It was a safety thing........strobes?

[LAGEORGE]

Since I purchased my tractor I have been worried about moving from one end of my property to the other via the public road as well as working near it. So after much though and research I finally bit the bullet and purchased a strobe system to install on my NH TC 24D. The system consists of 6 strobe heads, 2 in the headlight assembly, 2 in the forward sides and 2 in rear on the sides as well. An 80-watt power supply under the hood powers system with and array of custom wired switches controlling the strobes activation, power level and flash type. The system was expensive and not easy to install. Working on a small tractor with very limited space takes patience. The stock power supply is not waterproof nor is the switches and rotary knob they sell with the system so custom work had to be implemented to make the system waterproof.
The strobe system has so far preformed well and has keep me out of trouble on the road plus they look way cool. My tractor looks like a Cal Trans loader backhoe with the pro strobes on but really it was a safety thing. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

George

 

[LAGEORGE]

Here is a close up of the waterproof switches that control the strobes.

 

[LAGEORGE]

Here is a shot of the not so permanent location of the rear strobe. The reason not to mount them fixed is due to the need move them facing the rear when needed. I really am not sure if I will end up just mounting them where they are and relying on the stock factory rear flashers.
Also note I added a LED marker light under the strobe it really complements the lighting package on the tractor.

George

 

[bgott]

That last picture is screwed up, you better reload it.

 

[Junkman]

What brand are those switches and where can they be purchased?????? thanks... the Junkman

 

[LAGEORGE]

I got my Ancor Products switches at go2marine.com they were hard to find but they had them in stock and 2 days later I had them. When I went looking for them for you I noticed that they had lots of other switches all waterproof. I kind of wish I would have gone with one that had a LED indicator rater then the incandescent bulb. But take a look for yourself they have lots of different types.

Try typing in "ancor switch" in the seach box on their website. Otherwise you will not find it.

George

Ancor Products at go2marine.com

go2marine.com

 

[markie61]

For someone who is VERY /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif at their tractor, you sure put a lot of time and energy (and money...?) into this project.

It looks FANTASTIC! Super cool /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif!

Mark

PS What was your total $ investment in the whole light set up?

 

[Mrwurm]

That is the coolest light setup I have ever seen /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

WOW.

I do have questions about the strobes. First, how bright are they in relation to the factory flashers? Second, why are the rear lights mouned facing the side of the tractor instead of the back of the tractor? In your original post you said you work near the roadway and you move on the roadway so do you rely on the rear factory lights to protect your back? Or do you work in the road with the sides of the tractor facing oncoming cars?

I am working on the ditches at my property and find myself in the roadway quite a bit. Often with the sides of the tractor facing cars, but most cars travel at modest speeds on our road; still, I have wondered about being smacked in the side while working.

 

[Junkman]

I recognize the lighting that he has installed. It is the same device that you see now on modern police cars and emergency vehicles. The bulb unit goes into a small hole that you drill in the housing of your present lighting. Some of the newest units for emergency use now power them down to half power when the vehicle is put into neutral or park so it doesn't blind the oncoming drivers....

 

[LAGEORGE]

Thanks you all for the nice comments on the strobe system on installed on my tractor. Yes that is a lot of time and money on a tractor I am having issues with but New Holland and my dealer are making thing right. I have over 221 hours on it and work in and out of the property so I felt it would be wise to install some additional insurance before I got hit with a Jaguar or one of those Hummers. The strobes are I think 34 watt and are from Nova. Their website is: www.strobe.com

I got lots of the parts and the power supply from www.strobesnmore.com

The strobes are located on the sides since that is where I need the additional attention. Getting onto and off the road can be risky in any vehicle. Also when crossing through rural intersections people do not often expect you. I did make the rear strobes mountable to face the rear when needed but the factory yellow flashers I feel are sufficient. Since the tractor is going slow I did not want to blind the cares behind me.
The strobes are very bright and really catch you attention. There is a low power switch that I use when dusk approaches. New Holland stock lighting system is very comprehensive the yellow flashers are large and very visible. They also have rear taillights and reflectors. The SMV sign is the most up to date one available and still looks great after the summer.
I do have switches to choose which strobes to turn on. Example the 2 located in the headlights are often turned off since they tend to look very bright but believe me it really gets people to slow down in the area when they see you coming. Once again thank you for the comments, I do enjoy sharing my experiences with all of you and am learning to make lemonade out of lemons. If you guys have any questions just ask.

