Earl Gosswiller, 1912-2009: Engineer, prolific inventor Helped design squad car lights, tornado sirens Anyone who has been jolted by a whirring police light in his or her rearview mirror can thank Earl Gosswiller, an inveterate tinkerer whose creations included the Federal Signal Beacon Ray, believe...

I know this is an old thread . . . but I'm a new member! :D 3333 was the fd's phone number, and it rang a wall-mounted red phone with no dialer in the sheriff's office/jail. When an alarm was received, someone would drive the 1/4-mile to the fd, swing an inwardly-opening barn-style door, & throw...

Before the present-day sealed beam 888, Mars made a "bulb" version, with a more egg-shaped motor housing:

I don't know where/when the tale was started about "hill" lights, but you can see in Federal's literature that users of the tilted-beam version (Model 175) were considered "the more timid souls who feared direct white rays would be blinding." Also note in the color copy the state...

Hello all, North Carolina newbie here, retired firefighter type. I'm mostly a vehicle light 'n siren kinda guy, but I surely enjoy reading the posts and listening to the files of the outdoor varieties. I grew up listening, directly up the hill in the line of fire, to my town's Sterling M. I ran 1/3-...