American Signal T-135 Siren Test

[StormChaseTN]

Great video of a monster of a siren! My dad did lots of commercial work down there around 2001-2003. I remember seeing a couple of these while we went down there with him sometimes.. and I remember passing this one just about every time we came to visit. It went off once while we were down there when the tornado came through Memphis and hit one of the malls around that time.. can't remember the exact date that it happened though. Maybe somebody can fill me in.

[firealarm211]

@StormChaseTN Hey Charlie, I think you are either talking about the Summer Superstorm of 2003 (dubbed 'Hurricane Elvis', it was technically a derecho) or the Super Tuesday outbreak of 2008 (February 5, 2008). It produced an EF-3 tornado that passed less than a mile from my home, and the same tornado went on to tear the west wall of the Sear's store down at Hickory Ridge Mall.

[OnTheREDPILL]

These sirens are so badass.... I live in california and the only siren like this that I have ever heard was in south California around 1992 - 1995 I can't remember... I swear I don't pray for destruction but it gives me some kind of adrenaline.

[P50fan1]

one of em is at the the railroad tracks on perkins ,close to getwell, it has a hole on the side now cuz of the vibration, and its made from fiberglass but it still runs pretty good i happened to pass by 2 weeks ago and saw it run :D 2 bad i didnt get my camera back until later that week :(

[firealarm211]

@P50fan1 That's the one on Hungerford Road, and the hole was produced by something else, but definitely not the vibrations. Maybe a gunshot. Somebody shot the ASC T-128 over on Quince one time.

[ALLERTORLOVER69]

penatrator 135db with a 50hp electric motor

thus known as the p50/135,i dont know what the 't' means yet

[dinxton2]

@ALLERTORLOVER69 The 't' stands for Tempest, as the T135 is part of the Tempest siren seris.

[DWood429]

I feel bad for people getting gas at that Exxon station right at the siren's location! That thing is extremely loud! I once had to get gas at that Exxon when my grandmother was still living, so I remember that one!

[ausme10]

That wind-up does sound ominous. This one and the Federal Thunderbolt are two of my favorites. I like the Federal 2t22's as well, since my home town had them for decades.

[TseeJoksta]

sometimes sirens starts late

[VicTheMouth]

It's good to know someone else likes recording tornado siren videos. I personally love t-135's. Their sound is awesome

[broncosbill]

It almost sounds like a stationary turbine engine for natural gas pumping and pressurizing

[bulldozer950]

those siren in the Backround are 2810s

[Bonemeal2]

I checked some stuff out on Wiki, and now I know what the whole situation is between P-50 and T-135. What I DON'T know about, and I'd like someone to clarify this, is that in 2006, the Tempest seen above was discontinued. It went on to say the NEW T-135 was AC/DC, and has battery back-up.

Did I miss something? I thought the 50hp motor pretty well took the Tempest 135 out of the "back-up power" game.

[TheDarktemplar2012]

sounds like an allertor a little...

[Bonemeal2]

It's interesting; I thought the same thing. The Tempest isn't even meant to be a 2-tone siren, but it somehow IS. Man, I want my city to replace our Federal Signal 2001's with these bad boys!!!

[TheDarktemplar2012]

oh tell me about it, i hate our 2001s, but when im at school and there testing i can hear 2. and it sounds cool. thats the only time i like them.

[neosho53059]

ik 2001's = shit on a stick

[flippy941]

@TheDarktemplar2012  na more like a cyclone

[crazywarriorman]

Because it's a rotating Cyclone.

[TspesVladD]

Yeah, the older allertors which are 8/12 port sound a lot like this. They don't seem that common on youtube. The majortiy of them are 9/12 port.

[alarm741]

1:26

[bait28]

i just noticed a lot of times when people like us go to get these videos. the sirens start late

[VTATransitGuy]

Yeah... California may not be everyone's cup of tea, but NOT having to hear that is one plus. That would scare the heck out of me if it were not a test.

[TspesVladD]

Aren't there sirens in Califronia?, there are movies about them.

