recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Chloride Gent Model 1500

Chloride Gent (>1975-2005)

The **Model 1500**, or "**The Strident**", is an indoor fire siren that was produced by Chloride Gent from sometime around 1975 to the early 2010s, when the company was acquired by Honeywell. Often used in large open areas or industrial spaces, the Model 1500 proved to be relatively popular, and many units can still be found today in the hands of collectors. It was the last siren branded under the Gent name, after the Tangent sirens ceased production.

## History and Design

The Model 1500 was introduced sometime during or after 1975, as the earliest units have "Gent of Leicester" and not "Gents' of Leicester" branding on them. This name would be used for a short time in the mid-to-late 1970s after Gents' was purchased by Chloride, after which the company would be renamed to "Chloride Gent". The Model 1500 was intended to be a small, compact industrial siren which was to be used in a similar vain to a fire alarm. The siren itself is relatively simple in design, consisting of a 6-port rotor and stator driven by a small motor encased in a cylindrical housing, running at either 200 V AC or 250 V DC. A small, circular disk with the company logo, voltage, and name engraved on it is attached to the front of the stator via 4 bolts.

The siren has a small stand with a support on the bottom of the stator as well as one on the bottom of the motor cover. The motor's brushes stick out of the housing on both sides, near the tail end of the motor cover. After Gent was renamed to Chloride Gent, the "Strident" name would be dropped and the disk would be altered, now reading "**CHLORIDE GENT** model 1500 siren" and the top right and bottom left. The siren would likely be produced until the early 2010s when it would be replaced by Honeywell Gent's electronic fire alarm offerings. Today, a handful of units still exist, with most being in the hands of collectors.
Karen

> "I'm not wearing my mask!"
>
>

Karen is a side character in Cearan Kai, who argued with Cearan about wearing her mask.

## History

### Talking To Cearan

Karen argued to Cearan about wearing her masks, defending her decision not too.

### Catching Covid

After refusing to wear a mask, they got covid. There they enjoyed 2 weeks off before dying in their sleep.
De la Tour's Siren

An example of a De la Tour siren.

**De la Tour's siren** (or sirène) was an early mechanical siren produced by the French engineer Charles Cagniard de la Tour in 1819. Largely considered one of the first rotor and stator sirens to be made, it used a bellows apparatus to force air through its rotor. As the air passed through the ports of the stator, it produced a series of regular pressure waves that is perceived as a musical tone. The siren's pitch could be raised or lowered by simply increasing or decreasing the speed of the rotor via the dials on the siren. Connected by gears to the rotor's shaft, they recorded the number of times the rotor spun. This was important because simply multiplying the number of rotations per second by the number of ports in the stator gave the precise frequency of the tone being produced. For the first time, scientists were now able to create tones of specific frequencies and measure the frequencies of other sounds by comparing them to the measurable sounds of the siren. As acoustic research developed, several important improvements were made to the siren, and it continued to be an important scientific tool into the early 20th century.

De la Tour's siren was used to answer a variety of other scientific questions. He used it not only to measure musical frequencies, but also the speed of a mosquito’s wings (10,000 flutters per second). He showed that it worked as a warning signal on ships (which kickstarted the use of sirens as warning devices) and reported that it even made a sound underwater (using water pressure instead of air pressure). His siren was later used to measure the speed of sound in water, and it was this property of “being sonorous in the water” that caused him to call it a "siren".

One of the advantages of De la Tour’s siren was that it was simple and compact. The same air pressure that made the sound was also used to drive the rotor. This was accomplished by drilling the holes in the rotor and stator obliquely, at such angles that the rotor begins to spin automatically, much like a turbine, when air pressure is applied. However, this same feature caused one of the siren’s problems. Because it was driven by the same air pressure that produced the sound, producing higher tones on the siren required more air pressure – which meant that the sound would also be louder. The opposite was true for lower notes. De la Tour recorded the siren was quieter and softer on low notes and louder and shrill on high notes. In terms of making actual measurements, the siren was also limited by its reliance on human hearing. Under ideal conditions, a skilled researcher could use De la Tour’s siren to distinguish between sounds that were a fraction of a wavelength apart.

## External links

1. ↑ Siren (alarm) from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sentry 14V

**Type of siren** | Omnidirectional Electromechanical

The **14V** is an omnidirectional electromechanical siren that is produced by Sentry Siren, Inc. It is the largest and most powerful of Sentry's single rotor sirens, being little more than a 40V2T cut in half. It is intended for longer range use than its single rotor contemporaries.

## 14V

The 14V is one of Sentry's newest sirens, being introduced in 2015. It replaced Sentry's 10V as the largest single rotor siren upon its introduction, and is quite unique compared to the rest of Sentry's lineup. The 14V is essentially a Sentry 40V2T that has been cut in half, using the same 10-port single tone rotor and stator as the lower half of a 40V2T. It is driven by a 15HP AC motor, which is available only in three phase power. It has the distinction of being the only 10-port single tone siren sold on the US siren market today.

