Federal Signal JetSonic Lightbar with Smart Rotators
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- čas přidán 20. 08. 2024
- This is my Federal Signal JetSonic lightbar. This is an update to a previous video I had made. It's an All-Light JetSonic that features synchronized/smart rotators that also act as flashers. It also includes front Takedown lights, side Alley Lights and a center light. This lightbar is chain-driven.
I remember when we got the original JetSonic bars. They were THE latest thing in lightbar technology and were smaller than the AeroDynic bars of the period. We thought we were in style when we got those JetSonic bars !!
+greenrefrigerator Anyone who had the original JetSonic lightbar back then WAS 'in style' because they were Federal Signal's flagship bar and they were expensive. The AeroDynic was also a fantastic lightbar but compared to JetSonic they were HUGE.
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Good to see old ligthbar and not LED shit
Indeed, I still have a 1981 catalog of FS beacons & sirens
I love the Look of these Bars So much, No matter if its a Jetstream, Jetsonic or Jetsolaris
*Thanks for this demo of a typical 47-state early JS48.* One set-up I pictured for California would have a reconfigured rotator drive moving the front rotators inboard two positions to double as takedowns, with dedicated fixed alleys, front steady-burns (per 13 CCR 818) outboard, and a dedicated rear amber flasher left inboard. When the JSL was in full-scale production, the California (USA) Highway Patrol used a specific relay box from Federal Signal that would, depending on position of the switches of the CC1 control head, flash the right rear rotator and either the amber fixed flash lamp (R-AMB) or left rear rotator (R-RED); power the front steady-burns (F-RED); power the front rotators in fixed position (F-RED + F-CLR); or steady-burn all except the alleys and rear amber and spin the rotators (R-RED + WW). (CHP slicks of the period used a trio of Unity decklights with red, amber and blue spot bulbs on the package shelf.)
My first real police job back in 1993 at a mid - University PD , we had this same light-bar. Crazy man I still love those light-bars!
This is actually a JetStream, not a JetSonic. JetSonic has a center speaker housing while JetStream does not.
The JetSonic bar was *THE* light bar when it was introduced in the mid 1980's. The agency I worked for bought the more expensive "smart" bar seen here and they were fantastic - for a while anyway. We previously used larger AeroDynic bars, and though they were fantastic, they were quite big compared to JetSonic/JetStream's. Only problem with the "smart" JetSonic were the switch relays used to 'park' the forward and rear facing rotating reflectors. The contacts and relays would get dirty and have poor connection or lose contact altogether and wouldn't work correctly. This was an inherent problem due to the high amperage draw of these old halogen rotating light bars. At full load with a total of eight (8) 50-watt halogen bulbs activated including the drive motor (4 rotators, 2 takedowns, 2 alley lights, or nine (9) for JetStream bars, it pulled a solid 35 amps of power (nearly 40 amps for JetStream), compared to modern-day LED bars which only use a tiny fraction of that. That much amperage draw required absolutely perfect contact points, and the JetSonic "smart" bar utilized numerous contact points and reflector proximity switches and relays to ensure the rotating reflectors would always perfectly face the front and rear when switched off (for the stationary flash feature - also seen here). The proximity switches and general contact points required constant maintenance to keep them working properly, and this was th 'Jet' series bar's only negative aspect. In retrospect, the prior model, the AeroDynic, required very little maintenance and just 'worked' no matter what. Still, the Jet-series was a much beloved light bar and looked great on any vehicle.
There were actually FOUR versions of JetSonic/JetStream. One was the more expensive "smart" bar with special proximity switches that always parked the four rotating reflectors in just the right position so they could also be used as stationary flashers and had a synchronized revolving flash. The second version was less expensive and didn't have smart reflectors and instead used a gear drive system similar to AeroDynic bars but still provided a synchronized revolving flash effect, and the third version came about much later on and was a much more simplified JetSonic where all four rotating reflectors had their own small worm-gear drive motor, the same type motor used in their Fireball series lights. This JetSonic did not have a synchronized revolving flash effect, as each rotator was controlled independently and was more popular with budget-minded purchasers, such as tow trucks, security, etc. The fourth version was referred to as the JetStrobe because it contained xenon strobe modules versus halogen rotating reflectors. It still had 2 halogen alley lights and 2 halogen takedowns and required much less power to run at full output but the old xenon gas filled tubes weren't near as effective as the not-yet-invented LED strobes. I've seen videos of people who installed LED bulbs in JetSonic bars and, as one can imagine, it looks TERRIBLE. Unless a light bar is specifically designed and built with modern LED technology you can't possibly expect it to be bright enough to be of any real use... lol
That was more info than I expected but great info just the same! Never knew there were 4 versions of this lightbar, and I didn't know there was a strobe version! Very interesting!!
