New Guy with a Thunderbolt!

[TinKnocker]

I just managed to bring an old siren home. I'm excited about it as I love nostalgic things (coke machines, gas pumps etc.). I believe, from some research, that its a thunderbolt. The tag says federal sign and siren, model 2000, and 12 volt. Its not a "Jail bar" type. I also have access to the pole. But its 35' long and I don't know what I'd do with it, or how I'd get it home. I'm new to the siren world. So any information about it would be greatly appreciated.

[coastalsyrolover]

*cracks knuckles... first off did you get the blower with it or just the head? The 2000 model used a gasoline powered blower as opposed to an electric one. But yes you are correct it's a thunderbolt 2000. The electric ones that you see in the wild a little more often are the thunderbolt 1000. And if it's dual tone you put a T at the end of the thousand. The siren is from federal signal and is their supercharged model (hence why it has a blower and one port) and is also one of if not their most popular siren model (it might even be one of the most popular in the states but idk... that might be a bold statement.) they are very directional and are known for being pretty brutal up close (shaking the ground when it points at you usually... yes it rotates.) with the dual tone being much harsher and attention getting and the single tone being more potent and carrying/maintaining its loudness further. If you run the chopper motor without the blower, just be aware it's still pretty loud, but it won't shatter any windows without the blower. With it though... yyyyea...

[TinKnocker]

Thanks for your reply. I thought that since it had big electrical wires that stick out of the box, that it was electric, or converted to electric at one time. Would the blower box sit on the ground? Or would it be on that big pole picured in my first post? I'm going to have to go take a look where I picked the siren head up, to see if I can find that box. There was a bunch of old stuff back there.

[Westgate Thunderbolt]

I find it very interesting that you said it is a Thunderbolt 2000 from Federal Sign and Signal. I didn't think that they made 2000's that late. All of the 2000's known were all from Federal Enterprises of the mid 1950's prior to the company name change.

With that steel pole and platform type of set up I would venture a guess that the blower was installed at ground level.

[coastalsyrolover]

Thanks for your reply. I thought that since it had big electrical wires that stick out of the box, that it was electric, or converted to electric at one time. Would the blower box sit on the ground? Or would it be on that big pole picured in my first post? I'm going to have to go take a look where I picked the siren head up, to see if I can find that box. There was a bunch of old stuff back there.

The head that you have on the back of the truck is all electric but the blower (as a 2000) was gas powered. The electrical wires though could have been for activation of the blower? Idk. Or it might have gotten converted like you mentioned. The mounting of a blower depends on many things. Jeb M and Ian M (different last names just the same first letter) both mounted theirs on wooden platforms on the pole itself while other people mount them on the ground or a roof platform. The blower has a "standpipe" (which is that long pipe on the side of the pole) that the air travels up and gets sent through the head. The platform at the top was probably used to stabilize the head a bit or to make it easier to work on.

[Stormsetter4]

P.M. Sent regarding the pole.

[Hacksaw]

You may want to partially disassembly the siren head, to check the bearings & brushes on the chopper.

There's a thread here on Siren Parts, giving the part numbers for Thunderbolt commonly repaired items.

If you don't get the blower for that unit, you can use the exhaust from a shop vac to give a sound output boost. Not as much as a real blower, but, an improvement. This came from Adam Smith.

[Brendan W]

Where was your siren originally in service, if I may ask? That pole setup looks suspiciously like Tucson, AZ's old setups to me...

[TinKnocker]

I'm not sure exactly where this was in service. I found it in Northern California. I'm going to go back tomorrow and look for the other box. The pole is HUGE. I'm not sure if I'll have time to take it, or a piece of it. I believe the bank is taking over the property within the next week. I'll post some pictures of the tag, and the inside of the siren when I get a chance.

[Westgate Thunderbolt]

Pima County (Tucson), Arizona did have similar Thunderbolt installations with the maintenance platform on top of the pole, but they plumbed the blower directly into the pole for air delivery. If I remember correctly the pole gradually reduced in size from around 10 inch pipe at the bottom to a three inch pipe at the top. The set up we see here has a separate pipe externally fixed to the pole for siren head mounting and air delivery.