Like all of Sentry's single rotor sirens, the siren's design is very basic, with the rotor and stator being attached to a 6 legged mount which has a cone to project the sound from the intake outwards. The motor itself is placed inside a weatherproof housing above the siren. This simple design allows the siren to be both cheap and easy to maintain. The horns and intake use mesh screens to keep debris out. The siren comes standard with 5 large horns, of which 2 stator ports are shared. These are the same horns used on the 40V2T. The siren can be ordered with a skirt instead of horns if the customer desires. The siren is able to reach 127 dB at 100ft, according to Sentry. However, like many of Sentry's claims about the decibel rating of their sirens, this is dubious at best, given the horn and stator design of the siren.

## 14V-B

The 14V is also available in DC power, in the form of the **14V-B**. The 14V-B uses a 14HP 72VDC motor instead of a 15HP AC motor, which allows for the siren to make use of battery backup if AC power is lost. The siren is rated to run approximately 30 minutes before running out of power when running on its batteries. The 14V-B is otherwise identical to the standard 14V in both performance and design, with the only difference being the tag, nonlinear windup, and the addition of the battery enclosure next to the controls. 14V-B units are often set to run at only 3,000RPM instead of the standard 3,600RPM, which causes their pitch to be similar to an 8-port Sentry, with a significant reduction in sound output. The reasoning for this is unknown, but may be to save on battery life.

The 14V is still in production by Sentry, and while relatively few units have been sold due to how new it is, more and more of these sirens are cropping up across the United States. While it likely does not live up to the claims Sentry makes, it still performs well and will likely be popular.
Taizhou Lion King Signal Co., Ltd.

* Lion King Signal
* lionkingsignal.com[dead link]?
* fire-siren.com[dead link]
* soslk.com[dead link]?
* lksos.com[dead link]?

**Taizhou Lion King Signal Co., Ltd.**, commonly shortened to Lion King Signal or just Lion King, is a Taizhou, ZJ-based manufacturer and reseller of public safety and emergency warning equipment founded in 2005.

They have gained a reputation within the siren community for their copies of various American manufacturer's sirens, such as Federal Signal, Sentry, and ASC, but have otherwise produced original (and in some cases unusual) designs.

## History

Taizhou Lion King Signal was founded in 2005, as a division of Zhejiang (or Zhejing) Lion King Ventilator Co, Ltd., which was founded in 2003 in Taizhou, ZJ (though one source suggests they were founded in 1994).

They began producing sirens soon after, releasing their 3 main lineups, the Manual Sirens, the Industrial Motor Sirens, and the Large Electromechanical Sirens, as well as some other standalone sirens. Their first website seems to have been lksos.com, which formerly belonged to the Lance Key School of Soccer in San Antonio, Texas.

They would create 2 more websites in March and September of 2008, these being soslk.com and fire-siren.com respectively, which were essentially mirrors of their first website. lionkingsignal.com would also go up in either December of 2008 or January of 2009.

In the mid-2010s, Lion King would streamline their lineup, discontinuing several sirens and replacing them with a few new ones, including the DEFENDER. In 2019, lionkingsignal.com would receive a new site layout, as opposed to the standard lksos.com layout. In 2021, Lion King would move to their current(?) site, lkrescue.com, which superseded lksos.com.

## Products

### Industrial Motor Sirens

*Main article: Lion King Industrial Motor Sirens*

### Large Electromechanical Sirens

*Main article: Lion King Large Electromechanical Sirens*
Elektror Handzugsirene HZ 1

The **Handzugsirene HZ 1** is a small, hand powered siren intended as a alternative to a standard electric fire siren when power is unavailable. Produced by Elektror from sometime in the 1950s to the 1990s, the Handzugsirene HZ 1 proved to be quite popular and is still sold today by various rebranders such as Rosenbauer and Survival Solutions.

## History and Design

The Handzugsirene HZ 1 was introduced sometime in the 1950s by Elektror Karl W. Müller, who intended for the siren to be used in situations where power would be unavailable. The siren consists of a small aluminum 9-port rotor and stator, which is driven by a small pulley located at the bottom of the siren. A small metal hanger is on top of the stator, allowing for the siren to be mounted on walls. The material for this hanger often varies between rebrands, and in some instances it isn't included at all.

A finger guard is included in front of the stator, as the siren can cause injury if it is misused. A small strap attached to the left and right side of the siren is also included, which is used for hanging the siren on the user's neck. On original Elektror units, the 4th opening between the 3rd and 4th finger guard is separated. However, for rebranded units, a large disc is in the place of the separation, typically with a sticker on it, which reads "Hz1". The siren's rotor can get up to around 4260 rpm. The siren is rated 108 dB at 1 m.

After its introduction, the Handzugsirene HZ 1 quickly became popular with places such as schools and public buildings who used the siren as a fire alarm, as well as various fire departments around Germany. The Handzugsirene HZ 1 was discontinued in the 1990s, like all of Elektror's other siren offerings. However, it continued to be resold by various other companies that Elektror had leased the siren to. Today, the Handzugsirene HZ 1 is fairly common and can be found in various places in Germany where short-range notification is required.
British General Electric Sirens

A 12/14-port dual rotor BGE siren, located in Schofield, NSW. It was used as a fire siren, but it is unknown if it is still in use. Photo credit to SirensOfAustralia.

