The Siren Board

I checked the pricing on a new model 2 and found that a 2-120 costs $2880.00. Why on earth does it cost so much? I was expecting something like $700-800 at the most, and for the model A and L $150-300. (a model A and L cost around $2000 each) Why do these cost so much?

Because the manufacturer can charge that much. Other than Sentry, Federal is the only one who makes sirens in these ranges, so there is little competition. Seeing as these sirens last many years, I feel that the manufacturers are somewhat justified in their prices when you take supply/demand and competition into account.

I do see the point that Zarlog is making; I mean I saw an old ad that said the Model A costs $50 back in the 40's. I do also think that inflation also plays a role in pricing too.

Chicagosiren-hunters wrote:I do see the point that Zarlog is making; I mean I saw an old ad that said the Model A costs $50 back in the 40's. I do also think that inflation also plays a role in pricing too.

$50 back then would have been around $850 back then...

Well goodness. Seems like they didn't know how to count money back then!

In my opinion... If someone charges more than the price for parts and the price for wages, and a little on top for bills, (like building rent or machinery or whatever) then they are not justified in doing it. I do not like brand chargers. They in fact make me kinda angry. If I buy a pair of sunglasses and it doesn't have a popular brand it's gonna cost me less. If I pay for a more popular brand I'm gonna pay more. Why does that upset me? Because no matter which pair I buy, no matter what materials or how much they love themselves, they could still break. Then I am out the higher price. If I pay Chris lord alge to mix a song in a band, he's gonna charge me 7,000 bucks per song. He puts the instruments in the same place, makes the frequencies all sound the same, and can be somewhat minimalist. Sure he has a massive amount of equipment, but that IMO doesn't justify the high price tag... Neither does his popularity... Especially when I can go to Steve albini and have the thing recorded and mixed for less. (Chris lord alge mixed the American idiot album by green day and Steve albini recorded and mixed in utero by nirvana. He also did a helmet album which sounds a lot better... The song he feels bad is great anyways...) so why do I bring all that up? To illustrate the differences in honest pricing and popularity pricing. I am not gonna accuse federal signal of doing popularity pricing. Maybe the motor, the armature, brushes, housing material, frame material, nuts and bolts, wiring (which can be a big one), activator materials, timer materials, (also a big one) chopper itself, bearings, labor for staff fabricating all the pieces, the required tooling, installation fees (installing and uninstalling a siren is a tough job... Fun if you love it... But tough), the, as before mentioned, building rental or ownership fees, and all what not add up to 2 grand or even more! (Don't even get me started on the 2001s! Or the thunderbolts! Those blowers alone cost around 2000 bucks a piece!) model As and Ls idk. I haven't really done much dealings with them. But I'm thinking brand new they come with more than just the siren head.

Owning a Model L I got for 100 bucks, it sounds like a thousand bucks every time I run it(despite it being all taken apart right now). For the price of brand new, Model A/L's are very reasonably priced, considering just how loud, and how great they sound opposed to the cheaper really high pitched counterparts that are around 500(but then again they are usually "explosion proof).

Back in the 40's and 50's, there was a great demand for small sirens as indoor civil defense alarms. Most public school buildings in Oregon, for example, used Model A-sized sirens in the hallways for air raid alerts and fire alarms (and some are still in use!). Since the 1960's, cheap electronic sirens have taken over mechanical ones for smaller applications, so small motorized sirens no longer have the demand they once did, and prices have risen accordingly.

Zarlog wrote:I checked the pricing on a new model 2 and found that a 2-120 costs $2880.00. Why on earth does it cost so much? I was expecting something like $700-800 at the most, and for the model A and L $150-300. (a model A and L cost around $2000 each) Why do these cost so much?

Really? Why? Those sirens are small, even the Model 2 is small compared to a Model 5, Even the Model 2's chopper is smaller then the shroud.....
Like I would expect the Model 2 to be around $125, and the Model A and L sirens to be around $60

TheFatTurd wrote:

Zarlog wrote:I checked the pricing on a new model 2 and found that a 2-120 costs $2880.00. Why on earth does it cost so much? I was expecting something like $700-800 at the most, and for the model A and L $150-300. (a model A and L cost around $2000 each) Why do these cost so much?

Really? Why? Those sirens are small, even the Model 2 is small compared to a Model 5, Even the Model 2's chopper is smaller then the shroud.....
Like I would expect the Model 2 to be around $125, and the Model A and L sirens to be around $60

This was explained by the first reply.