What's the differences with some Whelen Vortexs compared to others?

[Bloomblueberrymuffin]

I'm a bit of a newer user here and mainly just like to browse, but I've got a few questions that I have been thinking about and haven't really found the answers to, specifically on the Whelen Vortex.

One thing I've noticed is that the first gen Vortex's have a belt driven rotator and I've most commonly seen first gens be finbacks. But, I've also seen some gear driven rotator Vortex's be finbacks, and I'm curious as to why that is. As I know, the fin on the back is meant to distribute the wind load on the siren and not put so much stress on the rotator, which was a common issue with the belt rotators (as I've read, correct me if I'm wrong) and I'm wondering why there are fins on the back of the Vortexs that have the gear driven rotators since the gear driven rotators where made to "solve" the issue(s) the belt driven rotators had. I'm also curious what all the Whelen Vortex gens are and how to tell the differences between them, because that's also really confusing to me (other than the noticeable differences in the rotator of the first gen compared to the others I've seen) but I'm just looking to know more.

Again, correct me if I'm wrong, I'm going off the knowledge I know and read.

Another thing that's puzzled me is what does it mean if a Whelen is "analog"? Is it the tone? I'm curious on that as well, as I know some Vortexs have a different tone being labeled as the "Thundertex" or "vorbolt" where it's dual toned and has a raspier pitch.

[Greenrid]

I believe the reason why some second gen Vortexes still have their fins is because Whelen still thought that they needed one to help with the rotation, but they didn't due to the new rotators being direct drive. It's kind of like the reason some older Thunderbolts have "jailbars" in their horns, as Federal Signal thought that the horn needed internal support, and then they later realized that it didn't. That may completely be wrong, though!

As for a Whelen siren being analog, It means that it uses an older style of controller that produces the sound differently than the newer "digital" controllers. The reason some Vortexes sound like a Thunderbolt is just because of how they were set up to make the sound!

[Bloomblueberrymuffin]

I believe the reason why some second gen Vortexes still have their fins is because Whelen still thought that they needed one to help with the rotation, but they didn't due to the new rotators being direct drive. It's kind of like the reason some older Thunderbolts have "jailbars" in their horns, as Federal Signal thought that the horn needed internal support, and then they later realized that it didn't. That may completely be wrong, though!

As for a Whelen siren being analog, It means that it uses an older style of controller that produces the sound differently than the newer "digital" controllers. The reason some Vortexes sound like a Thunderbolt is just because of how they were set up to make the sound!

Oh that makes so much sense now. I had always wondered about it and could never figure it out whenever I looked more into the Vortexes having fins. But yea, that informs me a lot, thanks!

As for the some Whelens being analog, I had never of known it had to do with the style of controller. I’m still trying to dive more into sirens—especially electronic sirens—and telling the difference amongst similar sirens with different controls has confused me the most (like the Whelen OmniAlert series and Fire House series; the both look and sound the exact same, but the only difference is their controls I’m pretty sure). How exactly do some enthusiasts tell the difference from the controls? Do you have to physically see the controls themselves to tell?

[Greenrid]

I believe the reason why some second gen Vortexes still have their fins is because Whelen still thought that they needed one to help with the rotation, but they didn't due to the new rotators being direct drive. It's kind of like the reason some older Thunderbolts have "jailbars" in their horns, as Federal Signal thought that the horn needed internal support, and then they later realized that it didn't. That may completely be wrong, though!

As for a Whelen siren being analog, It means that it uses an older style of controller that produces the sound differently than the newer "digital" controllers. The reason some Vortexes sound like a Thunderbolt is just because of how they were set up to make the sound!

Oh that makes so much sense now. I had always wondered about it and could never figure it out whenever I looked more into the Vortexes having fins. But yea, that informs me a lot, thanks!

As for the some Whelens being analog, I had never of known it had to do with the style of controller. I’m still trying to dive more into sirens—especially electronic sirens—and telling the difference amongst similar sirens with different controls has confused me the most (like the Whelen OmniAlert series and Fire House series; the both look and sound the exact same, but the only difference is their controls I’m pretty sure). How exactly do some enthusiasts tell the difference from the controls? Do you have to physically see the controls themselves to tell?

I also believe that you can tell by a sight difference with the sound that it produces. The wind up is faster, and I presume the wind down is too. You really can't tell with the style of the control box though, as some controllers have been retrofitted with newer controls!

As with the Omni-alert and firehouse sirens, I don't really know either of what the difference is.

[Bloomblueberrymuffin]

I believe the reason why some second gen Vortexes still have their fins is because Whelen still thought that they needed one to help with the rotation, but they didn't due to the new rotators being direct drive. It's kind of like the reason some older Thunderbolts have "jailbars" in their horns, as Federal Signal thought that the horn needed internal support, and then they later realized that it didn't. That may completely be wrong, though!

