The Siren Board

Here is a big tip for the people that like to listen to scanners during a test.

Place the camera and the scanner at least two feet apart from each other so the activation tones won't be louder than the siren. I learned that lesson after having my scanner to close to the camera while I was recording a Model 7.

carexpertandy wrote:If you don't have video editing software and there's a long period of the video without sirens sounding and don't want to wait a long time, one thing you could do is say in the description of the video when the sirens start to sound(e.g. 3:42), and that will be linked, and if you click on it, it will take you right to that time.

Youtube itself also has an editor that you can cut a clip down with.

make sure your phone or your mom's phone is on silent...
in my cedar hill TB video, a few seconds in, mom's phone, which i was using for it's clock, announced a text message.
later on, it rang.
FAIL!

Jared H wrote:make sure your phone or your mom's phone is on silent...
in my cedar hill TB video, a few seconds in, mom's phone, which i was using for it's clock, announced a text message.
later on, it rang.
FAIL!

Even better, instead of worrying of having to set your phone on silent, don't even bring the phone in the first place.
Or, keep it in the car, and use a watch for timing the siren.

other tips:

please leave Spot, or your young siblings at home if possible or at least move the camera away from them. Nothing's worse than hearing a dog howling or barking loudly next to the camera, or a little kid well being a little kid in the middle of what would have been a great video. I understand if a dog in someone's backyard starts howling or barking on wind up, or someone's kids are running around and playing nearby, that's uncontrollable and happens to all of us at some point, as does the nosy passerby that just has to approach and have a conversation/question you as the siren starts.

Also not singling anyone out, but please once the siren starts, hands off the camera until it winds down. Seems there's a trend on a lot of videos of people zooming in and out as the siren is sounding, sometimes multiple times. Zooming out after the siren winds down to show how far you were from it, or zooming in on rotor(s) spinning is ok, and I rather enjoy that. Again not targeting anyone, just some friendly advice that's all, no hard feeling intended 8) .

Scanners: If you have one and know the activation frequency, we love hearing the activation signal and/or test message before wind up. Pagers are ok too.

And another piece of advice, please observe signage before filming. If there's a no trespassing sign posted, or you are not given permission to enter any private property if no public vantage points are available don't set foot on the property. Never hurts to ask, especially at a private community, firehouse, public works garage, courthouse, town/city hall, or police station. Worse that'll happen is you're told no. Also if you see a fence, stay out of the fenced in area unless you get permission. If someone associated with the property asks you to leave or stop filming, respect their wishes. Don't risk getting into trouble just for a siren video. Also nothing ruins a video faster than someone yelling at you to get off their property, or the cops showing up in the middle of the video.

Also not singling anyone out, but please once the siren starts, hands off the camera until it winds down. Seems there's a trend on a lot of videos of people zooming in and out as the siren is sounding, sometimes multiple times. Zooming out after the siren winds down to show how far you were from it, or zooming in on rotor(s) spinning is ok, and I rather enjoy that. Again not targeting anyone, just some friendly advice that's all, no hard feeling intended 8) .

Well said, very well said.

Always start recording a minute or two early just in case.

It's always a good thing to make sure your batteries are really charged before wandering out to your specific siren. I can't tell you how bummed I was one time when I went to check my camcorder's battery status (which had about an hour left) and to when the time came to start recording that it mysteriously said low battery and quit.

What about fire chief pressing siren button at firehouse?

Here is a pretty good one. Try to know how far away the siren you are testing is from your house so you can have plenty of time to get there. I had a very close call when testing a T-135. We got stuck behind a paint truck and by the time we got there, we were a mere 15 seconds from activation.