Are white Thunderbolts unusual?

[tinyshoes]

There's a rusty white Thunderbolt in a residential Minneapolis neighborhood & I've never thought too much about it. However, now that I've joined this board & am beginning to learn more detailed info about sirens, I am wondering if the white paint on this siren makes it unusual.

Also, how can I figure out if this particular thunderbolt is a 1002 or a 1003?

I'm starting to wonder if I should take a video on the next test day...

[Mr.Thunderbolt]

Usualy the main diference between 1000 series and 1003 series is the bow tie on the 1003. As for paint, it all depends on how the city orders it. Hope this helps!

[500 AT fan]

No, the white paint was probably added later on meet the city's demands.


There is no 1002, you must be thinking of the 1000T, which, is the same as the 1000 only with a dual toned chopper initially for Civil Defense use. Nowadays, it just sounds different from single toned sirens.

Our sirens are all gray due to some Fond Du Lac County stadard, or something like that.

[Mr.Thunderbolt]

Really? Huh, I thought that the paint was chosen when thay ordered the sirens. I guess you learn something new everyday.

By the way, tinyshoes, do you know if the siren works?

[NFRANGA]

The majority of Federal Thunderbolts (1000, 1000T, 1003) were painted in the standard Civil Defense Yellow paint. Now some towns might have repainted their thunderbolt sirens, since I have seen photos of gray colored Thunderbolts.

And there are no external differences between a single tone 1000 thunderbolt, and a dual tone Thunderbolt, you can only tell by the sound when the siren is activated. Now the 1003 uses two solenoids on the horn, which is nicknamed "the bowtie". This enables the 1003 to perform the hi-lo signal.

I hope this information helps.

[bigloudnoise]

If you still need help, here's a couple pictures I took for visual comparison:



The 1000 and 1000T (On the left) do not have solenoids, the "bowtie" as it is commonly called. The 1003 (On the right) DOES have solenoids, so it does have the "bowtie".

As far as how to tell the difference between a 1000 and 1000T, as mentioned before there is no visual difference between them. Most commonly the only way to tell the difference between the two is to listen to how they sound.

This is what a 1000 sounds like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKDgLWhb0ro

This is what a 1000T sounds like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYeql9xE19k

[invader1026765]

The siren was featured in many Civil Defense films including one from the early 1950s titled "Let's Face It" a close up of a single tone model 1000 painted "zebra striped" black and yellow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXxqRUUPgDQ so yea its normal

[500 AT fan]

And hear is a 1003 sounding all 3 functions. It's an "A" series siren, by the way.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rCLdEC8-S44

[JScott]

Sacramento has a 1003 that is yellow, and in the south part of town a 1000 that is white.

[kx250rider]

No, the white paint was probably added later on meet the city's demands.


There is no 1002, you must be thinking of the 1000T, which, is the same as the 1000 only with a dual toned chopper initially for Civil Defense use. Nowadays, it just sounds different from single toned sirens.

Our sirens are all gray due to some Fond Du Lac County stadard, or something like that.

Beverly Hills, CA had white ones, but I can't say whether that was a factory paint job, since they probably had been painted a few times by the time I was old enough to pay attention.
Charles