This was the first real test of my Gamewell Type B Diaphone horn. I tested both aluminum pistons I have, both without the 40 holes and extra collar. . The piping on the supply was restricted to 1/2 inch rather than the required 1 inch but the horn still operated pretty well. But this, no doubt, had some effect on the power of the blast. Definite tone difference between the 2 pistons though they were only about 1-2/1000th difference between the two.
These horns made their presence around 1920, especially in the Northeast, Long Island and Pennsylvania. They were manufactured by Gamewell in Massachusetts, so the NE was the logical market. Used mainly by volunteer or combination departments, they would blow out a code alerting firemen of emergencies. Codes would correspond to various intersections and streets. This was long before plectron radios, pagers and cell phones, even telephones for most people in the early 1900's. Many have been de-commissioned since the 1980's as technology made them obsolete, and an annoyance to their neighbors. Trust me, you don't want this horn as your next door neighbor !
Still, there is something very nostalgic, at least to me, about the bellowing, mournful blast on a foggy night, followed by the sounds of sirens in the distance.. These horns were in use when I started as a volunteer fireman in Long Beach, NY in 1974, when the town was burning and it was the busiest Department on Long Island. I heard them many, many times.
The horns activated several times a day in those days, regularly. Real estate had crashed, taxes were high, drugs took their toll, the old upscale hotels and apartment buildings built in the early 1900's were run down and worth more in flames. And the city burned around us; and these horns blew, and the firemen came. I eventually made my career in firefighting, retiring from Fairfax County, Va FD as a captain in 2005. When I got the opportunity to acquire one of these relics I jumped on it. Kind of makes me feel young and crazy again, running into burning buildings when everyone else was running out !! Hopefully it's sound will bring back memories for others. Tested March 24, 2016 in Wilmington, NC.
23 мар 2016