Cincinnati Metropolitan Area Sirens

[carexpertandy]

Oh ok, there's a big correction for a lot of us! Are they the 4 or 8 speaker version?

[holler]

I think what he is saying is that ANS will probably install the cheaper siren. Wouldn't surprise me considering they schmoozed their way through the bidding process.

I'm pretty sure he knows what he's talking about since he has been working on Hamilton county's sirens for the past 30 years.

[mrboojay]

OH! Sorry about that!

[SIRENMAN]

Jeb the sad part about it is Werden Electric has been taking care of the sirens in Hamilton County for 60 years.

[holler]

See folks this is what happens when you stand up for a company and fight tooth and nail to try and get their product sold. They turn around and stab you in the back.

Remember all the fuss Clayton made about the earlier decisions of Hamilton county and how they wanted to go federal. If it wasn't for him ASC would have never gotten that contract and Hamilton county would be full of 2001-130s. Then ASC turns around and undercuts him on the installation contract, leaves a ton of crap out of their bid, and still gets the contract! It left me disillusioned to say the least. What I once thought was a great company selling a great product is now sh***y company that sells a good siren with a crappy set of controls that the freaking doors won't even shut on.

I want all of you to take this into consideration when you vouch for ASC sirens. These are the kinds of people they have managing that company, and this is how they treat their dealers, who are members of the siren community. I used to argue with people about how superior the T128 was to all of its competitors. Now I'll tell you to buy a vortex or a 16V1TB

With that being said, those sirens in the darley catalog sure do look inviting.

2001's still suck.

[sirenita]

Terrible. I hate greed and actions which come from greed. Good honest people with only good intentions end up getting screwed.

/rant

[holler]

Terrible. I hate greed and actions which come from greed. Good honest people with only good intentions end up getting screwed.

/rant

You just summed up this trainwreck with one sentence. Well done.

[TboltTX1]

Terrible. I hate greed and actions which come from greed. Good honest people with only good intentions end up getting screwed.

/rant

Sounds like all of the communities which make up the county will be screwed after paying their expenses. And in return some of them will receive units with voided warrenties. The only winners on this deal (if you can even call it a deal) are the communities which will receive the old refurbished units.

[carexpertandy]

Article about Hamilton County. It looks like they will start installing very soon, and they plan on having this done by March. And oh no, they are very well likely to eliminate Severe Thunderstorm Warning w/ Tornado Watch policy! I just knew that was coming.

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/eyeontheeas ... e-planned/

County storm siren upgrade planned

ANDERSON TWP. ? Hamilton County officials are getting ready to install hundreds of new weather sirens before next year?s severe storm season hits the Cincinnati area.

?The sirens that we currently have, some are well over 60 years old,? said Dana Schratt, warning coordinator for the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency. ?They?re antiquated and very expensive to maintain.?

Schratt said 130 sirens will be installed around the county in March, including several in Anderson Township. Locations were selected based on an engineer?s recommendation for 100 percent coverage throughout Hamilton County, she said.

Most of the township?s weather sirens will be upgraded and there are at least two new sirens ? one near Laverty Park, between Four Mile and Sutton roads, and another siren on the lower portion of Eight Mile Road, near Woodland Mound park.

Both those sirens will provide better coverage for those areas of the community, said Tom Riemar, assistant chief for Anderson Township Fire and Rescue Department.

?The purpose is to warn people when they?re outside and the system is not designed to warn you if you?re in your house,? he said. ?These will provide better coverage for Woodland Mound and for the (Vineyard) golf course ? and an area that has poor coverage,? he said.

Anderson Township officials approved most of the siren locations. For the few they did not approve, Riemar said it was more to maintain aesthetics, such as locating the Eight Mile Road siren within Woodland Mound park instead of along the side of the road.

County officials suggested removing the siren at the operations center, 7954 Beechmont Ave., and Riemar said they opposed that change and requested a new siren for that location.

Anderson Township currently buys and maintains the weather sirens and having the county upgrade the system is a positive step, Riemar said.

Rick Hassebrock, of Pierce Township, said he frequently takes his grandchildren to Woodland Mound park and praised the move toward more coverage.

Schratt said the emergency management agency also is reconsidering when it sounds the weather siren. This year, county officials would activate the sirens for two reasons, a severe thunderstorm warning coupled with a tornado watch or a tornado warning.

Hamilton County is moving toward sounding sirens just for tornado warnings to be in line with the policies in surrounding counties and to make sure the public is not disregarding the sirens, Schratt said.

Hassebrock supports that change. ?If counties have different policies it?s very confusing,? he said. ?It?s gotten to the point where we kind of tune it out.?

Riemar said he thinks a change to the warning system is a good approach, especially with today?s advanced warning systems.

?The majority of the public knows what?s going on when there is severe weather, but not when there is dangerous weather,? he said. ?If we?re really looking at weather that?s dangerous to people that?s when we need to sound (the sirens).?

He also recommends citizens have weather alert radios, which can be purchased at most electronics stores, for added severe weather protection.

Though tornadoes can hit anytime, the peak tornado season for Ohio is April to July.

[SIRENMAN]

"The old sirens are costly to maintain" WOW wait till the new ones go in.

Now each community pays for their repairs and EMA only pays for the malfunction diagnosis at $50.00 per call. I think last year there were 50 or 60 work orders and most were due to not changing gel-cells after 3 or 4 years. A lot of sirens are placed where they use electricity from fire stations, schools,etc.

New sirens: 200 battery sirens, which means 800 batteries at $100 a piece plus 90% of the sirens will be supplied by Duke for a flat fee for electric. So take $80,000.00 divide that number by 3 years or $27,000.00 per year plus 180 sirens at 15 to 20 dollars a month or $3,500 per month times 12 is $42,000.00. Therefore $42,000 + $27,000 = about $70,000 with no malfunctions or repairs so we will say $100,000.00 per year maintenance compared to $2,500.00.