Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000T - Macon, GA

[whelenvortexr4]

If it aint broke, then why fix it?

[sirenfan97]

The T-bolt here in Wichita makes this one sound really low tone. lol

[dylan9241]

Pitch is too high to be a 1000T

[murrfarms]

@dylan9241 It is a 5/6 port 1000T (1000AT to be precise), I own it now. It has something funky going on with the chopper assembly, causing it to overspeed when the blower is running, but I haven't narrowed it down to what the cause may be yet.

[rufus102]

So my hot sexay girlfriend says the siren is going off now because of Tornado warnings. Not sure what the new one sounds like but this one is awesome.

Did I mention she's hot?

[MrSciencetificsasuke]

how did you get it 

[murrfarms]

@MrSciencetificsasuke Because I'm good friends with the people at the EMA, and since they mean nothing to them once they're replaced/removed, they usually just leave it up to the contractor(s) to deal with (which I'm also buddies with).

[MrSciencetificsasuke]

@murrfarms so what would i do to get a siren?

[97Siren]

This siren could be replaced by now:(

[murrfarms]

@97Siren Unfortunately it has been. But the good news of it is that it's now mine.

[97Siren]

@murrfarms What's the replacement siren?

[murrfarms]

@97Siren Whelen Vortex R4, which I actually heard today. Could even hear the new Vortex over the older one I was close to!

[murrfarms]

@97Siren Not really, they're actually a better siren performance and maintenance-wise than a Thunderbolt. They don't SOUND as cool, but they'll definitely give a Thunderbolt a run for its money. The Thunderbolt is one big maintenance hog, and has WAY too many moving parts that can and will wear out, and any one of them will render the siren inoperable. Trust me, if for some reason you ever have to work on one, you'll see exactly what I mean.

[97Siren]

@murrfarms okay

[amberlynn6914]

@murrfarms :):):): Awsome! Glad it is yours!

[Timbrock1000]

Arvada, CO., once had several of these sirens. Then, a few years ago, they removed them and never replaced them. Their excuess was "budget cuts" -yeah, right! In 2009, a freak tornado went through the area and caused severe damage. With no sirens to sound, the people had no way of knowing of the danger. Consequently, 3 people were killed. ...all because of "budget cuts".

[mmcdona1]

Sounds exactly like the 1000T here in Hawaii mounted on the Municipal building. Good recording.

[murrfarms]

@mmcdona1 Thanks! Now that I compare the two, you're absolutely right, they sound identical.

[Blue10AEMia]

Damn it still runs.

[murrfarms]

@Blue10AEMia Yup, and holy shit was it loud too! I guess this means all but mine were set to terminal 7 at some point.

[train2589]

On next wensday. after 4th of july i will have a chance to film a thunderbolt. 1990'S 2001 or a 2001 and a sth-centrey.

[OtisFreight]

GAWD This thing screams! Any ideas on what terminal this siren is set on?

[murrfarms]

@OtisFreight 7, looked for myself. I'm gonna try and move it to either 3 or 4 sometime before it's removed to see how well it improves its range.

[OtisFreight]

@murrfarms jjdsmayes had told me if you run these motors on a high setting, they last longer from not having to deal with any resistance on trying to have it hold itself back on a low setting, and just letting it go direct. Wev'e got one on therminal 5 here, and it's been up since 1955 and still in operating condition.

[murrfarms]

@OtisFreight Yep, and he's right for the most part too. The only downside to that, at least with repulsion induction motors is that it will eat up brushes faster this way. But for the collector ring brushes, this is totally true as they will never have to be replaced if it's rotating at 2RPM. I seriously do want to lower the pitch on this one though, because as we know, lower pitches carry much farther and penetrate obstacles (such as trees in this case) far better than higher pitches.

[FoamPackingPeanuts]

Play the Thunderbolt along with the vuvuzela button.

[LNERMallard]

It sounds like that one high pitched Thunderbolt in Hawaii! What a shame to replace such a nice-working siren with probably a crappy 2001.

[Blue10AEMia]

Actually it will be replaced by a vortex

[murrfarms]

@Blue10AEMia After finally hearing it up close and personal today, it really is a waste of money to replace this thing when it already has everything they're looking for in these new sirens (backup power supply, very loud, rotational, etc). They seriously need to use that money for something more important, like the police department for starters.

[murrfarms]

@murrfarms I just can't wrap my head around why they won't spend a little for someone (like you or me) to come in and give these old sirens some much-needed TLC and maybe even a slight overhaul all-together, at least with ones like this where they're on backup power, already in good shape, etc. It would save them thousands over an inferior new siren!

[Blue10AEMia]

I don't know either. They obviously don't care about saving money if they pick the highest bidder for the siren replacement like they did this time.

[murrfarms]

@Blue10AEMia I know it! Although it's a small-scale version of it, now I'm seeing first hand the kind of crap they've gone through in Hamilton County, OH with this shady "under-the-table" crooked bidding process.

[LNERMallard]

@Blue10AEMia Oh, well. At least I like Whelens now. :) They served their purpose well to warn us of a tornado warning a few weeks ago.

[keoghjacob]

This Thunderbolt cuts off very nicely. :)

[murrfarms]

@keoghjacob That's because I asked them to make damn sure this thing was set to 8 seconds delay on the Agistat relay in the RCM a while ago, so that it would work right lol

[Siren1000T1]

@murrfarms Well nice work then cause I tend to agree with keoghjacob.

[douro20]

Well, I don't think Wichita/Sedgwick County KS is going to get rid of theirs anytime soon.

[bulldozer950]

after this their will be no more 1000ATs in macon.:(

[murrfarms]

@bulldozer950 Yeah I know it, damn shame they're replacing this one when all it really needs is a small overhaul and it would be good as new. It's even on the backup generator for the fire station, so it makes no sense why they'd replace it instead of using that money for something better.

[bulldozer950]

nice thunderbolt 1000AT!

[VMFA115Starloric]

Great video, great sounding Thunderbolt! is that a radio activation antennae I see?

[murrfarms]

@VMFA115Starloric T'is! That is one monstrous ground plane antenna that all the old sirens in Bibb County use for activation of the old Federal SiraTrol radios in the control cabinet. I have one that came off of my Thunderbolt (exactly like this one, same age and all) from Bibb County, and it barely fits in my garage!

[VMFA115Starloric]

@murrfarms

How long are each of the arms?

[murrfarms]

@VMFA115Starloric About 4ft in length, and the top whip is about 3' long and much thinner.

[jradms]

Awesome video of the Station 104 Thunderbolt Ian