Franklin County, Ohio Siren Discussion

[tkovack1]

Although this is a small tidbit of information, it is new as far as I am aware. Previously Dublin has said to operate only 29 sirens (via their website), but I have now located a 30th siren near Glacier Ridge elementary now making it the farthest north of any Dublin siren. According to Google earth, this siren was installed with the major upgrade they had around the early 2010’s. Like I said, not much, but it’s something.

I have added it to the Central Ohio Siren Map (All the newer sirens in Dublin have been 2905’s as far as I know, leading me to think that it is one)

Huh. I've passed and driven by that water tower several times and never even noticed there was a siren there. I may have to go check that one out when I come back home in December for winter break.

[tkovack1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=befRonyEQN4

Sorry for double posting, but I just stumbled across this video yesterday. It is a video of Dublin's Whelens going off in wail signal for the tornado warning that was on May 18th of this year. In the video, you can clearly hear a siren that has an early ESC-2020 controller with the 435hz glitch. I never knew they had anything besides 560hz in their system. As someone who grew up in Dublin, I'm kinda curious as to what particular siren in the system is the one being heard in the video.

Also, I have a suspicion that the 2805 located at Homestead Metro Park may be controlled by and tested with Franklin County now instead of Dublin. In a video of the 2805 at Amlin United Methodist Church off of Cosgray Road, as well as my video of the 2905 near the Churchman Road and Rings Road roundabout, you can hear a 560hz Whelen with an ESC-2020 controller going off for the two 20 second alert cycles of Franklin County that sounds like it may be omnidirectional. It is the most dominant siren heard in the background ambiance in both videos.

[Tuba]

Also, I have a suspicion that the 2805 located at Homestead Metro Park may be controlled by and tested with Franklin County now instead of Dublin. In a video of the 2805 at Amlin United Methodist Church off of Cosgray Road, as well as my video of the 2905 near the Churchman Road and Rings Road roundabout, you can hear a 560hz Whelen with an ESC-2020 controller going off for the two 20 second alert cycles of Franklin County that sounds like it may be omnidirectional. It is the most dominant siren heard in the background ambiance in both videos.

Meh, I’m not convinced. Dublin has proven to be willing to push things when it comes to siren placement (close proximity, leaving city limits, etc.), so even as far south as it is, I’m not surprised to see it there. Also, a quick search on youtube found that the most recent video of a test was in 2015, where it performed Dublin’s procedure. To address your point, I’m not 100% convinced that the 560 Hz heard in the Churchman road Whelen recording is omni-directional (loses volume right before the 2905 boots up). However, the only true way to confirm either of our hypotheses is by recording it.

Now I’m not very knowledgeable with the Whelen siren boards, but I’m not quite sure I believe in a non-560Hz Dublin siren, and considering most of the system has been recorded past the major upgrades in 2013 (which I must say, you have done a great job), I’m hesitant to say there is one. (I might sound stupid based on this glitch you mentioned, but as I said, I’m barely knowledgeable on those controllers, just my two cents)

Lastly Google Earth showed that the 2905 at the Bus depot was moved in 2016. Not sure what it means, if anything, but still kind of intresting.

[tkovack1]

Yeah, it may not even be the Homestead Metro Park 2805 being heard, for all we know it could be a Franklin County 4004 somewhere nearby that is unmarked on siren maps. I got an audio recording of the Hilliard Davidson 4004 this past June (although I never posted it to YouTube), which I once had a suspicion was the one being heard, but that one still has its original digital ESC-864 controller. Although the "mystery" 560hz ESC-2020 siren was the most dominant siren heard in the background ambiance after it finished winding down on both cycles. Who knows what and where it could be.

As for the Whelen glitches, the ESC-2020 controller was originally introduced in 2001 with 450hz. However, it had a glitch that caused the pitch to drop to 435hz after conducting a silent test. In order to correct it, you have to either reset the controller or change the batteries without conducting another silent test. This glitch still persisted after the switch to 560hz in 2006, thus resulting in 530hz. However, the glitch was fixed shortly afterwards, which is why 530hz is fairly rare.

Finally, regarding the non-560hz siren, I feel like Dublin does in fact have one, since in the video I linked in my previous post, you can hear a Whelen with an early ESC-2020 controller with the glitch in wail signal most dominantly, and in the background you can hear a newer ESC-2020 with the regular 560hz in wail. I know Franklin County has some early ESC-2020 4004's with the 435hz glitch, but their sirens do alert for tornado warnings, not wail. I think it might be a 2750 located on the WSW side of the city, possibly the one near the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center and I-270, or the one on Innovation Drive near Wilcox Road. If that's in fact the case, then I imagine one of their 2750's ended up getting updated earlier than the other sirens in the system. Hopefully I or someone else will be able to figure out these mysteries in Dublin fairly soon.

[Fletch]

Franklin County has been installing brand new 4004s. One went up this summer at the corner of Trabue Rd. and McKinley Ave.

[tkovack1]

Franklin County has been installing brand new 4004s. One went up this summer at the corner of Trabue Rd. and McKinley Ave.

That one has actually been there for about 20 years now as it has a digital ESC-864 controller. Here's a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqrVSG-rZs

[Fletch]

Franklin County has been installing brand new 4004s. One went up this summer at the corner of Trabue Rd. and McKinley Ave.

That one has actually been there for about 20 years now as it has a digital ESC-864 controller. Here's a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqrVSG-rZs

Maybe it was moved? It's not there on StreetView in Aug. 2019

[JonTishBass]

Well, I figured it's been a while since I've posted on the topic, but I visited the WPS-4004 at the Canal Winchester Golf Course Maintenance and I nearly got stung by a bunch of yellowjackets. They also looked to be messing with the siren also. Link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJj4UuBc98k

[tkovack1]

Franklin County has been installing brand new 4004s. One went up this summer at the corner of Trabue Rd. and McKinley Ave.

That one has actually been there for about 20 years now as it has a digital ESC-864 controller. Here's a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqrVSG-rZs

Maybe it was moved? It's not there on StreetView in Aug. 2019

Oh it's there alright. It's just harder to see in the newer StreetView images due to the new building being constructed in front of it from McKinley Avenue.

[tkovack1]

Sorry to double post, but another 4004 in Franklin County with an analog ESC-864 was just discovered today. It is the one at Woodcrest Elementary School on East Livingston Avenue near Woodcrest Road just southwest of Reynoldsburg. Here is a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhWfOdl4kbI