 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2021) |
This article lists the outdoor warning sirens built by Biersach & Niedermeyer Co., Alerting Communicators of America and American Signal Corporation.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(May 2021) |
This article lists the outdoor warning sirens built by Biersach & Niedermeyer Co., Alerting Communicators of America and American Signal Corporation.
| Model | Type | Motor HP | Port Ratios | Years of Production | Sound Output and Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BN52 - BN54 | Gas-Mechanical | 25 | 8 | 1942–1953 | Rotating 125 dB at 100 ft. | The first version of the Mobil Directo which used a 25HP Wisconsin air-cooled engine. |
| BN44E | Electro-Mechanical | 10 | 8, 10/12 | 1948–1967 | Rotating 124 dB at 100 ft. | The second version of the Mobil Directo which used a 10HP electric motor. |
| Name | Type | Motor HP | Port Ratios | Years of Production | Sound Output Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allertor 125 | Electro-Mechanical | 10, 15 | 8/12, 9/12, 10/12 (Gen 1) 9/12 (Gen 2 and 3) | 1968–1980 | Rotating 126 dB at 100 ft. | Design changed at least three times throughout production. The most common port ratio is 9/12. The standard Allertor 125 can produce 2 tones. Alert and Attack (Wail). A third signal was also available, Yelp, which required a special type of motor and used a reversing magnetic starter. Early models used a gear driven rotator, which was changed to a chain drive rotator by 1970. |
| Alpha Cyclone 120 | Electro-Mechanical | 40-50 | 8/12 | 1968-1970 | Omni Directional 120 dB at 100 ft. | Extremely short lived siren. Only proof of this ever existing is from an ACA ad in 1968. [1] This was one of the only sirens ACA didn't encase in fiberglass. |
| Cyclone 120 | Electro-Mechanical | 40 or 50 | 8/12 | 1970–1980 | Omni Directional 120 dB at 100 ft. | Produces 120 dB at 100 feet. Produces the 3 following tones: Alert, Attack (Wail) and Pulse (Coded damper needed for pulse signal). |
| Cyclone 125 | Electro-Mechanical | 50 | 8/12 | 1980–1994 | Omni Directional 125 dB at 100 ft. | Produces 125 dB at 100 feet. Produces the following 3 tones: Alert, Attack (Wail) and Pulse (Coded damper needed for pulse signal). |
| Howler | Electro-Mechanical | 10 | 9/12 | 1972–1989 | Rotating 123 dB at 100 ft. | The Howler is a rotational version of the Screamer S-10. Extremely rare, only one left in service. |
| Hurricane 130 | Electro-Mechanical (Supercharged) | 1 or 2 (chopper) 25/30 (blower) | 8/8, 8/10, 8/12, 10/10, 10/12, 12/12 | 1967-1972 (square horn) 1972-1981 (round horn) | Rotating 130 dB at 100 ft. | Started off using a direct drive 25HP Roots blower with a square horn, redesigned to a belt drive 30 HP blower with round horn. All known recordings are 8/10 port ratio. This siren is similar to Federal Signal's Thunderbolt series. Only a single unit remains in service in Milwaukee, WI. |
| Screamers | Electro-Mechanical | 2, 5, 7.5, 10 | 8, 9, 9/12, 10/12 | 1968–1994 | Omni Directional 102–115 dB at 100 ft. | Series of small vertical sirens, comparable to Federal Signal Corporation's vertical sirens. |
| Sentry 95 | Electro-Mechanical | 1 | 5/6 | Sometime around the late 60s/early 70s. | Omni Directional 95 dB at 100 ft. | Very rare siren. Dual tone circular port siren. 95 dB at 100 ft. Manufactured by Klaxon, sold in USA under ACA name. Eight are known to exist, all under the Klaxon SS6 model. None exist under the Sentry 95 branding or model. |
| SuperBanshee/Banshee 120 | Electro-Mechanical | 25 | 8/12 | 1968–1994 | Omni Directional 119 dB at 100 ft. | The SuperBanshee (originally called Banshee 120) was a dual-rotor omni directional siren. Most were only capable of the standard two signals, but they were also available with coding dampers to make the Hi-Lo signal for local code purposes. |
| Banshee | Electro-Mechanical | 10 (Banshee 110), 15 (Banshee 115). | 8, 9/12, 10/12, 8/12 (Banshee 110) 8, 9/12 (Banshee 115) | 1967–1973 (Banshee 110) 1973–1994 (Banshee 115) | Omni Directional 112 dB (Dual tone), 116 dB (Single tone) at 100 ft. | There are two models of the common Banshees, the Banshee 110, and the Banshee 115. The Banshee 110 was originally only offered in 10/12. The 110 and 115 were later both available in a 9/12 port ratio, and 8 port for special orders only. After 1983, the Banshee 115 was made available in 8 port as standard. Both units could be fitted with coding dampers. Coded models could produce a pulsating signal for local code purposes. |
