GE Powercall siren

[Stickymajorwow]

what year was this made?

[911caddy]

@Stickymajorwow . Just guessin' early to mid 70's. Maybe someone can correct me.

[joemagliari]

lol ud be at the call by time the siren wound down

[taximanfrank]

brings back memories philly used these in the 80's and early 90's

[RacerXGTO]

You know, for a company that makes the Mini-Gun and nuclear bombs, that is the sorry-est sounding siren for an American made siren. That's just my opinion.

Sounds like a pregnant yak trying to give birth to a UFO alien injected dump truck.

[douro20]

The reason it costs so much to repair these things is that they are analog, and repair parts are very hard to find. It is quite difficult to service analog electronic sirens properly, especially with the availability of parts. The proper name for one of these is a GE Power-Call/Siren. The Power-Call part refers to the built-in PA.

[Code3forever]

This sounds like a similar siren which was put out by North American in the 70s. When I went to Lima OH to pick up a new ambulance to take back to LA , a North American siren was installed and when I got back to LA, the shop had to switch it with one of the Federal Directors or Interceptors and then they had to install the Super Chief on the roof or one of the few Federal plain behind the grill models we had. I think those were the C5 Coaster. It was grey painted. The NA was not CA approved.

[HamptonFireRescue]

how much would a good/working order one of these run ?



[khaled6100]

how this siren still works?

[JKSK8ERLIVE]

how old is she?

[squalie82]

classic

[Howard892]

Now this is what I wouldnt mind hearing all the time not that new powercall crap sounds like the UK is envading with nukes or something when I hear the new powercalls

[zangazoo2007]

The "wail" sounds like it was used in the TV show Emergency!

[mafbpb2900]

Do you mind if we use this video footage for our website? We have a siren like this we will be using for our antique

[squalie82]

an original powercall....cool shit man.

[awolfpack343]

does this siren ever get stuck at times? i was wondering because the old mack at the fire house has one of these powercall sirens, its the same one in this video

[np6869]

Who did your repair work? I've got 5 of these things, 2 of which need work.

[rykember11]

@np6869 You have 5??? I'll gladly take 1 or 2 off your hands for ya! ;)

[cbj8fan]

thats awesome ive been looking for one

[fireman616wfd]

@cbj8fan I have one for sale in working condition without the PA Mic.. will take $250 for it!

[SMGleader]

classic!

[121baway]

Sorta sounds like a EQ2b in the first siren

[cmanleyspy]

simply classic :)

[mattlovesall]

like to see the old girl working again after all these years. shows the workermans craft that goes into these things. oh yes the old power call is cool

[JCC419]

I have a original power call for sale email me a offer

[imprezzed42296]

Ohh, I love the warble powercall.

[mac10guy]

i dont like the sound of the yelp to much i was more of a fan of the pa20a sound

[captain3648]

Great demo. Thanks for sharing!

[Unit430]

There was a guy on Ebay that sold his powercall unit and the microphone for it separately. A matched set gone forever. I don't think the kid realized what he did or had.

[nycfirefighter9]

:) wow ya you got a point

[nycfirefighter9]

if u where to sell it i would give you 120

[911caddy]

You'd be at least 400.00 short. Sorry not for sale, it's just too cool.

[mrskillz8910]

@911caddy  120 LOLOL!!!

[Chris08225]

pretty good, obvously this is an older siren because i dont hear sirens like than anymore

[911caddy]

Yeah, there may be a few out there.. I hear that some fire company's are recycling them into new apparatus.

But, for the most part it's just a little piece of emergency service history. There is the modern power call siren tone.. It's just not a GE. It's seems to be mostly popular in the eastern US.

[Chris08225]

i live in the east and all i hear is the long whirl. sometimes i hear this on like fire engines but.....

[911caddy]

Most engines run electo-mechanical sirens.. The Q2b is the most popular, but not the only one available. Have a listen to one on the tube. It's probably what your hearing. A long coast down once the siren is ramped up.

There are so many types and ways to use an electronic siren, it could be anything :) It's music to my ears when operated properly.

[Chris08225]

probably lol :) i sent u an invite and subed

[medicmark138]

Quick question for you. Who is the lady changing the tones in this vid?

Thanks in advance.

[911caddy]

Hey "tubers", I had the opportunity to use this siren today. It has not been used for close to 30 years. I have to tell ya, it was sweet! The wail is so slow and long! The Warble tone got everyones attention.. And the manual coasting wail is the best!

[k0smon]

911caddy : Worst thing about this siren is the delay between the button press and the sound.

[911caddy]

Yup, I agree. But, it's old technology.. Ya still can't beat the sound :)

[stevenralston99]

lol 1930's??

[MathAce4779]

About how loud is this siren in dB?

[911caddy]

Sorry, no idea. It's as loud as a regular siren.. 100 or 200 watts depending on how you set it up. Except when she ramps down.. Kinda quiet then. But sounds great still!