### Type of siren

Omnidirectional Electromechanical

**British General Electric** was a company formed in 1924 and was a manufacturer of various radios and vacuum tubes during the early to mid 20th century. During World War II, the company was commissioned to produce air raid sirens to warn the public of incoming Axis air raids. Unlike many siren manufacturers at the time, BGE went with a vertical omnidirectional design, instead of the typical horizontal sirens. After World War II, these sirens fell out of use as Australia has little use for sirens, and few units remain today. Little information exists on these sirens, and their exact model names are unknown. It appears that these sirens were produced by several manufacturers, and were supplied by British General Electric.

## Variants

**12/14-port Dual Rotor Siren**

BGE produced a unique vertical dual rotor siren, which has a distinctive appearance. This siren uses a dual rotor design, with the top rotor being 12-port, and the bottom rotor being 14-port. This results in a 12/14 port siren. The siren runs on a 3HP dual sided AC motor, which runs at 2880RPM, 50hz, and was designed for three-phase AC. The siren was produced by several different companies, but all were supplied by BGE. Since the siren runs at 50hz, the siren resembles a 10/12 siren when operating. The siren heavily resembles a dual rotor Fedelcode or XT22 with the housing removed.

**Single Rotor Siren**
Altec Lansing Giant Voice

**Type of siren** | Directional Electronic

## Introduction

Altec Lansing was among the first companies to create electronic “Giant Voice” systems. Most units have been removed but at least one still remains in Huntsville, AL.

### Overview

Altec Lansings have been installed all over the south & midwest. Each siren used 3-4 10 cell speakers. The Altecs were controlled by a central control unit inside the place where they test the sirens.
Bell-Evans Co.

**Products** | Vehicular electric sirens

The **Bell Machinery and Industrial Supplies Company**, also known as **Bell-Evans**, was a Terminal Island, CA-based manufacturer of various industrial supplies, including vehicular sirens.

Very few references to this company can be found, with the only information known about it coming from a CHP list of approved devices from the 1940's that listed a 'Bell-Evans siren', as well as a Minnesota Department of Public Safety list of approved vehicular sirens, which lists a "Freewheeling" siren. The company is long-gone and very few units of their sirens are known to exist.

## History

Very little is known about Bell-Evans, aside from the fact that it was founded sometime in the 1920's in Terminal Island, California. The company would produce a vehicular siren with heavy inspiration taken from B&M, in a similar vain to Soundmaster's sirens. B&M rotors were apparently used as casting patterns to be used for Bell-Evans sirens, with casting irregularities that match those on an old B&M rotor. Bell-Evans would go under sometime during the 1940s, as no traces of the company can be found after this period. It is likely they closed up shop during or after World War II.

## Products

### Vehicular Electric Sirens

#### Bell-Evans siren

The **Bell-Evans** **siren** is the only siren known to have been produced by Bell-Evans. The exact name of the siren is unknown, though a document released by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety mentions a "Freewheeling" siren, though this is likely not the actual name of the siren. There appears to have been 2 variants of the siren, with one being equipped with a clutch brake and one not being equipped with one.

The siren is identical to B&M's S8 "M1", down to the stator and rotor design with the jailbar-like finger guards. It is relatively simple in terms of design, consisting of an 8 port rotor and stator with the aforementioned finger guards over each port. The rotor is driven by a small, likely 6 volt motor, and has 4 long vanes, which is very unique among vehicular sirens. The only known existing unit is equipped with a clutch that would probably have worn out very quickly due to its pin-and-ramp design.

The rotor and stator of the 1st generation B&M S8 siren appear to have been used as casting patterns for Bell-Evans siren rotors, though they are slightly smaller. Normal shrinkage of aluminum on cooling would exactly account for the size difference, as casting patterns are typically made oversize to allow for shrinkage as the casting cools. The siren's housing is reminiscent of the B&M Super Chief, with the sirens sharing the same general design. It is unknown how many of these were made.
DIEF

**Decibel rating (100ft)** | -
 **Type of siren** | Omnidirectional Electromechanical
Omnidirectional Pneumatic

**DIEF** is a Danish manufacturer of control and instrumentation products, including engine controls, renewable energy controls, marine bridge instrumentation, switchboard instrumentation, and for a short time, industrial use sirens. DIEF produced two main sirens, these being the:

## Products

### Pneumatic sirens

#### Type 208

The Type 208 is a small siren intended for industrial use in factories, ports, marine use, or wherever else the siren is deemed necessary. The siren is unusual in terms of design. Rather than using a motor to power its rotor, the Type 208 is a pneumatic siren that uses compressed air to spin the sirens rotor. Near the underside of the stator, there is a small air compressor hole, which allows for a tube connected to a timer or manual button, as well as an air compressor, to deliver air to the siren. The siren is 8 port and has a frequency of 60 to 1000 Hz, likely depending on how much air the siren is being fed. The recommended amount of air needed to power the siren is around 3.5 atm. to 8.5 atm. The Type 208 has a decibel rating between 110 to 118 at 1 meter.