[bulldozer950]

@TspesVladD yes

[firealarm211]

cool! do you live in memphis too? i live i southaven.

[97273998]

Federal signal!

[WebkinzGirl0084]

their was a tornado that was near their yesterday but i herd nobody was hurt and the windows at a store got blown out!

[Antipwnsurmum]

This sounds like it's on it's 208-240 windings, given away by the 8s windup.

[Rageman1112]

I've seen it in real life. Saw 3 wires going to it.

[Antipwnsurmum]

All P-50s are 3 phase.

[Rageman1112]

I know that.

[Antipwnsurmum]

No you don't ;)

[whelenvortex]

creppy

[ares018]

This siren scares me.

[chikmagnit1993]

i was randomely just watching this video. i just read the desription. i am from collierville and drove past this siren constantly just wonder what it looked and sounded like!! cool vid!

[Johnporter271]

I think these old T-135's were stopped being made and exchanged with the new T-135's kind of recently, because an older T-135 like this one that is just massive was put up in our town in 2005.

[loryr405]

i think i hear a siren in the background that has that shape of almost a cylinder i forgot what its called is it a Whelen WPS?

[Rageman1112]

WPS2810 Is the one in the background. I've seen it.

[TspesVladD]

It's one of those non-rotating whelens. You are right. The 2800 series.

[pierrelebatteur]

his surprise when his boots!!!!

[Rageman1112]

I was over there the other day

[Rageman1112]

The Civil Defense decals are very faded

[s0undw4v3ultra]

that sounds fucking scary

[RamFett]

Doesn't it? ( :

[Rageman1112]

135 dBc the worlds loudest production siren

[sizzlin321]

No, it was the chrysler siren, 138 dbc

[Rageman1112]

i mean in prouduction today

[Rageman1112]

that was one day after my birthday

[thecompanycar]

Most cities have a regular test schedule either weekly or monthly. Where I live they test them every Wednesday at noon.

[gavagan86]

Got one of these right near my house! I love it!

[brimstonefoxfur]

i love all the sirens so much variety

[jshaw6000]

Very unique sound.....actually it kinda sounds like the electric leafblower I have. cool though

[DragnatronixXXI]

We have a High Top mounted CD Quad-Siren in our area... and they can get loud when they want to... that siren though, is sick... XD

[drac00n]

u never know when war starts again...

[sizzlin321]

siren starts at 1:26

[DjHardaFasta]

These are the the best sounding ones i think!!!

[hospitalrulez]

are air-raid sirens still around? if they are why tho? the wars have stopped.

[Antipwnsurmum]

the US has them mainly for severe weather warnings. Otherwise there wouldn't be a point in replacing them every so often.

[FoamPackingPeanuts]

Well, in Canada they're all gone.

[Antipwnsurmum]

Apparently Toronto has some Allertors

[sd40u]

actually there are a few scattered across the nation in fact there's a federal model 5 10km from where I am

[materavo]

loud siren

[videogamer24385]

I hear whelen 4004s in the back ground :D

[csx2295]

you might be hearing a Whelen 4004 siren in the background.

[johnnykcks]

I had heard this is the loudest siren on the market (T-135) as well (at least the asc website claims) "One unit provides consistent coverage more than 4 127dB sirens" if it isnt, what IS the loudest siren??

[frappudew]

I miss hearing those sirens. grew up in iowa, where they go off alot, and are tested alot... but now in stupid florida. no sirens down here. which sux, cause we get alot of small tornados all year round.

[jradms]

That siren sounds like the beginning of the star wars theme song.

[BellyLover06]

It's sad that this siren isn't in production anymore and now looks like a T-128 but is the new T-135.

[Pup1234567]

when did they stop makin t-135's?

[BellyLover06]

idk but I know it stopped because it's not on their site anymore.

[Oldiesmann]

From what I understand, these are still available through special order. As far as why they're no longer (actively) made - they don't have battery backup, which makes them less desirable. I'm sure their size had something to do with it as well - you couldn't stick one of those up on your average utility pole.

[BellyLover06]

Seems kinda dumb though to make it look almost identical to a siren they already have.

