Some German oddities.

[SirenMadness]

German electronic sirens amaze me sometimes.

I think that this siren is made by H?rmann, based on the little signs on the side of the horns.



This is quite an array.



This one is claimed to be called an ESA15. It uses the projector of an E-57. I don't know as to whether this is a manufacturer specification or a local modification of the main siren body. I do not see an E-57, as the picture is too dark there, so I don't know.







This is an ECL 400. Look at the way that the horns are curved, to minimize overall horizontal stretch.

I got these pictures from the LuftSchutzSirene.de board.

[q2bman]

Wow! I'd like to hear the first one!

[Trey]

Wow! I'd like to hear the first one!

Me too.

Holy hell I bet that thing is loud!

[Mister_Penetrator]

The first one is really unusual. It just seems that whenever a new siren comes out (American, European, or whatever) it becomes more bizarre in terms of looks. Not to mention that it has 48 horns (I mean if it has any horns behind the ones shown). I would say this has to be a siren with one of the largest number of horns.

[SoundOff]

This is the only video I found with a German Electronic outdoor siren being tested but I think they may all sound similar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxySdCnik84

[SirenMadness]

I like the way that Germany has that growl at the beginning of the signal, just like with its mechanical sirens! That particular tone style is the best that I've heard from any electronic siren so far.

I think that the first siren would do about a (125) Decibels easily! I don't think that it is necessarily louder than the other H?rmann models of that size, but just more radiant.

[Daniel]

This is the best electronic siren I have heard yet. I don't know what kind of control system the siren uses in that video, but it sounds like it is running of the same timer that drove the siren it replaced. It would be nice if an electronic siren could function like a motor siren: apply power. sound rises to a steady note; remove power, sound winds down. This siren goes to the trouble of sounding the lower frequencies at the beginning and the end, unlike most others that cut off below a certain pitch.

[SirenMadness]

The siren does seem to simulate the basic wind-down conditions of a mechanical siren, as the sound is not that loud at its very bottom frequency range. I guess that the drivers are not too "tortured" by the low frequencies, as there is not that much power going through the speakers at that point.

[Daniel]

That first photo reminds me of a massive air horn array at a Japanese fire station that someone once posted on this board. It was a huge rack with what looked like about 30 horns pointing in all directions.

[Blasty]

That last one is pretty cool. Until seeing that, I thought the idea of using curled horns for a siren was my own. It's been done in PA and Hi-Fi horns for a long time, some of the most impressive ones being done in the 1930s. I was curious why I'd never seen any sirens use that idea.