Now the other drivers will notice me!

I found an interesting item at a yard sale for the huge sum of $4.00. I
hooked it up and it works, oh man does it work.

http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren.jpg
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren2.jpg
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren3.jpg
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren4.jpg
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren5.jpg

I am tempted to hook this up to my Miata with a toggle switch, but it
might throw the weight balance off. ;-)
This thing weighs 5 pounds, and I sort of have a feeling that it is not
legal to use on the street.

The chrome is still mostly intact and like I said, it works like it did
years before I was born, it is incredibly loud.
Made in "the good old days". :-)

Not the most monetarily exciting find ever, with a value of probably
$150.00 to $200.00 or so, but not bad, and it has been fun to play with
before I send it on to the next owner.

Pat

pws wrote:
> I found an interesting item at a yard sale for the huge sum of $4.00. I
> hooked it up and it works, oh man does it work.
>
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren2.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren3.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren4.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren5.jpg
>
> I am tempted to hook this up to my Miata with a toggle switch, but it
> might throw the weight balance off. ;-)
> This thing weighs 5 pounds, and I sort of have a feeling that it is not
> legal to use on the street.
>
> The chrome is still mostly intact and like I said, it works like it did
> years before I was born, it is incredibly loud.
> Made in "the good old days". :-)
>
> Not the most monetarily exciting find ever, with a value of probably
> $150.00 to $200.00 or so, but not bad, and it has been fun to play with
> before I send it on to the next owner.
>
> Pat

Did you hook it up to 6 volts or 12 volts? If the latter, no wonder it
was loud!
Sure would attract more attention on my Miata than the airhorns.

Stuart H.
'91 Eunos Roadster

On 2009-08-05, pws > wrote:

> I found an interesting item at a yard sale for the huge sum of
> $4.00. I hooked it up and it works, oh man does it work.

> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren5.jpg

Interestingly, (at least to me) the manufacturer is still in
business and is still making sirens:

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohisto...ages/2661.html
http://www.federalsignal.com/

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! I'm having BEAUTIFUL
at THOUGHTS about the INSIPID
visi.com WIVES of smug and wealthy
CORPORATE LAWYERS ...

Grant Edwards wrote:
> On 2009-08-05, pws > wrote:
>
>> I found an interesting item at a yard sale for the huge sum of
>> $4.00. I hooked it up and it works, oh man does it work.
>
>> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren5.jpg
>
> Interestingly, (at least to me) the manufacturer is still in
> business and is still making sirens:
>
> http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohisto...ages/2661.html
> http://www.federalsignal.com/

Thanks for the information! Now I know that it was made after 1958 and
before 1975, probably in the early 1960's. This will help when I sell it.

This is one of those items that just screams "quality".

Most of the crap that I find and sell is stuff that I am glad to see go,
but this is one that I would rather keep even if I never hooked it up.

While researching this, I saw an identical one mounted to the fender of
an old Land Cruiser and it looked pretty cool.

Thanks again!

Pat

Stuart H. wrote:

> Did you hook it up to 6 volts or 12 volts? If the latter, no wonder it
> was loud!
> Sure would attract more attention on my Miata than the airhorns.
>
> Stuart H.
> '91 Eunos Roadster

I actually had a 6V source to try it on through a friend who is into all
things vintage regarding cars, though I was told that I could use a 12V
electric source as long as I did not leave it running and burn out the
motor.

When I first saw it I thought it was a microphone.....Just about the
opposite instead.

Pat

pws > wrote:

> I found an interesting item at a yard sale for the huge sum of
> $4.00. I hooked it up and it works, oh man does it work.
>
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren2.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren3.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren4.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren5.jpg
>
> I am tempted to hook this up to my Miata with a toggle switch, but
> it might throw the weight balance off. ;-)
> This thing weighs 5 pounds, and I sort of have a feeling that it
> is not legal to use on the street.

It's a great find! You wouldn't want to use it on a car, though,
because as you pointed out it'll probably get you arrested and like
most sirens, it takes a second or two to get going which is a BAD thing
in a traffic emergency. There's times when you need an instant HONK!

At least my Miata's horn is instant although it'd a very polite beep,
not a HONK.



--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project:
http://improve-usenet.org

On 2009-08-05, pws > wrote:
> Grant Edwards wrote:
>> On 2009-08-05, pws > wrote:
>>
>>> I found an interesting item at a yard sale for the huge sum of
>>> $4.00. I hooked it up and it works, oh man does it work.
>>
>>> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren5.jpg
>>
>> Interestingly, (at least to me) the manufacturer is still in
>> business and is still making sirens:
>>
>> http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohisto...ages/2661.html
>> http://www.federalsignal.com/
>
> Thanks for the information! Now I know that it was made after
> 1958 and before 1975, probably in the early 1960's. This will
> help when I sell it.

I was also surprised how many YouTube videos there are of old
FS&S sirens.

> This is one of those items that just screams "quality".



--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Was my SOY LOAF left
at out in th'RAIN? It tastes
visi.com REAL GOOD!!

In article >, pws >
wrote:

> I found an interesting item at a yard sale for the huge sum of $4.00. I
> hooked it up and it works, oh man does it work.
>
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren2.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren3.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren4.jpg
> http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pat/siren5.jpg
>
> I am tempted to hook this up to my Miata with a toggle switch, but it
> might throw the weight balance off. ;-)
> This thing weighs 5 pounds, and I sort of have a feeling that it is not
> legal to use on the street.

Probably varies by jurisdiction. Years ago, my father got an "illegal
siren" ticket for a vacuum-operated "wolf whistle" horn in Michigan. A
cop in another jurisdiction told me I'd likely get nailed if I put a
compressor/tank in the trunk and a locomotive air-chime under the hood
of my 626. Bummer...

Woulda got the attention of the half-blind seeming dipsticks I was
needing to drive amongst, methinks. I mean, c'mon... Yeah, the car is
grey, but it's not PAVEMENT grey, and you're NOT welcome to attempt to
violate the laws of physics by occupying the space I'm in!

Is the one you got a wailer, or a high-low?

--
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post something that makes it obvious in this or another group you see me
posting in with a "how to contact you" address, and I'll get back to you.

Grant Edwards wrote:

> I was also surprised how many YouTube videos there are of old
> FS&S sirens.


Ditto that. Youtube is actually a great research tool for many vintage
items to be sold.
The constant research and learning is my favorite thing about Ebay, and
without a niche, the learning covers a very wide range of items.

I never even thought about vintage sirens before, and now I know a fair
amount of information on them.

It's about time to get this siren listed and see what the collectors
think of it. :-)

Pat

Don Bruder wrote:

> Probably varies by jurisdiction. Years ago, my father got an "illegal
> siren" ticket for a vacuum-operated "wolf whistle" horn in Michigan. A
> cop in another jurisdiction told me I'd likely get nailed if I put a
> compressor/tank in the trunk and a locomotive air-chime under the hood
> of my 626. Bummer...

Someone always wants to stop the fun. :-)

> Woulda got the attention of the half-blind seeming dipsticks I was
> needing to drive amongst, methinks. I mean, c'mon... Yeah, the car is
> grey, but it's not PAVEMENT grey, and you're NOT welcome to attempt to
> violate the laws of physics by occupying the space I'm in!

The Miata I just tore down was a Silverstone, and the PO said that it
must have been invisible.

> Is the one you got a wailer, or a high-low?

It stays at one sound level once it winds up, so I guess it is a wailer.

Is this something that could be controlled at the switch with some type
of variable power output?

Pat