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Blasty
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Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:51 am

Well over 15 years counting the old siren board before this one, but after warningsirens.org (I think it was called that? Damn that was long ago!)

It has been a long time since I checked in here!

I am currently in Japan on business (my first time outside the US actually), and of course I am always keeping an eye out for interesting noise makers when I'm somewhere new. Of course those that know me from the old days of the Siren Board may remember that I grew up in a siren wasteland - Central Oregon - and never had much opportunity for spotting interesting sirens. I did snap a photo of one of the Waldport Thunderbolts (possibly the one that a member here was able to get when it was removed) but have no idea what happened to it.

Anyway, I began having some success at siren spotting while riding the train to work each day, and upon figuring out how to get my camera to take a good photo while moving, managed to get a couple snaps.

These seem to be all over the place. I assume they are for Tsunami warning as each one has an antenna suggesting it is part of a remotely activated network.
reentrant_horns.png
reentrant_horns.png (518.4 KiB) Viewed 5089 times

Ho-Hum right? Just some speakers on a pole. Don't worry, that's not the big reveal.
Last edited by Blasty on Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:11 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:53 am

Here's a neat vibratory horn. They are all over the train stations, which I learned when I was standing right next to one. They emit a smooth tone to let everyone know to keep clear. Each one seems to have a different tone, some are high and some are low. But that's not what I posted for.

Terrible photo by the way, too much contrast! I'm still learning how to properly use my little camera that I picked up when I got here. I did not have time to buy one before I left as I was just too busy with getting everything ready. At least I figured out how to get the menus to be in English instead of Japanese. For those that are confused, I am still one of the last holdouts that does not own a smartphone. Yes, I am getting around Japan without a phone as mine doesn't work at all here.
vibehorn.png
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Last edited by Blasty on Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:54 am

I was becoming complacent when coming up right beside the tracks was something unique indeed! At this point it was rapidly approaching (the train was outside of the denser part of the city and moving along at a decent clip) and I scrambled to ready my camera. I twisted around in my seat to track this beauty, probably causing some looks, and just barely managed to snap a picture as it quickly disappeared from frame! What a rush! My first photo of a real mechanical, real interesting siren that is not often seen!

I'm sure someone here knows what this is. It reminds me of the WWII sirens, but I saw it so fast I couldn't tell if it had that neat self-powered blower system that loops around and feeds into it.
omnisiren.png
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This guy was just a short distance, maybe a few miles, from my stop in Yokkaichi coming from Nagoya - I am not familiar enough with Japan yet to know where it actually was; the cities all seem to run together. I am definitely going to try for a better photo as I will be taking this train several more times while I'm here. I just hope I am lucky enough to keep getting a window seat on the correct side.

I know this is a dreadful excuse for a siren photo, but there it is. My first!

(Sorry for three posts in a row. Seems I cannot add more than one attachment, so that's that).
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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Fri Feb 14, 2020 1:44 am

I did not get to sit on the proper side of the train today to get a better picture, but I did see some more cool stuff. Unfortunately everything is going by so fast I did not have time to get my camera ready. Maybe another time now that I kind of know where they are!

I spotted an older looking Omni-directional siren on a tower, which had - I think - three horns coming out the top with a 90°-ish bend. It looked very much like something I drew in MS Paint a long time ago. It caught me by surprise and I did not have my camera ready. Maybe another time!

I also noticed some of the electronic siren installations are re-entrant horns (like I posted earlier) and some are an older-looking straight exponential horn. Very cool! Coming into the stop at Yokkaichi today, I saw some huge straight horn speakers on top of a fire station. Wish I could get my hands on some of those to play with!

No promises but I will try to get some pictures if I'm fortunate enough to have another opportunity.

EDIT - According to Google Maps Street View, there are PA horns AND a siren on that station! I will have to pay closer attention! Those horns look a lot bigger when you're closer to them on the raised railroad tracks that go right by here.
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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Fri Feb 14, 2020 7:06 pm

Nice catches! I love the mechanical 6 port sirens that they have in Japan. That being your 1st siren photo would be pretty exciting! Would love to see more.

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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Sat Feb 15, 2020 1:33 pm

There seem to be a lot of those 6-horned sirens around Yokkaichi.

My best spotting so far was a pole with one of these sirens AND four of the big straight-horned PA speakers (like the fire station) all mounted together.

No picture. At this point, I was on a bus headed to a customer facility that strictly bans any type of camera. I had emptied out all my personal effects before getting on the bus. :(
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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Sat Feb 15, 2020 4:04 pm

Wow, a Blasty sighting! How the hell are ya?!

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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:03 pm

Gil! It's cool to see you are still around here. I hardly ever visit the board anymore besides a cursory check now and then, let alone post, but since I finally found myself in a place with interesting sirens I had to pop in. I haven't spent much hobby time (what little there is anymore) on sirens, but I always take notice when I see one. The fascination is still alive.

Man, we are old bastards now. I just turned 34 the day before I left on this trip. I joined this board literally half my life ago! I think my avatar is still a rendition of my 21-year-old self, or sometime around then.

I considered catching a train back to Yokkaichi today on my own dime -- excuse me, Yen (it's Sunday here, and it would be personal so I can't charge it to work) just to get a close-up picture of that fire station setup, but my feet hurt so much from walking around in Nagoya all day yesterday that I had to take it easy. The energy I did have today was spent on a second visit to a frickin' awesome electronics store (Bic Camera) and tracking down gifts to bring home. If you are into hi-fi stereo, or really any high quality electronics, you must visit one of these stores if you ever find yourself in Japan. I regret that I did not sell all my assets and arrange a shipping container for my return trip! ;) I shudder at the thought of ever setting foot in a Best Buy again. I am actually ashamed that Americans have settled for so much crap. I found out quickly that the Japanese do not accept crap at all.

I will have two more rides into Yokkaichi before I leave Japan, fingers crossed I draw a good seat and have my camera ready. I really want to snap a photo of that odd siren I saw the other day, which could be one of the older WWII types. Unfortunately the return trips back to Nagoya are when it's dark, so mornings are all I have.
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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Sun Feb 16, 2020 3:49 pm

Bbbbblasty! Nice to seeu still around. As you can see this ol girl is still kicking from long ago. I turn 30 in about a month. Being here since the beginning we old timers sure have seen and heard it all lol!
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Re: Over 15 years a member and I finally snap a siren photo!

Mon Feb 17, 2020 3:02 am

Whereabouts in Japan are you at? You need to try and see one of those Yamaha Music Sirens! Unfortunately, there are only five left in existence, but most of them play music multiple times a day!
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