The Siren Board

Well I got in contact with the BFD in Brookings County and they said it was sort of inconvenient to have to have some one man the siren when the test or real tornado is going on, you see the timer they are using is an off the market timer that just has one signal, Wail no alert capability it is activated by radio so my question is, can I use my AR timer to replace the timer they currently have and wire it up so they can use Alert and Wail functions for storms? or is that impossible to do?

SDsirenman wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:31 am

Well I got in contact with the BFD in Brookings County and they said it was sort of inconvenient to have to have some one man the siren when the test or real tornado is going on, you see the timer they are using is an off the market timer that just has one signal, Wail no alert capability it is activated by radio so my question is, can I use my AR timer to replace the timer they currently have and wire it up so they can use Alert and Wail functions for storms? or is that impossible to do?

It isn't impossible. For example, I've seen a gen 1 2001-SRN use sentry battery boxes and controls. What siren do they have?

Sounds like they need a new radio/controller combination, like an FC, since that controller can only do wail and they require wail and alert capabilities.

Yes it's possible.
What is also possible is to build a 2 tone timer out of some time delay relays. This would keep your old AR timer in your hands and allow the siren to function however you wanted it to based on the wiring and number of relays.

How to.
So the first relay is the 3 minute relay. This can be a basic adjustable latching time delay relay set for 3 minutes. It Sounds like there is one of these there to begin with. Mind you, you will still need the contactor that is controlling the siren motor. Do NOT try to directly switch the siren motor on and off. So the way this works is the 3 minute relay gets tripped and is wired to latch for 3 minutes. The output of that relay goes through a second time delay relay that is a flip flop. Meaning it will cycle on and off wit delays that you set on the front of the relay. It's output goes to the contactor. There are TWO inputs here. One that starts the 3 minute relay and the other that starts the flip flop relay. For an alert tone, or spin up and hold for 3 minutes, that relay is the only one that gets activated. For a wail function BOTH relays get activated.

While it may seem easier to have all the relays just use 110 volts for the signaling, it's much easier to use 12 volt relays that have a proper contact size for 110 and leave the logic level stuff at 12 volts. It's easier and safer to interface to a siren receiver or button panel if you want to run the controls remotely from an office of the like.

If you are familiar with time delay relays and industrial controls, this shouldn't be too difficult. If you are NOT well versed in this type of stuff. I would leave it alone and have an industrial controls technician wire it up for you.