.... whats the difference between this lightbar and the legend you had previously?
We will be using both models.
In 2008, RCMP standardized on Legends for all their marked cars and, now more recently, trucks (53" bars) as the standard lightbar for all of Canada. Vancouver PD did the same thing after an 18-month on-car eval through the wettest winter in 20 years. RCMP has the toughest intensity specs in North America (tougher than Title 13 in California). It's a Standing Offer, so the detachments/post-garages aren't permitted to put anything else on. Plus, the price is just plain silly cheap, and the 53" bar has LED Takedowns, too.
( The reflector is actually a curved mirror and the led's point straight down. The reflector magnifies the led's quite a bit so it gives off a huge amount of light for a single row of led's. Very efficient design.)
However, certain detachments in BC, and through out Canada, frequently are allowed to order their own preferences, as long it meets the RCMP specs, and Whelen Liberty happens to be one of the model that the RCMP still uses ( needless to say, it's down sizing and being replaced with the Legend. The older Whelen Liberty model, outfitted with halogen and strobes, are still in service to this date, are also being replaced with the Legend. So in contrast, Any light bars that the RCMP purchased before the Legend, is going to be replaced with the Legend. )
The RCMP has one custom to their organization that they designed. The RCMP pattern is actually not one of the default patterns in the bar. The Legend has about 27 patterns you can choose from. You can have 1 pattern in slide switch position 1, another pattern in slide2, and a 'pursuit' pattern in slide 3. You can choose one of the 27 available patterns for each slide switch position.
The bar also has dimming, but only in slide1 and 2. Dimming doesn't work in slide 3, which is a safety feature so that you cannot accidentally leave the bar dimmed while in pursuit mode. I think Ottawa wanted the patterns to be the same everywhere, but realized that there may be requirements where detachments wanted something different, so we left all the other patterns in the bar's 'liberty'.
The vans and pickups will have the "LEGO block" bars, since they are not that aerodynamic. Light bars will be replaced if damaged, or when a vehicle is condemned and replaced.
