Information on the ACA Banshee

[SuperBanshee]

I sent you the Banshee manual through e-mail a while back. All of the basic schematics should be in there.

The only part I don't think it mentioned were the stator heaters which are about as useful as the Nintendo Speedboard.

[Josh_S]

I sent you the Banshee manual through e-mail a while back. All of the basic schematics should be in there.

The only part I don't think it mentioned were the stator heaters which are about as useful as the Nintendo Speedboard.

The last page was a parts list and there weren't any schematics that came along with it

[SuperBanshee]

We'll need photos of your siren and controls to really figure this one out. I am going to presume you want the siren running off household power, which is something I do not personally recommend for such a large siren. Even if it's single phase it's going to hog up more than something like a Model 2.

[Josh_S]

We'll need photos of your siren and controls to really figure this one out. I am going to presume you want the siren running off household power, which is something I do not personally recommend for such a large siren. Even if it's single phase it's going to hog up more than something like a Model 2.

Well obviously lol, it's only over 300 pounds heavier than a 2 and about 5 times as powerful motorwise. Yes, I do plan to hook it up to my household power, I am going to attempt to run it off 60amp slow blow fuses. I will upload some pictures as soon as I can.

[Josh_S]

Here are some pictures (sorry for the bad quality)
IMG_20160803_005227 by Josh Schmirler (bearlovesox), on Flickr
IMG_20160803_005236 by Josh Schmirler (bearlovesox), on Flickr
IMG_20160803_005244 by Josh Schmirler (bearlovesox), on Flickr
IMG_20160803_005248 by Josh Schmirler (bearlovesox), on Flickr
IMG_20160803_005258 by Josh Schmirler (bearlovesox), on Flickr
And yes, all of the caps will be replaced

[SuperBanshee]

I know we talked about it in private but just to clarify a few points:

1. The siren motor will need inspection before it can be operated. Even if the windings don't look too chewy it's still not a great idea to fire it up immediately after it's been sitting around for so long.

2. The control panel will need to be fully serviced before it can be operated as well. If it proves to be beyond feasible repair, find a new controller.

3. It would be a good idea to clean up and coat up the fiberglass shrouds. Since your siren was painted gray it might not be quite as crackled compared to those which only got the yellow fiberglass coloring impregnation and a varnish coat. More photos of the head are always welcome.

4. Good idea to check the rotor and stator as well. Hairline cracks are your worst enemy as they don't like to turn up until too late.

5. If it is actually going to be operated after full restoration, you must ensure there is enough power going to it or else you risk turning the motor into S'mores. Not the tasty sort either.

Any failure to adhere to the above can cause harm to yourself and damage to your siren and who knows what else. I think it's great you got a Banshee 10, I just don't want to hear it's gone wrong.

[Valra Bellkeys]

I really can't wait to see pictures of the head! I will also love it if you did a drill wind-up!

[Josh_S]

I know we talked about it in private but just to clarify a few points:

1. The siren motor will need inspection before it can be operated. Even if the windings don't look too chewy it's still not a great idea to fire it up immediately after it's been sitting around for so long.

2. The control panel will need to be fully serviced before it can be operated as well. If it proves to be beyond feasible repair, find a new controller.

3. It would be a good idea to clean up and coat up the fiberglass shrouds. Since your siren was painted gray it might not be quite as crackled compared to those which only got the yellow fiberglass coloring impregnation and a varnish coat. More photos of the head are always welcome.

4. Good idea to check the rotor and stator as well. Hairline cracks are your worst enemy as they don't like to turn up until too late.

5. If it is actually going to be operated after full restoration, you must ensure there is enough power going to it or else you risk turning the motor into S'mores. Not the tasty sort either.

Any failure to adhere to the above can cause harm to yourself and damage to your siren and who knows what else. I think it's great you got a Banshee 10, I just don't want to hear it's gone wrong.

We will have to see, I am going to take a look at the motor before I run the thing. I'm only a tad leery though, the siren was removed as a bulk removal of Banshees from wherever it came from. It is a 1984 install (at an elementary school to be specific). As far as the control panel, I am in the slow process of restoring parts of it. Mainly I am changing the caps, and verifying functionality of other components. It isn't like there are tons of the things around so I have to work with the one I have. I scraped most of the rust off, vacuumed it and then spray painted a portion of it white (not pretty but something was needed to protect the rest of the metal). Removing things such as the rotation sensor, stator heaters, box heaters, the door alarm - all part of simplifying the process. The fiberglass shrouds have been cleaned of dirt dust and grime. I will be doing some fiberglass patching and some varnish will be applied at some point. I may decide to paint the unit yellow again - I'm not quite sure. Rotor and stator are not bad, as you stated last night ACA was not the greatest with quality control but it makes noise and isn't cracked or anything.
Lastly, the theory that I have. The wire into my house is #2. This goes to a 60 amp fuse box. If it is #2 to the fuse box, and then #4 to the siren it will surely supply the 240 amps starting and for sure the 48 amps running. The only thing that would happen is that the fuse would blow due to too much amperage running the siren. I think the problem with not enough amps would be like trying to run the siren on 10AWG or even 12AWG. I could see it starving for amps in that case haha.
All in all I plan to get the thing on a trailer or rolling cart and I will mount the control box to that. Once I get this accomplished, and figure out how to wire everything (understanding that single phase control box is what I really need help with, I have no idea what wires I need and which things in that box I can just get rid of) the siren will be tested somewhere where the motor operation can be verified as good (motor shop or something).
If anyone can help me figure out the siren control box, that would be amazing! I know Jeb has been helping me, and any additional information would be appreciated. I'll send a copy of the schematic to my email too.

[SoundMaster 391]

Josh, if you need a Banshee manual I can email it to you. Just PM me your email address.

[Daniel]

I wonder if any 10-12 Banshees still exist.