| Penetrators | Electro-Mechanical | 10, 15, 20, 50 | 8, 9/12 (P-10 and 15) 8/12 (P-50) 9 (PN-20) | 1982–1994 (10, 15, 50), 1992-1994 (20). (Later continued as the RM series) | Rotating 124–135 dB at 100 ft. | 10 and 15 HP models were nearly the same, aside from motor used. The P-50 was and still is the loudest dual tone siren in the world. The P-15 (Single-tone) and P-50 were still being produced by ASC until 2002 and 2007, under different names (P-15 being the RM-127 and the P-50 being the RM-135/T-135 AC). The PN-20 was the last siren made by ACA. These were a DC powered counterpart to the P-15. They were equipped with battery backup and used the rotor from the Screamer S-5. The PN-20 continued into the ASC years under the name RM-130. |
| Alertronic 5000 | Electronic | none | Single tone at 500 Hz. Dual tone at 500 and 680 hz. | 1983–1984 | Rotating 125 dB at 100 ft. | Very short lived siren, replaced by the AL-6000R. Currently no videos known to exist and only a couple of photos of this model of siren. It has been claimed that Rhinelander, WI used to have one, however there is no evidence of this. |
| Alertronic AL-6000R | Electronic | none | none | 1985–1991 | Rotating 124 dB at 100 feet | Replacement for the Alertronic 5000. These have 8 horns. Each horn has 2 100 watt drivers, with a total of 16. |
| AL-7200 | Electronic | none | none | 1985-??? | Omni Directional dB rating is unknown. | One of the largest Alertronics. These had 24 CJ46 horns, each driven by three 100 watt drivers. The total wattage is 7200 watts. They were configured with three rows of horns, each row having eight horns around. These sirens were used in the Oak Ridge, TN siren system, and are not known to be installed elsewhere. |
| AL-1000/AL-2000 | Electronic | none | none | 1984-1995 | Omni/uni Directional dB rating depends on model. | A small industrial siren. These used smaller horns than the others. They had one 100 watt driver per horn (AL-1000) or two 100 watt drivers per horn (AL-2000). Horns could be removed for uni-directional applications. |
| AL-4000/AL-6000/AL-8000 | Electronic | none | none | 1984-1995 | Omni/uni Directional dB rating depends on model. | The most popular Alertronic sirens. Models include the AL-4000, AL-6000, and AL-8000. Horns could be configured differently for uni-directional applications. Each Atlas CJ46 horn has 2 100 watt drivers. Wattage ranges from 800 to 3200 watts throughout the models. |
| AR-1600 | Electronic | none | none | 1991–1994 | Rotating 126 dB at 100 feet | This was the replacement for the AL-6000R. It only has 4 horns rather than 8. These came with 16 100 watt drivers, 4 on each horn. |
| Quadren | Electronic | none | none | 1992–1994 | Omni/uni Directional dB rating depends on model. | One of the last electronic sirens made by ACA before their bankruptcy. Three base models were available, AL-1600, AL-3200, and AL-4800. They could also be configured in uni-directional setups, as they had 4 separate quadrants. They could be mounted on walls, corners, or on poles. They could be used indoors and outdoors. Design was later used by ASC, and later became the i-FORCE. |
| Performance Plus Series | Electro-Mechanical | 7.5 | 9 | 1989–1993 | Rotating/Omni Directional 115–125 dB at 100 ft. | Two Performance Plus models were made, a Banshee and a Penetrator. These have three-phase AC motors, and run on batteries. A power inverter converts the DC power to AC. Dane County, WI used to have a few Penetrators, and a few Banshees have been found elsewhere. |
| Name | Type | Motor HP | Port Ratios | Years of Production | Sound Output Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OM-102-AC/OM-109-AC/OM-112-AC | Electro-Mechanical | 2, 5, 7.5 | 102 and 109: 9, 112: 8 | 1994-2004 | Omni Directional 102 dB, 109 dB, and 112 dB at 100 ft. | Rebranded versions of ACA's Screamers. The S-10 was not carried over when ACA became ASC. |
| OM-117-AC | Electro-Mechanical | 15 | 8 | 1994–2004 | Omni Directional 117 dB at 100 ft. | Rebranded version of ACA's Banshee siren, only in the 8-port 15 HP version. |
