The Siren Board

I've been in contact recently with park rangers trying to restore a SoundMaster 125 at Rock Creek state park in Jasper County Iowa that has been the subject of several threads on here in the past. It appears virtually all the siren's internal components are failing/eroding and despite repair attempts going on since last July, the siren still freezes up or malfunctions.

In an additional spate of bad news, a similar siren located in Oakland Acres Iowa just off Highway 6, which I believe was also discussed on this board in the past has also malfunctioned and has now been out of commission for several months while the city council has been contemplating replacing or repairing the siren, whichever is the most cost efficient. It's the city's only siren so it's fate may be known soon.

Nooooo, not the 125!!! Here's hoping they'll both land in the hands of an enthusiast!

It probably costs less to just fix the damn thing, but, is that likely to last in the long run?
Whatever the choice here, I'm sure a siren enthusiast will get at least one. Or none, if all are repaired.

You'd be surprised how much of money leech repairs can be...

I REALLY hope it does end up somewhere safe. If it does get fixed, thank goodness.

Thanks for the update. Shame to hear the bad news.

Cheers for the SoundMaster! One of these most unique siren makers up their with CLM and Chrysler. (in my books)

- Joshua

If it's corrosion, there's little they can do aside from making new parts. I'm doubtful they'll find spare SoundMaster parts laying around anywhere. I guess this is one of those cases where the virus progresses up to the point at which the organs are terminally ill and it is only a matter of time before the beast dies.

Hope they both get fixed as soon as possible or they get in a collector's hands.

Here's the link with some photos of the SoundMasters.

http://www.atomictheater.com/iowasoundmaster.htm

I'm going to try and make it to the Oakland Acres city council meeting next month to talk the councilman in charge of fixing/replacing their siren. From what I've garnered of their meeting minutes the council is open to any cost effective solution. Maybe there is a collector in the central Iowa area who could swap a restored siren of a more reliable mechanical nature for the SoundMaster?

Talking about the former Grinnell SoundMaster, I noticed the top cone to be missing (the one that covers the motor and top intake. This allows rain to get into it, which may explain for it not working. It's an interesting solution to point the horns in different directions, since the rotator is broken.
Sadly, if I'm correct and rain has gotten into it, it may be completely corroded, which gives little chance to get this poor SoundMaster to master sound again.

Tkjns wrote:Here's the link with some photos of the SoundMasters.

http://www.atomictheater.com/iowasoundmaster.htm

I'm going to try and make it to the Oakland Acres city council meeting next month to talk the councilman in charge of fixing/replacing their siren. From what I've garnered of their meeting minutes the council is open to any cost effective solution. Maybe there is a collector in the central Iowa area who could swap a restored siren of a more reliable mechanical nature for the SoundMaster?

I've got a few sirens here and there that I could part with.

Crazywarriorman wrote:

Tkjns wrote:Here's the link with some photos of the SoundMasters.

http://www.atomictheater.com/iowasoundmaster.htm

I'm going to try and make it to the Oakland Acres city council meeting next month to talk the councilman in charge of fixing/replacing their siren. From what I've garnered of their meeting minutes the council is open to any cost effective solution. Maybe there is a collector in the central Iowa area who could swap a restored siren of a more reliable mechanical nature for the SoundMaster?

I've got a few sirens here and there that I could part with.

I also have a number of good sirens I could part with for one of these... I have always wanted to see what Iowa was like too!! LOL