Michigan State Police Unity RV26 Beacon History and Demo

Hey its Zach from 718motorpool and today I'm excited to show you guys a new addition to my collection, This is a Unity RV26 as used by the Michigan state police. The Unity RV series lights were introduced in 1965, and came in several different configurations depending on how many bulbs and what bulbs were to be fitted. The RV 25 and 45 had the choice of 2 or 4 PAR36 bulbs and the RV26 and 46 were the same except they had the larger PAR46 bulbs. The most famous of these was the RV26 which was used by several agencies such as the Ohio State highway patrol, The New York State Police and a ton of Michigan agencies and of course the most iconic the Michigan state Police. One the most striking features of this light is the spitfire dome. There are two clear bands in the center of the dome which allows white light to come through and as a result these lights have almost a pinkish hue. The spitfire domes also came in blue but are kind of uncommon. the spitfire domes were discontinued sometime before the beacon so later MSP beacons especially the retrofitted LEDs would come in just a plain red dome. So the Michigan state police in my opinion have the most unique looking police vehicles in the country, From the bright blue paint to the shark fin hood signs to most importantly the Unity RV26 beacon. So the paint color has been the same since the mid 1950s, The hood sign is a callback to when the MSP used to do side stops which is no longer allowed. And Ironically the newest part of this was the Unity Beacon which was adopted in 1979. So the MSP unity lights were in use from 1979 until 2023 Throughout the years there were a few slight variations. Occasionally a beacon would slip through with a regular red dome instead of a spitfire dome this was more common towards the end and after they moved to LEDs the domes were switched to all red. There were also a handful of the 4 bulb RV46 however the overwhelming majority of these were the RV26. So one of the other cool things about the MSP Beacons was that these were equipped with 100 watt aircraft landing lights. Aircraft grade lights aren't really ideal for emergency light usage so it was common practice to keep a few extra bulbs in the car. Full Disclosure this one is equipped with 55 watt bulbs. In 2009 Unity discontinued these lights due to the supplier who made the motors stopping production. So the Michigan state police took this as an opportunity to modernize the light and whelen stepped up to design new internals for the Iconic light using LEDs, This extended the life of these beacons over almost 15 years. In 2023 a Michigan based company Soundoff signal introduced a replacement for the RV26 and it was modernized with features like take down and alley lights making it the only beacon to have it. The Soundoff beacon also has a shorter profile which was a concern for the MSP, Since police vehicles have become significantly taller since all new police vehicles are SUVs. And to this day the Michigan state police stand by the single beacon citing tradition, and improved aerodynamics as the reason to keep them from transitioning to full size lightbars #jeep #jeepcherokeexj #jeepcherokee #florida #floridahistory #statepolice #highwaypatrol #highway #statepatrol #trooper #nyc #nypd #police #history #1970s #70s #80s #1980s #90s #1990s #cars #policecars #policecar #copcar #copcars #crownvic #automobile #cars #car #plymouth #80s #1980s #documentary #chicago #firefighter #firefighters #firetruck #fireengines #fireman #oklahoma #oklahomahighwaypatrol #michigan #michiganstatepolice Follow me on my other platforms! Instagram   / 718motorpool   Tiktok   / 718motorpool   Discord   / discord   Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use