Is that an ambulance or fire truck ?

[q2bman]

You've heard one. The Grover Emergency Stuttertone horns have been used by allmost every fire truck for years. The truck on this discussion has one. (or a pair). They have a different diaphram that makes a raspy hong. The quick hong is the operator of the siren. Only difference is the sweet raspy dual tone noise it makes. Check out this link and see for yourself: http://www.groverairhorns.com/Sounds/soundstruck.html


Any way..........

Let's say you have to approach an intersection on the other side of the median. You want the Q and horns so that people that may be turning your way will hear you comming, not the people directly in front of you.

I would love to go Q-ing in a winter wounderland, the sound realy carries in the cold!!

Even at low RPM's that q siren carries like mad. I would think you would prefer the wooop of an electronic to the safety and added protection of a Q.

Apparently the cost IS justified, almost every truck has both electronic and a Q in my city.

[Jim_Ferer]

The truck in the video sounded like it carried an electronic version of a Martinshorn rather than the real thing.

I've been in Europe and heard Martinshorns for real on emergency runs. I'm telling you they work. It's different than the hi-lo on an electronic siren.

At one time hi-lo horns like Martinshorns were completely legal in the state of Virginia as an emergency vehicle warning device. You could use a set and have no other siren at all and it was 100% legal. I don't know if that's still true, but it definitely was true as late as the 1970s. I wonder if any other states are like that?

[Robert Gift]

Thanks, Q

Why do they call it Stuttertone? Herr Stutter invented it?
I thought it made stuttering blasts.

Yes, I've heard those raspy sounding horns only on fire trucks.
Hope it stays that way.

Just because a lot of fire departments have two sirens doesn't make it justified.
It's clever ads appealing to sucker purchasers' egos.
On our new heavy rescue, in addition to an air horn, we are apparently getting two sirens, a Q and an electronic.
We don't need the Q.
We could use water rescue equipment in place of the Q.

[Jim_Ferer]

Maybe your department doesn't need the Q, but you're probably better off finding something else to worry about. Firefighters are *very* conservative in their ways. I remember when the Feds were trying to force the fire service to make all fire trucks dayglo green instead of red. You'd think the Russians had invaded.

[q2bman]

That's like saying you only need one 4-way traffic signal. That's true, but how much better is adding additional indiaction? You can use the Q. It works for clearing traffic!

And i have no clue on the stutter. I guess cause it vibrates two ways to produce a grindy tone rather than a musical tone.

Sell the Q to me, I'll buy you guys a dingy!

[Robert Gift]

That's like saying you only need one 4-way traffic signal. That's true, but how much better is adding additional indiaction? You can use the Q. It works for clearing traffic!

And i have no clue on the stutter. I guess cause it vibrates two ways to produce a grindy tone rather than a musical tone.

Sell the Q to me, I'll buy you guys a dingy!

Sold!
We could use the dingy.
Years ago my captain got angry at me when I threatened to empty the entire hose bed into a lake should we have a drowning rescue.
1,750 feet of hose floats very well.

The signal analogy is OK. Additional signals are inexpensive.
They do not shine light needlessly into citizens' homes and businesses.

An air horn used when an electronic siren is not effective is enough.

I like the traditional fire engine red trucks.
Rather than paint everything lime green, my solution was to install yellow clearance lights every 14 inches along the truck.