[materavo]

i think they stopped making the t-135 in the early-mid 90's

[LiberalNoob]

Wrong, ASC still makes them.

[csx2295]

No, American Signal still make the T-135 because i checked American Signal's website one of the salesmen replied to my email and he told me the T-135 is still in production the T-128is the newest siren they make today.

[hen7713]

This version of the T-135 / P-50 is no longer for sale, not even as special ordered. The T-135 they are referring to is the T-135 AC / DC which is basically a bigger T-128.

[Rageman1112]

about 2 months ago i recorded a new t135 at first i thought it was a 128

[StealthMonkey25]

how are they so loud????

[dustystix76]

have you ever seen how big these things are? at the mouth of the bell it's probably 6 to 8 feet wide and the sucker is run by a 50 hp motor

[Pup1234567]

i think the mouth is like 4 feet. the chopper (fan thing) is 3 feet

[crazywarriorman]

Its loud and proud.....should be for 35,000$

[jaywolflover]

it is the world's loudest siren

[crazywarriorman]

Actually its not

[crazywarriorman]

Chrysler is.

[sizzlin321]

Chrysler is

[AnnabellDream1612]

In my town we have the thunderbolts 1000t and the federal signal 2001

[neosho53059]

Milwaukee WI has thease and i live 1 hour from milwaukee and i was down in Milwaukee one day and they went off for some odd reason and i think they sound like shit!!!!!!

[airraidsirenboy1003]

Okay all a bit of a fact the t-135 is the loudest siren being made today it even tops the whelen 4004

[12ragoschkema]

it makes alot of amusing noises.

[krazykayaker82]

what are those whelens in the background? i know that where i ive we have a few t-135's( at least i think, and there is a aca hurricane a few blocks away, i have a video/sound recording of the videos on my digital camera i couldn't find my video camera, but it's a good recording, about 6 minutes of sirens, but every time i've uploaded it t hasn't worked on youtube

[videogamer24385]

Those sound like whelen 4004's at the begging. Nice video!

[omerta926]

Whoa, I swear I clicked on this cuz I thought "that looks like the siren at Germantown and Trinity". Heh, didn't actually think it was til I saw the vid now I know! Small world.

[carexpertandy]

Those sirens that started up at the beginning at the video sound like those Whelen Omni-directional sirens that the county has. They probably have to activate those seperately from these electro-mechanical sirens.

[Yankeefan69]

The loudest siren in america no dout....we have a larg system of t-128 here in Omaha,NE

[Pup1234567]

no, it is loud, but the chrysler hemi siren destroys all competition in loudness. my personal favorite siren is the thunderbolt.

[alx2925]

At first when that siren started up, it sounded like a race car!

[ccdcat68]

is there a siren like that is new jersey

[Coverdillem]

your the one who lives there so find out for yourself.

[sfs2040]

We have these sirens all over my hometown. They almost always use that tone. Can you tell me what it is called?

[hen7713]

P-50/T-135AC

[Coverdillem]

do you know if its the same siren?

[1050HzSineWaveTone]

IM posting a video tommorow that is about a 2t22 siren that sounds very malfuctioned and in poor condition. this footage was from the Documentry that KATV Channel 7 (ABC Affilate) in Little Rock, Arkansas did in 2005 called: 'StormAlert 7 2005'. Hope all of you can enjoy it.

[engles92]

I bet it would be creepy listening to that thing during a severe thunderstorm.

[hen7713]

I already have! Two times not that long ago actually! they sound lower toned when far away.

[UAL4ever]

Well for me it gives me the sick feeling from the times the sirens had to sound for a tornado warning in Kenosha WI and even in the middle of the night out of nowhere the T-135`s sounded. Hope fully I never have to hear a T-135 or an other siren sounding in attack mode and only in tests.

[hdyudu]

what more creepy is knowing thay whrere used back then to warn of an atomic bomb drop and if you wondering why take a look at what happen in lower japan in world war two.

