That is true, plus you aren't really saving much power. The motors on these (especially as the mechanisms age) draw a decent amount of power. These are brushed rotators with the bulb on the rotating reflector. The brush system that powered them ended up bogging the motors down as they aged. I would agree, LEDs aren't worth the trouble here.
There are none available that I know of, the bulbs have pins that are bent to secure the bulb after passing through the reflector. The reflector type makes them ill-suited for LEDs due to the reflector rotating with the bulb on it. The reflector is balanced for the specific bulb to spin on it. You won't save a huge amount of current anyway.
The bulbs are actually pretty frustrating even to install the right type, so an LED might not be a terrible display idea if it somehow made the bulbs less likely to shatter when you bend the pins... Although I'd settle for any bulb that was more durable for these
It is all Whelen factory parts, and like you said I have a correct one. I think i will keep it. That means I have an extra "standalone beacon turned par" power supply now too.
I felt the same way until I really looked at the bars and their light output. They are different, but they both serve a purpose. Now I want an amber cutout so i can make a steady red front and flashing amber rear and go CA style. Federal signal offered a version of the highlighter that was essentially what I built and I love it.
They make colored cutout domes, usually clear (under which I could put and amber bulb), or I could try to find an actual amber cutout dome (they did make any color).
