotlights they move on the cars? Like the one you see in the movies and stuff

[MikeyPI]

Knowing spotlights and how they are.. My guess is that eventually someone will create one internal to the lightbar it's self so that you don't have the hole in the car where water usually starts leaking into them after a while, every spotlight I've ever seen after 4-5 years starts taking on a drip unfortunately.  I'd look to an adjustable LED head on the bars for the future, if that happens then the spotlight will be a thing of the past.  For now it is the best method of putting light where you need it, sometimes you need lighting in a place a bar generally isnt set to light up

[Guest]

Why not have adjustable headlights that can be moved by using buttons on the dashboard?

[MikeyPI]

Because headlights have limited range of movement, the headlight cells limit the directionality of the lighting unit \  /.  They cannot point 90 degrees to a side, a spotlight can.

[Newfoundking]

Our trucks with spots we have mounted either on the hood, or on the lightbar itself and they're remote controlled from the cab, similar to this http://policecanada.org/policeca/nl/rnc/RNC059.jpg

[MikeyPI]

You guys have more money than most.. .for most it's the good ol manual hand control even if it is on the roof of the cab..

[Fred03]

I've seen some patrol units with very bright white lights in the center of the LED lightbar that they use as spot lights on traffic stops, however these units are still equipped with the mirror spotlights. As for the RC spotlights that seems like quite the luxury, however remote control front bumper monitors have been common on ARFF trucks for a while and you are starting to see more of them on brush trucks, opinions on them vary wildly however.

[TacticalRooster22]

Over here, pretty much ANY police car has a spotlight.  I always wondered why, if the option is stealth, do you put that on an unmarked car?  That's a dead giveaway, and the blacked-out rims and 5 antennas on the roof don't hide the car too well either.  Like what Miercolini said about what the NYPD is doing with some of their unmarked cars--that's what we need to do here in my opinion.  If the object of an unmarked car is to have it blend in with regular traffic, why not make it just a regular car?  I always find something that's a dead giveaway on unmarked cars...

[Guest]

Why not go back to the good old stick a siren on the roof?

[Fred03]

Over here, pretty much ANY police car has a spotlight.  I always wondered why, if the option is stealth, do you put that on an unmarked car?  That's a dead giveaway, and the blacked-out rims and 5 antennas on the roof don't hide the car too well either.  Like what Miercolini said about what the NYPD is doing with some of their unmarked cars--that's what we need to do here in my opinion.  If the object of an unmarked car is to have it blend in with regular traffic, why not make it just a regular car?  I always find something that's a dead giveaway on unmarked cars...

100% agree, I thing a idea would be to change it up a little, no spotlight at all and paint the cars different colors, because honestly in my area seeing a dark black charger or a white crown vic or tahoe is rare enough so its kinda a clue its a unmarked unit. I propose that they change colors, a town near me has a red crown vic and I know some other areas are starting to do that as well. Also it could help to use different types of cars. I know that some cars handle better at speed than others so a Honda Civic might not be the best for running radar on the interstate but in the cities using a few foreign cars here and there might just make a difference.

[met police999]

You don't get that here our unmarked car are usually a hatchback or an estate and they are mostly dark or silver so they blend in pretty well, no antennas sticking out either

[Guest]

Yea only thing that gives them away is the lightbars or a uniformed cop

[randomperson139]

Yea only thing that gives them away is the lightbars or a uniformed cop

Unmarked police vehicles won't have light bars. An unmarked vehicle with a light bar will be either fire service or an ambulance service officer.

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[Guest]

I mean like in the back windshield

[Fred03]

I think gunswat means the directional bars/rear lights a lot of unmarked units have and I agree that they are a bit of a giveaway. However they are hard to see from a distance on the road and that's when it really matters.

[Xplorer4x4]

Knowing spotlights and how they are.. My guess is that eventually someone will create one internal to the lightbar it's self so that you don't have the hole in the car where water usually starts leaking into them after a while, every spotlight I've ever seen after 4-5 years starts taking on a drip unfortunately.  I'd look to an adjustable LED head on the bars for the future, if that happens then the spotlight will be a thing of the past.  For now it is the best method of putting light where you need it, sometimes you need lighting in a place a bar generally isnt set to light up

 

The thing is I am amazed this hasn't already been thought of/created.

 

Our trucks with spots we have mounted either on the hood, or on the lightbar itself and they're remote controlled from the cab, similar to this http://policecanada.org/policeca/nl/rnc/RNC059.jpg

 

That's ugly imo.

 

I've seen some patrol units with very bright white lights in the center of the LED lightbar that they use as spot lights on traffic stops, however these units are still equipped with the mirror spotlights. As for the RC spotlights that seems like quite the luxury, however remote control front bumper monitors have been common on ARFF trucks for a while and you are starting to see more of them on brush trucks, opinions on them vary wildly however.

This lightbar I saw the other night which may have been a valor was able to go 100% white LEDs in 360*. He was trying to light up a dark street and was parked in the intersection using the side of the lightbar to illuminate the street.