As for a Whelen siren being analog, It means that it uses an older style of controller that produces the sound differently than the newer "digital" controllers. The reason some Vortexes sound like a Thunderbolt is just because of how they were set up to make the sound!

Oh that makes so much sense now. I had always wondered about it and could never figure it out whenever I looked more into the Vortexes having fins. But yea, that informs me a lot, thanks!

As for the some Whelens being analog, I had never of known it had to do with the style of controller. I’m still trying to dive more into sirens—especially electronic sirens—and telling the difference amongst similar sirens with different controls has confused me the most (like the Whelen OmniAlert series and Fire House series; the both look and sound the exact same, but the only difference is their controls I’m pretty sure). How exactly do some enthusiasts tell the difference from the controls? Do you have to physically see the controls themselves to tell?

I also believe that you can tell by a sight difference with the sound that it produces. The wind up is faster, and I presume the wind down is too. You really can't tell with the style of the control box though, as some controllers have been retrofitted with newer controls!

As with the Omni-alert and firehouse sirens, I don't really know either of what the difference is.

Ohhhh, I’ll definitely keep that in mind! Thanks!

Yea, I don’t really know about the OmniAlert series and Firehouse series, but I do wonder if there is a physical difference between the OmniAlert series and the WPS-2900 series, because I haven’t been able to find the differences between them other than the fact the OmniAlert series has a smaller line of sirens.

[ArxCyberwolf]

There's absolutely no difference between a WPS-29xx head and an Omni-Alert/FHS head. The only difference between them are the features the controllers have. Electronic sirens only output whatever the controller does through the amplifier, and the sound is generated from the controller. Thus, the controller itself is what is responsible for how the siren sounds. Analog controllers generate the tones through logic-based tone generators, while digital controllers use pre-made tones programmed onto chips on the controller. Analogs can vary wildly in sound since the board itself is generating the tones and hardware can vary or degrade over time, while digitals will always sound the same as long as they have the same set of preset tones. Analog Whelens tend to have a quick logarithmic windup and extended winddown, while digitals will have a slower linear windup with a winddown that cuts off earlier.

The Omni-Alert/FHS controllers are identical to a normal Whelen controller besides lacking the modules allowing for voice capabilities (which makes them cheaper, important for budget-limited fire depts and towns) and support local and two-tone activation. The controllers also only have enough amplifiers to run up to 4 drivers on the OA/FHS. I'm not sure if the cabinets look much different than standard controllers.

[Bloomblueberrymuffin]

There's absolutely no difference between a WPS-29xx head and an Omni-Alert/FHS head. The only difference between them are the features the controllers have. Electronic sirens only output whatever the controller does through the amplifier, and the sound is generated from the controller. Thus, the controller itself is what is responsible for how the siren sounds. Analog controllers generate the tones through logic-based tone generators, while digital controllers use pre-made tones programmed onto chips on the controller. Analogs can vary wildly in sound since the board itself is generating the tones and hardware can vary or degrade over time, while digitals will always sound the same as long as they have the same set of preset tones. Analog Whelens tend to have a quick logarithmic windup and extended winddown, while digitals will have a slower linear windup with a winddown that cuts off earlier.

The Omni-Alert/FHS controllers are identical to a normal Whelen controller besides lacking the modules allowing for voice capabilities (which makes them cheaper, important for budget-limited fire depts and towns) and support local and two-tone activation. The controllers also only have enough amplifiers to run up to 4 drivers on the OA/FHS. I'm not sure if the cabinets look much different than standard controllers.

Ah, that makes sense, I just never knew if there were physical/visible differences or not, but that adds up. I appreciate the answer though! The OmniAlert series, Firehouse series, and WPS-2900 series has just always puzzled me in that sense lol.

[Randomizer]

There's absolutely no difference between a WPS-29xx head and an Omni-Alert/FHS head. The only difference between them are the features the controllers have. Electronic sirens only output whatever the controller does through the amplifier, and the sound is generated from the controller. Thus, the controller itself is what is responsible for how the siren sounds. Analog controllers generate the tones through logic-based tone generators, while digital controllers use pre-made tones programmed onto chips on the controller. Analogs can vary wildly in sound since the board itself is generating the tones and hardware can vary or degrade over time, while digitals will always sound the same as long as they have the same set of preset tones. Analog Whelens tend to have a quick logarithmic windup and extended winddown, while digitals will have a slower linear windup with a winddown that cuts off earlier.

The Omni-Alert/FHS controllers are identical to a normal Whelen controller besides lacking the modules allowing for voice capabilities (which makes them cheaper, important for budget-limited fire depts and towns) and support local and two-tone activation. The controllers also only have enough amplifiers to run up to 4 drivers on the OA/FHS. I'm not sure if the cabinets look much different than standard controllers.

