Opticom

[Sirenfanatic0023]

Can they be tricked by something with a flashbulb attached to it? (I'm not going to do this, just wondering if it is possible)

[Jim_Ferer]

Most of the towns in Connecticut have Opticom systems. Does Opticom have any competitors?

I heard that there was at least one catalog selling devices to spoof Opticoms for a******s who want to drive fast and don't like traffic lights. I sure hope people like that get caught.

[JasonC]

Can they be tricked by something with a flashbulb attached to it? (I'm not going to do this, just wondering if it is possible)

Most newer Opticom's will only accept a coded signal, so flashing a strobe randomly at it wont activate it.

[Sirenmaster0022]

Can they be tricked by something with a flashbulb attached to it? (I'm not going to do this, just wondering if it is possible)

Most newer Opticom's will only accept a coded signal, so flashing a strobe randomly at it wont activate it.

What do you mean when you say coded signal?

[JasonC]

Like a digital signal....It will flash a certian pattern. This was done to ensure that people couldn't buy those dash mounted emitters and have their way with stop lights.

[KnightFox]

Can they be tricked by something with a flashbulb attached to it? (I'm not going to do this, just wondering if it is possible)

No, OPTICOM uses a coded Infared light that is usually mounted in the middle of the EV (Emegency Vehicle)'s light bar, when looked at, it looks purple. It uses the same principle as your TV remote does. Notice when you get an All In One remote, you have to program in the code for your accessories

[Sirenmaster0022]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[KnightFox]

Most of the towns in Connecticut have Opticom systems. Does Opticom have any competitors?

I heard that there was at least one catalog selling devices to spoof Opticoms for a******s who want to drive fast and don't like traffic lights. I sure hope people like that get caught.

Oh yes, here was a guy who did that and got caught. He was fined BIG time

[Elliott]

We have similar setups in the Cincinnati area. Mason has the Opticom setup. Sharonville has a different looking sensor, which I would describe as a round horn-looking device with a half-circular shroud on the top half, and then a seperate blue beacon lamp. It seems that the shroud would block any signal directly below it, but would only view at a distance. I will try to get a pic! I wonder if it is even optical?
Fairfield seemed to be experimental for a while. They had what looked like a metal bar/box @ 24"x 5"x 2"? And also, a while floodlight fixture. These were paired for each traffic direction. I noticed the "bar" went away and I see more of the same type as in Sharonville.

Jim Ferer asked if there are competitors...Tomar does, and they are compatible with Opticom products as well.

http://www.tomar.com/products/strobecom/strobecom.htm

Interestingly enough, I have seen similar red lights with a strobetube in front around Xenia, and I believe these are for farther distance indication. Although the ones I saw are incandescent, here is the LED version.

http://www.tomar.com/products/strobebar/strobebar.htm

Elliott

[KnightFox]

I wonder if that's the Auidble device I heard about. It works just like Opticom (optical Communication) but it uses a special siren speaker instead of a special light (Possibly called Audicom or Audiocom)