Today, I will be reviewing the Advanced Warning Lights RX-44 Warning Bar. I purchased the light to provide rear warning on my new car since the old one I had did not fit the new car (the disadvantage of going from a truck to a car). The model that I purchased from AWL is amber and after seeing it in action I plan on purchasing the RX-46 model to accompany this one on my rear deck. The RX-44 model is the 4 module model with each module consisting of 4 TIR style LEDs. The bar measures 22" long by 1" high by 2.5" deep so it fit perfectly on my rear deck. Construction seems pretty sturdy comparing nicely to the larger name brands.
After purchasing the light it arrived in a very timely manner about 3 days and the packaging all looked good. The packing was typical with foam blocks protecting the bar itself and the smaller parts (mounting brackets, suction cups, and screws) all being together in a small plastic zip-lock style baggie. Attaching of the mounting brackets was very easy, which entailed simply unscrewing two small screws holding the endcaps on and attaching the mounting brackets using the same screws. The bar also has a bolt slot on the back of the unit to flush mount the bar or use "L" brackets to mount it. The only issue that I found with the mounting of the bar was that only 2 suction cups were included and the screws that hold them onto the brackets did not hold causing the bar to fall onto the rear deck within a day.
Power wise the unit had an attached cigarette lighter plug with a pattern control button and a on/off switch. The unit does have 30 flash patterns including a random pattern. The RX-44 is also able to synced with other units via a audio style wire like those used on the end headphones. The wires allow you to "daisy chain" units together due to the cigarette plugs having 2 sync outputs on them. Wiring to a switch box seems to be pretty simple also, simply cut the cigarette plugs off and hard wiring them. The larger 6 and 8 head versions also seem to be able to do traffic control patterns by hard wiring it units. Maybe Tom can clarify if all the units can. The only gripe I have with the wiring side is that instructions on hard wiring the unit are not included but instructions for all AWL units are available by emailing AWL.
So now for the fun stuff...pics and video.
Video:
Ratings: (based on scale of 0-10)
Constuction: 9 (IMHO well built unit)
Ease of Installation: 8 (had to subtract cause of the suction cup issue and lack of instructions)
Light Output: 9 (super bright)
Price: 10 (come on 99 bucks)
Purchase: 10 (easy to purchase and quick delivery)
Overall: 9.2
My overall opinion of the RX-44 from AWL is that nice unit and I believe that if they units have the traffic advisor patterns that they will be a very economical alternative to the higher priced counterparts. i.e. Whelen, FedSig, etc.
After purchasing the light it arrived in a very timely manner about 3 days and the packaging all looked good. The packing was typical with foam blocks protecting the bar itself and the smaller parts (mounting brackets, suction cups, and screws) all being together in a small plastic zip-lock style baggie. Attaching of the mounting brackets was very easy, which entailed simply unscrewing two small screws holding the endcaps on and attaching the mounting brackets using the same screws. The bar also has a bolt slot on the back of the unit to flush mount the bar or use "L" brackets to mount it. The only issue that I found with the mounting of the bar was that only 2 suction cups were included and the screws that hold them onto the brackets did not hold causing the bar to fall onto the rear deck within a day.
Power wise the unit had an attached cigarette lighter plug with a pattern control button and a on/off switch. The unit does have 30 flash patterns including a random pattern. The RX-44 is also able to synced with other units via a audio style wire like those used on the end headphones. The wires allow you to "daisy chain" units together due to the cigarette plugs having 2 sync outputs on them. Wiring to a switch box seems to be pretty simple also, simply cut the cigarette plugs off and hard wiring them. The larger 6 and 8 head versions also seem to be able to do traffic control patterns by hard wiring it units. Maybe Tom can clarify if all the units can. The only gripe I have with the wiring side is that instructions on hard wiring the unit are not included but instructions for all AWL units are available by emailing AWL.
So now for the fun stuff...pics and video.
Video:
Ratings: (based on scale of 0-10)
Constuction: 9 (IMHO well built unit)
Ease of Installation: 8 (had to subtract cause of the suction cup issue and lack of instructions)
Light Output: 9 (super bright)
Price: 10 (come on 99 bucks)
Purchase: 10 (easy to purchase and quick delivery)
Overall: 9.2
My overall opinion of the RX-44 from AWL is that nice unit and I believe that if they units have the traffic advisor patterns that they will be a very economical alternative to the higher priced counterparts. i.e. Whelen, FedSig, etc.
