Federal Thunderbolt and ACA Hurricane questions

[justie1220]

So i know that these two sirens rivaled each other as the "first supercharged siren" but what makes one better over the other? how does the placement and styles of the blowers affect sound output? ive seen manuals of both sirens so i know the placement of blowers is obviously different between the designs. what design changes were there throughout the production years?

all information would be very helpful because i wanted to know statistically compare the Thunderbolt series and the Hurricane series and to just have more information under my belt on both sirens Thanks!

[Sirenguy02]

I'm pretty sure the round horn design was more efficient and was easier to make.

[Stormsetter4]

I do not think the thunderbolt changed much other than the tic tac toe grill, the 2000 model, the 7000 series, and the B series thunderbolts with an offset rotator box. I might be wrong though. The only time the hurricane changed I think was the 130 model to the MK designs. The thunderbolt had either a 10hp blower or a 7.5 hp motor for the blower and the hurricane had a 30hp blower that put out more air, yet was much smaller than a thunderbolt blower. The thunderbolt was obviously a roof mount design, but the hurricane was not.
One of the reasons the hurricane was not produced anymore is that the thunderbolt was much easier to produce, and that the thunderbolt was much more popular than the hurricane.

So i know that these two sirens rivaled each other as the "first supercharged siren"

Actually, the Chrysler siren I believe was the first supercharged siren.
If anybody finds any problems with what I wrote, please feel free to correct me.
I hope this helps out.

[justie1220]

I do not think the thunderbolt changed much other than the tic tac toe grill, the 2000 model, the 7000 series, and the B series thunderbolts with an offset rotator box. I might be wrong though. The only time the hurricane changed I think was the 130 model to the MK designs. The thunderbolt had either a 10hp blower or a 7.5 hp motor for the blower and the hurricane had a 30hp blower that put out more air, yet was much smaller than a thunderbolt blower. The thunderbolt was obviously a roof mount design, but the hurricane was not.
One of the reasons the hurricane was not produced anymore is that the thunderbolt was much easier to produce, and that the thunderbolt was much more popular than the hurricane.

So i know that these two sirens rivaled each other as the "first supercharged siren"

Actually, the Chrysler siren I believe was the first supercharged siren.
If anybody finds any problems with what I wrote, please feel free to correct me.
I hope this helps out.

yeah i suppose you would be right on since they are the loudest in the world lol. thanks for pitching in as well :thup: and what does MK mean in the later Hurricane series?

[Crazywarriorman]

The square horn hurricane was just a prototype siren designed by Jim Biersach that went through at least 2 phases. The first type had a cylindrical rotator and a wider blower, like the one seen in the famous ACA ad. The second one had a wider rotator tub and a slightly smaller blower. The second version is the Hurricane that I currently own. The round horn Hurricane went through around 3 different designs, all varying rotators and blowers assembly's were changed in each design as well. The round horn hurricane was the most efficient in sound output and easier to manufacture.

The Hurricane (all models) were available for roof mount. Any manual you can find has options for roof mounting. The hurricane is not produced anymore for the same reason as any other CD siren, no need for civil defense. The thunderbolt was advertised way way more than the Hurricane was. If I can recall federal advertised the Thunderbolt for pretty much anything, while ACA only pushed the Hurricane toward big cities

MK II means Mark 2, or version 2.

[justie1220]

yeah ive seen a couple videos of that nice square horned hurricane of yours . so are they less common or more common than the round horn counterparts?

[justie1220]

yeah ive seen a couple videos of that nice square horned hurricane of yours . so are they less common or more common than the round horn counterparts?

[coastalsyrolover]

now even though the hurricane has the harder blower, is louder and has 2 choppers that remove it's distortion the thunderbolts sound will usually carry further i believe and the distortion in the thunderbolt is a pretty distinct sound and the thunderbolt will have what has never offered with a hurricane: the single tone option ;D now don't get me wrong i LOVE them both. i actually think the hurricane is a bit easier to listen too just because of it's sweeter tone but like i said you know... it's honestly hard to say if one is better than the other because they are really apples and oranges in my opinion.

[uncommonsense]

now even though the hurricane has the harder blower, is louder and has 2 choppers that remove it's distortion the thunderbolts sound will usually carry further i believe and the distortion in the thunderbolt is a pretty distinct sound and the thunderbolt will have what has never offered with a hurricane: the single tone option ;D now don't get me wrong i LOVE them both. i actually think the hurricane is a bit easier to listen too just because of it's sweeter tone but like i said you know... it's honestly hard to say if one is better than the other because they are really apples and oranges in my opinion.

Holy run on sentence! What are you trying to say? What do you mean by distortion and removing distortion? That makes no sense whatsoever. And ACA would have been surprised to hear the Hurricane was never offered in a single tone configuration.

http://web.archive.org/web/200908240126 ... Manual.pdf

See the specifications page.

[Jim Z]

Holy run on sentence! What are you trying to say? What do you mean by distortion and removing distortion? That makes no sense whatsoever. And ACA would have been surprised to hear the Hurricane was never offered in a single tone configuration.

http://web.archive.org/web/200908240126 ... Manual.pdf

See the specifications page.

Dual-tone choppers are harsher sounding than two single tone choppers (e.g. 500T vs. a 2T22.)