Throwback! Gering, Nebraska Thunderbolt 1003

[Thun-1003guy]

Good morning, just wanted to share a neat picture that was shared with me. I was pleased to find one of Gering's old 1003's in the background of this picture of Geil Elementary. Gering's original system comprised of 3 1003 Tbolts. They were installed in the late 70's and replaced in 2002 with Federal 2001's. The city of Scottsbluff and Gering installed their Thunderbolts at the same time and Scottsbluff still has their's in service although they are seeking grant money to replace them. According to the former Emergency Management director, (who served from 1982-2008), the Gering Thunderbolts were in bad shape, they used to turn on by themselves or fail to sound during tests and warnings, that's why they were replaced sooner. I'm not sure when this photo was taken but you can still see the Civil defense and Thunderbolt decals on the blower box. I remember by the time they took it down in 2002 the sun had bleached in to a lighter yellow and all the decals were faded. Gering's Tbolts used to lean quite a bit as well ( as you can see in the photo). Not sure if it's just because of all the weight on one side of the double pole mount or what, but anyways here it is. I'm trying to locate pictures of the other 2 Tbolts and I'll upload them if I can find pictures of them.

[4J25]

That's a pretty cool install there. Thanks for sharing!

[Thun-1003guy]

All of the Thunderbolts in the area were installed like this. Here are few more examples from Scottsbluff and Morrill. I like the way they were installed, unique for sure. Such a shame they're getting replaced soon. The new emergency manager thinks just because they malfunctioned a couple of times they need to be replaced instead of just being maintained properly

[TboltTX1]

Very cool pictures.

Upgrading the existing Siratrols to more modern decoders (like FCs) would likely improve the reliability of the Thunderbolts. It would cost much less than replacing the entire unit as well.

[Thun-1003guy]

According to the emergency management director, he's wanting to apply for a Hazard Mitigation Fund to replace one Thunderbolt that has failed to sound the past 2 years for the YEARLY test, but they fix it and it works fine. He told me the reason it failed to sound this year was because of a blown fuse, but I guess that warrants an entire replacement. He told me that it started growling by itself last year due to a "bad solenoid frying" is that even possible?

[TboltTX1]

By "solenoid" he may likely be referring to a bad motor starter relay in the RCM panel. The older RCM panels didn't have fuses, such as this one from Houston, TX for example, which was manufactured in the early 1960s.

However, at some point fuses were added, as seen on this RCM from Norman, OK manufactured in the early to mid 1970s (someone more knowledgeable than myself may be able to chime in with the exact year this change was made).

As for the cause of the blown fuses and bad motor starter, there are any number of possibilities (including a lightning strike) of which that could result. A replacement motor starter relay, wire continuity check, and motor check would likely take care of most issues, but there could be other issues with this particular unit which would have prompted the EMA to consider replacement.

Understandably, the older Thunderbolts like these get, the more municipalities consider age and the difficultly of finding replacement parts a sufficient reason to upgrade to newer systems. It's still sad to see them disappear.

[Thun-1003guy]

This particular unit that has been having issues (pictured below) was relocated back in 2006 ( due to it being in a railroad right of way) and refurbished, so it's a shame to see it malfunctioning. It has been repaired and is ready for the severe weather season. The old Police Chief oversaw the refurbishment and was knowledgable when it came to troubleshooting and maintaining them but has since retired. The City of Scottsbluff is going to start testing monthly so I'm going to get a video of this particular unit before its replaced. Here a picture of the original installation and the relocated install, it looks black but it's civil defense yellow.

Original Installation

Relocated Installation

[r4tbolts]

IMO, part of the problem is the "yearly test". That is 364 days of sitting idle. It is like starting a car up for 3 minutes a year and expecting it to run like new.