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bigloudnoise
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(Pictures Inside) Help Identify Siren Models

Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:38 am

Hello. I am new to the forums, and fairly new to the hobby of siren spotting, so please forgive any ignorance or errors on my part.

I am seeking some help identifying a couple area sirens that I am unable to identify. Here are some pictures, and what I do know about them:

Image

This is the first unknown siren. It is a dual-headed siren located behind the fire station in Mount Auburn, Iowa. In one of the closeup photos I took of it, I noticed what appears to be a name embossed in the end of the siren housing. It is a four-letter word, and the first two letters are shaped very similar to the letters "MA". Age is unknown. I know, literally, nothing about this siren!

Image

This is the second unknown siren, located in Norway, Iowa (And there is another one just like it in Van Horne). I have strong reason to believe that it is a variant of the Whelen 2016, because visually comparing the speaker assemblies on this five-headed siren to the speaker assemblies on a confirmed 2016 reveals that they are virtually identical, from the overall shape, right down to the screw and rivet holes on the side of the speaker housing. Is this a customized Whelen 2016, or does it have its own model number/name?

I appreciate any help, especially on the first siren. That one has had me and some other siren fans stumped for quite a long time!

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coyoteunknown
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:09 am

I've come across a somewhat similar siren in Mounds, OK. Daniel pointed out that it might be a Federal Signal product form the 20's or 30's.

Image

As you can see, the one in Mounds is rusting away.

Edit:

Oh, and welcome to the boards!
Last edited by coyoteunknown on Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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bigloudnoise
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:16 am

coyoteunknown wrote:I've come across a somewhat similar siren in Mounds, OK. Daniel pointed out that it might be a Federal Signal product form the 20's or 30's.

Image

As you can see, the one in Mounds is rusting away.
Wow. Except for the fact that yours is single-headed and mine is dual-headed, that looks EXACTLY like the siren in Mount Auburn. I've tried everything I know in Photoshop (Which admittedly isn't very much) to make the embossed word/name in my one photo easier to read, but alas no matter what I try, I cannot make out anything beyond the first two letters, "MA".

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Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:16 am

Could be a different version of this siren. Our Federal Dual Head.
Image
Image
VThe controls to it.V
Image
Monitoring Cambria and Somerset Counties.
http://s821.photobucket.com/albums/zz13 ... n_archive/

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Daniel
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:17 am

Welcome to the board. You win one karma point for the detailed photo of the rare Federal's rotor. It is the successor to the Lion and probably sounds just like it, which is close to a 2001 in pitch.
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bigloudnoise
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:31 am

Daniel wrote:Welcome to the board. You win one karma point for the detailed photo of the rare Federal's rotor. It is the successor to the Lion and probably sounds just like it, which is close to a 2001 in pitch.
Any idea about how old this siren might be? It has to easily be the oldest siren in all of Benton County, but since I personally know nothing about it, I can't give any numbers. Also, did this particular model have a name?

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Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:41 am

The one at the Westwood Plaza seems to have a higher tone or more power fed into it.

Btw I'll get a recording of Westwood's 2 sirens, when I get a working camcorder..
Monitoring Cambria and Somerset Counties.
http://s821.photobucket.com/albums/zz13 ... n_archive/

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kswx29
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:49 am

Mystery Siren #1 looks like the siren in Downtown Spring Hill, Kansas.
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Archon
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Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:27 am

Could be a MARS siren

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Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:46 pm

That's right, it's a Mars siren, since it's a 4-letter M word, and the last 2 letters looked like an "R" and an "S".

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