Marshfield MO thunderbolt 1000A replacement incoming

[jacob585]

today I talked with the mayor of marshfield and he told me that they were in the process of getting a replacement.
I will be attending a city council meeting to see If I can get them too not replace it.

[Unit of Civil Defense]

... SO you would rather rely on some old, obsolete siren for your potential safety during a severe weather event over something more dependable....I highly doubt your going to convince the city council to reconsider.....more than likely the plan has already been implemented since you stated that the mayor said that it was "in the process of getting a replacement"...
I imagine with your post that mayors office phone will now be ringing off of the wall with calls from everyone wanting the siren.

[Allertorguy02]

[Brendan W]

Sometimes, old units just have to go. Sure it sucks to see something like a Tbolt go, but it is what it is. If I were in a position of the mayor, I would opt for a replacement as well if it was needed to tell the truth. I would rather have a more dependable siren than something old. What it boils down to is more a question of reliability rather than nostalgia, which seems the case with your original post, albeit indirectly implied. The Thunderbolt, although a great siren, is quite obsolete by today's standards; that's the fact. Much more newer and more optimal options are available. There are a number of things that could go wrong on a thunderbolt: The blower, Chopper, etc. Maintenance for it is also a royal PITA, which let's be honest; in most cases that is not a priority for communities although stuff like that is encouraged. If the town is replacing it and in the process, that means it is going to go regardless. I hate to say this but that's that. Things change. Although I personally don't exactly agree with what you're trying to do (although I do respect what you are doing, do not get me wrong), I do wish you luck in your endeavor; as to get involved in your community is a noble thing for anyone to do in my opinion.

[Unit of Civil Defense]

Talk about nostalgia, I wish that I could wave a magic wand and all that would be seen and heard here in Shawnee Co.was a system of nothing but the Hemi powered Chrysler air raid sirens and Thunderbolts......now that would be awesome!

[Model L]

i would personally ask the mayor to keep the siren and give it to you, as opposed to trying to convince them not to replace it.

[4J25]

How about suggesting the Thunderbolt be used elsewhere to expand coverage? That is, unless it is busted.

[uncommonsense]

We're talking about metal on a pole in a rural town. Let it go.

[fire_freak_57]

We're talking about metal on a pole in a rural town. Let it go.

I agree. As bad as you might think a 2001-130 replacement or T-128 might seem to you, the fact of the matter is they are reliable sirens and they will be brand new. They will last you at least 20 years, and they have far less routine maintenance than the Thunderbolt does. Any new uni-directional or omni-directional is far better than using an old siren that is obsolete and will require lots of time-consuming maintenance that costs lots of money and may be more difficult than maintaining a new siren which will require less money and time to maintain.

If you want something that works and will be reliable most or all of the time a replacement is the way to go. As nostalgic the Thunderbolt may be, it relies on older technology and is just not reliable.

Case in point, the Thunderbolt and Fedelcode 5 on the Cuyahoga Southwest system in Cuyahoga Heights, OH failed for its monthly test last Saturday. While the Thunderbolt 2 miles away activated; it is on a different system which uses up-to-date controls, which are expensive, but that is in a larger suburb that has 7 sirens, so a replacement there would be very expensive.

The only one in Cuyahoga Heights that did activate for the test was their 2001-SRNB. The other 2 sirens in the system failed, the Thunderbolt 1000T and the Fedelcode. All the Fire Department said was they simply had radio issues and couldn't activate them.

Let it go. They obviously need a new siren, and they will likely get a new one because it is a necessity.

[Darley Champion]

I strongly agree with uncommonsense and FireFreak. If the siren is [for exemple] too corroded (read: so corroded that the metal is as thin as a sheet of paper) or damaged (crucial parts going bad beyond repair), it's just not worth keeping it.

Just replace it already before it fails right when you need it to sound off, because should it fail right in the middle of the tornado... (in the worst case scenario)