JennyCop
Member
Hooded/Shrouded Federal Q Siren ?????
- Thread starter JennyCop
- Start date
plybeep68
Member
BryanB
Member
A few fire companies in my area do this. If someone else can chime in, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it's to direct more sound in the direction of travel and lessen the amount of sound the crew gets.
MESDA6
Member
Need Q siren information [Archive] - Central PA Fire Forums
Here's an older thread on another forum about them. Apparently it is called a Projector Shroud.
Here's an older thread on another forum about them. Apparently it is called a Projector Shroud.
JennyCop
Member
lol... never thought of it that way but yeah it does! you gave me a good laugh, Thank youSquad-6 said:
It was manufactured due to the fact that in the eighties, a few candy ass firefighters looking to make a killing decided to sue Federal for loss of hearing caused by the Q. Of course, every ambulance chasing lawyer in sight jumped on the band wagon and this was the result. It never did work well, and like all half assed ideas, faded pretty much into oblivion. It limited the amount of sound projected to the sides and corrupted the rig's intersection tonal audibility. Little did these folks know, but the most detrimental thing to their hearing was the low frequency vibration caused by the diesel engine on which they were virtually sitting.
John Dorgan
John Dorgan
toon80
Member
Only seen one once...on a pumper that had worked an apartment fire in Katy, Texas many years ago.
wfdstation42
Member
I've seen quite a few apparatus or pics of apparatus with them installed. At least one of them I saw upclose was made by a third party manufacturer. not FedSig. I took a quick pic of the manufacturers decal with my cell camera but when I tried viewing it on the computer it was to blurry to read.
I've seen one of those before. It's a little funky at first but not too bad. After reading some info on another forum, I also learned recently that Federal offered a Pulsator Q in the '60s as well. (Photo credit to Terry Lange @ professionalcarsociety.org)
dmathieu
Lifetime VIP Donor
I've seen the shrowd before, but never the Pulsator. Nice pic. It would be even nicer to actually add one to a collection.
patrol530
Member
I've heard a shrouded Q in operation, it really does kill the sound, kind of like stuffing a sock in it. Then again, I've suffered hearing loss from years of roof mounted speakers, so I can certainly see the idea behind it.
Sarge619
Member
Forget the shroud!!! I want that 70's-vintage Maxim F-Model pumper!!! My favorite all-time fire truck!
Henry455
Member
Ben G said:
You can occasionally see a Pulse attachment on Ebay. As J.D. notes above about the Q shroud, the pulsator is something that faded quickly from Federal's arsenal. The pulsators that actually worked sounded pretty neat. What the pulser did was achieved by a disc that was mounted right behind that screen-looking grille. The disc was oscillated so that when the siren was rolled over, the disc osciallated and caused an interruption in the air intake of the siren, causing the siren to make a sort of "wah-wah" sound as the siren made its regular up and down wail. New York City liked them and used them on the NYPD for a few years. If I remember correctly, there was a wire attached to the pulser disc that had a small roller on the end that went against the siren rotor, and that is what achieved the oscillation. J.D., you want to weigh in here??? Anyway, I think that the maintenance was terrible on those things. I had a P660, which was the 66-G version of the siren, and the pulser part never worked, and it only served to muffle the sound.
Zapp Brannigan
Lifetime VIP Donor
BryanB said:
This is correct.
It also lessens the amount of noise directed back towards the driver, allowing them to actually hear something other than that Q screaming directly into their ear.
My department has/had these on their rigs, but they just got new rigs in the last year, and the new ones do not have the shrouds on them (at least not yet).
Sarge619
Member
Henry455 said:
Oh man... if only... think I can convince the wife that in order to get the vintage lights/sirens I had to buy the whole truck???
No.... me either..... :no: :quiverlips: :sadcry:
In the big debate over mechanical versus electronic sirens, some people say that the one advantage that mechanicals have over electronics is that the sound comes out the sides and is dispersed more, especially if the siren is mounted externally. Putting a shroud on a mechanical siren to direct the sound forward is really making it function more like a loudspeaker (which is no better than using an electronic siren).
As for the loss of hearing, the Q siren can be harmful if it is run at top speed. Loud distorted high-pitched sounds will cause hearing loss.
As for the loss of hearing, the Q siren can be harmful if it is run at top speed. Loud distorted high-pitched sounds will cause hearing loss.
FGS
Member
Wonder what's the MPG on that rig.
As for the siren, how about a shrouded pulsator Q? Anyone seen one or thought of getting the pulsator and the shroud and make one? :undecided:
As for the siren, how about a shrouded pulsator Q? Anyone seen one or thought of getting the pulsator and the shroud and make one? :undecided:
theolog
Member
Sarge619 said:
The quintessential fire engine for me is a 1975 lime-green Maxim. That's what I grew up with, and I WILL own one one day! The pic below courtesy of NJ Fire Pics looks more yellow than green, but in person they were clearly more green. Gosh, I loved those engines!!!
Sarge619
Member
theolog said:
You have excellent taste, my friend. The 70's Maxim F was arguably one of the best looking cab-forward ever produced! Someday, I too hope to own one, and if it's at all possible, one of two from the town I grew up in (first pic by me Acton E21, truck now in private hands. Second pic courtesy of J. Daly, E27, taken while still in service in Acton, later sold to E. Conway, NH as their ES2, unknown if still in service).
theolog
Member
That snorkel is bad ass!
Trenton had six of them. One (E-10) had a 55-foot "Readi-Tower" which I think was the predecessor to the Squrt.
Some were still reserve engines a year or two ago, but their 1990s KMEs (built on the "new" Maxim cab design) have been retired, so I imagine the Maxims are in reserve now.
My dream is to own Engine 8 because that was first-due at my childhood home, but I'd settle for one that I could mark up to look like it.
Trenton had six of them. One (E-10) had a 55-foot "Readi-Tower" which I think was the predecessor to the Squrt.
Some were still reserve engines a year or two ago, but their 1990s KMEs (built on the "new" Maxim cab design) have been retired, so I imagine the Maxims are in reserve now.
My dream is to own Engine 8 because that was first-due at my childhood home, but I'd settle for one that I could mark up to look like it.
FGS said:
That wouldn't be hard to do because the shroud is available as a separate item. Only problem is that the way the pulsators are built, they're already somewhat muffled. Why add to that???
theolog said:That snorkel is bad ass!
Trenton had six of them. One (E-10) had a 55-foot "Readi-Tower" which I think was the predecessor to the Squrt.
Some were still reserve engines a year or two ago, but their 1990s KMEs (built on the "new" Maxim cab design) have been retired, so I imagine the Maxims are in reserve now.
My dream is to own Engine 8 because that was first-due at my childhood home, but I'd settle for one that I could mark up to look like it.
Get yourself one of these big trucks and you'll have something nice to put that big Sireno on!