Listen to our storm coverage OR YOU WILL DIE

[patric]

I found it...KTUL did a story and had this map.  The sirens at Mitchell and Lindbergh (which they moved from when they had the old 1000 which used to be situated in the eave between Lindbergh property and Eastwood property) are the closest and both look to be Whelen 3016.  The one at McClure died of a lightning strike evidently, and it's one of the new 2910s that cost an arm and a leg.

It's unfortunate that we are moving from the rotating sirens to the omni-directional sirens.  The rotating sirens had the advantage of greater range for less power, and the distinction of rising/falling amplitude when the siren was pointed at you then away from you helped you distinguish it from other background noises.

That stack of ten cells (platters?) on the new WPS2910 looks like it wouldnt withstand Oklahoma's straightwinds.

The tone is the low, building-penetrating tone like the "newer" 4-trumpet Whelen 4000's (that I last heard we were converting everything to, what happened to that?)

  And it's bilingual for our non-English speaking guests 

[Hoss]

It's unfortunate that we are moving from the rotating sirens to the omni-directional sirens.  The rotating sirens had the advantage of greater range for less power, and the distinction of rising/falling amplitude when the siren was pointed at you then away from you helped you distinguish it from other background noises.

That stack of ten cells (platters?) on the new WPS2910 looks like it wouldnt withstand Oklahoma's straightwinds.

Wonder what the tone is, higher like the early Whelen 3016's or lower, building-penetrating tones like the much smaller 4-trumpet 4000's (which I last heard we were converting everything to) ?

All the Whelens regardless of model though have different modes.  When I get home I'll post links to videos of a guy who owns (yes owns) a 3016 horn with the rotator and controller.  He set it off in his garage.  I bet the neighbors liked him that day (although I think he reduced the power so it wouldn't be so loud).  Some of the modes actually do the rise/fall sound and could emulate the ones that rotate.

And the sound?  It's lower, like the 4000s.  Do a search on youtube for whelen 2900; you'll find a few.

Most of the 3016s here in town are set on dual-tone.  That's why they sound so creepy when they're active.

[patric]

(Please do not adjust your set, I was updating my post while Hoss was replying...)

Looking forward to your garage test link.  I, on the other hand, would almost kill for a Thunderbolt 1000T chopper assembly...
Sorry for geeking out, folks.

[dbacks fan]

(Please do not adjust your set, I was updating my post while Hoss was replying...)

Looking forward to your garage test link.  I, on the other hand, would almost kill for a Thunderbolt 1000T chopper assembly...
Sorry for geeking out, folks.

I've seen that video, the funny thing is you never realise how big the thing is until you see it in his garage.

[dbacks fan]

For an interesting comparison here is the siren map of Dallas from 1974. The thing that I noticed most was how much smaller Dallas was then as compared to now. Belt Line look to be the outer reaches.

http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/sirens/dallas/eopscans/SirenMap1.jpg

[Hoss]

(Please do not adjust your set, I was updating my post while Hoss was replying...)

Looking forward to your garage test link.  I, on the other hand, would almost kill for a Thunderbolt 1000T chopper assembly...
Sorry for geeking out, folks.

OK, here goes..this first set is the assembly, but most of Tulsa's 3016s are dual tone.  I'll post another set in another post.

Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren Rotation outside my garage

Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute Whoop Signal

Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute Air Horn Signal

Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute High-Low Signal (our flood warning alert)

Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute Attack Signal

Whelen WPS-3016 Tornado Siren 3 minute Alert Signal (this one is more familiar, except this guy has a single-tone, not a dual tone).

[Hoss]

Now, just the sounds with the cells and not the horn (and only the sounds that Tulsa hears):

This is from a 3002 (essentially a 3016):

Alert tone (for tornadoes):

High-low (for floods):

[dbacks fan]

I thought you were talking about this one.

[Breadburner]

My computer did not like it when I played them all at once.....

[custosnox]

My computer did not like it when I played them all at once.....

Lol my dog liked it even less.  And I thought I would be the only one brilliant (stupid) enough to do that.

[Red Arrow]

I thought you were talking about this one.

A blanket in the siren?

[Red Arrow]

They use them to call in volunteer firefighters in rural parts of Pennsylvania.  

Many places did use the sirens to call the firemen.  The town where I grew up (no snide remarks) and was a volunteer fireman used air horns located about town to call us for a fire.  They were easier to make a separate signal for a structure for field fire in the 60s and didn't scare the general population.  We could leave school, except during a test, for a structure fire but the FD had to call the school if they needed help for a field fire.

Edit:
I almost forgot...  We also had "alert radios" at home that were quiet until the alert tone tripped them to the voice on mode.  Then you could hear the entire dispatch and your family could listen to all the talk on the fire frequency.  Just push reset for quiet until the next call.  The radio was actually on all the time. 

[heironymouspasparagus]

I'm not believing this - it has been hours since we had a tornado!!
Whew!!

[dbacks fan]

A blanket in the siren?

I think it was an attempt to mute the sound some. There is another video of this one being tested and they put the blanket in and as soon as it got to full song it blew the blanket out.

[sauerkraut]

For an interesting comparison here is the siren map of Dallas from 1974. The thing that I noticed most was how much smaller Dallas was then as compared to now. Belt Line look to be the outer reaches.

http://www.civildefensemuseum.com/sirens/dallas/eopscans/SirenMap1.jpg

Indeed, Dallas really grew, you can even see the difference from the opening shots of the "Dallas" TV show that was filmed in 1979 thru the 1980's. The 1979 shots show the Dallas skyline as rather small and no really tall skyscrapers- Today Dallas is a world class city, actually Dallas & Fort Worth are one huge jumbo sized city, all tied together under the name "MetroPlex".