The Siren Board

Hey guys, I just wanted to get your opinion on this. I recently purchased a Model A and I was thinking of ways to activate it remotely. Has anyone here ever considered using a WIFI controlled outlet? I find it a lowcost option for enthusiasts. What do you think? I was looking at the Belkin WEMO series specifically, I think it would be cool. You can also add a timer option for tests and such and control everything from a mobile phone. It's around $35 at Walmart. What does everyone normally use to activate their sirens?

i ACTIVATE mine directly from a AR timer, but if someone found out a cheap wireless activation, I would kill for it.

It sounds like if you were to set it up the right way, you can program it to do daily or weekly tests of a siren, and you can activate it away from home if the need should ever arise. Definitely something worth looking into more.

Valtonus wrote:i ACTIVATE mine directly from a AR timer, but if someone found out a cheap wireless activation, I would kill for it.

I am thinking if the wireless remote works someone could probably purchase a 120V relay that would plug into the outlet and use it with their AR timer. I feel like between the outlet and the relay it would probably cost around $40, pretty darn good!

So I bought this thing at Walmart last night. It is the coolest thing ever! I have it said up to activate the Model A from 12:01-12:02 (with our county sirens). Also it is compatible with IFTTT (If this, then that). Every time the siren is activated, whether remotely or by timer, it will post a status to my Facebook page saying:
Attention!!- The Outdoor Warning Siren on Broad St in Menasha, WI has activated with the Winnebago County Emergency Warning System. If it is 12PM on a Saturday please disregard this status. If it is not the time listed above please tune into your local Internet, Radio, or Television Outlets for the latest information and seek shelter immediately!!!
I'm also thinking about setting it up so that if you create a facebook status with the hastag #tornadowarningforwinnebagocounty it will activate the siren. I'd then obviously have to have a cancel hashtag too to turn off the siren. That would be since the WEMO app is smartphone only, and the hashtag activation would be a way to run the siren from a desktop or mobile phone not connected directly to the WEMO switch.
It is quite the neat little thing! One other thing to note is that the setup was excruciatingly painful! I have never cursed as much as I did trying to configure the darn little thing but once you get it set up it is such a cool toy! We will have to see how it works when turning the siren off, some of those remote outlet relays get stuck a little when turning off so hopefully this one will be free of all problems. Also, I can totally see this thing being connected to a relay to activate an AR timer or motor starter for another siren!

Josh(bearlovesox) wrote: I'm also thinking about setting it up so that if you create a facebook status with the hastag #tornadowarningforwinnebagocounty it will activate the siren. I'd then obviously have to have a cancel hashtag too to turn off the siren. ]

Oh well, that is a HORRIBLE idea, then anyone can set off the siren like little trolls.

Perhaps you could have a script running that grabs warnings for your county. That may be a bit more foolproof.

Valtonus wrote:

Josh(bearlovesox) wrote: I'm also thinking about setting it up so that if you create a facebook status with the hastag #tornadowarningforwinnebagocounty it will activate the siren. I'd then obviously have to have a cancel hashtag too to turn off the siren. ]

Oh well, that is a HORRIBLE idea, then anyone can set off the siren like little trolls.

It's only when I post a status with the Hashtag, and only when I post on my wall while logged into my account. It's actually very secure so long as you don't let people on your account. It's not like anybody who posts that hashtag can activate the siren lol.

This doesn't sound like that good of an idea to me, I had contemplated using one of those wifi outlets to activate my 2T but I'm not too trustworthy of them. Wouldn't be very fun to have a network glitch at 4 in the morning that triggers your siren. If it's connected to a lamp, it's not that big of a deal, but connecting it to a siren is a whole different ballgame. I've found that the best solution is using a phone line operated device that you can call and switch relays remotely. I've had extremely good luck with my system and it has never failed in the two years that I have used it.

Stormsetter4 wrote:This doesn't sound like that good of an idea to me, I had contemplated using one of those wifi outlets to activate my 2T but I'm not too trustworthy of them. Wouldn't be very fun to have a network glitch at 4 in the morning that triggers your siren. If it's connected to a lamp, it's not that big of a deal, but connecting it to a siren is a whole different ballgame. I've found that the best solution is using a phone line operated device that you can call and switch relays remotely. I've had extremely good luck with my system and it has never failed in the two years that I have used it.

The problem with me is I am way too cheap to purchase a landline for use with the siren. I do want to ask though, is it a Viking relay or something else?