The Siren Board

Hi guys,

I've been trying to narrow down options for a siren for the newbie hobbyist and I need your help.

My soft criteria:

--single phase
the lighter in weight the better (less than 150 lbs would be great)
something I could run w/o a motor starter or controller (in my mind, I see using a NEMA L14-30 plug into my home 220v outlet. I'm not sure how people commonly get things to run)

With these things in mind, seems my choices are limited--Federal Model 2 (but people want $3K for refurbished models it seems). A sterling 2v8 single phase would work if somebody had a refurbished one.
Again, I didn't want to go posting on "Wanted" section unless I've got my wanted list narrowed down.
Thanks for any and all help!

Yeah you are pretty much limited to a Model 2 with those requirements. Since you are in Jersey take a drive and look at fire stations to see if they have any fire sirens that aren't used anymore. Model 2's don't come up for sale that often, and if they are on ebay it's going to be an outrageous price. Last I heard a new Model 2 was around $2000, so I don't know why on earth somebody would pay more a used one, even if it is refurbished.

I'd suggest to start with something smaller, like a siren off of a fire truck. They work the same as a full-size siren but are much cheaper, much smaller, weigh a lot less, and have less of a danger in regards to potentially injuring you. Most of the time, they're 12 volts, so they often need a car battery to run. Ebay is your friend- you'll often find small sirens in so-so condition for less than $200. Search things like fire siren, federal siren, or antique siren- those tend to rake up a wide range of results.

I found it easier to jump into the hobby starting small, then I worked my way up. The smaller siren (in my case, an Ademco) let me learn and understand some things about sirens without having the multi-hundred-pound beast sitting in my garage.

sirendude2012 wrote:I'd suggest to start with something smaller, like a siren off of a fire truck. They work the same as a full-size siren but are much cheaper, much smaller, weigh a lot less, and have less of a danger in regards to potentially injuring you. Most of the time, they're 12 volts, so they often need a car battery to run. Ebay is your friend- you'll often find small sirens in so-so condition for less than $200. Search things like fire siren, federal siren, or antique siren- those tend to rake up a wide range of results.

I found it easier to jump into the hobby starting small, then I worked my way up. The smaller siren (in my case, an Ademco) let me learn and understand some things about sirens without having the multi-hundred-pound beast sitting in my garage.

Thanks for the well-intentioned advice. Did you see the 500 lb, 53" wheel/tire combo on the truck in my avatar? I don't like small lol. My truck sounds enough like a firetruck with the Grover Stuttertone horn. Well I might be SOL for now but I'll keep looking

Well then get a P-50. Big siren matches the big truck.

holler wrote:Yeah you are pretty much limited to a Model 2 with those requirements. Since you are in Jersey take a drive and look at fire stations to see if they have any fire sirens that aren't used anymore. Model 2's don't come up for sale that often, and if they are on ebay it's going to be an outrageous price. Last I heard a new Model 2 was around $2000, so I don't know why on earth somebody would pay more a used one, even if it is refurbished.

Do this, you would be surprised on how many have old ones lying around. They may even give it for free. Look around, some could still be on the roof or a pole that were replaced by newer ones.

And on the topic of used ones, there is currently one on ebay for 3300 bucks that "restored". You could get a new one for roughly a grand less, that doesn't have chips in the paint or old wiring.

theroofable wrote:

holler wrote:Yeah you are pretty much limited to a Model 2 with those requirements. Since you are in Jersey take a drive and look at fire stations to see if they have any fire sirens that aren't used anymore. Model 2's don't come up for sale that often, and if they are on ebay it's going to be an outrageous price. Last I heard a new Model 2 was around $2000, so I don't know why on earth somebody would pay more a used one, even if it is refurbished.

Do this, you would be surprised on how many have old ones lying around. They may even give it for free. Look around, some could still be on the roof or a pole that were replaced by newer ones.

And on the topic of used ones, there is currently one on ebay for 3300 bucks that "restored". You could get a new one for roughly a grand less, that doesn't have chips in the paint or old wiring.

I have someone who is an ex-volunteer firefighter that is making some calls for me and yes, I'll do some investigating. And that guy on eBay is either crazy, or someone has been crazy enough to pay him that much in the past. Someone on here is selling an HOR Sino-drone within driving distance of me (actually the town my sister-in-law is from), but it is 3-phase and porky at 200+ lbs. But it still has potential for me.

You might want to check what Siro-Drone type it is, because some types are quiet... and still heavy.

TurbopropPilot wrote:Let me stop you guys right there. That "crazy guy" on ebay is me. Also, let me give you a gentle reminder that I have sold 2 of these for over $3000. I am not forcing anyone to buy this siren. I start high and work my way down if need be. If you want to keep it up, take it to PM. I am tired seeing posts like these.

sorry about that. Congrats on the sales. You are definitely not the crazy one.

Any way, just to get started in the hobby, pretty much every vol fire company has at least one siren in the town, many of the island towns have multiple because they use them for flood warning as well. Many test at noon. You could go out and try and get some videos or pictures of them going off, people on here like that.