The Siren Board

It is very bittersweet that this day has finally come. I thought that this day wouldn't come for a long time, because the warning sirens don't really seem to be Wilmington's top priority. Now, this siren is pretty unique for Wilmington and Clinton County because it was the only 2001 siren in Clinton County. The rest of the sirens are Whelens, Sentry 10Vs, Thunderbeams, and a few Model Xs. This 2001-DC I believe was installed sometime in the 1990s, and I believe must have replaced a 2T22 that used to be by the library. I wonder if the 2T22 that used to be down the road by the library was having issues or something, because it was replaced years earlier than the rest of the siren system by another Federal Signal siren (the 2001-DC), and was the first one replaced out of the entire old siren system (which consisted of some 2T22s, and Thunderbeams).

Anyway, as for the 2001 replacement, I was driving through downtown yesterday and happened to look over as I wanted to peek at the 2001. I suddenly gasped, "OH MY GOODNESS! THE 2001 IS GONE!" So I quickly turned around and drove over there. It just so happened that they were in the process of installing the new Whelen (which is the second omni-directional Whelen in Wilmington, the other omni-directional being at Wilmington College, the rest being rotational) and removing the 2001 when I got there. This siren is located right by the Fiesta Veracruz Mexican Restaurant in downtown Wilmington. There were a couple of guys working on the install of the Whelen so I asked them about the 2001. I asked them what was going to happen to it, to which they replied, "I honestly have no idea." They said the same thing when I asked them why the 2001 was being replaced. I know it's old, but I just so happened to see it go off last test, and it was working perfectly. Of course I am interested in possibly getting that old 2001, so I sent an email to the Wilmington Police Department, who maintains the system, regarding the 2001. Unfortunately, though, they haven't responded yet and I sent that yesterday. Anyway, although I am sad about the 2001 being removed and replaced, the new Whelen looks really nice!

Here are some pictures:
The old Wilmington News Journal article featuring the 2T22: The only known remnants of Wilmington's old system, these two panels being on top of the Southridge Shopping Center: Picture of the 2001-DC from 2012: Pictures from yesterday: Pictures from today:
Like I said already, I'm sad about the 2001 being gone, but the new Whelen is nice. Although, we already have enough Whelens.

That's really sad. Wishing you luck.

I'm surprised they went with an OmniAlert OA4. OmniAlerts aren't really too rare, but they are definitely uncommon. I could only think of a hand full of places here in Georgia with them. It's a bit underwhelming though. They basically replaced a 2001 with a siren that has comparable range to an Eclipse 8. There must be other sirens really close by if they were willing to go with the OA4 over a R4 or 2910.

Well that 2001 was made in April of 1992.

DJ2226 wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:43 am

I'm surprised they went with an OmniAlert OA4. OmniAlerts aren't really too rare, but they are definitely uncommon. I could only think of a hand full of places here in Georgia with them. It's a bit underwhelming though. They basically replaced a 2001 with a siren that has comparable range to an Eclipse 8. There must be other sirens really close by if they were willing to go with the OA4 over a R4 or 2910.

The nearest siren isn’t too far away, but it still isn’t that loud from this location. The nearest siren is a Whelen by the Wilmington High School track on Thorne Avenue.

Wow! I've tried to record this multiple times with no luck in them testing. That's a shame to see a smaller siren replace that, but it will be a cool addition to their system. However, The OAs are impressive for their size; I've recorded the one at the college. Keep us informed on the fate of this beauty; I'd hate to see it scrapped. I also really hope that the 10Vs out in the county don't go either.

Also, the Whelen system replaced Thunderbeams in the early 2000s. The thunderbeams went to Clarksville and Blanchester where they are still running today.

Kentuckysirens wrote:Wow! I've tried to record this multiple times with no luck in them testing. That's a shame to see a smaller siren replace that, but it will be a cool addition to their system. However, The OAs are impressive for their size; I've recorded the one at the college. Keep us informed on the fate of this beauty; I'd hate to see it scrapped. I also really hope that the 10Vs out in the county don't go either.

Yeah. Clinton County hasn't been testing a lot here lately. Not sure why. I think the police dispatchers may be a little lazy and forget sometimes. Last test, though, I drove uptown to see the 2001 and they tested right on time and the 2001 worked great! It's sad to see it go.

Kentuckysirens wrote:Also, the Whelen system replaced Thunderbeams in the early 2000s. The thunderbeams went to Clarksville and Blanchester where they are still running today.

Did the Thunderbeams come from Wilmington? Where did you get that information about the Thunderbeams? All I know for sure about Wilmington's old system is the 2T22s and possibly some Thunderbolts.

I'll have to go drive by one of the Sentrys some time to make sure they haven't been replaced. I live about two minutes from one of them.

The firefighter in Blanchester who maintains their city sirens informed us that their Beams came from Wilmington and are single phase. That also makes sense since the one I recorded in Clarksville was also single phase.

Very interesting. I had no idea that those Thunderbeams came from Wilmington. Not sure if they will, but maybe they'll repurpose that 2001 and install it somewhere else in the county. I have no idea what happened to the old 2T22s that Wilmington used to have because there aren't any of those around here. They may have been scrapped.

BTW, I drove by one of the Sentry 10Vs today and it's still there. Those Sentrys are probably owned by the township, while that 2001 was owned by the city of Wilmington.