| OM-120-DC | Electro-Mechanical | 7.5 | 9 | 1998–2004 | Omni Directional 120 dB at 100 ft. | The battery-backup equipped counterpart to the OM-117. Used the same housing as the ACA Performance Plus Banshee. |
| RM-127-AC | Electro-Mechanical | 15 | 8 | 1995–2002 | Rotating 127 dB at 100 ft. | The same as the single tone Penetrator-15. Would be later produced by Werden Electric as the P-127 after its discontinuation. |
| RM-130-DC | Electro-Mechanical | 7.5 | 9 | 1995–2002 | Rotating 127 dB at 100 ft. | The same as the earlier Penetrator-20. |
| OM-125-AC/C-125-AC | Electro-Mechanical | 50 | 8/12 | 1995–2007 | Omni Directional 125 dB at 100 ft. | The same as the Cyclone 125. |
| AL-1000/AL-2000/AL-4000/AL-6000/AL-8000 | Electronic | none | none | 1995–2011 | Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. | Rebranded versions of ACA's omni directional Alertronics. These had digital controllers, unlike ACA's analog version. |
| RE-1600 | Electronic | none | none | 1995-2007 | Rotating 126 dB at 100 ft. | Rebranded AR-1600. These had digital controllers, unlike ACA's analog version. |
| Tempest (Rotating) | Electro-Mechanical | Comes in 7.5, 20, and 50 HP | 8 (8/12 for T-135AC) | 1993–Present (1981-2007 for T-135AC) | Rotating 129.9 dB – 133.5 dB at 100 ft. | Three sirens in this line up: T-128, T-135 AC, and T-135 AC/DC The T-135 AC was known as ACA P-50, the name was changed after ACA's bankruptcy. The T-135 AC/DC is a siren that is bigger and more powerful than the T-128 and has a similar design and also has a battery backup system. This was introduced around 2007, replacing the T-135 AC. |
| Tempest (Omni Directional) | Electro-Mechanical | 7.5 | 8 | 1998–Present | Omni-Directional 113–121 dB at 100 ft. | Two sirens in this line up: T-112 and the T-121 The T-121 is an 8 port siren that has a similar design to Federal Signal's Eclipse 8. The T-112 is a hornless version of the T-121. |
| i-Force (Old) | Electronic | none | none | 1995–2002 | Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. | Rebranded version of ACA's Quadren. Resigned in 2002 to the current models. |
| i-Force (New) | Electronic | none | none | 2002–Present | Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. | The i-Force is an electronic siren made by ASC that comes in many different sizes (Sound Cells). Similar to Federal Signal's Modulator. |
| E-Class | Electronic | none | none | 2002–Present | Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. | 400 watt speakers can be arranged in whichever pattern is needed. Very similar to ATI's HPSS omni-directional sirens. |
| Clarity | Electronic | none | none | 2020-Present | Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. | Small, cheap electronic siren designed for campus use. |
A civil defense siren, also known as an air-raid siren or tornado siren, is a siren used to provide an emergency population warning to the general population of approaching danger. It is sometimes sounded again to indicate the danger has passed. Some sirens, especially within small municipalities, are also used to alert the fire department when needed. Initially designed to warn city dwellers of air raids during World War II, they were later used to warn of nuclear attack and natural disasters, such as tornadoes. The generalized nature of sirens led to many of them being replaced with more specific warnings, such as the broadcast-based Emergency Alert System and the Cell Broadcast-based Wireless Emergency Alerts and EU-Alert mobile technologies.
An alarm device is a mechanism that gives an audible, visual, combination, or other kind of alarm signal to alert someone to a problem or condition that requires urgent attention.
CONELRAD was a method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of enemy attack during the Cold War. It was intended to allow continuous broadcast of civil defense information to the public using radio stations, while rapidly switching the transmitter stations to make the broadcasts unsuitable for Soviet bombers that might attempt to home in on the signals.
A distress signal, also known as a distress call, is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals are communicated by transmitting radio signals, displaying a visually observable item or illumination, or making a sound audible from a distance.
