Weird Thought/Question

[SecTrainer]

Okay, so you know when you first wake up your brain sometimes has these odd thoughts scampering around. They usually vanish before you can remember them, but not this morning.

HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION: You purchased a used lightbar with red and blue lenses on eBay, and then discover to your dismay that you can't get amber or green lens replacements.

QUESTION: If you replaced the clear bulbs or LEDs with bright yellow ones, wouldn't the actual light flashing from the bar be either green (yellow with blue lens) or amber, which is an orangish-yellow (yellow with red lens)? (I'm trying to remember the color wheel.)

QUESTION #2: If above is "yes", in states that specify green/amber LIGHT COLOR (rather than the color of LENS) that security vehicles may use, wouldn't such a light bar be technically legal? It looks blue/red when off, but you light it up (which is what the state regulates)...and presto-chango...it's green/amber!

QUESTION #3: Could you not do the same thing in states allowing purple by placing a red bulb behind the blue lens, and a blue bulb behind the red lens?

Hee!

(Please - I'm not asking about "impersonating" or other such issues here. Just a strange hypothetical what-if question....)

[Andy Taylor]

I think it would be legal, but I would also expect to be pulled over, questioned, and have to turn on the lights to show the officers. I can also see it being interpreted the other way by an officer who thinks all security officers are wannabes and having to go to court. Not worth it, in my opinion.

[SecTrainer]

I think it would be legal, but I would also expect to be pulled over, questioned, and have to turn on the lights to show the officers. I can also see it being interpreted the other way by an officer who thinks all security officers are wannabes and having to go to court. Not worth it, in my opinion.

That's why I specifically asked people not to answer the question in terms of such side issues - just whether the lightbar would actually put out light that was technically legal despite it's "inactive" appearance.

[CAPTAIN KOOLAID]

Weird Thought/Question

I almost did that. But shop for lens 1st . Then i shop for the light 2nd save time and money . I know it's hard pass up good deal but it's cheaper long run .

[BadBoynMD]

In Maryland, simply displaying blue or red lights/lens'..etc would be considered illegal. Sounds like it's a catch 22 situation, however my question is what manufactuer and model of the said lightbar?

[SecTrainer]

In Maryland, simply displaying blue or red lights/lens'..etc would be considered illegal. Sounds like it's a catch 22 situation, however my question is what manufactuer and model of the said lightbar?

It was just a hypothetical question, BBMD. I just woke up thinking that there's a difference between lenses and the light they produce, depending on the color of bulb that's behind them. Don't have any idea why I was thinking about it.

I edited my original post to hopefully make it more clear that this was just one of those odd thoughts bobbing around in the swamp I call my brain this morning.

[Badge714]

I was stopped recently by a Minnesota State Trooper because of the light bar on our squad. The light bar is an ancient Jetsonic with clear domes. The rotators have amber filters, but the rear flashing lights have red filters which really isn't legal since they flash alternately, but most cops will overlook it.
The reason the trooper stopped me was that the red filters show through the front of the light bar. I was driving with the sun behind me, so it looked like I had red lenses facing front.
After he looked the light bar over, he decided it was all good. I BEGGED him to tag me so I could get rid of the stupid thing, but he just laughed at me. He agreed with me that the light bar just makes us look like wannabes, but he wouldn't tag me.

[BadBoynMD]

It was just a hypothetical question, BBMD. I just woke up thinking that there's a difference between lenses and the light they produce, depending on the color of bulb that's behind them. Don't have any idea why I was thinking about it.

I edited my original post to hopefully make it more clear that this was just one of those odd thoughts bobbing around in the swamp I call my brain this morning.

I totally understand what you're thinking. I've heard talks around the water-cooler in regards to lights in other states. In Maryland, we can have red facing rear all day long, flashing in every which way they can flash. Perfectly legal. However, I just stay with green. Apparently, some states (not sure which) won't write you for merely having blue lights (non-activated) on your vehicle. Anything is possible I suppose..

[ValleyOne]

Grudgingly, I saw yes, and no.

I recall when I was in high school a Sgt on the dept with dad had his lightbar go nuts on him. Or was it the shops were screwing with him or just idiots???

Anyhow, he had one of those old Code 3 Force 4 LP lightbars. The shops installed a amber filter on the rotator, thinking it was the flasher. So he had, a lightbar like this;

(R)(R)(B)(G)

We all got a laugh out of it except him.

Now as far as changing the red color perhaps I dunno.

Call your local comm college, talk to art instructor see what's said.

[SecTrainer]

It seems that so much depends on the cop - and it shouldn't! For instance, it is perfectly legal in Washington (and, I think DOT approved?) to have those "classic" blue tail-light lenses on your motorcycle, and yet I hear all the time that guys who have them on their bikes are getting stopped for dinky trumped-up crap, mostly by motorcycle cops who seem to believe that blue tail-lights is their personal prerogative. So, the word is out - don't mount blue tail-lights on your bike in Washington unless you like to get stopped for "doing 2 miles over the speed limit" or some such garbage. If true, that's a pretty pathetic abuse of power.

[HotelSecurity]

When I was a member of an Emergency Measures Organization (Civil Defense) we would borrow Public Works trucks from the city when we had major events. The city trucks had yellow flashers on the roofs. We would place a larger red flasjer lense with magnets along the bottom over the yellow one. When turned on they flashed red.

[SecTrainer]

When I was a member of an Emergency Measures Organization (Civil Defense) we would borrow Public Works trucks from the city when we had major events. The city trucks had yellow flashers on the roofs. We would place a larger red flasjer lense with magnets along the bottom over the yellow one. When turned on they flashed red.

Hmmm....not orange? (Red + yellow = orange, if I remember?)....

Perhaps it doesn't work as my logic is saying it should, but I have a flashlight with a blue LED in it and when I cover that with the red lens that came with another flashlight it does look purple. I'm corn-fused!

[Chucky]

Is this the same scenario as if you put amber lights inside your back window and the glass was tinted would it be blue to the eye.

[BadBoynMD]

Is this the same scenario as if you put amber lights inside your back window and the glass was tinted would it be blue to the eye.

That would be a negative! Depending on how dark your tint is (my vic has 15%, I wanted 5% but anyway). If you have light tint 50% - 35% you can pretty much tell the color of the lights (in day light). If you have medium tint 20-10% you can sometimes tell the color. Dark tint 5-0% you can't see a damn thing. I have green on my rear deck, and depending on the sun you can tell there green. At night, and depending on the street lights brightness, you can just tell there lights, but not what color lights.

[Charger]

It would also depend on what type of bulbs you use. I can't remember the specifics of it, but LEDs don't put out the same type of spectrum or something that regular bulbs do. No matter what color lens is in front of them, LEDs will still tend to show their "true color" when they're on. I discovered this first-hand years ago when I was outfitting a bicycle for the mall I worked at. We tried putting a red flashing LED board into a unit that had originally been amber and still had the amber lens. I assumed it would give an orange color, but it didn't. We even tried the reverse, putting the amber board into the red box/lense, but they still shone through as amber. The only thing that happens is the lenses tend to subdue the light a bit, making it not as bright. TBH I can't remember now why we were trying to do this, but I remembered it when you brought up this topic. I remember that it has something to do with the way LEDs handle the IR spectrum or something, but as I said I can't remember the details of it.

Now regular halogen bulbs, on the other hand, would probably "mix" with the color of the lens. But I've never tried it so I can't say for sure.