Old Beacon and Siren

Spanky

Junior Member
Member
Jun 25, 2010
34
0
Johnstown,PA
Interesting light. Any markings on it?? Never seen a light like that . Very cool shape.


Chris
 
Very interesting on the red light... Can you take some more pics of it? I'd like to see a picture of the internals.





I've never seen one of those either.
 
I'll try and take some more pics later today. It is rather strange inside as the entire light assembly is part of the rotator.
 
Paging John Dorgan.....vintage light ID requested....


Believe it or not, I have seen a light like that before, but you have to remember I'm an old fart and have been interested in and have worked around emergency lighting for over 30 years.


Back in the mid '70s, there was a Shreveport LA police detective that used that same light in his car. He did an interview in a police magazine called Law and Order in that time period about a bank robber that had managed to rob several banks around the US without being caught until he tried to do it in Shreveport. The SPD had been experimenting with an electronic bug to thwart robberies and the tellers at this particular bank just happened to have one available that day. They put it inside the bag of loot and SPD had a tracking device on the scene within minutes to track it. They tracked him to a hotel room near the bank and caught him literally red handed shortly after the heist, as the dye in the bag had also exploded. An electronic gadget like that bug had not been used for tracking a robbery suspect before, so it made national news and the article was a followup. There was a picture of the detective and his partner inside their car showing off the device and that same type of light was sitting on the dash. I made particular notice of it because at the time, there were only a handful of dash lights being manufactured by the various makers, maybe as few as a half dozen. That one really stood out at the time, mostly because no one else was using one like it. The chrome band on the light is very unique and after seeing the one in then article, I had not ever seen another one like it over the years until I saw this one posted. The chrome band immediately gave it away, as that type of offset around the screw has not been done before in any other light. I may still have the mag and/or the article in my storage, and if so, I'll post it.
 
Not quite the Shell logo, now that I can see the entire thing.





The whole silver reflector piece turns? Or is it a flashing bulb?
 
Spanky said:

The siren is a VFS1W, which could have been designed for the undercover police / volunteer firefighter market. It looks a lot like the USA-1 and USA-2 (Universal Siren Amplifier) sirens that were made in the mid-1980s. The USA could be used with any one of Federal's Minicom control heads: SCC2, SCC3, TCC2, or TCC3. I have no idea what type of control head is used with the VFS1W.
 
That light looks very similar to a dash light made by K D Lamp Company in the early 70s. The K D light is more square, and the reflector assy. differs some, but the whole design is very similar. Perhaps this is a slightly earlier version. K D is a possibility.


Dan
 
Very interesting design, with the odd shaped base, dome and brass fitting in the dome for the screws. No chance of a generic dome for that light! I'm hoping a video will get posted of this thing in action along with a true identity.
 
Hi,


I have a couple of these as they were issued as part of our volunteer gear years ago. The lights were made by Southern Vehicle Products and at the time of issue cost about $30.


I have red, blue, and amber. They wern't much on throwing a lot of light or staying on top of the car with those way cheep magnets but were fun as a dash light.


My $.02


Don

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