Sentry 16V1T-B

**Type of siren** | Omnidirectional Electromechanical

The **16V1T-B** is a DC-powered omnidirectional siren produced by Sentry Siren, Inc. A product introduced after much experimentation, the 16V1T-B is Sentry's most popular DC offering. It is a solid midrange siren, though its flaws prevent it from reaching its full potential.

## History and Design

The 16V1T-B was introduced in the year 2004, as Sentry's largest battery backup equipped siren. The 16V1T-B was the end result of an experiment by Sentry to create a DC-powered siren, in order to compete with the likes of Federal Signal's 2001 and ASC's Tempest series of sirens which were outselling Sentry's AC-only offerings. This began as the dual tone, dual rotor Sentry 15V2T-B in 2002, which was refined into the 16V1T-B. Due to being a derivative of the 15V2T, the two sirens are very similar. Like most of Sentry's sirens, the 16V1T-B uses the Sterling Model M's rotor and stator.

The 16V1T-B shares the same design as the 15V2T and 20VXT, being a large dual rotor siren with 8 long horns attached to each stator port. The 16V1T-B comes stock with these horns, however the siren can be ordered with skirts instead of horns if the customer wants it. Skirted units are referred to as "**16V1T-B-SC**s". On older units, these horns are flat at the end, but later production 16V1T-B units use pointed horns to help keep debris out. Unlike Sentry's other dual rotor sirens, the 16V1T-B is exclusively DC powered, using a pair of 8HP 72VDC motors, one for each rotor. Because of this, the 16V1T-B is always the same height as a single-phase Sentry dual rotor siren. Due to running on DC power, the siren can run on battery backup, allowing it to run for approximately 30 minutes after AC power is lost.

The 16V1T-B comes standard in 8/8 port single tone as standard, though 16/16 port is available through special order. 8/16 port dual tone is also available through special order, as the **16V2T-B**. The siren is able to reach 129 dB at 100ft as claimed by Sentry, though this claim is questionable as it uses the same rotors as the 15V2T and 20V2T, which have a lower claimed decibel rating. Due to the nature of DC motors, the two motors do not run at the same speed, which causes a distinctive warbling sound as the two rotors clash. While this makes the siren more noticeable up close, it severely harms the range of the siren due to sound cancellation. Because of this, the 16V1T-B cannot project as well as Sentry's AC offerings. This, on top of the sound mostly being projected out of the intakes instead of the horns, leads to the 16V1T-B performing worse than it otherwise could.

Due to being a vertical omnidirectional siren, its design is quite simple and similar to Sentry's other sirens. The siren itself is held up by a 6-legged mount which is directly attached to the bottom stator, which has a cone on the bottom to project the sound from the intakes better. The motors are in the middle of the siren, between the two rotors. They are protected by a cylindrical motor cover with ventilation holes to protect the motor from the elements. The upper intake on the siren is protected by a large rainshield, that keeps debris and moisture out of the top rotor. An eyebolt is also included to make installation easier. The 16V1T-B comes with 16 horns, all of which are equal in length. On dual tone 16V2T-B units, the 8-port rotor is always located on the bottom, while the 16-port rotor is always on top, as is standard for Sentry's dual tone sirens. The 16-port side has two ports per horn. The horns and both intakes are protected by mesh screens to help keep debris out of the rotors.

The 16V1T-B sells well to this day, being one of Sentry's most popular options despite its flaws. It is Sentry's second loudest siren (at least by Sentry's claims on their website), only beaten by the 40V2T. It can be expected to remain popular for years to come, though it can be hoped that its flaws will be remedied.