[MathAce4779]

Thank you

[wkat950]

Did Federal Signal give a reason for their sirens no longer doing lower tones or losing quality?

[911caddy]

Good question.

[90esnake]

wow

[eltedo804]

We have had one of these sirens from when we originally purchased it in the late 60's. Every new fire engine we have gotten since, this siren gets installed to it. It's still running strong and makes beautiful music when paired with a federal Q

[911caddy]

That is impressive!! Do you have response video of these great sirens teamed together??

[rohrs55david]

fuckin cool man

[firefighter4life7]

haha, I never knew the "powercall" tone existed this far back! I love it and it is an awesome siren that you own!

[NC403Firefighter]

This is the original. Kentland 33 uses them. They are a very old school Dept., they're also one of the busiest in the county, talkin like top 10. Search them on here and enjoy!!

[prozanine]

nasty..

[k0smon]

I operated one of these on a police vehicle from 1968-1971. We also had GE radios. I always operated the siren from the horn ring, never did care for the yelp sound. Even at 58 watts, it did a good job.

[911caddy]

Man I live for stories from the past. Thanks for sharing your experiences! It is now a classic that is still sought after by collectors.

Yeah, that long rolling coasting wail is awesome!! Using the horn ring would be the way to go for sure.

[prozanine]

is the battery low?

[911caddy]

Please explain your question? Why do you think the battery is low?

[cmanleyspy]

i think this person asked the question because the siren is simply a slower paced siren compared to all the newer models.

[BAD15Boyzzzz]

not the battery but it's because there is traffic in the back ground.

[BAD15Boyzzzz]

or maybe it's the camera getting overwhelmed by the loudness

[prozanine]

or maybe it sounds nasty, I can't believe it was ever used .

[fireenginebuff]

Now thats the classic Powercall I remember hearing in my city . Sure wish there were still in use around here.

[critter7981]

All I can think of is Two Rotators and a big Speaker in the Middle of a Large 70's sedan.

[911caddy]

Ya, nuthin' wrong with that! Sounds good to me too!

[xdmproductions]

I love a good GE powercall. Sounds ALOT better than the new powercalls.

[09echo01]

They do sound better than the new ones, but the new ones are a lot better to me, in my opinion, than the Whelens and Southern VP/ Signals...

[xdmproductions]

I'm a fan of the lower toned, slower powercalls. Some like it higher toned and faster. It's just like the whole Federal Q vs the EQ. I like the real thing, some like the others.

You know how that goes.

[ncff13]

in all seriousness, if you ever want to sell this thing, I'll make a very nice offer. PLEASE send me a messege if you'd like to sell it.

[911caddy]

I'll leave your offer right here in the event anything changes.

911caddy

[ncff13]

good deal, thanks.

[FirefighterEmt4Life]

wow, great siren!! looking into buying a powercall

[Firemedic712]

wail sounds like an EQ2b

[911caddy]

Yeah, similar. The electronic sirens of the day were attempting to mimic the mechanical sirens. Sounding similar and not using as many amps. Unlike todays electronic "wail".

[zorros343]

I love this sound.

In my fire company in Portugal we have a siren of this in a Ford of 1971

[tidewaterfd19]

You should make a video of it! These things are king, not alot of them still survive.

[PMann9321]

Come to Prince George's County, MD and Washington DC. There are quite a few of them still in service here. Other trucks have that newer version by Federal Signal. Not quite the same sound.

[Rofocowboy84]

As far as I know, Federal Signal is one of the few siren manufacturers that don't have their own version of the Powercall tones...

[RDG484]

Hang on to that thing it's worth a ton in GOLD!!!

[Z570LX]

Great siren 911.

[tidewaterfd19]

GREAT! Finally uploaded a vid.

[stupullen]

This is the best example of the GE Powercall on you tube!!

Thanks again 911caddy for demonstrating yester years sirens ... great find, and I agree it would be nice on a big red some day!

[fmartinjr]

original G.E. Power-call sireeeen! Yea,yea,yea!!!My first time rockin' one of these was in 1988 on field piece(brush truck).

[911caddy]

I was waiting for a comment from you Mr FMartinjr. Your lucky you had the opportunity to play with the original!!

Maybe at some point I can get this 'ol girl back onto a piece of Fire apparatus?

[fmartinjr]

Yes sir! When these were of the norm,I was riding in seagraves from the mid to late 1970's,fire trucks had airhorns on the roof!Most fire trucks were solid red,half of the commmunity were volunteer firefighters.The last fire engine I saw in service with one of these was a 1969 American La France pumper that left service back in the mid 90's.

[butteroll]

yep, the yelp shows, it's a true powercall, good find!

[THEFINALHAZARD]

WOW nice! I ENVY you!

[fire32njetta]

I love it

[JPOC226]

the wail tone has a very low repeat rate (10-15 cycles per minute in normal today)

[911caddy]

I'm glad you guys enjoyed it! I look forward to getting into "my" 1967 Superior Pontiac  Ambulance.

[JPOC226]

YES I LOVED IT .....