The Siren Board

From my understanding of how Modulators and omni-directional Whelens are set up, Modulators have multiple drivers in each cell except for the first one and Whelens are one driver per cell. Based on that, which is more effective or efficient?

You are correct about the Modulators, I'm not quite sure about the Whelens though. In the Modulators, models 1004-6024 have 4 drivers per cell, the 6032 has 8 drivers in the center cells and 4 in the others, while the 6048 has 8 drivers in every cell.

It is sort of a wash, the 1 cell in the Whelen is a 400 watt driver where as the 1 cell in a Modulator is a 100 watt driver...so when you come down to it they are about equal.. with the modulator if you only blow 1 driver you only replace 1 inexpensive driver.... if you blow the driver in a Whelen you are replacing a very expensive driver. I am in the Modulator camp on this one.

If you compare the models of Modulators and 2900s with same decibel ratings, here's what you're better off choosing for efficiency:

115 dB-MOD3012 is 1200 watts, and WPS2902 is 800 watts, so you would be better with a 2902 in this case.

121 dB-MOD6024 is 2400 watts, and WPS2904 is 1600 watts, so you would be better with a 2904 in this case.

123 dB-MOD6032 is 3200 watts, and WPS2905 is 2000 watts, so you would be better with a 2905 in this case.

125 dB-MOD6048 is 4800 watts, and WPS2906 is 2400 watts, so you would be better with a 2906 in this case.

In terms of efficiency, the 2900 is probably best when compared with the Modulator, although it does seem that it would cost more to repair due to blown drivers.

carexpertandy wrote:If you compare the models of Modulators and 2900s with same decibel ratings, here's what you're better off choosing for efficiency:

115 dB-MOD3012 is 1200 watts, and WPS2902 is 800 watts, so you would be better with a 2902 in this case.

121 dB-MOD6024 is 2400 watts, and WPS2904 is 1600 watts, so you would be better with a 2904 in this case.

123 dB-MOD6032 is 3200 watts, and WPS2905 is 2000 watts, so you would be better with a 2905 in this case.

125 dB-MOD6048 is 4800 watts, and WPS2906 is 2400 watts, so you would be better with a 2906 in this case.

In terms of efficiency, the 2900 is probably best when compared with the Modulator, although it does seem that it would cost more to repair due to blown drivers.

So basically speaking, the Whelen 2900 series is better on wattage which in turn makes it more efficient than a modulator. However it is more expensive to maintain a Whelen. So with that being said its pretty much a toss up between the two.

Oh, I forgot. I see a comparison between the 2900 series and the Mod, but what about the Omni-Alert and the Mod?

Modulator and Omni-Alert comparison:

115 dB-MOD3012 is 1200 watts, and so is the OA3. I guess it doesn't really matter which one you choose for efficiency in this case.

118 dB-MOD4016 is 1600 watts, and so is the OA4. Again it doesn't really matter which one you choose for efficiency.

OA/2900's have the same outputs, just the OA series does not support voice functions.

SirenkiD wrote:OA/2900's have the same outputs, just the OA series does not support voice functions.

Why would Whelen list the decibel ratings differently?

I forgot about one other omni-directional siren that i wanted to compare: the ASC I-Force. The I-Force and Modulator look very similar from a cosmetic point of view, but are they just as similar inside?