Check out the Chicago Police Jetstrobe light bars. They used a silver metal siren center dome. Never seen it anyplace else. I dont know it it was home made from fleet services. Or came with it from FSC.
i bought 1 for 50 bucks and it works great!, and it's a chain driven, my very first lightbar i had was a jet sonic and it was a shaft driven lightbar, and i like it because it's a one motor lightbar, i can change the flash pattern by changing the rotators timing by reposition the rotators
There are two drawbacks that killed it early with CHP and LASO. The lightbar since it's so compact needs perfect alignment. The slightest tweak and the intensity is compromised. Also the economizer, which turns off the rotators when it sense a low battery have been know the shut down the rotators on an active code 3 when the vehicle is in motion
The first bar is actually a JetStream, not a JetSonic. The JetSonic has a center speaker, the JetStream does not. JetStream is typically fitted with a clear center segment with a variety of optional lighting choices. It looks like they merely put a JetSonic endcap on a JetStream bar which is why it actually say's 'JetSonic'. There were different variants of this lightbar series, with the base model having no gear-driven synchronization and no smart rotators, just four basic rotators with mirrors.
Your right, Federal created the JetSonic with a center speaker and then followed by a JetStream that used a center light instead of a speaker. However...not many people know that Federal Signals first JetStreams used the JetSonics sycronized internals, installed a center light rather than a speaker AND used JetSonic endcaps. A syncronized center light was optional too. When they switched over to independent rotators, the JetStream endcaps were used.
I thought that the JetStream only used JetSonic side plates, I didn't know they finally named it officially JetStream, I have only saw ones that say JetSonic on the sides. There's another thing with the old style JetSonic with a siren, I saw once on a episode of Real Stories Of The Highway Patrol the CHP somehow made only the back show despite the fact it was rotating, The front wasn't showing, Was there some sort of drop down wall in them to hide the front showing at the push of a button?
I like your configuration of filters, looks good!
Nice ligth and color 👍👍
Must've been one of the ORIGINAL SmartJets...the other few I've seen are gear driven.
+Ryan “Whelen9K” Healy There are different variants of the JetSonic bar. The nicer model is the synchronized, gear-driven version with 'smart' rotators that home themselves every time you turn it off. The base model has no gears, no synchronization and merely comes with four basic rotators. It looks like a JetSonic but has NONE of the features that made the original JetSonic lightbar great. Fixed reflectors could be added if a flash function were desired.
We have a 2001 CROWN vic with the same light bar
My Jetsonic must be a custom made because I can't find another one like it. Mine is the chain driven version with single center take downs/work lights with high speed alley rotators on the end.
+Midwest Storm Spotters League I've never seen a chain-driven JetSonic but anything's possible. By the time JetSonic came out synchronized light patterns had changed from using a chain drive system to a gear drive mechanism. The prior bar (AeroDynic) was also gear-driven but the one before that, TwinSonic, was chain driven but that was back in the 1970's so it's odd to hear a newer 80's model bar that went back to an older drive mechanism.
+foskten10 Yeah it was chain driven. Can't say I've seen another one like it. But it's sold and gone now. I just purchased a Whelen Edge for my storm chaser/spotter POV.
If one bulb burns out, you lose all of the light on that side.
Since there is only one rotator, per side, per direction, separated from the opposite direction by mirrors.
A neat, overly complex design with many drawbacks.
Doesn't seem to be the case in the front, 7 years late.
I like the big fat old Scholl american ligthbar newer seen so nice in others contries European ligthbar Are boring but not the American ligths
I have a Jetstream for sale and a Jetsonic for sale. the Jetsonic is like mint condition yet.
I’ve been trying to figure it out, just can’t find it!
Do you know the Colorado state law about buying and collecting them in your house?????,???,,,,,,??????
Correct ur title it's a jetstream not jetsonic
Does your bar have the 2 harness cables? one for power and ground and the other have a small connector on one end cause i have 3 with that and i feel as if i need some kind of special controller for them
redneckgearhead302 No, this lightbar was equipped with only one cable. I believe there was a JetSonic that did require a special controller. If your JetSonic has the siren built into the lightbar, then it might require a controller for it to operate.
are the mounting leg for the gutters?
para comprar uma
5 Federal Signal jet Sonic and jet streams for $20 a light :)
A goofy design for sure. Why would one want flashers only if they are the same as the rotators, but instead they flash instead of rotate? Also, if a bulb burns out, you totally lose light on that one side in one direction, since the front and rear rotators are separated with mirrors.
Blaine Bugaski You can see at 3:10 that the outermost rotators are also visible from the rear. You're thinking of a different version
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