A long-range acoustic device (LRAD), acoustic hailing device (AHD) or sound cannon is a specialized loudspeaker that produces sound at high power for communicating at a distance. It has been used as a method of crowd control, which has caused permanent hearing damage, having an extremely high decibel capacity. Other uses have included for negotiations in siege situations to deal with piracy at sea; for mass notification during natural disasters or other emergencies; and by defense forces, including several navies.
An emergency population warning is a method where by local, regional, or national authorities can contact members of the public to warn them of an impending emergency. These warnings may be necessary for a number of reasons, including:
Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Examples from Jane's Military Communications include text, audio, facsimile, tactical ground-based communications, naval signalling, terrestrial microwave, tropospheric scatter, satellite communications systems and equipment, surveillance and signal analysis, security, direction finding and jamming. The most urgent purposes are to communicate information to commanders and orders from them.
The Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS) is a warning siren used in Australia to alert the public of danger. The siren is played over radio, television or public address systems in public places to warn of bushfire, flood, cyclone, tsunami, earthquake or terrorist attack.
Federal Signal Corporation is an American manufacturer headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. Federal Signal manufactures street sweeper vehicles, public address systems, emergency vehicle equipment, and emergency vehicle lighting.
Federal Signal Modulators are electronic warning devices produced by Federal Signal Corporation that are used to alert the public about tornadoes, severe weather, earthquakes, fires, lahars, tsunamis, or any other disaster. They are identified mostly by their distinctive stacked "flying saucer" design. The Modulator II is sold based on the more compact chassis of the siren compared to the original Modulators.
The Whelen Engineering Company is an American corporation that designs and manufactures audio and visual warning equipment for automotive, aviation, and mass notification industries worldwide. Founded in a Deep River, Connecticut garage in 1952, Whelen has become a provider of warning lights, white illumination lighting, sirens, and controllers. Whelen products are designed, manufactured, and assembled in two facilities in Chester, Connecticut and Charlestown, New Hampshire.
SiraTone was a brand of electronic outdoor warning sirens produced by Federal Signal Corporation which began production in the early 1980s. These sirens were designed to broadcast high-intensity warning signals over a large area. SiraTone products are/were used for natural disaster notification, HAZMAT incident notification, fire call systems, and more. The SiraTone product line is no longer in production. The product line was succeeded by the Modulator and DSA electronic outdoor warning sirens.
American Signal Corporation (ASC) is an outdoor warning siren and mass notification company in the United States. ASC was founded in 1873 as Biersach and Niedermeyer (B&N). After performing poorly, the company reformed as Alerting Communicators of America (ACA) in 1968, and expanded the line of warning systems they produced. In 1992, ACA went bankrupt and was bought and reformed as the American Signal Corporation.
The ACA Hurricane is an electro-mechanical and rotating-directional, 130dB civil defense siren, created and produced by Alerting Communicators of America (ACA). ACA began manufacturing the Hurricane 130 in 1968, and ended production in 1981. The Hurricane 130 is very similar to the Federal Signal Thunderbolt series, being a supercharged siren.
The Federal Signal Model 2 is an omnidirectional outdoor warning siren produced by Federal Signal Corporation.
An emergency communication system (ECS) is any system that is organized for the primary purpose of supporting one-way and two-way communication of emergency information between both individuals and groups of individuals. These systems are commonly designed to convey information over multiple types of devices, from signal lights to text messaging to live, streaming video, forming a unified communication system intended to optimize communications during emergencies. Contrary to emergency notification systems, which generally deliver emergency information in one direction, emergency communication systems are typically capable of both initiating and receiving information between multiple parties. These systems are often made up of both input devices, sensors, and output/communication devices. Therefore, the origination of information can occur from a variety of sources and locations, from which the system will disseminate that information to one or more target audiences.
The Federal Signal 3T22 / 2T22 was a dual tone, mechanical outdoor warning siren made by Federal Signal Corporation from 1952 through the early 1990s. It has a very recognizable design, having a ten-port rotor (chopper) on the bottom with ten cones (horns) and a 12-port one on top with twelve cones.
Ukraine Siren Alerts (UASA) is a siren alert electronic system created by Israeli student Bernard 'Boaz' Moerdler. The system automatically alerts users of sirens in Ukraine using data from municipal and cities who post alerts on their website and is based on Israel's Red Color system, which alerts users when a siren is sounded anywhere in Israel. Initially launched on Twitter, the system has since expanded to Telegram and Facebook channels alongside releasing their new website which includes SMS and email alerts.
The Thunderbolt is a discontinued mechanical outdoor warning siren made by Federal Signal Corporation. it is a unidirectional siren with a large yellow horn.
