Sterling History

[Franz?]

OK, little secret here, the old fart don't do U tube, I'm on dialup, and I see no reason to pay more money to the ISP. Hell dialup is faster than I can type.

Oh, about the beer, I fall asleep after 1, unless I have some good limburger on dark rye with onions to go with the beer.

Sterling actually offered a heater kit that would prevent a winter freezup, and there were still 47 of them in stock that went through the auction in 82. The company sold exactly 1, the salesman had 1 in his breifcase, and I had the other one in my parts box.

Fortunately the thermostats were off the shelf from WW Grainger or Honeywell, and got a quick Krylon job. The only thermostat I ever used was wired into the heattape on Wild Bills house roof. He really loved me for saving him from having to buy another thermostat when he had 4 in stock.

The controllers were made by TimeO Matic who's primary business was making light controllers for electric signs. They made a far superior controller to the original Sterling, and did it for a lot less money.
If a controller ran constantly it was because of a busted or misadjusted cam or a switch that welded itself shut.

I personally have no idea who the service man was who did it, but, I can assure you mistiming the pattern cam on purpose does result in the siren going into constant run mode. That makes somebody real popular in a small town. It also gets the bill paid.

[Daniel]

OK, little secret here, the old fart don't do U tube, I'm on dialup, and I see no reason to pay more money to the ISP. Hell dialup is faster than I can type.

Oh, about the beer, I fall asleep after 1, unless I have some good limburger on dark rye with onions to go with the beer.

I love a good Bavarian limburger and a glass of weizen. Here's a photo of the siren to which I was referring:

[Franz?]

Daniel I have seen some butugly contraptions in my life, and I ain't even going to mention half a million give or take ugly wimmen.

That thing on 3 legs just might take an award for either Ulalagly, or creative emergency repair, but it sure doesn't resemble any Sterling ever made in Rochester..

Honestly it looks like somebody hammered a Civil Defense water/toilet can onto the top of a machine that needed a top real badly.

[siren fan]

From a distance it looks like a water tower.

[CABLEVision]

The controllers were made by TimeO Matic who's primary business was making light controllers for electric signs. They made a far superior controller to the original Sterling, and did it for a lot less money.
If a controller ran constantly it was because of a busted or misadjusted cam or a switch that welded itself shut.

Time-o-matic there's a name I haven't head in awhile! I repair timers, and I think i've maybe worked on one or two. I've got a few cogs laying around and a motor for one. But there pretty much useless seeing how Time-o-matic went on to casino signs and other big jobs. Never knew they made siren timers for you guys.

Great to have you here, we've been waiting for someone like you for a long time!

[Franz?]

TimeOMatic was making the units for flashing signs back in the 50s, and I recall seeing a brochure or two laying around for their units that allowed a string of lightbulbs around a sign to chase.

I've managed to cobble up a replacement for the high priced unit on a couple occasions from motor driven timers. It really doesn't take much more than 3 cam operated switches on a common shaft to run a siren. As I recall the company billed around $300- for a TimeOMatic back in 1960, and I could build a timer that performed the same function for around 10 bucks in parts from the surplus shop. I could even cobble up a timer that blew up to 6 selectable patterns for 15 bucks in parts.
Somebody might just want to run those numbers through an inflation calculator. In 1960 I could buy 6 good sized candy bars for 25?, or a Coke for 5?.

[500AT]

I will say that Sterling made some very highly-dependable outdoor warning sirens. The siren in Manchester, Michigan just turned 91 years old, and still operates. It has a three phase motor that runs off 440 volts.

Ironically, that Sterling has outlived two Whelen WS-2000-16 electronic sirens, and now one five year-old Federal 2001. Apparently, the motor went bad on the latter, and will be replaced. Thankfully, the fire department purchased a Federal 2T22 and restored it, as they wanted a dual-tone siren for fire alerting. Nonetheless, 91 years of faithful service from a Sterling siren is remarkable.

[CinWx]

I live across the street from a fire station that has a dual-tone Model M that is approaching the 50 year mark. They stopped using it for fire calls in the late 70s when they went full time and became incorporated with the township. It continues to operate as a severe weather warning siren.

[Daniel]

I used to live about five miles from Silverton, Oregon, where their mid-1920's Sterling still sounds every day at noon. I could hear it from that distance most days. You'll never get that kind of reliability from an electronic.

By the way, what are the advantages of horizontal over vertical mounted sirens? Only Sterling and British designs continued with horizontal sirens, and in both cases, they last forever.

[Franz?]

A) I'd be willing to bet the 90 year old Sterling has either babbit or bronze bearings, with oilcups on the wiring side of the motor. I'd also bet nobody has bothered to oil the machine in over 20 years, and it will eventually scrub the rotor for want of a few drops of oil.

Chances are good the motor itself is a Howell RED BAND motor made in Howell Michigan.

B) Sterlings designs were pretty much chiseled in stone by the time ball bearing motors became commercially viable and cost compeditive. The Bid Price has always been a huge factor in selling stationary sirens.

C) Horizontals are a lot easier and cheaper to manufacture. Around 60, when Federal was pushing hell out of the Sound Barrier vertical, the salesmen always responded by pointing out Sterling didn't need to experiment because Sterling already knew how to build a quality siren. It wasn't long till Sterlings salesmen also were able to point out Sterlings had proven they functioned under a half inch coat of ice, and Sound Barriers proved they froze up and blew the safetys in the motor starter.

Sterling had the perfect example to point to at the new Hilton Fire House about 7 miles away. The new Federal had frozen solid, and the Sterling on the old fire house 500 feet away functioned perfectly.

D) the biggest advantage horizontals had over verticals was bearings. A vert needs to be built with either a taper roller bearing like a cars wheelbearing, or a ball bearing that can carry the weight of the rotor in parked position as well as when running. That bearing really didn't exist in the 1950s at a reasonable cost.

E) I do have the last remaining NOS Sterling siren motor known to exist in stock, and I will part with it for a reasonable price.

F) Sirens that blow a Noon whistle or a curfew every day actually last longer than sirens that sit for long periods. I've had the joy of pulling dormant machines apart that grew enough rust between the stator and the armature of the motor to lock the motor up solid.