PSA

[MKIIProductions]

Hiya folks, it's been a while since I've last made any sort of appearance here on ARS, and I have a few things that I would like to bring to light here on the forum, as I don't really partake in community activity any longer.

There are a number of younger enthusiasts that are obtaining equipment, and I am all for that. I think it's great that this enthusiasm is being carried on to new people, all by way of the massive archive of information, photos, and videos that are stockpiled here on the internet. I myself have been a part of this mess (in some way, shape, or form) for the better part of 20 years, and the community has evolved into something far beyond what I think any of us older heads had ever thought about. For us, it was just a place to chill out and talk about what we like, and gather information about it for future reference. Now, it feels more like who can cause the most trouble.

It's important that the younger crowd understands what this equipment is truly used for. It's used in the event of an emergency to notify the public of impending danger of some sort - whether it be to call volunteer fire departments to action, warn of an impending flood or tornado, or even a wildfire.

Despite this, there are a number of younger enthusiasts who are using this equipment to tamper with warning siren systems in their local areas. It is worthy to note that tampering with equipment as such is a federal offense in many cases.

I'm not here to point any fingers, but those who have engaged in this activity know who they are and know what they've done. For those of us that have a career in the Mass Notification industry, it definitely serves us an underhanded blow and makes our day to day job more difficult as time continues, and quite frankly it's more than just a little frightening.

I feel that the community needs to do a better job about educating the younger enthusiasts about what this equipment really has the capability of, and this complete and utter ignorance has been showcased on the internet in front of God and everyone without action for a little too long now. This equipment has the capability to not only stir a panic or land you under investigation by the local law enforcement authorities, but in some ways, it has the capability to seriously injure or kill you if you don't understand how these machines operate.

If you happen to possess an encoder, or know the method by which these devices are activated, that's fine. You purchased it with your own money, or someone gave it to you. But the moment you start using this equipment to mess around with a system that was designed to protect a community, and reproducing activation calls over the air via radio, it can introduce you to a world that you do not want to be a part of.

You may not know it, but there are several people in the Mass Notification industry that take a look at this very forum, as well as communities on Facebook in order to gather information, or stop in to see what the community has found out now. This includes individuals from signal manufactures, emergency management operations teams, representatives, dealers, installers, technicians, and many more facets. This is a horrible look for the community to project onto those people, and I will forever advocate for this education to protect the industry.

With this being said, I can't be the only one with the belief that there needs to be a higher education provided for the community as a whole, so they develop the understanding early on that this equipment is not to be tampered with by those that are not authorized. It might seem more like a burden, but it's important that the community gets educated on what they're dealing with.

Please God, let us do better.

[NewEnglander1212]

Excellent, well-written post. I agree 100% that both the community and the general public should be more aware of how a siren system is meant to operate. These things are not toys, and shouldn't be treated as such. But if there's a clear balance between enthusiasm and responsibility, the hobby can be truly enjoyable for both the new and the experienced.

[SpanishFriedEggs]

I 100% agree with this, Younger enthusiasts should know that these things are NOT toys, with sirens and systems themselves comes huge responsibility and care. Idk who thought it was a good idea to taper with these kinds of equipment, but people should know that it's Illegal and they will get in trouble for it.

[Lycanroc76]

I would pin this if I could. well written too.

[Eclipse DDS]

I'll be honest, I had no idea that the problem was this bad. Thank goodness Jacob took the time to sit and write this out!

As a younger enthusiast myself, I've tried to educate myself and adhere to rules and regulations in my area, and by doing that I've never had a negative complaint regarding any of my siren-related activities. I'm paranoid about breaking rules regardless, hence my incentive to educate myself, which I'm glad I did.

As some of the other responses have well highlighted, sirens are pieces of industrial signalling equipment and are NOT toys. If you're lucky enough to own one you must keep in mind the power you hold. Depending on your location, there could be hundreds of people that hear it. I've found that one-off activations are fine in my town, since we don't use sirens for actual emergencies. However, this would obviously NOT be the case if your area does use emergency sirens. It's always best to ask permission from authorities in that case.

It's bad enough treating your own siren as a toy, but messing about with sirens that you don't own is even worse. I'm actually shocked that anyone has done this.

[PelicanStateSirens]

Hiya folks, it's been a while since I've last made any sort of appearance here on ARS, and I have a few things that I would like to bring to light here on the forum, as I don't really partake in community activity any longer.

There are a number of younger enthusiasts that are obtaining equipment, and I am all for that. I think it's great that this enthusiasm is being carried on to new people, all by way of the massive archive of information, photos, and videos that are stockpiled here on the internet. I myself have been a part of this mess (in some way, shape, or form) for the better part of 20 years, and the community has evolved into something far beyond what I think any of us older heads had ever thought about. For us, it was just a place to chill out and talk about what we like, and gather information about it for future reference. Now, it feels more like who can cause the most trouble.

It's important that the younger crowd understands what this equipment is truly used for. It's used in the event of an emergency to notify the public of impending danger of some sort - whether it be to call volunteer fire departments to action, warn of an impending flood or tornado, or even a wildfire.

Despite this, there are a number of younger enthusiasts who are using this equipment to tamper with warning siren systems in their local areas. It is worthy to note that tampering with equipment as such is a federal offense in many cases.

