Civil Defense Sirens Wiki

## Info

Civil defense sirens, also known as air raid or tornado sirens, come in many different shapes and sizes. There are 2 main types of civil defense sirens. An electromechanical siren is a siren that uses an electric motor to drive a spinning rotor, or chopper, inside of a stationary stator.

An electronic siren is much different than a mechanical siren. Rather than using a chopper, electronic sirens make use of a tone generator or stored preset sounds and amplifiers inside a controller, which broadcasts tones to the siren itself. Other types of sirens also exist, including friction, hand-cranked, and gasoline-driven sirens. Civil defense sirens are an important key in keeping the public safe from danger, alongside modern technology.**Contribute to the site...**
 We have 145 articles, 1,127 files, and 10 active users. While we aim to stay factual in our information, we are not gospel. Information on this wiki can be incorrect, so don't refrain from doubting information and voicing your thoughts.This month's featured siren...

The **Gamewell Codewell**, previously known as the **Cosgrave Code Siren**, is a siren that was originally designed by Austin Cosgrave who later gave the job to make the siren to Gamewell. It was likely produced in the early 20th century, although the exact dates of production are currently unknown. An advertisement exists for this siren dated to 1929, so it was produced around that time.

The Cosgrave Code Siren, later known as the Codewell, was produced by the Gamewell corporation, after being purchased from Austin Cosgrave who originally designed the siren in the mid-late 1920s. With the fire siren market boomed in the 1920s, with many manufacturers creating their electric sirens including Federal Electric, Sterling Siren, Erick Electric Sirens, and others. The Cosgrave siren was designed with built-in coding capabilities as standard, which gave it an edge over other manufacturers that modified existing designs to incorporate coding, which was more expensive.

This siren is unique, as it winds up like a normal siren but goes silent almost immediately after shutting off, allowing it to create coded signals. This is achieved by using a special gearbox above the motor to lift the three rotors in line with the stators when the motor is powered, allowing it to create sound by chopping the air. When the motor shuts off, the rotors lower and are no longer in line with the stators, instantly silencing the siren. This mechanism is placed above the motor, in between the motor and rotors. Repeatedly turning the siren on and off creates a coded signal, as the rotors lift and lower from alignment with the stators. **(Full article...)**

**Previous featured siren:** • **Chrysler Air Raid Siren**

## Did you know...

* ... that the different models of Sterling Model M were in fact never named after their horsepower, and that the "Y-10" is in fact a Sterling Code Siren?
* ... that the 16V1T-B was originally the 15V2T-B?
* ... that the B-Series Thunderbolts were a failure not because of the new rotator, but because the rotor often came out of alignment, getting stuck and burning out the motor due to the lack of an upper bearing?
* ... that the Pulsator was so prone to freezing, policemen would beat the sirens with nightsticks to unfreeze them?
* ... that B&M is the oldest continually operating siren company, having been in business since 1913?

**(More facts...)**

## About

Welcome to the ***Civil Defense Sirens Wiki*!** This site is dedicated to providing a factual, informative database about civil defense and tornado sirens across the world! If you have good knowledge about a siren and/or series of sirens, feel free to contribute! Everybody is welcome here!

Please add and share your knowledge, but vandalism and unwanted edits may lead to consequences. If you have any problems, leave a message on one of our admins' talk pages. Note that this wiki is for **real, legitimate siren information**. However, you're welcome to post fan-made materials on the Fictional Sirens Wiki. We also ask you to read the Rules and ask for some advice before writing a page, so you can avoid having your page deleted. You can ask for feedback from your page in the discussions, and you are free to ask any questions. Enjoy your time on the site!

## News

**01/25/2024** • An article for the Stanton sirens, ASC Clarity, and the Siracode Signal Corporation has been created. In addition, thanks to Sipex, the Sterling Vertical Siren , and Federal Electric Type Mach. B articles have been completely rewritten with new, updated information. European and Asian sirens are also seeing a surge in new articles, check them out! A new homepage is currently in the works, courtesy of Kruppundkrause!

In other news, the 1st round of the 10th Monthly Featured Siren Vote has ended! We got **10** votes! The winner was the Gamewell Codewell, with **8** votes, while the Sentry SV-8 lagged behind with **2** votes. In addition, congratulations to Coldfire1010 for winning this month's featured artist! Anyone who wishes to submit photos for next month's featured artist can do so on our Discord! Thank you to all who voted!

## Featured Artist

This month's featured artist is **Coldfire1010**!

**Siren Info:**
* **Siren:** Federal Signal SD-10
* **Status:** Unknown
* **Use:** Unknown
* **Notes:** Despite being a bit rusty and dented, the paintwork on this SD-10 still shines brightly!

## Links

* Air Raid Sirens Wiki
* Siren Board

## Sister wikis - Contributors welcomed!

* Siren Systems Wiki - Articles about existing siren systems. More articles are very much wanted!
* Fictional Sirens Wiki - Get creative and share your custom/fictional sirens and companies! Anything goes. Affiliated, but not run by the CDS staff.
* The Crossing Signal Database - An under-construction wiki dedicated to railroad crossing signal equipment, such as bells, lights, gate mechanisms, and more! Help is very much needed.

*Homepage done by Kruppundkrause*