JohnMarcson
Administrator
I took a gamble on a non-working Alpha 12Q, 12X (euro), and a standard Alpha 12R siren lot for a very "non-working price". The 12Q didn't have a cover either, I'm assuming someone put it on a 12M and sold it for more money (I remember that happening on facebook a few years ago). On arrival the 12R and 12X were in fact working, sadly the 12Q was not. The 12R was made in 2011, the 12Q in 2002. I had intended on repairing the 12Q with parts from the 12R, but when I had them open I noticed that inside they looked basically identical. The 12Q had damage to the traces on the circuit board as well as components along that trace, and I wasn't sure the cause. The damage was not in the spot in a spot I thought should see that sort of failure so I was a little concerned about the being able to repair it. I decided to transplant the main chip off the board and see if that worked. The wires, dip switches, and other features among the Alpha series were all basically the same, it was the tones that varied, so I thought it was worth a go. I swapped the 12Q chip into the 12R and it now has 12Q tones and works as if it were a factory 12Q. I will upload a video eventually, but I thought it was interesting that a chip swap between sirens 10 years apart in build date worked so well.
Mid-surgery
Mid-surgery