A lot of you find difficulty in seeing a traffic light when setting almost underneath the signal.

Prisms have been used since the late 1920's, at least. Here is the very first traffic light finder, and best example ever made of its kind.

I'm going to remount this item from the Model T windshield (pictured) and over into my xB (epoxied to the TOP edge of the windshield in my body's centerline) This thing gives me a view of lights even almost directly overhead. The view is in that concave disk: like a miniature, fisheye view of the world above.


pictures will all go in this form in a short while. Somewhere I have the old packaging for the Prismo Traffic Light Deflector. Everyone likes pictures of new things

This deluxe prism is a hunk of optical grade glass. It's a wedge with a circular, concave viewing screen. It glues to flat glass. The other surfaces are sandblasted to a frosted finish. Here, it is still mounted to the old T coupe's windshield. I'll be taking it off to put it into the xB.


For demo purposes the T windshield is propped on a table at an slant to roughly simulate the slope of the xB's windsheild.
A red l.e.d light simulates a traffic light from an angle that would be impossible to view without the prism unless we lean closer to the windsheild .
With this prism even a rear seat passenger can watch the overhead traffic light change color.

 

Very cool, thanks! How big is the actual unit?

 

I don't know if I would use one of them... IMO it looks look it's been ripped off an overhead projector and glued to a windshield, a bit out of place. Around here, they started putting lights on the side of the road too, so you can see the light change even if a huge truck is in your way.

 

'twould suck if the sun was above you.

 

I've said it once.

 

I'm sticking with my original plan for a periscope...

 

Screw that, just move to paris.

 

I see paris I see france
periscope ! my underpants



You see people I see ants
Damn those shouting, SciFly rants!

for prisms pray for Prismo
the ugly hunk of glass lets see mo'

No More PrismS!
Done with Prism-isms!


Waaaaaalll....let me find a few pictures and scan the old box that Prismo came in... it's probably a sole-survivor. Traffic lights had just then been invented, in 1926. The closed cars of that day were like our boxes: But with perfectly vertical windshields. Most had solid, outside visors. The driver sat way behind the windshield. You just could not see the damned signal. This is sometimes the case today with taller xB drivers who have their seat full-back. They have to crane forward to see traffic light above. After eighty years of overhead signal lights it's gratifying to see some areas putting lights in lower locations...sort of like the old semaphore signals were on lamposts.

pictures later...

 

 

cars were like this new, 1924 T coupe: the driver sat way, way back from the vertical windshield. Note the wire framed, cloth covered external sun visor. For that reason of the sun visor he would mount his Prismo Deflector down LOW on the glass, so it could look UP from a vantagepoint clear of visor-blockage. A never-before published picture of a happy man with his spanking new car. Ah, the joy of a new car!



to make clear how poor is your upward vision in this car, see that quarter window behind the man's head? When he sits in his coupe, his head is even more aft than that window.

Now, project a upward line from the man's seated-postion eye level, sloped to pass at the drop of that sun visor. See that you cannot possibly see an overhead traffic light if you're anywhere up close to that light. It was a real pain to hang my head out of the quarter window in order to watch for the light to turn green. Prismo made driving a pleasure again. (I drove my 22 coupe 25 thousand miles in Miami traffic over nearly a five year period.

 

first these were on poles until some cost-cutter and efficiency experts figured that lights hung overhead on a wire were better.

 

I got the Prismo from eBay a few years ago for thirty dollars. I never had more fun and education from any thirty bucks ever. Well, maybe from a lap dance or two...

Anyway, back on track! Follow installation directions!











let's find a picture of a more modern, practical deflector...

 

about 2.5" square and one inch tall. It is like a little, round-screen TV screen on the windshield. You can actually -drive- by it if you aren't in traffic...I mean, I could in the T because the split windscreen was hinged and adjustable in angle for ventilation, or even full-clear road vision (no glass)

 

from http://www.julianos.com/signal_finder.html (not an endorsement, just giving credit to the photo host) :

 

THERE, excellent! A quality-looking modern prism! I had only seen the cheesy, lollipop kind that repro vendors sell tody for a few bucks. Those little round suction cup jobs suck. This one looks very good! I think I'll buy one and put the Prismo back into its box, to sleep and remember its few years of service given to me. It was so nice. Is nice to see above your line of vision.

thanks for the find!


===update===
done! ordered on-line! yaaaaay! thanks again!

 

Thanks for sharing the Prismo, and hopefully you'll share a pic of the new one, installed!

 

Not to be a jerk, but lights are positioned so that if you stop
ON THE LINE OR BEHIND like you are supposed to, you
shouldn't need goofy prisms to see them!

That said, the prism is a damn cool idea! LOL

 

I wish that were always the case. Unfortunately, around here there are many examples of extremely poor traffic engineering. Included among these cases are traffic signals hanging off the near pair of poles in an intersection, forcing everyone on "the front line" to lean forward (or stop way short of the line) to see the light. Believe it or not.

 

With many cars having LCD screens and even backup cameras it seems a natural to put a small cam on a suction cup swivel mount , at the base of the inside windshield and aim this to watch that light

Most annoying for me is when I am pulled into an intersection on the green light, waiting to make a left turn... heavy oncoming traffic, trying to see the light change to red.


yes, that's true and I don't -very often- have this problem in the xB -except- for the example I just set out above the quote


I'll evaluate the rectangular plastic prism ordered last night. Will make a mini-review and put it here in this thread.

I called that vendor and found they are friendly and down to earth-nice. The lady mentioned that they now have a round lollipop version of refracting prism, suction cup mount. The square one is sticky-mount.

I think... the square prism belongs in a Box. Lollipops belong in a