Information on Sireno/Sireno Condor

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twix6

Member
May 22, 2010
28
Tucson, AZ
Does anyone have any information on the Sireno Products Corporation? I was looking for information on when the company went out of business and when the Sireno Condor started and ended its production. Thank you.
 

cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
The company started somewhere in the first decenie of the 1900. The first electro-mechanical sirens was patented in 1909.


They have had some different names over the years and was owned at the end by Sirchie Fingerprint.


They cancelled the Sireno division in the end of the '90s.


The Condor would have been manufactured from about 1977 to 1982 or slightly after.
 

cmb56

Member
May 22, 2010
746
Norrköping, Sweden
crescentstar69 said:
They stopped making warning equipment under the name ITT Jabsco. Jabsco makes marine motorized spot lights, and strangely enough plumbing fixtures now.

Wrong. Jabsco Pruducts ITT sold Sireno to Sirchie Fingerprints in 1982.


They moved from Costa Mesa, CA to Raleigh, NC at the same time.
 

Wailer

Member
May 24, 2010
2,290
Canada
So is the Condor light bar a product of the Jabsco/ITT siren era, or was it available when the Projector sirens were still in production? :?:


I think Sireno also made an electronic siren called 'The Partner' in the mid-1980s. I don't know how rare it is, but with a name like that it was obviously aimed at the police market.
 
Jul 14, 2010
1,639
S.W. Ohio USA
Condors were an 80's product, I believe, well after the Projectors. We had a Condor on a 1984 brush truck, and the bar was bought new then. And here is a Partner 1 siren:partner 1 siren 019.JPG[/attachment:3pxek45r]partner 1 siren 018.JPG[/attachment:3pxek45r]


Kinda neat. Small remote head has a toggle switch for lighting.

partner 1 siren 018.JPG

partner 1 siren 019.JPG
 

CFD125

Member
May 21, 2010
487
Carver, Mass.
Here is my short 47" California Condor.


I'm pretty sure the endcaps say ITT on them, but I will have to check again.


Aha!! I found a picture of the endcap. Jabsco ITT


ai288.photobucket.com_albums_ll191_CFD125_visibar_sirenoCTS3002_1_1.jpg


The rear flashing Par46 bulb is in a special holder that angles it toward the street just a little, as opposed to the front bulb holder that aims it straight ahead.


That is why the rear bulb seems just a little off center of the amber cutout...It is.


ai288.photobucket.com_albums_ll191_CFD125_visibar_sirenoCTS3001.jpg


ai288.photobucket.com_albums_ll191_CFD125_visibar_sirenoCTS3006.jpg
 

twix6

Member
May 22, 2010
28
Tucson, AZ
Wow. Now that bar is nice looking, even for a big, ugly Condor. The Condor I just had shipped to me had two red lenses, but when I got it from UPS, guess what had happened?


A. It arrived in good condition, just as shipped.


B. It arrived in a little worse shape than when it was shipped.


or


C. UPS absolutely smashed it.


Anyways, I was looking for one lens to replace the one that is smashed to bits. The other is ok, with just some small chips broken off where the end cap is.


Thanks for the replies everyone.
 

tlavite

New Member
Apr 9, 2011
2
United states illinois
I just recently got me a Par 46 light bar off of an old tow truck. I am restoring it and would like to find a red and a blue lens. It has amber lenses on it now but they are ruined from the sun and all cracked on top. Does anyone know where to find a red and blue lens? or even just two blue lenses would be fine.


PS: Hello I am new to the forum my name is Tyler I collect sirens and light beacons :) I have a Federal Q1A and a Federal WLR siren and my new Sireno Light bar. Hopping you guys can help me.
 

tlavite

New Member
Apr 9, 2011
2
United states illinois
CFD125 said:
Welcome Tyler,

If there is any chance of a Condor lens being found, it will probably be on this board.

Thank you for the reply! I figured they were probably hard to find. I have two amber lenses which are pretty much shot I was hopping someone could help me track down some lenses. The light bar is in good shape besides the fact that the cracked lenses have let rain water get inside the light for the 10 or so years it has sat in a field. I had to take both motors apart and get them freed up and working again. I am currently rewiring the entire light bar. Do you know of any place where I can find a schematic for the condor light bars? I know its nothing to complicated but the people who had it before me butchered the wiring on the inside big time.
 

894

Member
Jul 14, 2014
1,028
North Central US
Service Condors were utilized quite a bit around here, back in the day, by a certain wrecker builder. I know of 3 still in use. I sold a restored unit last summer to a gentleman restoring his father's old tow truck which had one on it when it was new. I know of one that needs rebuilding currently in a colleague's stash.. I acquired NOS red domes for the bar for the current owner but I'm not sure if he'll part w/ them. Because they were Service Condors w/ the rear PAR46's, his intention was to do rear amber cutouts for the PAR46's, utilizing the amber domes on the bar, currently. They may go with the bar, though. I don't see the gentleman very often but I will mention it next time we speak.
 