I'm not here to point any fingers, but those who have engaged in this activity know who they are and know what they've done. For those of us that have a career in the Mass Notification industry, it definitely serves us an underhanded blow and makes our day to day job more difficult as time continues, and quite frankly it's more than just a little frightening.

I feel that the community needs to do a better job about educating the younger enthusiasts about what this equipment really has the capability of, and this complete and utter ignorance has been showcased on the internet in front of God and everyone without action for a little too long now. This equipment has the capability to not only stir a panic or land you under investigation by the local law enforcement authorities, but in some ways, it has the capability to seriously injure or kill you if you don't understand how these machines operate.


If you happen to possess an encoder, or know the method by which these devices are activated, that's fine. You purchased it with your own money, or someone gave it to you. But the moment you start using this equipment to mess around with a system that was designed to protect a community, and reproducing activation calls over the air via radio, it can introduce you to a world that you do not want to be a part of.

You may not know it, but there are several people in the Mass Notification industry that take a look at this very forum, as well as communities on Facebook in order to gather information, or stop in to see what the community has found out now. This includes individuals from signal manufactures, emergency management operations teams, representatives, dealers, installers, technicians, and many more facets. This is a horrible look for the community to project onto those people, and I will forever advocate for this education to protect the industry.

With this being said, I can't be the only one with the belief that there needs to be a higher education provided for the community as a whole, so they develop the understanding early on that this equipment is not to be tampered with by those that are not authorized. It might seem more like a burden, but it's important that the community gets educated on what they're dealing with.

Please God, let us do better.

Sending activation tones over radio is not only very illegal, but very instigant. Setting any sort of outdoor emergency siren off for other than emergency/test purposes is very alarming to people, giving them the impression their life is in danger. I 100% agree with you that younger enthusiasts should be taught not to not do so.

[fullsendersonly]

Hiya folks, it's been a while since I've last made any sort of appearance here on ARS, and I have a few things that I would like to bring to light here on the forum, as I don't really partake in community activity any longer.

There are a number of younger enthusiasts that are obtaining equipment, and I am all for that. I think it's great that this enthusiasm is being carried on to new people, all by way of the massive archive of information, photos, and videos that are stockpiled here on the internet. I myself have been a part of this mess (in some way, shape, or form) for the better part of 20 years, and the community has evolved into something far beyond what I think any of us older heads had ever thought about. For us, it was just a place to chill out and talk about what we like, and gather information about it for future reference. Now, it feels more like who can cause the most trouble.

It's important that the younger crowd understands what this equipment is truly used for. It's used in the event of an emergency to notify the public of impending danger of some sort - whether it be to call volunteer fire departments to action, warn of an impending flood or tornado, or even a wildfire.

Despite this, there are a number of younger enthusiasts who are using this equipment to tamper with warning siren systems in their local areas. It is worthy to note that tampering with equipment as such is a federal offense in many cases.

I'm not here to point any fingers, but those who have engaged in this activity know who they are and know what they've done. For those of us that have a career in the Mass Notification industry, it definitely serves us an underhanded blow and makes our day to day job more difficult as time continues, and quite frankly it's more than just a little frightening.

I feel that the community needs to do a better job about educating the younger enthusiasts about what this equipment really has the capability of, and this complete and utter ignorance has been showcased on the internet in front of God and everyone without action for a little too long now. This equipment has the capability to not only stir a panic or land you under investigation by the local law enforcement authorities, but in some ways, it has the capability to seriously injure or kill you if you don't understand how these machines operate.

If you happen to possess an encoder, or know the method by which these devices are activated, that's fine. You purchased it with your own money, or someone gave it to you. But the moment you start using this equipment to mess around with a system that was designed to protect a community, and reproducing activation calls over the air via radio, it can introduce you to a world that you do not want to be a part of.

You may not know it, but there are several people in the Mass Notification industry that take a look at this very forum, as well as communities on Facebook in order to gather information, or stop in to see what the community has found out now. This includes individuals from signal manufactures, emergency management operations teams, representatives, dealers, installers, technicians, and many more facets. This is a horrible look for the community to project onto those people, and I will forever advocate for this education to protect the industry.

With this being said, I can't be the only one with the belief that there needs to be a higher education provided for the community as a whole, so they develop the understanding early on that this equipment is not to be tampered with by those that are not authorized. It might seem more like a burden, but it's important that the community gets educated on what they're dealing with.

Please God, let us do better.

I cant agree more with this post! a really young enthusiast in my subdivision tried to set our model 2 off! and was caught in the act. now the model 2 has all the wires ripped out of the pipes, thanks to this jerk I've heard that they are going to leave iit up there untill the end of time.

[Lycanroc76]

that is sad. I had no idea this was happening. even as a young enthusiast myself I know better. (that and I have no local siren.)

[fullsendersonly]

that is sad. I had no idea this was happening. even as a young enthusiast myself I know better. (that and I have no local siren.)

no local siren!? where in the world do you even live? almost every town I've been to has one even Boise had a thunderbolt at one point(long gone).

[PelicanStateSirens]

that is sad. I had no idea this was happening. even as a young enthusiast myself I know better. (that and I have no local siren.)

no local siren!? where in the world do you even live? almost every town I've been to has one even Boise had a thunderbolt at one point(long gone).

Not all areas are prone to tornadoes.