File information |
Filename: | 2013-01-23_143847.png |
Album name: | traffic light1 / My Traffic Lights |
Keywords: | Traffic_Lights |
Filesize: | 474 KiB |
Date added: | Jan 23, 2013 |
Dimensions: | 809 x 331 pixels |
Displayed: | 103 times |
URL: | http://www.galleryoflights.org/mb/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=14695 |
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3Ms, while they look neat, are a maintenance crew's nightmare. Weight and size are the #1 concerns, then you have an expensive sealed lamp that burns for half the life of a normal signal lamp...which is placed in the back door housing of the signal. This is all well and good, until you realize that the 3M signal was designed for mast arm or pole mounting...NOT span wires. So mounting them on a mast means your fighting with the brackets and the mast itself to get the back door open. Can't really mask it easily with the arm hanging in front of the signal...if you can get the back door open fully.
Masking is another issue. It takes several hours to properly aim and mask the signal using resources like a bucket truck and closing traffic off.
Even LEDs in a 3M signal require a crew to go out and disable all the dimmers in all the sections, since these things were not developed to use LEDs in the first place. More crew hours and money eaten up.
They were also almost $2,000 each just to buy one to hang up at an intersection. You can get a standard signal for $150-200 brand new with LEDs.
Intelight is definitely got a lead in the programmable signal market. The signal weighs a quarter of a 3M, much smaller size, Dimmable LED array, and CPU logic based. And to program their signal? One tech with a smart phone or laptop and download data to the signal. 5 minutes and you don't need to leave the curb or close off traffic
I like 3Ms like anyone else does. But they are far from "perfect signals" and when you have to deal with them they aren't so pretty.
They had to take the red louvers off becuase the people would not know when to stop .