Help with Q1b

jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
I need help with my Q1b. I believe it is a Q1b as that was what I was told when I bought it. Although I do not have the nameplate. It has a grinding/drag with the rotor to the housing. I have took apart the brass clutch and cleaned everything. I tried sanding to smooth out the housing. It got better but not all the way gone. If you look at the gap between the housing and the rotor is normal. Until this one part of the rotor meets this one part of the housing. It starts to rub right there. I can see the tolerance get smaller and smaller until it starts to rub. Like I said the sanding did not fix it. Any ideas?

Thanks,
 

wfdstation42

Member
May 23, 2010
584
USA/FL
Sounds like the stator is slightly out of round. I've had this issue with several sirens over the years. You can remove the rotor and try tapping the area outward with a small hammer, re-install the rotor and test. Repeat process if needed till it's working right.
 
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Mndlm

Member
Jun 14, 2010
128
Minnesota
I need help with my Q1b. I believe it is a Q1b as that was what I was told when I bought it. Although I do not have the nameplate. It has a grinding/drag with the rotor to the housing. I have took apart the brass clutch and cleaned everything. I tried sanding to smooth out the housing. It got better but not all the way gone. If you look at the gap between the housing and the rotor is normal. Until this one part of the rotor meets this one part of the housing. It starts to rub right there. I can see the tolerance get smaller and smaller until it starts to rub. Like I said the sanding did not fix it. Any ideas?

Thanks,
What the hell is a Q1B?
 
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Pete L.

Member
May 21, 2010
2,575
Virginia (south/central)
Sounds like that siren got dropped or the rig it was mounted on was in an accident.
I think your housing (the outer part) is what is out of round and not your rotor (the inside
part). You could try to CAREFULLY tap the housing 90 degrees from where the two rub.
That might give you enough gap to solve your problem.
 
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jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
Sounds like that siren got dropped or the rig it was mounted on was in an accident.
I think your housing (the outer part) is what is out of round and not your rotor (the inside
part). You could try to CAREFULLY tap the housing 90 degrees from where the two rub.
That might give you enough gap to solve your problem.
Ok. My other question is how can I remove the housing? I loosened up the screws but it seemed like the entire shaft was coming out with it. I was afraid I would be losing brushes and other pieces taking the housing off. Also what do you think about replacing the housing for a new one?

Too bad Skip Goulet isn’t around to help. Still very sad about him. We were mechanical buddies...
 

Pete L.

Member
May 21, 2010
2,575
Virginia (south/central)
You don't have to take it apart. If this were mine, I would support the bottom of the
housing with some soft wood. Then I would CAREFULLY tap it (at the 90 degree mark) on top until
I saw that it freewheeled.
Just trying to save your siren. . . . . . . . for short money.
 
Last edited:

jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
You don't have to take it apart. If this were mine, I would support the bottom of the
housing with some soft wood. Then I would tap it (at the 90 degree mark) on top until
I saw that it freewheeled.
Just trying to save your siren. . . . . . . . for short money.
Ok I will give that a try!
 

jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
Q1 is the under hood version without rear housing.

Q1 = without rear housing.
Q2 = with rear housing.
A = without break.
B = with break.

Michael
Mine was nose mounted so I do not have the rear housing “cone”. I do have the brake but it is missing pieces
 

jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
Q1B is a painted siren with brake:
Q is the siren model
1 is painted-motor exposed
2 is chrome plated with "bullet" shaped motor housing
A suffix is no stator brake
B is with stator brake factory installed (brakes can be retrofitted on A models)
What about mine? It’s chrome on the front but no nose cone. Also any ideas to straighten out the stator? Aside from beating?
 
Apparatus manufacturers could special order recessed mounted sirens directly from FedSig...chrome stator (housing) and grill with painted mounting foot and no motor housing. They would affix a label with model and s/n to the motor, though. Some builders just ordered the Q2B and removed the motor housing and that was that!

It's been decades since I've overhauled a Q, but your initial description sounds like it got bumped and the stator got knocked out of round, and @Pete L. 's suggestion is the easiest fix...NO BEATING REQUIRED. Find the spot of contact and place it at the 3 or 9 o'clock position with the stator on a flat and level surface. Apply a subtle "squeeze or light taps with a plastic hammer at 12 o'clock might be all that's required to improve the housing "roundness". Be careful and patient!

This will work if the point of contact is always in the same spot. HOWEVER, if the contact point isn't always in the same spot, it's likely a bearing that's failing causing the stator to come in contact with the rotor. That requires expert repair.

Here's a link to a parts diagram that may help you in divining the issue:
Q2B Parts List
 

jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
Apparatus manufacturers could special order recessed mounted sirens directly from FedSig...chrome stator (housing) and grill with painted mounting foot and no motor housing. They would affix a label with model and s/n to the motor, though. Some builders just ordered the Q2B and removed the motor housing and that was that!

It's been decades since I've overhauled a Q, but your initial description sounds like it got bumped and the stator got knocked out of round, and @Pete L. 's suggestion is the easiest fix...NO BEATING REQUIRED. Find the spot of contact and place it at the 3 or 9 o'clock position with the stator on a flat and level surface. Apply a subtle "squeeze or light taps with a plastic hammer at 12 o'clock might be all that's required to improve the housing "roundness". Be careful and patient!

This will work if the point of contact is always in the same spot. HOWEVER, if the contact point isn't always in the same spot, it's likely a bearing that's failing causing the stator to come in contact with the rotor. That requires expert repair.

Here's a link to a parts diagram that may help you in divining the issue:
Q2B Parts List
You are correct. It only rubs in the same spot every time. I can see the gap is even all the way around until the one spot.

How hard is it to remove the stator? I tried but I was afraid to try because the shaft was coming out and I was concerned about the brushes springing in... my brush holders are quite rusty
 

jmamrak

Member
Jul 17, 2014
382
Lagrange KY
The Pulsator cone definitely changes the sound. While I don't believe a video of Q with a Pulsator is known to exist, this video does a good job of demonstrating how a Pulsator works in general:

How did the pulsator stutter the sound? Was something opening and closing? Very cool
 

wfdstation42

Member
May 23, 2010
584
USA/FL
You can see the flap/door open and close in the video. Restricting the air intake changes/mutes the sound generated by the siren creating the pulsing sound effect. I've never seen the works of a Pulsator but I understand it is mechanically tied to the rotor in some way.

The 4 screws on the front of the pulsator cone secure a tube inside that houses the flapper that attaches via a short rod to a crank on the side of a gear box screwed to the bottom/back of the tube. On the back of the gearbox is a small shaft that has a half circle stainless wire going through it and that connects to the front openings in the rotor via spring tension. It is really a delicate setup and I can see why it didn't become a huge success. The gearbox is packed with grease that would dry out and if water got inside the front cone in the winter and froze the flapper in place the small wire would just twist off.
 

wfdstation42

Member
May 23, 2010
584
USA/FL
You can see the flap/door open and close in the video. Restricting the air intake changes/mutes the sound generated by the siren creating the pulsing sound effect. I've never seen the works of a Pulsator but I understand it is mechanically tied to the rotor in some way.

Here is a pic of the inner workings as described in my above post. I haven't had a chance to repair this one yet so the hole in the gearbox is where the shaft would stick out that the half circle stainless wire would go through that connects to the rotor.

20190712-130602.jpg
 

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