Eagle Lake TX. sirens

[JPayne9207]

here are Eagle Lakes current sirens. A federal model 5 & a Sterling model M.
These were taken late in the day so the pics aren't real good.




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[Daniel]

Are both of them still in use?

[JPayne9207]

The model 5 still sounds during fire calls & at 12 pm every day, the sterling hasn't operated in many years.

[kanazo]

That model 5 looks huge juxtaposing the Sterling

[JPayne9207]

yeah, the model 5 is very big. But the sterling was much louder & more pleasant sounding in spite of it's size.
The next time I'm there during lunch time, I'll try to shoot a video of the model 5's noon wail. If the sheriff is there though, I can't. He'll make me leave the premises with my camera because it's not benefiting him any. (maybe if i give him a donut, he'll let me stay)

[Daniel]

It's just as well if you can't get immediately under the siren, because the best recordings are usually a block or two away. I also noticed the size difference, but the Model 5 has an enormous cover in relation to the size of the rotor, which is still larger than the Sterling's rotors, but the Sterling has two of them. Is it a single tone Sterling? When it was in use, what was it used for?

[JPayne9207]

It was a dual tone, but it sounded different from most sterling's I've seen in videos on the internet, although they might be dual chopper/single tone. It sounded more like a British Gents WWII siren but with the pitches from the hi & low choppers closer together. It's hard to explain because the last time I heard it was in the early '80s. It broke around that time. I have been right under it & could see that one side has alot more ports than the other. It was used for weather warnings & civil defense purposes.