NEW HEADLIGHTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 December 1939, Page 21 (Supplement)

NEW HEADLIGHTS

TMAJOR IMPROVEMENT. EFFECTED. SEALED BEAM SYSTEM. If the new Sealed Beam Headlighting system, which is being used by some members of the U.S.A, motor industry in their 1940 models, will do what is claimed for it, then a major improvement in the headlight of automobiles may be expected, a development which will not only lead to reduced servicing, but also prove an important safety factor. The Sealed Beam outfit, the basis of which is the use of a lens, filament and reflector made as a single perman-ently-sealed unit, is the outcome of three years’ research by a lighting committee organised by the U.S.A, automobile industry. The committee set out to evolve a headlamp which would give high illumination and permanently provide a broad, powerful beam to take in the sides of the road, with definite non-glare features when the traffic beam was used. The Sealed Beam system when fitted to a car is controlled by a foot switch. There are two positions—"country" and “traffic.” The lights being sealed against the entry of moisture or dirt, have a long life and lose only a very small fraction of their efficiency as they age. An important advantage is that the lights do not need frequent focus adjustment in order to avoid glare into the eyes of on-coming drivers. In the event of replacement, the entire unit is easily changed with a minimum of work and readjustment. Unfortunately, according to reports from U.S.A., it is expected that owners of present type headlights will have some difficulty in installing the new lights due to the variety of sizes and shapes of older types, plus the question of heavier wiring and greater output for the new type, but these difficulties, it is stated, may yet be overcome. The new lights, it is announced, will be used on a great many of the U.S.A. 1940 models, which will naturally have generators capable of producing the extra power required for the efficient functioning of the Sealed Beam lighting system, which is claimed to be a step towards the objective of safer and easier night driving.