The "Official" Oklahoma Sirens Thread

[FederalSignalGuy]

Federal commonly falsely advertises decibel ratings as many of us know.

The 2001-130 actually only seems to put out 127 like the older models.

I remember seeing a Thunderbolt 1003 brochure that rated it 124-140 decibles, but it seems like out of every Thunderbolt, only 125 comes out.

I think I've also seen brochures for the EOWS 408 and 812, the 408 was rated 128 decibles, and the 812 was rated 132 decibles. According to Dane County, WI's siren list, they only got 124 out of the 612s, and 115 out of their 1212s, so the 408 and 812 were definetly falsely advertised.

Federal Signal has all siren units tested by an independent sound lab, so there is no false advertising. It's well known that some companies change their output overnight with no reason, usually after a competitor had a recent db increase.

Federal had a very bad habit of inflating the ratings on sirens in the 70s and 80s.

The thunderbeam's output was a fib also. There is no way that design could outperform or equal the output of a RM-127 or the 500AT it replaced.

Yes they did, no doubt about it.

[Oldiesmann]

Federal had a very bad habit of inflating the ratings on sirens in the 70s and 80s.

The thunderbeam's output was a fib also. There is no way that design could outperform or equal the output of a RM-127 or the 500AT it replaced.

Wait. The Thunderbeam replaced the 500AT? I wonder who came up with that idea!

[carexpertandy]

And how many decibels did the 500 actually put out?

[Crazywarriorman]

And how many decibels did the 500 actually put out?

I believe the single tone and 9/12 versions only put out 108 dB, while the 10/12s put put out more due to the larger chopper/stator.

[murrfarms]

I believe the single tone and 9/12 versions only put out 108 dB, while the 10/12s put put out more due to the larger chopper/stator.

I think that was a mistake on someone's part somewhere down the road. I mean if you think about it, the same rotor and stator they used on the later-style single tone 500 is no more than a Model 5 on its side, which is rated for 113dB in omni-directional form. I'd imagine when they stuck that in a projector to make it uni-directional, it would've probably been somewhere in the ballpark of about 120dB. The 9/12s on the other hand, were probably somewhere around 115dB or so.

The 10/12 rotor is a whole different beast though. Its rotor is something like 24" in diameter, or roughly the size of a STH-10's rotor. Based on my own personal experience with one of these, it packs an equally as healthy punch as a Thunderbolt 1000T, so I'd imagine it's more around 125-127dB.

[Busgeek71]

Sorry to bump, but I have some new finds. Along Rt. 66 south of Claremore, I found 5 sirens I had not previously seen.

-Verdigris
1 WPS 4000
-Tulsa Port of Catoosa
2 ATI HPSS 12s (Yes, 1200 Watt. The stupid things point 45 degrees toward the ground despite being <30' up.)
-Catoosa
1 2T22
-Tulsa County (Tulsa City Siren?)
1 3016 @ 161st Ave. & I44/Rt. 66
Map will follow ASAP.

[dilloncarpenter]

I've been working on a regional siren map that Ian Tate made originally. I added in actual city limits and color coded Whelens. It is for Canadian, Cleveland, and Oklahoma County, so most of the OKC metro.

[williesan]

Sorry to bump, but I have some new finds. Along Rt. 66 south of Claremore, I found 5 sirens I had not previously seen.

-Verdigris
1 WPS 4000
-Tulsa Port of Catoosa
2 ATI HPSS 12s (Yes, 1200 Watt. The stupid things point 45 degrees toward the ground despite being <30' up.)
-Catoosa
1 2T22
-Tulsa County (Tulsa City Siren?)
1 3016 @ 161st Ave. & I44/Rt. 66
Map will follow ASAP.

That 3016 is part of Tulsa's system.

Williesan

[Busgeek71]

EOWS 612 not replaced.

[dilloncarpenter]

That one has actually been there awhile and is part of Edmond's system. The EOWS is at I-35 and Charter Oaks and is fairly recently installed. It doesn't show up on Google.

Go to Charter Oaks Road and Glen Brook Lane on street view, then go a little north, then look to the west. 8)