### Electric sirens

#### Type 212

The Type 212, like the 208, is a small, 8 port single tone siren intended for industrial use, using the same rotor and stator. Unlike the 208, however, the Type 212 uses a motor to power the siren's stator. The siren runs off of either AC or DC, 24 or 220 volts, and has a decibel rating of around 110-115 dB at 1 meter.

The 208 and 212 were phased out in DIEF's product program sometime in or shortly after 2020. Interestingly, the website offers a "replacement product" despite the fact no other sirens are produced by DIEF, though this may change in the future.
HÖRMANN ECX

**Type of siren** | Omnidirectional Electronic

The **HÖRMANN ECX** series is a series of electronic sirens produced by HÖRMANN Warnesysteme. Introduced in 1977, the ECX series has since gone on to pave the way for many other European manufacturer's sirens, and can be found throughout the world as part of a wide variety of siren warning systems.

## History and Design

### ECL

The ECX series was introduced around 1977 with the introduction of the ECL series. The ECL series is visually reminiscent of the HLS X73 and HLS 381, which it was intended to replace. They are relatively simple in design, consisting of several speaker drivers which have rectangular horns attached to them. The throat of the horns point upwards, in a similar fashion to the HLS X73 and HLS 381.

On most ECL units, there is a cap above the siren, protecting the drivers from the elements. The ECL series came in 3 options, these being the ECL 400, ECL 800, and ECL 1600, ranging from being rated 106 to 118 dB at 100 ft. The signals were stored in EPROM memory chips and thus any signal tone could be programmed and played with the help of analogue amplifiers. The series was also capable of voice announcements. The ECL series was discontinued in 1985 after the ECN series was introduced. Not many units are known to remain.

### ECN

The ECN was the 2nd generation of sirens in the ECX series, being introduced in 1985. The ECN series improved on the design of the ECL series, doing away with the HLS-like style, instead opting for a thin, rectangular horn design that also featured newer drivers. The horns are arranged in a way that the sound is propagated omnidirectionally, with the principle being based on gap diffraction, also called Huygens' principle.

The ECN's horns and drivers were licensed to several European companies during its production, resulting in many other sirens looking similar, if not identical to the ECN series, with the only changes being the logos on the sides of the horns. This makes telling the sirens apart quite difficult, and many assume that sirens that share the same horns and drivers are ECNs.
Custer Electric

**Custer Electric, Inc.** is an Indiana-based electrical contractor that specializes in outdoor lighting systems and outdoor warning siren systems. While mainly a siren maintenance contractor, they also have produced a few small electronic sirens that are made to be as inexpensive as possible. none of these small sirens exist outside of east-central Indiana. The largest and most well-known system of these sirens is in Rushville, Indiana, which has around 5 of these sirens.

All of the installations have controllers consisting of an older, analog fire truck siren and a radio, with a set of speakers and a battery on top of the pole. the model of speakers used varies greatly between installations. The most common of these speaker types is the Atlas Soundolier Cobreflex model, which is used on the installations in Rushville and Knightstown.

Many younger/inexperienced enthusiasts will find one of these speakers on an unrelated PA speaker installation and believe that it is a Custer Electric siren, when it is little more than a basic PA speaker. It is very unlikely that Custer would install any sirens very far from where they are headquartered.

## References

1. ↑ List of Custer Electric siren units
2. ↑ https://www.airraidsirens.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22074
KPT Model KIS K6

The **Model** **KIS K6**, also referred to as simply just the **KIS**, is a small industrial electric siren produced by KPT Industries, a Kolhapur, MH-based company. The siren is intended for use in industrial areas, indoor use, and short range outdoor warning.

## History and Design

The Model KIS K6 was likely introduced sometime during the early 2000s. The siren is extremely simple in terms of design, consisting of a small aluminum 8-port rotor and stator driven by a 240 V AC/DC motor. The brushes are visible near the tail end of the motor. The siren's tag is placed on the left side of the motor, held on by 2 screws. The front of the rotor is covered by a cylindrical disc held on by 3 screws, with a screen in the center to prevent potential injury from misuse of the siren, as it is small enough to be handheld.

The motor is placed on a horseshoe-shaped stand which has 2 bolts on each end, allowing for the siren to be mounted on a flat surface. The Model KIS K6 comes in a small blue and red rectangular box displaying an image of the siren, as well as it and the manufacturers' name, along with information about the siren's specs. The Model KIS K6 weighs around 1.7 kg. According to KPT, the siren is able to be heard from up to 2 km, depending on where the rotor is facing, as it is a directional siren.
Erick Fire Siren

A 12-port Erick Fire Siren, located in Cameron, WI. It is used for noon blasts.

The **Erick Fire Siren** is an omnidirectional mechanical siren that was produced by Erick Electric Siren Co. based out of St. Paul, MN. It was designed for use at fire stations to call volunteer firefighters, and was advertised as superior to older methods such as ringing a bell. Its primary competitors were Decot's Red Arrow, Federal Electric's Model 2, Type Mach. B and Fedelcode series, and the Sterling Model M.

