The Siren Board

I've never been a fan of rotating sirens because the rotation causes the sound to fade in and out, sometimes making attack and alert signals hard to distinguish at a distance. I would look into one of the larger Sentry models.

bobcat418 wrote:

DJ2226 wrote:It might be more cost effective to see what's actually wrong with the existing 2001 and attempt to fix it before jumping the gun and setting the city's wallet on fire.

I agree, a new control panel, motor, radio, etc. would be significantly cheaper than a completely new siren. If the city really does want to replace rather than repair, you cannot go wrong with a Sentry. If the city wants a rotating siren I would suggest the 508 like others have mentioned, or a Whelen Vortex due to their good coverage to price ratio.

Yeah, my city just bought another 2001-130 and it was something like $30K for everything. It wouldn't be my choice because 130s perform poorly from a long distance. I live 1 mile from a 2001-130 and I can barely hear it when they test it. The wind is probably a factor, but when the city had their Whelen 2809 I heard it every single time they tested. So not all 2001 sirens are terrible, but the T-128 they also have is farther away from my house (about 2 miles) and I can hear it more clearly than the 2001. With 2001s, you have to make sure it's properly placed, because with wind noise and possible other factors during tests (or warnings), it can interfere with how people outside can hear it.
But that's just my 2 cents about it from a resident standpoint. And yes, I was outside during said tests.

The American Signal T-128 by far is the best rotational siren on the market as Federal bought one and copied the rotor and stator for their Eclipse and 508. If you want an omni-directional the T-121 also out performs any siren on the market for the same output. One problem with Federal is that they do not test their sirens according to ANSI regulations and do it in a sound chamber holding the microphone 10 feet in front of the siren and then extrapolating the db output using a friendly formula. The T-128 DC can be installed for less than $20,000 and the T-121 less than $15,000 (depending on the activation device)

This is the Rossford Record Newspaper, stating the problem with the siren. It is under the article Fire Department False Alarms. This may help the choice.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... JZzDArUkvg

They should get a Sentry 14V, there's a 3V8-H in Grands Rapids and a 10V in Jerry City. Sentry sirens are pretty inexpensive and perform very well.