New guy first post /UPDATE/VIDEO

[Model L]

Ah yes. the other delay timers are what's referred to as a "controller". it can take many forms, yours being i assume a 3 cam model with 5 relays, start, run, signal, and 2 for input. correct me if im wrong pls

[Dennis Kunkle]

It's hard to say exactly what this machine had in 1953, when it was installed on the roof of the hotel, since so many parts are gone. We are hard at work on its restoration. I'm going to start a new thread with lots of photos. I've located a fiberglas horn ($100) and am awaiting price with shipping. Since then, I've hooked up with a fellow in Ohio that has the doghouse (slang for engine enclosure) that he will part out. He has the metal horn for his electric version, but no elbow, like us. He also has the big V8 hemi ! Stay tuned........Oh, FWIW, I had brought up the color question earlier. Ours was definitely Army green. It must have had some relation to those two thousand sirens from the Pacific coast in 1942. Maybe a left-over?

[Brendan W]

It could be surplus Gov't property that was transferred to PA. There was a Tbolt made for the federal DC siren system that turned up in MO after it got removed from DC. Siren is now owned by someone IIRC.

[SuperBanshee]

The first two Mobil Directos were made in October 1942 and tested around the city of Milwaukee. It was not until 1944 did Biersach & Niedermeyer Co. get permission from the OCD to produce more sirens. The Milwaukee Mobil Directos were not permanently installed until 1951-1952. There are many archived newspaper articles regarding these sirens in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel archives.

Mobil Directos were originally red or dark gray but many ended up being painted CD yellow later on. Some were yellow from the beginning.

The horn pieces were probably removed when the siren was decommissioned. Two members on here (Wiifire8 & Holler) have Mobil Directos, they may be able to take specifications of the horn pieces if you can't find an old spare horn.

[Dennis Kunkle]

This is from Wikipedia: (Sometimes not the best source of info)

After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, concerns surfaced that the American public should be notified in the event of air attacks. The United States Department of the Army granted the company a contract to manufacture outdoor warning sirens and in 1942 the company began production of over 2000 sirens to be installed throughout the Pacific Theater for American troops and Air Bases.

Where did you come up with this?

The first two Mobil Directos were made in October 1942 and tested around the city of Milwaukee. It was not until 1944 did Biersach & Niedermeyer Co. get permission from the OCD to produce more sirens.

When we removed the sheet metal skirting around the base, there are areas of paint that were covered by the overlap and never exposed to air or water and the color sure seems like dark green. It's important to be sure because as much as I'd like to see it restored to CD yellow, we're a museum and are stuck with museum standards and practices. So if this was Army Green, that's that. I'd like to find more info on the first ones on the East coast for the Cold War. Were they state efforts? Federal? Did local municipalities use their own money? The article in our local paper describing the installation on the hotel in 1953, makes no mention of who paid for it.

[Brendan W]

A lot of them were city/county ventures with federal funding. Take Atlanta, GA for example. They got roughly 20 of them in 1953, which were bought by the Atlanta/Fulton Co. CD, but paid for with federal funding. They lasted until the 1980s.

[SuperBanshee]

This is from Wikipedia: (Sometimes not the best source of info)

After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, concerns surfaced that the American public should be notified in the event of air attacks. The United States Department of the Army granted the company a contract to manufacture outdoor warning sirens and in 1942 the company began production of over 2000 sirens to be installed throughout the Pacific Theater for American troops and Air Bases.

Where did you come up with this?

The first two Mobil Directos were made in October 1942 and tested around the city of Milwaukee. It was not until 1944 did Biersach & Niedermeyer Co. get permission from the OCD to produce more sirens.

When we removed the sheet metal skirting around the base, there are areas of paint that were covered by the overlap and never exposed to air or water and the color sure seems like dark green. It's important to be sure because as much as I'd like to see it restored to CD yellow, we're a museum and are stuck with museum standards and practices. So if this was Army Green, that's that. I'd like to find more info on the first ones on the East coast for the Cold War. Were they state efforts? Federal? Did local municipalities use their own money? The article in our local paper describing the installation on the hotel in 1953, makes no mention of who paid for it.

The information (not the Wiki page) came from a string of old news articles published by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel from 1942-1944. They moved all their digital news archives from Google to their own server a while back but I believe they can provide copies of desired articles. I will send further resources via PM.

Local municipalities often bought sirens with civil defense matching funds which helped to pay for the overall costs. This is not to say every siren was bought with matching funds so unless there's further documentation regarding the siren's purchase then there's no way to tell for sure.

[LukeH]

If you could get a video of it starting and running the siren up, you would be much appreciated around this community. As far as I know, being as rare as these are there are no videos of one operating.

[Dennis Kunkle]

Hey, I'm back! We really tore into the siren since then. My volunteer totally dismantled the collector rings, rebuilt them and we were able to get AC up to a motor that he rigged to make the siren spin!

[Dennis Kunkle]

Here's the siren coming back from my volunteer's workshop. The motor that was added to make the siren spin can be seen on lower right with new belt going to gear box and then new belt down to drive wheel on bottom.