## History and Design

The Erick is a medium sized omnidirectional siren which began production in the 1920s, and is quite simple in design. The siren is driven by a 2HP, 5HP or 10HP AC motor. which has three mounting legs attached to it. The siren was available in 2 variants, a high tone and a low tone. The high tone uses a 14-port single tone rotor and stator, while the low tone model uses a 12-port rotor and stator, sounding nearly identical to a Federal Signal STH-10 or Model 5. A mesh and steel housing surrounds the rotor and stator in a conical shape, which was common for sirens at the time. The siren came with 1-2 skirts around the outside of the mesh, with a rainshield on top. The rainshield had a sound deflector built into it above the rotor, to help direct sound outwards. 10HP Erick units have a reinforcing band around the rotor to strengthen it, as it lacks a rear wall. 2HP units have also been found with rotor brakes in them to quickly slow down the winddown, as has been found in Kinzer, PA.

Erick had an earlier model of siren that was patented in 1922, which was the Model 317. These used a much different housing which was much smaller, with no skirts. Some used nothing more than a mesh screen around the stator with a small rainshield. The Model 317 is only known to exist in 5HP. These appear to have been discontinued and replaced by the more common Erick design in the early 1920s.

The Erick Fire Siren was sold until around the 1940s, as the demand for fire sirens was waning. Federal Electric's Fedelcode and Sterling's Model M were dominating the market across the country by this point, and Erick could not compete. Erick's sirens were mainly sold in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area, and didn't see much success outside of these areas. A few made it as far as Arkansas, California, Washington, and Alberta, but the majority can be found in the previously mentioned two states. Most of these nowadays are used for daily noon or curfew blasts, as their use as fire sirens have been replaced by pagers or newer sirens. Some have begun to wear out due to their old age, but many others continue to roar like they day they were built, nearly 100 years ago.
Jubilee Manufacturing Co.

**Products** | Car horns, Crystal radios, Vehicular sirens

**Jubilee Manufacturing Company**, often referred to as Jubilee, was a manufacturer of a variety of products, including car horns, crystal radios, and the main focus of this article, small 6/12 volt sirens.

## History

Jubilee Manufacturing Co was founded in 1905 in Omaha, Nebraska by John L. McCague, and originally sold cleaning products offering automobile "spark intensifiers" and windshield wipers by the 1910's. In the early 1920's, they expanded into spark plugs, visors, hose clamps and crystal radios. At least by the 1930's, they began to produce electric horns intended for use on automobiles. Auto horns seem to have became their primary product and by the 1950's they were OEM suppliers to manufacturers like Chrysler and Harley-Davidson. They would also likely start producing sirens around this time. 1974 would see the decline of Jubilee, with the death of McCague. The company ended up going defunct sometime in 1988.

## Products

### Stationary Electric Sirens

#### Model 10

The Model 10 is a small vehicular 6V siren that was produced by Jubilee from sometime during the 1950's to 1988. The siren is extremely simple in terms of design, consisting of a small motor driving a 5 port rotor inside of a 5 port stator, with a small horn in front of it. The entire siren is held up by a small mounting bracket, the design of which varies between some units, and the siren weighs around 4 lbs. A handful of units are known to exist, but they are far less common compared to the siren's 12V counterpart, the Model 210. This siren, along with all of Jubilee's other sirens, are likely rebranded.

#### Model 210

The Model 210 is essentially the Model 10, with a different motor and operating voltage. The two are identical, both featuring a small motor driving a 5 port rotor inside of a 5 port stator, with a small horn in front of it. The entire siren is held up by a small mounting bracket, the design of which varies between some units, and the siren weighs around 4 lbs. The motors of some Model 120 units are also known to vary. Many of these are known to exist, with quite a few being sold on eBay and various other websites. This siren, along with all of Jubilee's other sirens, are likely rebranded.

#### Model 220

The Model 220 is a variant of the Model 210 of some sort, being virtually identical with the exception of a rounded motor cover on the back of the siren and the forwards facing mounting bracket. Aside from this difference, the two are completely similar, running on the same voltage. Very few of these are known to exist, with 1 being sold on WorthPoint. This siren, along with all of Jubilee's other sirens, are likely rebranded.
ASC Clarity

**Type of siren** | Directional Electronic

The **Clarity** is an electronic siren currently produced by American Signal Corporation, and is the newest siren produced by the company as of 2023. The Clarity is designed as cheap alternative to the E-Class and i-FORCE, as its small size allows it to be shipped through standard shipping instead of by trailer, weighing less than 30 pounds. The Clarity is designed with voice clarity in mind over raw performance and is mainly meant for campus and office park use.

## History and Design

The Clarity was originally developed as a prototype sometime in the 2000s, using a very different design than the final product, and used a different name, the Clarity Voice. This early prototype heavily resembled the common stacked cell sirens of the time, such as the Federal Signal Modulator or Whelen's WPS-2800 and 2900, but with closely spaced cells with external supports. This prototype was never put into production, and currently sits at ASC's warehouse alongside an i-FORCE, the Tempest-128 prototype, and a Hurricane 130 MKII.