George

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> The system was expensive </font>
Are you talking 4 digits to the left of the decimal point? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

BTW, great looking set up. Makes my rear facing work lights and front facing snow plowing lights look like amateur hour! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[Junkman]

If you check at your local PD or Fire department maintenance garage, sometimes you can get some of the parts that they take out of equipment that is being removed from service. Many times they don't want to reinstall used parts because of the time involved when they fail due to previous use and age. Another place you can sometimes find them at a discount is on e bay... the Junkman

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

You can also find them in different colors at AWDirect along with a lot of other neat toys... uh... I mean "necessary and vital equipment and accessories." /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

They're a great source for weldable hooks for buckets and such, too. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[LAGEORGE]

Ok here is the pricing as best as I can recall.

$298 -4 Nova Linear strobe heads with cables
$169 -1 Nova 6 channel 80-watt power supply
$064 -1 Nova switch cable with worthless switches and rotary knob (not needed)
$090 -2 Nova Pop in Strobes
$052 -4 cables to extend strobes
$110 -1 lot switches and mounting sockets
$090 -1 Misc. electrical supplies and AMP type connectors and pins
$045 -1 Shipping

$918.00 Total… Yikes that is high! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

You can save some bucks if you go to online shops that do nothing but strobe equipment like I listed before. I had to go to many suppliers since it was a work in progress. You do not have to buy the switch cable and rotary switch since you can wire that up yourself. The unit can have four flash patterns but with my switch system I can only get three. I think that is OK since I only tend to use Double and Quad flash. Also I still get the option of using the low power setting with my switch arrangement. You can save money and apply it towards the much-needed waterproof switches you will need.

George

 

[LAGEORGE]

AW Direct is a good source for lots of stuff like strobes but they are way to expensive. They are convenient and have a good return policy. An example of the pricing of others vs. AW Direct is the power supply. Theirs was $199 for 60watts while elsewhere it was $169 for 80 watts.
Don’t get me wrong we use AW Direct all the time till we find a local or more cost effective vendor. I did get my strap for my trash can project from them and I can’t find the same one anywhere else. Another nice thing is they do have a great catalog.

George

 

[Magruder]

Looks Cool

That does look pretty sharp!

 

[WoodDawg]

If you look on ebay you can find some good deals on strobes. I installed a set on my truck, they come in handy when you park on the side of the road to unload the tractor or are hauling an oversize load. I got a set of 4 strobes with power supply, cables, and switches for around $160 plus shipping.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( it really gets people to slow down in the area when they see you coming )</font>

If you like strobe lights and that's what you want, that's fine, but I'm afraid there are a lot of misconceptions about them, so I've got to chime in here. I'm sure you all know that emergency vehicles (police, fire, ambulance, etc.) sometimes have to park in or near roads, and occasionally get hit by other traffic. It's also a fact that other drivers sometimes fail to yield and/or stop when an emergency vehicle approaches. So . . ., at one time when I was in charge of such things in the police department, a number of officers wanted to replace the light bars on the cars with strobe lights. As a result, I and other members of my staff did a lot of research.

One of the things we learned was that the National Institute of Standards, as well as a number of state police agencies had already done a lot of research, ran various tests with strobe lights vs. incandescent, various candlepower lights, various colors, flash vs. solid, and just about every kind of test you can imagine.

And the overwhelming conclusions:

1. Strobe lights are no more effective at attracting attention than other flashing lights.
2. Strobe lights will not be noticed at any greater distance than the other lights except in fog (anyone working in a lot of fog might very well consider using them; for others they're not worth the cost).
3. As to the question of blue vs. red flashing lights approaching from the rear; no difference.
4. For maximum attention getting, whether using red or blue, alternate with white.
5. Drunks tend to home in on red flashing lights, and to a lesser degree on blue.
6. AMBER lights, perhaps because everyone associates them with caution warnings, are the best color to have to get traffic to move AWAY from the vehicle displaying them.

The California Highway Patrol had run a series of tests by parking vehicles on the shoulder of the road displaying flashing lights of different colors to the rear. A high percentage of the oncoming vehicles moved over a lane to get away from those displaying amber lights to the rear, but zipped by very close to those displaying other colors.

Dallas, and a lot of other agencies, changed out the lights to have red, blue, AND white flashing to the front and nothing but amber to the rear.

Now I've been retired awhile so my information is dated, and you can take it for what it's worth.

Incidentally, the newspaper reported that another new law in Texas this year (and probably not known by many) requires drivers to move over a lane away from a police car on the shoulder of the road if possible, and if not possible, then to reduce speed (and I've already forgotten how much, but think it was 25 mph in 55 mph zones).

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( another new law in Texas this year (and probably not known by many) requires drivers to move over a lane )</font>

I think something like that passed in florida as well.. I remember hearing about it.... I think it is a good one too.

Soundguy