This is correct though I just want to specify because, and I see it a lot, there's no such thing as "tone chips" on a digital controller you can just swap out. Rather, a complete front panel upgrade would be needed to, say, upgrade from a 465hz ESC-864 to a 560hz ESC-2030. On a microprocessor based digital controller, the control board is basically a miniature computer with logic only to control the siren.

As to the Vortex cabinet, the Vortex/OA/FHS sirens also use different amplifiers. The PowerMaster amps in a WPS siren can overdrive to 500 watts during voice announcements. Vortex/OA/FHS sirens have amps that are limited to 400 watts and are not designed to support voice announcements, though, interestingly, the ESC-2030 (and 2020) control boards have a mic input jack on them in Vortex/OA/FHS sirens, I suppose for some sort of emergency local announcement. But I've never seen anyone use it or try to use it to know if it would actually do anything.

[Bloomblueberrymuffin]

There's absolutely no difference between a WPS-29xx head and an Omni-Alert/FHS head. The only difference between them are the features the controllers have. Electronic sirens only output whatever the controller does through the amplifier, and the sound is generated from the controller. Thus, the controller itself is what is responsible for how the siren sounds. Analog controllers generate the tones through logic-based tone generators, while digital controllers use pre-made tones programmed onto chips on the controller. Analogs can vary wildly in sound since the board itself is generating the tones and hardware can vary or degrade over time, while digitals will always sound the same as long as they have the same set of preset tones. Analog Whelens tend to have a quick logarithmic windup and extended winddown, while digitals will have a slower linear windup with a winddown that cuts off earlier.

The Omni-Alert/FHS controllers are identical to a normal Whelen controller besides lacking the modules allowing for voice capabilities (which makes them cheaper, important for budget-limited fire depts and towns) and support local and two-tone activation. The controllers also only have enough amplifiers to run up to 4 drivers on the OA/FHS. I'm not sure if the cabinets look much different than standard controllers.

This is correct though I just want to specify because, and I see it a lot, there's no such thing as "tone chips" on a digital controller you can just swap out. Rather, a complete front panel upgrade would be needed to, say, upgrade from a 465hz ESC-864 to a 560hz ESC-2030. On a microprocessor based digital controller, the control board is basically a miniature computer with logic only to control the siren.

As to the Vortex cabinet, the Vortex/OA/FHS sirens also use different amplifiers. The PowerMaster amps in a WPS siren can overdrive to 500 watts during voice announcements. Vortex/OA/FHS sirens have amps that are limited to 400 watts and are not designed to support voice announcements, though, interestingly, the ESC-2030 (and 2020) control boards have a mic input jack on them in Vortex/OA/FHS sirens, I suppose for some sort of emergency local announcement. But I've never seen anyone use it or try to use it to know if it would actually do anything.

The Vortex/OA/FHS sirens weren’t designed to do voice?? Wow, I never knew that.

[Greenrid]

There's absolutely no difference between a WPS-29xx head and an Omni-Alert/FHS head. The only difference between them are the features the controllers have. Electronic sirens only output whatever the controller does through the amplifier, and the sound is generated from the controller. Thus, the controller itself is what is responsible for how the siren sounds. Analog controllers generate the tones through logic-based tone generators, while digital controllers use pre-made tones programmed onto chips on the controller. Analogs can vary wildly in sound since the board itself is generating the tones and hardware can vary or degrade over time, while digitals will always sound the same as long as they have the same set of preset tones. Analog Whelens tend to have a quick logarithmic windup and extended winddown, while digitals will have a slower linear windup with a winddown that cuts off earlier.

The Omni-Alert/FHS controllers are identical to a normal Whelen controller besides lacking the modules allowing for voice capabilities (which makes them cheaper, important for budget-limited fire depts and towns) and support local and two-tone activation. The controllers also only have enough amplifiers to run up to 4 drivers on the OA/FHS. I'm not sure if the cabinets look much different than standard controllers.

This is correct though I just want to specify because, and I see it a lot, there's no such thing as "tone chips" on a digital controller you can just swap out. Rather, a complete front panel upgrade would be needed to, say, upgrade from a 465hz ESC-864 to a 560hz ESC-2030. On a microprocessor based digital controller, the control board is basically a miniature computer with logic only to control the siren.

As to the Vortex cabinet, the Vortex/OA/FHS sirens also use different amplifiers. The PowerMaster amps in a WPS siren can overdrive to 500 watts during voice announcements. Vortex/OA/FHS sirens have amps that are limited to 400 watts and are not designed to support voice announcements, though, interestingly, the ESC-2030 (and 20 bin can20) control boards have a mic input jack on them in Vortex/OA/FHS sirens, I suppose for some sort of emergency local announcement. But I've never seen anyone use it or try to use it to know if it would actually do anything.

The Vortex/OA/FHS sirens weren’t designed to do voice?? Wow, I never knew that.

Yes, the only Whelen sirens that are capable of voice announcements are the 4000s, 3000s, and 2900s! I believe the Hornets and 1000s are also capable of voice as well.