In 2020, ASC released a new version of the Clarity. This version uses a significantly different design, consisting of 4-16 speakers inside of an octagonal frame. The Clarity is a modular siren, coming in sections of 4 speakers inside of the octagonal frame, supporting up to 4 sections on one siren for a total of 16 speakers. This octagonal frame is what contains the drivers and wiring, and the speakers are easily removable to service the siren. In addition to the speakers themselves, the Clarity can also have strobe lights fitted to the empty sides of the sections. The Clarity is a very small and light siren, weighing in at less than 30 pounds and only 23 inches in width.

The speakers are JBL Selenium HM17-25 model speakers, which are normally used in studio monitors and car speakers. As a result, while these speakers cannot output the same volume that purpose-built siren speakers can, the tradeoff is excellent voice clarity at both near and long range. This makes it perfectly suitable as a campus siren, which is its target market. The speakers likely use JBL's titanium speaker drivers, which are rated for 100W each. This means the Clarity ranges from a 400W to 1600W siren. The Clarity is a direct competitor to Sentry's SV-8 campus siren, which is similarly small, inexpensive, and with a focus on voice capabilities.

As of 2023, very few Clarity units have been sold, likely due to low demand for campus sirens. This problem has also plagued the SV-8, with poor sales of both sirens. The most notable system of Clarity sirens is at the Eastern Kentucky University. It remains unknown how popular this siren will be, but only time will tell.
Rosenbauer International AG

**Names** | Rosenbauer & Kneitschel, Fabrik für Lösch-und Wehrgerät und Metallwaren

Automobilspritzengesellschaft Lohner & Rosenbauer

 **Products** | Fire apparatus
Indoor/outdoor warning sirens

**Rosenbauer International AG** is a Leonding, OOE-based manufacturer of fire trucks, firefighting equipment, and the main focus of this article, indoor and outdoor warning sirens. Founded in 1866, the company has since gone on to become one of the world's largest fire apparatus suppliers.

## History

Rosenbauer was founded by Johann Rosenbauer in Linz in 1866, reselling manual fire pumps, helmets, buttons, etc. from various local manufacturers. They also dabbled into making equipment for fencing, sports, and playgrounds. Konrad Rosenbauer took over the company in 1888, and it would start producing their own fire equipment soon after. After moving to a larger facility in Leonding, the company would be renamed to **K. Rosenbauer & Kneitschel, Fabrik für Lösch-und Wehrgerät und Metallwaren**.

In 1908, Rosenbauer started to produce gas-powered pumps, and would manufacture its first fire truck in 1918 Sometime between then and 1926, the company's name would again change, this time being renamed **Automobilspritzengesellschaft Lohner & Rosenbauer**. In the 1950s, likely sometime during or after 1955, Rosenbauer would release the FS4D, a simple omnidirectional electromechanical siren, intended for use as both a fire and civil defense siren. The company was likely inspired by the E57 which was introduced during the same decade.

The FS4D would be short-lived, however, as it was superseded by the FS8 in the 1960s, which was a slightly improved version of its predecessor. Rosenbauer would partner with Carvatech in the late 1970s to produce chassis for fire trucks. This venture would prove to be unsuccessful as Rosenbauer's custom chassis apparatus, the Falcon, was filled to the brim with unreliable parts and was extremely prone to failure, resulting in its discontinuation in the mid 1980s.

In the late 80s or early 90s, the company's name would change a third and final time, now being named **Rosenbauer International**. They would widen their product selection to include flying firefighting vehicles, water cannons, and uniforms and helmets. By this time, Rosenbauer had several manufacturing plants across the world, accounting for over 90% of the company's production, and employed around 2,000 employees by 2010.

In early 2011, German authorities would sentence Rosenbauer, Schlingmann GmbH & Co. KG, Albert Ziegler GmbH & Co. KG and Iveco Magirus Brandschutztechnik GmbH to a total of €28 million in fines for engaging in "cartel practices". Rosenbauer would introduce the Rosenbauer RT (**R**evolutionary **T**echnology), an electric vehicle, in 2014, which would see use in Berlin, Amsterdam, and Dubai after its release. It would be succeeded by the Rosenbauer RTX in 2021.
US4554531A

**US4554531A** (**U.S. patent #4,554,531**), or "**Omnidirectional siren**", was an unused patent filed by James Biersach, the president of Alerting Communicators of America, on December 27th, 1982, and officially published on November 19th, 1985. The patent described a unique rotational/omnidirectional hybrid siren, with a focus on being weatherproof. Likely due to the production cost, the siren was never manufactured and only exists on paper.

## History and Design

The siren was designed by James Biersach likely sometime in late 1982, who filed an application for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on December 27th, 1982. The patent describes a 9/12-port siren using ACA's directional rotor and stator design, driven by a (possibly 15 hp) motor on top of the assembly. The siren's intake is located beneath the stator. The assembly is held up by 4 legs which attach to a small pole.

