Federal Signal PA300 discussion

[WhelenNDealin]

The new sirens are high-pitched - that's the problem. That high-pitched thing took off with the PA15A series 1E and PA20A series 2E in the 1970s. New sirens could be designed to produced the 1960s low-pitched tones, but the siren manufacturers seem too infatuated with the high pitched sounds.



Nope, I'm from the prairies.



The Signal Stat 'Stat VI' with hi-lo and yelp tones only (as was used by the NYPD) was likely manufactured in the same factory as the early Smith & Wesson Magnum series sirens. The yelp sounds the same.

I agree that it's a problem that the high-pitched screamers took off like wildfire. My guess is that the manufacturers have some justification for it. I'd love for them to reproduce the low-pitched tones. I'm sure that they could find some marketing angle to sell them. A low-pitched 1960s tone with say a Howler/Rumbler/Banshee would most certainly grab people's attention with extreme prejudice.

Do you know offhand how much an early S&W Magnum or its rebrands would go for? Anything Signal Stat is too darn pricey!

Ah, the Prairies. That was my second guess. See, down here in SW Ontario (aka. No Man's Land/51st State/Michigan's Annex), any discernible accent that sounds different than ours or the GTA's (aka. Canada's Pretentiousness Capital) is often deemed from being from Northern Ontario, unless it's something particularly distinct such as a Newfoundland or Québecois accent, for example. I've thankfully lost the SW Ontario twang due to being posted at CFB Gagetown for four years (and making conscious efforts to control it ). As a result of where I'm from, my various travels and living in Atlantic Canada, I have my own distinctly Canadian accent which tends to slip into a bit of a mashup of the many Atlantic Canadian accents at times. Nice amount of the NB accents, a bit of a mix of the various NS accents and a very healthy dash of the wonderful NL accent. There might be a bit of a PEI accent in there somewhere too. Loved my time out East. Beats the pants off of SW Ontario, that's for sure. Only time I spent in the Prairies was at places like CFB Wainwright and CFB Edmonton (aka. Hostile Territory/Cowboy Country . No offence to my Patricia battle brothers/sisters). Have a lot of good buddies from out that way, though. Salt of the earth, the lot of them. If you're from the Prairies, you're good in my books. If you happened to be from the GTA, we'd have a problem .

 

[WhelenNDealin]

Here's a beautiful old-school wail and of course the original Powercall Warble to boot! Some may disagree, and that's fine, but to me, the Warble is music to my ears. This siren's tones, to me are bliss. Listen to that wind-down.....heaven! Video is courtesy of an ELB community member. Saw it on his listing for this musical instrument.

 

[WhelenNDealin]

Just had to post another.....

 

[Wailer]

Compact speakers designed for concealed mounting (or in the speaker compartment of a light bar) may be one reason why high pitched sirens are so common. The smaller speakers handle the higher pitched wail and yelp tones better than the low pitched tones.

As for the Smith&Wesson/Dietz Omnisound/early Signal Stat sirens, you just have to get lucky and find one. My holy grail is an early Smith & Wesson Magnum III with the large pushbuttons.

I've heard the General Electric Power-Call / Siren a few times, and while it has a nice deep sounding yelp I find that it falls too quickly and sounds choppy. The 1960s PA15A/PA20A yelp sounds much smoother.