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Skulldigger

Member
Aug 23, 2015
1,739
Georgia / USA
Sireno was formed in February 1908 by John Gordon and Charles H. Conner to market and sell their "SirenO horn" which is what they called their siren. They were in New York until 1960 when they moved to Kearny, NJ. They changed to Sireno Signal Mfg. Corp in 1967. they were purchased by ITT Jabso in 1971 and moved to Marshall Mill Property in Costa Mesa, Ca. In 1984 Production ceased and the line was sold to Sirchie Fingerprint Labaratories in 1985. Best I can tell they never manufactured lights or sirens.
 
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Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
Liked @894 cause R/A

I still have a NIB System 2000 series siren.
good read
 

894

Member
Jul 14, 2014
1,028
North Central US
I do have a couple of gripes about these bars. The cascade mirrors, because they are convex versus stepped-flat mirrors, the intensity of the sequential flashes sucked. They worked, off-axis though! That coupled with the rotators spinning in the same direction and being independant, versus synchronized, kinda wrecked the whole effect. Then you have the plastics used by the rotators...they just didn't hold-up very well. The shafts wore into the housings making them all sloppy and they would lose contact.
The thing you have to keep in mind is that this was the way everything was going in the 80's. Plastic, cheap, low budget... look at the Lectric Lites bars with their cheezy plastics and the Light Force units. Cheetahs, ALL those little independants built some real crap which is why it's hard to find those ol' pigs still around. They just didn't hold together! As soon as I have a chance, Tyler, I'll drop that guy a note to see if he still has that bar. I'm sure he hasn't done anything to it. I usually end-up restoring them for him... I know he doesn't have any blue domes, though...
 
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lotsofbars

Member
Jul 20, 2010
1,999
NYC, New York
I know a guy off this site with a cache of NIB Condor domes. I can put you in contact with him, but know that he overvalues his stuff pretty often, so it probably won't be cheap.
 
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stansdds

Member
May 25, 2010
3,533
U.S.A., Virginia
I do have a couple of gripes about these bars. The cascade mirrors, because they are convex versus stepped-flat mirrors, the intensity of the sequential flashes sucked. They worked, off-axis though! That coupled with the rotators spinning in the same direction and being independant, versus synchronized, kinda wrecked the whole effect. Then you have the plastics used by the rotators...they just didn't hold-up very well. The shafts wore into the housings making them all sloppy and they would lose contact.
The thing you have to keep in mind is that this was the way everything was going in the 80's. Plastic, cheap, low budget... look at the Lectric Lites bars with their cheezy plastics and the Light Force units. Cheetahs, ALL those little independants built some real crap which is why it's hard to find those ol' pigs still around. They just didn't hold together! As soon as I have a chance, Tyler, I'll drop that guy a note to see if he still has that bar. I'm sure he hasn't done anything to it. I usually end-up restoring them for him... I know he doesn't have any blue domes, though...
I agree. I have often wondered if the weird, convex cascade mirror was to avoid any patent infringement with the Federal Signal TwinSonic.
 

894

Member
Jul 14, 2014
1,028
North Central US
Could be... It does offer a different type of flash, viewable at more angles than directly in front/rear so it does have an advantage in that aspect but due to the photometrics, the flashes aren't as intense.
 
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God444

Member
Mar 30, 2020
33
Suffolk county
Ok so I just bought a sireno I have never seen anywhere and im looking for info its model 8350 and it has the most unique setup any info is appreciated.20220415_113319.jpg20220415_113241.jpg
 
It resembles a Multnolmah County, Oregon Sheriff department bar…first prototype FedSig sent was a CTS with blue domes—red cutout facing forward and amber cutout facing rear. If this was a similar prototype, then the speaker grill is installed backwards.

You might have something interesting here. Good find!
 

God444

Member
Mar 30, 2020
33
Suffolk county
It resembles a Multnolmah County, Oregon Sheriff department bar…first prototype FedSig sent was a CTS with blue domes—red cutout facing forward and amber cutout facing rear. If this was a similar prototype, then the speaker grill is installed backwards.

You might have something interesting here. Good find!
It is a sireno I thought it was a twinsonic at first also
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
What was the relationship between Sireno and Smith & Wesson and SVP?
That's a great question. I'm always foggy on the relationship between Dietz, Grote, NAPA, Sireno, SVP, S&W and other "small brands" from the 70s and 80s. I'm sure someone has an actual breakdown of what the overlap and rebranding was.
 
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JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
You left out Yankee…. :)
Fair.... There was cross over from NA Signal and some brand too... I'd love to see a venn diagram or something.
 