The pole's base is rectangular and has 4 holes on each corner, allowing for the siren to be mounted. The siren's upper half is covered by a trapezoidal shroud, which is bolted to an outwards facing horn. A system of rollers located on top of the assembly is driven by the siren's motor, allowing for the horn and shroud to rotate and direct the siren's sound 360°. The purpose of the shape of the siren's housing is essentially to make it as impervious to precipitation as possible, reducing the chance of it freezing.

The patent was granted on November 19th, 1985, and published on the same day. It is unknown if any units were ever produced, though it is unlikely. The siren was likely intended to compete with Federal's RSH-10, as US4554531A was designed shortly after the RSH-10's introduction. The siren likely never entered production due to manufacturing costs. On November 15th, 1993, the patent was assigned to BNCO Acquisition Corp. It expired on December 27th, 2002, and has not been renewed since.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 US4554531A - Google Patents
2. ↑ Unused siren patent? - The Siren Board
Federal Signal SD-10

* Federal Electric Fedelcode
* Federal Signal Model series
 Succeeded by | * Federal Signal RSH-10

The **SD-10** was an omnidirectional, electromechanical civil defense siren produced by Federal Signal. It was introduced in 1954 as a special purpose dual tone civil defense siren, as the Office of Civil Defense mandated that all sirens used for civil defense must be dual tone.

## History and Design

The SD-10 is a dual-tone siren, with a 9/12-port dual-tone rotor providing 109 dB at 100 ft. The siren has a 10 hp motor located on top of it, shielded from the elements by a weatherproof cover. There was also an option to use a 7.5 hp motor. The siren has a unique steel shroud intended to evenly distribute the sound 360 degrees, with four large "vanes" inside of two curved shroud pieces directing the sound. The siren has a large deflection band around the stator, which was intended to pressurize the sound and make the siren louder.

This severely harmed the siren's ability to project, however, and the siren is louder without it. This band was optional between 1954 and 1957 and became standard on all units produced afterwards. Some cities such as Fresno, CA and Tuscon, AZ chose not to use the deflection band. The siren's intake is located on the bottom, with a mesh screen to keep debris out, and this is also where the siren's included mounting legs are attached. The siren is essentially a 10 hp C3 1/2 Model 5T inside a larger shroud, with better sound output. The SD-10 came in both single and three phase, being the SD-10B and SD-10A respectively.

The SD-10 was introduced in 1954 after the Office of Civil Defense mandated that civil defense sirens were dual tone and was intended to be used for purely civil defense purposes. These sirens were a popular option, with many being sold across the United States, especially in California and Arizona. They proved to be effective and reliable sirens, alongside Federal's other models produced at the time such as the XT22 and STH-10.

Even after civil defense sirens were no longer required to be dual tone, the SD-10 continued to be produced until 1987, when Federal began to streamline their lineup. Despite being intended as a civil defense siren, many SD-10s continue to be used as severe weather or fire sirens, in varying states of repair. Others still sit silently, a reminder of the perils of the Cold War.

The SD-10 also came in the form of the rotational Federal Signal 500-SHTT, which used the SD-10's rotor and stator inside of a belt-driven rotational platform. Only the 9/12-port dual tone models came with the SD-10's rotor, with the 10/12 model using its own rotor. Examples of these 500-SHTTs can be found in Los Angeles' former civil defense system, sitting inactive on their poles.
Federal Signal DSA

The **DSA (Directional Speaker Array)** is a directional electronic siren manufactured by Federal Signal Corporation. It is Federal Signal's directional alternative to the Modulator, intended for use where true omnidirectional coverage is not required or for mounting on walls.

## History and Design

The DSA was released alongside the Modulator in 1990, and directly replaced the older omnidirectional EOWS\*115 and EOWS\*1212. The DSA is essentially a directional Modulator, using the exact same 100W speaker compression drivers to produce sound. Each DSA array is made of 2-6 fibreglass Atlas CJ46 speakers attached to an aluminum rear housing which contains the speaker drivers. This makes it very similar in appearance to sirens such as the Whelen WS-2000 and ACA's Alertronic sirens. Each array can support up to 6 speakers/drivers, for a total of 600W. Up to 4 arrays are supported on one controller, and the DSA is compatible with the SiraTone, MC, MCP and UltraVoice controllers produced by Federal Signal. These arrays do not appear to be made by Federal Signal themselves, instead being bought from elsewhere, as early ATI HPSS-16 units used identical arrays.

Different sized arrays can be used in the same installation according to needs, such as if extra sound output is needed in a particular direction. Each DSA array comes with 4 stainless steel mounting brackets, which can be attached directly to a pole or wall, depending on installation needs. The arrays can be swiveled downwards up to 15 degrees.

The DSA arrays are named as follows:

DSA Models
 DSA3
 DSA4
 DSA5
 DSA6

DSA arrays are often named by both the number of speakers per array, and the number of arrays attached to the controller. As an example, an installation of 4 arrays with 6 speakers is known as a DSA6x4. Installations with multiple sizes of arrays are simply known as DSAs.

