The Airraidsirens.com Attic Tour
This is where I work on my siren restorations
Clicking on any of the photos will pop up a new window with a larger version of the photo.
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The Front of the Attic
This is a wide view of the front of my attic, on the 4th floor of my house, which is my siren restoration workspace.
Visible sirens in this photo are: Model 2T22 with its rotors removed and on the floor to its left,
a model 7T in front of the window, and two 2T's and a model 2 in the foreground. Also of note in this photo are my drill
press (upper right), a 1/2HP Baldor buffer (on table), and a Klaxon Signals A1 Hooter on the floor at the base of the 2T22.
The green box to the right of the 2T22 and 7T is my homemade 3-phase converter, which starts the 2T22 motor.
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2T22 and 2T Size Comparison
Here I have put the 2T22 core and a 2T side by size, to give an idea of how these sirens compare
in size. Looking up at them on buildings and poles, it's often hard to get and idea of how big they
are.
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2T22 Core
This shot is of the Federal 2T22 siren "core", the motor, rotors and stators responsible
for the actual sound production. All other horns, tubes and housing pieces have been removed. This is
an older photo from before I got two fingertips crunched in this siren--all of the openings have since been
covered with 1/4"-grid hardware cloth (metal screen like you see on the tops of animal cages)
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Model 2 Works in Progress
Here are a model 2 and 2T which I have disassembled to facilitate a really thorough cleaning.
These sirens have a minor amount of oxidation on their aluminum parts which can be
removed by long hard manual labor. I typical use an orbital sander and
brass wire brush to clean the outside, and smaller wire brushes and sandpaper strips to get
inside the rotor.
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2T Disassembled
Here is a closer shot of the 2T in the above photo. One really nice thing about the model 2 is the
way the enclosure castings protect the bearings really well. Each bearing is in it's own tightly sealed
compartment, usually found packed solid with hardend grease. On even the oldest most beat-up 2's I've
come across, the ball bearings were in like-new condition.
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The Model 7T
This type 7T siren is a 7.5HP dual-tone CD siren from the late 40's or early 50's, known also in later years
as the Model 5BT.
The heaviest siren in my collection, what you see here weighs in at over 300 pounds. It was a 2 to 3 man lift getting
this up into my attic where it lives now. This outweighs my 2T22 because where most sirens have aluminum stators, 2T22
included, this one is cast iron, as are the large endcaps and stator-support arms on the motor.
This siren is currently awaiting some more wire-brushing followed by a new paint job.
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The Rear of the Attic
Here, visible in the rear of the attic are a disassembled model 7T, an old
"long-legged" version of the single-tone model 2 (which also has a 4-brush double-length commutator), and
a couple of model 2 housings.
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The Carter/Secomak Room
In here is part of my Carter and Secomak hand-siren collection. This is not technically part
of the attic tour since these have enough value to merit lockup in the garage/loft outbuilding.
I currently (9.1.01) have 8 Carter and 4 Secomak hand sirens
in my collection. The Secomaks I kept have the older style handle with built-in roller clutch.
Also in this shot is another Model 2 housing which I have refurbished in a white appliance epoxy, my
enamel of choice for siren housings (a Rust-o-leum product).
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Adam Smith ©2001