Tristar

Member
May 24, 2010
899
MA
Ok so I just bought a sireno I have never seen anywhere and im looking for info its model 8350 and it has the most unique setup any info is appreciated.View attachment 236143View attachment 236144
I almost bought this bar...I had attempted to email and call the owner of the store for quite a while and finally reached him after about a month. I went to check it out (and purchase?), but I wasn't able to get it to work. That, in combination with its condition made me decide to pass on it, as I don't have the time or knowledge to troubleshoot it. I'm glad someone here got it!
 

God444

Member
Mar 30, 2020
33
Suffolk county
I almost bought this bar...I had attempted to email and call the owner of the store for quite a while and finally reached him after about a month. I went to check it out (and purchase?), but I wasn't able to get it to work. That, in combination with its condition made me decide to pass on it, as I don't have the time or knowledge to troubleshoot it. I'm glad someone here got it!
Yeah believe it or not there was absolutely nothing wrong with it she lit right up as soon as I put power to it I opened up the lenses and the inside was like brand-new it was really just a domes that were worn the main reason I bought it was because is a one-of-a-kind it was apparently custom made with the domes like that and the same thing with the configuration of the inside of the light bar the only thing is I can't figure out what Police Department came from I made a video of it I put it up on YouTube so you can check it out I put it under sireno light bar Massachusetts police department.
 

God444

Member
Mar 30, 2020
33
Suffolk county
I almost bought this bar...I had attempted to email and call the owner of the store for quite a while and finally reached him after about a month. I went to check it out (and purchase?), but I wasn't able to get it to work. That, in combination with its condition made me decide to pass on it, as I don't have the time or knowledge to troubleshoot it. I'm glad someone here got it!
 
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Tristar

Member
May 24, 2010
899
MA
Yeah believe it or not there was absolutely nothing wrong with it she lit right up as soon as I put power to it I opened up the lenses and the inside was like brand-new it was really just a domes that were worn the main reason I bought it was because is a one-of-a-kind it was apparently custom made with the domes like that and the same thing with the configuration of the inside of the light bar the only thing is I can't figure out what Police Department came from I made a video of it I put it up on YouTube so you can check it out I put it under sireno light bar Massachusetts police department.
I'm glad it works! I had attempted to power it up with a 20amp power supply, and I'm guessing it wasn't enough. I should have asked if I could take it out to the car and hook it up to the battery. Oh well, I'm glad you got it.
 
Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
so going OT abit, but there was a thread on elb a few years back that summed the whole question of same parts in multiple brands pretty well.

So Cliff notes.
Deitz, Signal-Stat, Yankee, Sireno-ITT Jabsco, Napa, SVP, S&W, Star.. etc. all used the same parts internally. Grote is another example of this. Initially I believe it was a 3rd party that was making the motors and the rotator mounts maybe starting for Dietz/Signal-Stat. Then at some point all these companies started to gobble each other up. Also let's not forget Rebrands.. like NA Signal, Napa, and others which meant that the same parts were reused under other brands that were not the Big 3.

The downside to this arrangement was that the parts used, were not all that high quality. Great example.. SVP Impulse 9000. There is a reason why these bars did not last long.. shame tbh as I liked the design. This carries over to other bars like the S&W bars, Star and anyone else using that same design. They just were cheaply made in comparison to others of that time.. like Fed, Code 3.. and yes even Whelen. Though completely OT but Whelen was pretty sketch back in the day itself.

I'll see myself out now.. ;)
 
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JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
Though completely OT but Whelen was pretty sketch back in the day itself.
Staying off topic, but expanding on your point.....

This is very true. Whelen tried really hard to innovate, and they did, but that often meant swing and miss products coming out. Whelen's frequent updates and new products often made for less than "market ready" products coming out. Whelen used to change their internal parts frequently too, usually they were backwards compatible but it makes for difficult collecting. I bought an advantedge bar and it was full of circa 2010 "new responder" rotators which is the official replacement, but it kind of diminished the value for me. Another flop example was when for about two years Whelen tried to make everything halogen into an oscillating version. The idea was cool, but the wires actually moved with the light. This caused the wires to fatigue and break. Everything oscillating was then reverted to flashing or rotating and it wasn't really smooth. Going back even earlier strobes were a really new and exciting idea but compared to established halogen products from Federal or Code 3 at the time they were super dim, unreliable and expensive. One could argue that Code 3 and even Federal rode the market superiority that came with that situation for too long then scrambled to fill their old bars with less effective strobes when the technology was taking over. This was just a few years before LEDs hit then they both had to do the same thing again. Meanwhile, Whelen's willingness to experiment put them in a position to pounce on LEDs (when a few smaller companies experimented with them), in addition to that willingness to try new concepts, Whelen's existing products were easier to retrofit for LEDs. Strobe heads switched out into LEDs really easily whereas bars that went from halogen then to strobe then to LED looked even more obviously retrofitted and ineffective.
 
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