The DSA is still sold by Federal Signal today, and competes with other directional electronic sirens such as the ASC E-Class, ATI HPSS, and Whelen WS400H. It is a common find as a campus or industrial siren due to its wall mounting capabilities, cost, and versatility.
Federal Signal Model D

The **Model D** was a small electric industrial siren that was produced by the Federal Signal Corporation. The siren was intended for indoor industrial use, as well as short range outdoor use. The Model D shared this purpose with the Model A and Model L in Federal Signal's lineup, ultimately being discontinued due to being overall redundant.

## History and Design

The Model D was introduced sometime before 1943, with the first known concrete advertisement of the siren dating to that year. The Model D and Model L are nearly identical sirens, sharing the exact same rotor, stator, motor, and motor housing/stand. The only difference between the Model D and Model L is the intake, as the Model D uses a flared intake similar to the Model A, while the Model L uses a larger cylindrical intake. The Model D uses a small 8-port aluminum rotor and stator, driven by a 1/2HP AC/DC universal motor running at either 12VDC or 120/240VAC. The motor runs at a high RPM, with the siren peaking at a relatively high pitch. Due to the siren's small size, finger guards are included on the stator ports. The Model D is rated at 112 dB at 10ft, with an operating range of 200ft. Like many of Federal's small sirens, the Model D was compatible with the Pulsator attachment, with units having factory installed Pulsators being designated as the **Model PD**.

Like most small industrial sirens, the siren is simple in design. By default, the Model D comes with a metal stand which attaches to the rounded motor cover through two swivel mounts, which allows the siren to be aimed vertically wherever is required. These mounts are secured by nuts to keep them in place. The stand includes holes for mounting on a wall, floor or ceiling. The siren uses a flanged outer skirt to project the sound, and originally used a flared intake similar to the Model A, possibly intended to increase sound pressure to the rotor. Late into the siren's production run in the 1970s, the Model D was redesigned to use the same cylindrical intake as the Model L, effectively turning the siren into an identical clone of the Model L. The Model D's rotor and stator set found much use by Federal Signal for their other sirens, including various vehicular sirens, its successor the Model L, and the Model 1/2.

The Model D was not as successful as the Model A, selling far fewer units. By the end of the siren's production run, the siren was simply a redundant clone of the Model L, leading to Federal Signal discontinuing the siren in the early 1980s. Other sirens such as the Model J were discontinued as well, simplifying Federal's lineup to only include the Model A and Model L. Today, Model Ds are a somewhat rare find, as most places opted to go for the Model A, L, or the Sterling/Sentry F-2. They are a popular siren for enthusiasts, due to their small size and ease of operation.
Federal Signal 508-128

The **508-128** is a rotating DC electromechanical siren produced by Federal Signal and is the newest mechanical siren in their lineup. Originally intended for use in areas near nuclear plants, the 508 has also enjoyed popularity as a severe weather siren. It is sold alongside the 2001-130 and the Model ECLIPSE as Federal Signal's main outdoor warning siren offerings.

## History and Design

    The 508-128 was introduced in 2011 as a refined version of the Equinox. The Equinox had several issues, including the chopper sticking out into the rear housing which reduced airflow and harmed sound output, causing the siren's performance to fall flat. The 508-128 fixed this problem by completely redesigning the projector. The chopper now faces forwards with the motor being located in the rear housing, and a significantly enlarged projector and intake lets the chopper have more than enough air. This gives it significantly better performance than the Equinox. The 508-128 is designed to compete with ASC's T-128, although the T-128 performs better than the 508-128 by nearly two decibels.

The 508-128 has a distinctive design, reusing several parts from the 2001-130. The direct-drive rotator is identical to the rotator used on the 2001-130, rotating the head at 3RPM. The collector ring assembly is also identical, being reused from the 2001-130 and the Thunderbolt. The housing itself has been enlarged with a pentagonal shape to add additional support for the projector. The fiberglass projector has also been redesigned, using a different "sunflower" shape. Like the 2001-130, eight horns are attached to the eight stator ports, which directs the sound forwards and out the front of the siren. However, unlike the 2001-130, the horns are significantly larger, and all merge into one single large projector. The intake is very large, and slightly conical in shape to help direct sound forwards while also maximizing airflow. The rotor itself, which is heavily derived from ASC's Tempest rotors, also uses an integral conical intake with directional vanes. The 508-128 is most efficient running counterclockwise. The rotor and stator themselves are borrowed from the Eclipse-8, just like the Equinox. The siren is driven by a 6.5HP DC motor, which allows for battery backup capabilities. All of this allows the siren to reach 128 dB at 100ft.

Being such a new siren, the 508-128 is not as common as other modern sirens such as the T-128 or 2001-130 as they have had more time to sell units, however the 508-128 is quickly becoming more popular as it is an effective siren with great range and power and is commonly being installed to replace older systems or as an addition to existing systems. The siren does have some issues, namely numerous rotator failures and early units suffering catastrophic housing failure from the projector being too heavy and damaging the housing. However, these have likely been resolved since. These sirens also tend to suffer from quality control issues. Today, the 508-128 is a solid option for cities looking to invest in a Federal system, though many cities opt for the cheaper Equinox.