[danoh40]

Hmmm... sounds like Whelen 4004s in the background, no? I know the description says there are more T-135s, but the background ones sound like Whelens.

Anyways, this thing has the best fricken windup ever, holy crap!

[FirstSiren2T22]

The Whelens heard in the background are WPS 2810s. A bunch of 2810s were installed in the Cordova area in 2002, which at the time, had just been annexed by the City of Memphis. Last check, Memphis has no rotational Whelens.

[speedofsoundllc]

Can't see it in this video, but this siren now has a 6-12" hole in the side of the horn body. I'm guessing it had to be a lightning strike(?).

The hole does not affect its performance, that's for sure. Still loud as he11 every Wednesday at 3:30pm!

[FirstSiren2T22]

I have noticed the hole the past few times I've been in Memphis. It seems to be getting larger.

My guess is that it's just normal wear and tear on the fiberglass housing. This siren was installed in the mid-80s (when Germantown Pkwy was a two-lane road). Another possibility is hail. Memphis does have some nasty weather from time to time and you can see obvious hail damage on the backside of this siren.

[speedofsoundllc]

Hmmm, I'll have to take a closer look and get back to you on this.

I would agree with wear and tear, over hail. I live less than a mile from this beast, and have for almost a decade. I can't think of any hail larger than pea-sized which would have hit this siren.

Next time I go to the Exxon, I'll take a closer look! :)

[Siren1000T]

No offence but do you think its possible to edit most of the video and just only have the siren part on???? What I mean is from Wind up to wind down.

[luckybastard1930]

awesome! i like siren sound!

[omarrianowilson9]

where is that?

[videogamer24385]

right at the begging they sound like whelen 4004's. exactly

[implikator]

i love t  135

[federalelec1]

now thats a real siren 50 hp motor.siren that weighs 450 pounds and draws 450 amps of electric these sirens cost 25 grand new

[kagome122885]

WOW! This siren is a monster! The projector on that beast is 6 feet in diameter, and it is basically a Cyclone C125 siren turned vertical with a drum attached to it. I wished Columbus, Ohio had some of these...

[Cre47]

Well I hope that the F5 in Manitoba last year will be a wake-up call and a sign that more of those sirens (seems the T-135 would be a perfect fit). Or they will simply wait as usual for a disaster to happen at a city before doing something. That's like that in Canada. We have tornadoes, he have big tornadoes though rarely and we also have F5 tornadoes. From Calgary to Montreal, they are not invulnerable for F5 tornadoes even though the risk is very silm, it is not impossible

[bmeiser]

i want one

[CoolBalla15]

Great video!

[bcdrummer]

these things are seriously huge! at the civil defense museum, theres a page about em. i never knew how big they were. also, ive never seen/noticed that they stop revolving during wind down.

[hazzo18]

loud much!

[nckek]

hey smartass, these are used for weather alerts now not air raids.

[Greekgod300]

im not being a smartass you jackass im just sayign that CA has no problems never any tornados (rarely) barely anything jeez a-hole

[Greekgod300]

im not being a smartass you jackass im just sayign that CA has no problems never any tornados (rarely) barely anything jeez a-hole

[fire904]

It looks like a giant bucket with a pointy bottom and it is definately loud.

[samanli1]

is it as loud as a jetliner

[acoustics101]

This is the largest and loudest warning siren in production.

[samanli1]

it can even scare a tornado away!

[carexpertandy]

Oh my god! Oh my god! It's one of the loudest sirens ever made. Now these are still made, right?

[Siren1000T]

I think they are but just not popular selling anymore.

[csx2295]

Yes the new T-135AC is still being made the P50 which is the old version of the T-135 is not being made the new T-135AC is still in production it is not battery power it runs on 408 volts of ac power the batteries are not big enough to handle 50 amps because the batteries aren't big for dc power a friend told me that one time.

[Antipwnsurmum]

no, the T-135AC is not being made anymore. Neither is the Cyclone 125. They run out of the old parts, if you wanted a new one you'd have to have it custom built at stupid costs.

[Coverdillem]

i like how those sirens start to sound

[cribs78]

That's the one we listen to!!! HELL YEA!!!

