Could someone tell me when this siren by north american signal was made?

[The Drop Tone Siren Guy.]

I hear this exact siren a lot in tv shows and movies from the late 80's and early 90's a lot, most notably lethal weapon II, the rookie from 1990, and all throughout walker texas ranger since episode 1 in early 1993. But something tells me the siren had existed since the early 70's and the tones seem to vary a little on all of the different demos of this same siren I find. I would however like to buy one of these but it's gotta sound exactly like this because I want to do a tribute car to the 1990 movie the rookie which featured a 1989 Ford LTD Crown Victoria LX hardtop in the opening shootout and chase scene, I've already got the CopLite 718 and I've been talking to some guys near me who have a similar car but I'd likely need to remove the vinyl roof as I'm convinced that car was ordered specially for the movie without a vinyl roof as an uncle had a midnight blue1988 LTD CV LX with every option excluding the vinyl roof which had to be specially ordered because he wanted it that way.

 

[Wailer]

I don't know when they started making them with the 'riot' tone, but the sirens have been around at least since the late 1970s. Where I live, the fire department began removing mechanical sirens from some its older trucks in 1979, and that was when I first heard this type of siren.

In Canada they were rebranded as Dominion Auto, and they were sold under that brand name in the 1980s. I have one example of a Dominion Auto Siren Master. It looks the same except that it has a wired in mic. I think the cheaper version has the wired in mic and the more expensive version has a detachable mic.

The siren sound in Lethal Weapon II is a recording of a mid-1960s Federal electronic siren (either a PA15 or a PA20). That siren sound was used in TV shows and movies from the late 1960s up until the early 1990s. The PA15 and PA20 have wail, yelp, and alert tones and they were in production from about 1962 to 1966. Finding either one in working condition could be kind of tough because they weren't very reliable. I have a PA20 and it looks like it has been repaired a few times.

 

[The Drop Tone Siren Guy.]

Alright, thanks for letting me know.

 

[The Drop Tone Siren Guy.]

I don't know when they started making them with the 'riot' tone, but the sirens have been around at least since the late 1970s. Where I live, the fire department began removing mechanical sirens from some its older trucks in 1979, and that was when I first heard this type of siren.

In Canada they were rebranded as Dominion Auto, and they were sold under that brand name in the 1980s. I have one example of a Dominion Auto Siren Master. It looks the same except that it has a wired in mic. I think the cheaper version has the wired in mic and the more expensive version has a detachable mic.

The siren sound in Lethal Weapon II is a recording of a mid-1960s Federal electronic siren (either a PA15 or a PA20). That siren sound was used in TV shows and movies from the late 1960s up until the early 1990s. The PA15 and PA20 have wail, yelp, and alert tones and they were in production from about 1962 to 1966. Finding either one in working condition could be kind of tough because they weren't very reliable. I have a PA20 and it looks like it has been repaired a few times.

So I did a little looking myself, and the siren heard in Lethal Weapon II, Walker Texas Ranger, and The Rookie 1990 are all the same and they're all PA20's like you said, I managed to turn up one demo of one as well as an archive to the original sound effect with the wail and yelp and it all matches, I have never seen any other original PA20 though or heard what the Alert tone sounds like but I wonder if it's that solid wail sound that just stays solid and doesn't fade in and out, that was included on the MP3 archive of the siren as well as the Adam 12 siren which was made by holding down manual.

 

[Wailer]

So I did a little looking myself, and the siren heard in Lethal Weapon II, Walker Texas Ranger, and The Rookie 1990 are all the same and they're all PA20's like you said, I managed to turn up one demo of one as well as an archive to the original sound effect with the wail and yelp and it all matches, I have never seen any other original PA20 though or heard what the Alert tone sounds like but I wonder if it's that solid wail sound that just stays solid and doesn't fade in and out, that was included on the MP3 archive of the siren as well as the Adam 12 siren which was made by holding down manual.

The alert tone is just a steady electronic beep that doesn't rise or fall. Both the PA15 and the PA20 have the alert tone.

There are a few variations of the PA15/PA20 siren sound effect in TV shows and movies:

• Irregular wail tone using manual siren button (this sound was used a lot for the Adam 12 patrol car and Emergency's Squad 51.
• Wail tone without reverb
• Yelp tone without reverb
• Wail tone with reverb
• Yelp tone with reverb
• Wail and yelp overdubbed without reverb
• Wail and yelp overdubbed with reverb

If you really want this type of sound, get a PA15 or PA20. And if someone has one for sale, ask if it has the alert tone.

 

[The Drop Tone Siren Guy.]

The alert tone is just a steady electronic beep that doesn't rise or fall. Both the PA15 and the PA20 have the alert tone.

There are a few variations of the PA15/PA20 siren sound effect in TV shows and movies:

• Irregular wail tone using manual siren button (this sound was used a lot for the Adam 12 patrol car and Emergency's Squad 51.
• Wail tone without reverb
• Yelp tone without reverb
• Wail tone with reverb
• Yelp tone with reverb
• Wail and yelp overdubbed without reverb
• Wail and yelp overdubbed with reverb

If you really want this type of sound, get a PA15 or PA20. And if someone has one for sale, ask if it has the alert tone.

Alrighty, will do. What price do you think would be reasonable for an original 62-66 PA20/PA15 that works correctly.

 

[Wailer]

Alrighty, will do. What price do you think would be reasonable for an original 62-66 PA20/PA15 that works correctly.

I can't remember what I paid for my PA20. I think it was around 100-150 dollars. It works, but cosmetically it looks worn out.

 

[The Drop Tone Siren Guy.]

I can't remember what I paid for my PA20. I think it was around 100-150 dollars. It works, but cosmetically it looks worn out.

Alright, that's a reasonable price in my own honest opinion. it wouldn't have to look perfect, but I don't want it all scratched up or bent or missing the plate/cover.