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[Brendan W]

Great article! I do have one question about the DHTT. I've heard them called the 550AT. Is that an official Federal designation or something completely different?

[SuperBanshee]

I have never seen any official listings refer to any siren as a "550AT". It would appear the name was simply made up years ago on the old ARS forum, which also included the claim that the 500-DHTT was a rotating 2T22 rather than conjoined high and low pitched 500s.

[Creeperboy]

If they made the 500 sirens omnidirectional, they'd live up to this present day.

[Chicagosiren-hunters]

Not so sure about that...unless they found a way for it to run off DC power which without swapping the motor out, would seem a bit far fetched. Also, not to mention the fact that it would need to be single toned to pass Federal's "we need to keep this" test (as seen when Federal dropped almost everything in the 80's, especially dual toned sirens) to seem efficient enough for distance and penetration.

[Synther]

If they made the 500 sirens omnidirectional, they'd live up to this present day.

The omni-directional 500 is basically a Model 5. Heck, the bottom skirt on a Model 5 is basically a Federal 500 horn turned on it's side.

[Stevan Z]

Do you by any chance have a list of towns that had 500 series sirens in Northern Illinois?

[Chicagosiren-hunters]

There was an elusive 500-AT in Lombard, but it has never been confirmed. Here is a photo from the Siren Enthusiast Facebook page (Steven Z's photo):

[SuperBanshee]

Yes, there is the 500 in Lombard, IL. It is a later example built between 1970 and 1981. I don't have a master list of 500 locations, but they were fairly populous during their heyday. Here are a few former 500, 500T, and 500-SHTT locations.

Monroe County, Michigan used to have multiple 500Ts which were part of the Enrico Fermi 1 Nuclear Power Plant's warning system. All of these sirens were installed by 1959. The 500Ts were located around the rural countryside, presumably around the EPZ. While no photos appear to have survived, they looked identical to the 500Ts found in Los Angeles. The last known example from this system was located on Meanwell Road, just south of M-50. It was said to be in poor condition with several pieces of sheet metal falling off. Subsequently, it was removed years ago.

Rochester, IN reportedly had a 500-SHTT located on Madison Street - this one was located in a parking lot, however a brief Google Maps search suggests this siren is also gone.

Madison, WI used to have 3 500Ts across the city. These 3 phase 240 volt sirens were installed in 1976. They were located on Charleen Lane, Ferris Avenue, and Hammersley Road,. Unfortunately the 500Ts on Ferris and Hammersley have been removed as a part of Dane County's extensive siren upgrade program. The last 500T on Charleen will also be removed, if it hasn't been already.
http://www.jmarcoz.com/sirens/madison3_wi.jpg
http://www.jmarcoz.com/sirens/madison4_wi.jpg
http://www.jmarcoz.com/sirens/madison5_wi.jpg

Finally, there was once another 500 in Newberry, Michigan. This 500 was painted nice deep red as opposed to the more common Sunshine Yellow. It was roof-mounted on the Newberry Water & Light Plant. Unfortunately it appears the 500 suffered a mechanical failure as this Panoramio photo shows it hidden under a tarp, playing hide-and-don't seek.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/109036825

[Stormsetter4]

I do believe that Kansas City, MO used to have several Model 500 sirens. That has not been confirmed however. If they did have any, they have all been replaced by Federal Signal 2001-SRN's around 2002.

[Notre.Dame1003]

Rochester did indeed have a 500 downtown, it was across the street from the courthouse. I suspect they had another, tower mounted next to the Moose Lodge. There is a 2001 on said tower now, but the tower itself was without a doubt installed way before 1998 when the 2001 was put up.

I'm not sure what it is exactly, but that's not a 500 that's seen in the Newberry photo. The 500 was mounted closer to the front of the building (seen below). Obviously it's gone now. There is a new 2001 pole mounted next to the building.