[WeirdFunnyProduction]

I was listing to this almost all night 2 days ago because of some tornados that ripped through shelby county

[jefftoe]

ty that's nice. even on you tube I can tell that' loud as hell

[speedofsoundllc]

I listened to this thing for half the night yesterday (2/5/08) as Shelby county was under several tornado warnings.

[csx2295]

Don't forget the Tornado Emergency De Soto County, Mississippi, Shelby County, Tennessee Fayette County, Tennessee and Jackson- Madison County Tennessee as well too Brownsville- Haywood County Tennessee the whole County was under the tornado warning including the Brownsville, Tennessee City limits i won't that night 45 minutes on 5 minutes and on and on until the storm leaves Brownsville, Tennessee then all 8 sirens turn off when storm enters the county.

[samanli1]

can this type of siren do ambulance (highlow) tone?

[RamFett]

No. It would need some giant damper solenoids to do that. And the design doesn't allow for that at all.

[FGLK1702]

if you were to put it so the daper went across the whole end of the horn it could do the palse. but that whoud cost to much to make in large numbers.

[RamFett]

Dampers on pulsed sirens generally aren't where the sound comes out, but where the air goes in. But with modern siren technology there's really no need for that anyway. An electronic siren could do pulse signals far more efficiently.

[FGLK1702]

thanks, is the pulse even used much anymore?

[RamFett]

Nope.

[German135]

It sounds like Bag pipes!!!

[PGMEagle]

I wonder if there are any fire companys anywere that use a T-135 for fire calls that would be cool :-)

[blackmaxima]

My town uses a Cyclone for fire calls. it's basically the same siren, just omnidirectional. yes, it packs a punch.

the siren you hear in the beginning of this film is a P-15.

[BellyJae]

What other sirens does Memphis have?

[csx2295]

Belly Jae i think can answer your question the sirens in are Federal Signal, Whelen, American Signal and of course the Federal Signal Modulator at UT Memphis as their Campus warning system and for tornado warnings Memphis has over 100 different sirens we have in Brownsville, Tennessee 4 Federal Signal sirens 4 Whelen Vortex sirens total sirens in our siren system 8 sirens

[mustangcobradude29]

that has to be so freakin annoying

[gmdet]

What a loud coffee can!

[Worcester2007]

Yeah! This siren look as if it was made out of recycled pop and/or coffee cans.

[troshs]

a spinning bucket on a stick lmao :)

[samanli1]

I think it looks more like a rocket nozzle

[troshs]

yeah even though it looks funny, its a nice one to have around. dont get me wrong.

[cornmeup]

omg, we have a t-135 just like that like, a block from my house, LOUD AS HELL!!!!! it shook my fillings and gave my dad a bloody nose when we stood right below the thing! bloodcurdling sound at 4:00 in the morning, it makes u cringe just on the video..........

[mward5291]

WOW THATS FRIGGIN LOUD

[samanli1]

it looks and sounds like a jet engine

[LoveMyZJ]

That an awesome siren, sounds like a really powerful chain saw.

[naters693]

that looks like the ones by my house in plainfield il does any one no where i can buy one and why do you people sit there and record them j/w

[narutodude446]

They enjoy listening to sirens and you can't just go and buy a siren like that from ASC.

[foxcloak866]

theres a t-135 0.5 miles away from my grandmothers but i`ve never heard them test it

[speedofsoundllc]

Whenever a tornado warning is issued for Shelby County, this is the siren I hear. It's about 1 mile from my home, and I've been pretty close to it numerous times during tests and real warnings.

Looks like the camera operator is standing in the parking lot of TJ Mulligan's, a local bar.

Nice video, I'll hear this siren again on Wednesday!

[matteng1997]

This siren is 10 db louder than the 125db thunderbolt!

[thunderbolt1000Tkid]

did anybody ever find out if the P50 in The colony,texas is still active.

[Siren1000T]

This siren is Massive, Loud, and has a cool roaring sound. I am afraid there was too much talking during the film no offence.