Yesterday I recieved my very first fire horn, a vintage Bell Systems Wheelock KS-8228-L6. Initially I thought this was a small fire siren, similar to a FS model A or smaller Sterling/Darley number, but it turned out to be an electric fire alarm horn.
Now the condition of this item isn't ideal. It's rusty, the horns are extremely bent, and honestly I want it to look nice, so I'm going to restore it into better condition.
The build plates are corroded, so I am just going to take a fine sharpie and a file and go through and clean them up and darken them up a bit.
I will be removing the horns and straightening them to the best of my ability. I then intend to either sandblast or take a fine grit sandpaper and remove as much paint as I can. Sandblasting would look nicer.
For paint, originally it was black. However, I'm not a huge fan of how this item looks in black. Thus I will first give it a coat of oxide red primer. Then it will recieve a coat of candy apple red and clearcoat. I then intend to replace the bolts on the bottom unit with chromed bolts, and I'll likely shine up the horn screws or paint the heads of them red as well.
As far as electronics, this thing appears to operate on a buzzer. I'm not entirely sure if this needs a relay. I know they have relay boxes, but I'm not sure if it will need one, as currently it is wired for AC house current. That being said, I have a couple of these vintage Gamewell Fire Alarm Switches around. I'm considering wiring this unit into one of these as an on/off switch.
Overall I feel this will be a very enjoyable project to work on.