Federal signal series#

It was available in either single or three-phase AC. The siren was driven by a 3HP AC motor exclusively, giving it the Type 3 designation. The C1 1/2 makes use of a 13 inch aluminum rotor, which was available in only 12-port single tone. The C1 1/2 is a siren that bridged the gap between the small Model 2 and the larger sirens in the series, and was only a small step up from the Model 2. The C1 1/2 was the smallest size available in the Model X series, as well as the most quiet. Due to being located in Europe, the siren runs at 50hz.

The known variants of this siren were:Ī Federal C1 1/2 Type 3, located in Bavaria, Germany.

Federal signal series#

Motor horsepower can vary even with the same rotor size, which can make identifying sirens in this series difficult without seeing the tag. Some have 'B' instead of 'C' on the tag for unknown reasons.

These sirens were designated as 'CX 1/2' on the tag, though Federal Signal simply used the Model X naming scheme. There were three different rotor sizes available for this siren, with each model having a unique housing. The 15 inch rotor from the C2 1/2 model was also later reused by Federal Signal for the popular 2001 series.

The first and third generation of the Model 500, Federal's mid-range rotating siren, made use of the C3 1/2's rotor, while the second generation models used the STH-10's rotors. These sirens had their own custom housings, but were otherwise identical to their Federal counterparts. The sirens in this series were also sold by other companies who partnered with Federal Signal, such as GCS and W.S. The C3 1/2 size was still available with a coding damper for a short time before it was discontinued, as siren coding had become obsolete in favor of simpler methods. Up until 1959, C2 1/2 and C3 1/2 sized models also included a service door for the motor, with subsequent sirens lacking the door. The weatherproof housing was now changed, adding screens for the output and intake, and most notably, changing the design of the cowl to project sound further outwards, as pole mounting was becoming more popular. 5OC or 7OC.īy the time the Fedelcode series had been discontinued in the 1950s, the series had been streamlined to feature only the Model 2, C1 1/2, C2 1/2, and C3 1/2, with the rest being discontinued. These coded models generally have the additional designation of 'OC', such as the Type Mach. This was used to tell volunteer firefighters where a fire was, using a numbered series of 'fire zones' and blasting a number of pulses corresponding to which zone the fire was in. Fedelcode sirens came with the option to add a coding damper, which used a motor-driven (early) or electromagnetic (later) damper to block and unblock the siren's intake, allowing it to produce a 'pulse' of noise. The Fedelcode was designed with a very steep cowl, or 'skirt' to project sound downwards and be dispersed by a building roof, as roof mounts were the most popular mounting style at the time. The designs included a weatherproof housing to prolong the life of the siren inside. Single rotor Fedelcodes came in three main sizes, the C1 1/2, C)2 1/2 (or B2 1/2), and C3 1/2. Unlike the later Model series sirens, Fedelcodes came in a wide variety of shapes and sizes throughout the years. These sirens were designed to replace the antiquated Type B, which had lackluster performance. The earliest sirens in the Model series began production in 1929 as the Fedelcode series, manufactured by the Federal Electric Company. While the Model 2 is part of this series, it is covered in its own article and won't be covered here. They were also rebranded and resold by other siren manufacturers, such as GCS and W.S. Popular as fire sirens, tons of these sirens remain in service despite being discontinued roughly 35 years ago. The Model X Series is a series of medium sized omnidirectional sirens produced by Federal Signal over the span of 50 years, going through many design changes and variants throughout the years.