Police head light flash, alternating high beams

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David321

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#306648 10-Aug-2023 10:06

Hi all,

I have been trying to find out and tracking down what I am assuming is a 12v relay, basically I need one that when activated it provides alternating 12v dc power to two owlets.

The easiest way to visualise what I am after is what I assume police use in their cars in conjunction with their red and blue lights, no doubt we have all seen the alternating flashing of their high beam headlights while speeding past us at some stage?

I am assuming what police use is probably built into some larger piece of hardware they use to control all their bells and whistles, but the example is still valid, I have tried looking online a fair bit, but as yu could imagine without knowing what these are called they are a bit hard to track down.

_David_

Dratsab

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#3114039 10-Aug-2023 10:11

David321: I have been trying to find out and tracking down what I am assuming is a 12v relay, basically I need one that when activated it provides alternating 12v dc power to two owlets.

Two of these?

Two happy owlets : r/pics

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Handsomedan

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#3114043 10-Aug-2023 10:17

Dratsab:

David321: I have been trying to find out and tracking down what I am assuming is a 12v relay, basically I need one that when activated it provides alternating 12v dc power to two owlets.

Two of these?

Well you just won "cutest picture on Geekzone" for today...

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outdoorsnz

492 posts

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#3114051 10-Aug-2023 10:25

Handsomedan:

Dratsab:

David321: I have been trying to find out and tracking down what I am assuming is a 12v relay, basically I need one that when activated it provides alternating 12v dc power to two owlets.

Two of these?

Well you just won "cutest picture on Geekzone" for today...

Hands down cute as a button as they say!

Jaycar used to have strobe lighting kits. I wonder if you could adapt a car idicator module relay for this purpose?

cisconz

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#3114053 10-Aug-2023 10:27

outdoorsnz:

Jaycar used to have strobe lighting kits. I wonder if you could adapt a car idicator module relay for this purpose?

Still do - KJ8070

Hmmmm

MikeAqua

7627 posts

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#3114074 10-Aug-2023 11:15

You need a "donuts on special" relay.

Mike

mjb

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#3114084 10-Aug-2023 11:38

You'd be looking for a "wig wag" flasher. something like: https://www.amazon.com/Solid-State-Flasher-Alternating-Pattern/dp/B00YB9HTQ4

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Kyanar

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#3114373 10-Aug-2023 21:35

You should certainly check if your planned modification is even legal - in many places such strobing on a non-emergency vehicle would be grounds for an unroadworthy declaration.

K8Toledo

846 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3114381 10-Aug-2023 23:04

David321:

Hi all,

I have been trying to find out and tracking down what I am assuming is a 12v relay, basically I need one that when activated it provides alternating 12v dc power to two owlets.

The easiest way to visualise what I am after is what I assume police use in their cars in conjunction with their red and blue lights, no doubt we have all seen the alternating flashing of their high beam headlights while speeding past us at some stage?

I am assuming what police use is probably built into some larger piece of hardware they use to control all their bells and whistles, but the example is still valid, I have tried looking online a fair bit, but as yu could imagine without knowing what these are called they are a bit hard to track down.

This sounds just like my flatmates car parked in the driveway. My flatmate went to bed and his car keys are on the bench, I could go pop the hood and see if has the parts you need.

Btw if you hear of anyone after a set of roof mountable alternating red/blue lights (going cheap) or a genuine police siren - pm me.

Wheelbarrow01

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#3114383 10-Aug-2023 23:05

Kyanar:

You should certainly check if your planned modification is even legal - in many places such strobing on a non-emergency vehicle would be grounds for an unroadworthy declaration.

Yep it's called a wig wag flasher. Definitely not legal on NZ roads unless you have an officially recognised emergency service or pilot vehicle as per https://vehicleinspection.nzta.govt.nz/virms/in-service-wof-and-cof/light-psvs/lighting/headlamps

See rejection reason #7

frankv

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#3114426 11-Aug-2023 09:02

David321:

I have been trying to find out and tracking down what I am assuming is a 12v relay, basically I need one that when activated it provides alternating 12v dc power to two owlets.

I did this for my aircraft... it's called Wig-wag lights.

I did it with a flasher unit and a NO/NC relay. The flasher unit feeds into the control input of the relay, and one light is connected to the NO and the other to the NC contact. I chose these particular items because they have spade connectors, and the relay is nominally 40A so easily capable of the current (about 15A for 2 X 200W LED lamps). I also added a DPDT switch so I can switch between Flash/Off/On. If I was doing it again, I would go for under 10A (say 160W) which would make for lighter wiring and a cheaper, more available relay.

If you were slightly electronics-capable, I'm sure you could use a timer and transistor in place of the flasher, and possibly a couple of SSRs or power transistors in place of the relay. But the relay and flasher are cheap (about $15 total including shipping) and easy.