The way these AC horns work (Benjamin, Federal, Faraday, and Edwards) is that they have a electromagnet that operates at 60 Hz. In a cycle, elctric current flows one way, then reverses direction; and when the electromagnet is energized, it attracts the sounding mechanism causing a "tick" sound. As it reverses direction, it makes another "tick" sound. With two "ticks" in a cycle, multiplied by 60 cycles, the horn produces 120 "ticks" per second. The human ear can barely keep up with these "ticks"; and what we really hear is a buzzing sound, known as a low frequency tone. In a gym, I grant you that is loud and painful enough. But in a hallway when used as a fire alarm (as was common before the 1980s), it was all the worse! DC horns, such as the Simplex 4051, Federal 450 and Edwards 875 (gray)/885 (red) Adaptahorn, as well as automotive horns, have a different mechanism to produce a tone on DC current, which does not repeat. And as DC current is not limited by the 60 hz convention of the AC power grid, DC horns will produce more "ticks" per second that the human ear cannot keep up with. Thus, what we hear with DC horns is a solid tone, that is not as painful (but still very loud). A lot of NCAA and NBA venues have scoreboards equipped with the Federal 450 horn, which produces a solid tone in a D# note.
I love the old incandescent Nevcos. Going back even further ... I wonder if anyone has a Daric model for basketball. My old high school replaced their Daric with a Nevco in 1984 and has had it since. Only change was retrofitting 10th of seconds in the mid 90s
horn is a Federal Vibratone 350 like the other guy said :) i got one just like it by luck from that exact same model of score board that was being chucked!! Also some of these use Federal sirens! look at my video
Ever since I was a little kid I HATED those scoreboard buzzers! Why? They're too loud for my hyper sensitive hearing! I'm fine when going to college or NBA games because imo they aren't as deafening as gymnasiums are. When I was in first grade, my gym teacher started using the board and one time he used the buzzer to get us quiet and it really set me off! Like I was so scared to go to gym class because of it! In second grade, we got a new gym teacher that didn't use it. I've tried going to a high school basketball game and a little kids basketball game and I just can't take that buzzer. College games and NBA games have very quiet buzzers! In gymnasiums, those buzzers are TOO LOUD! Seriously, the point of the buzzer is to stop play NOT drain everyone's ears! Sorry if this is just one giant rant, but my ears can't stand those types of buzzers!
It’s not that they are quieter in big arenas, if anything it’s louder. But it’s smoother, and it’s usually sounding almost like a horn instead of a shrill buzz.
The thing is, the horn has to be about 10dB louder than the ambient noise, and since a gym during a game gets pretty darn loud, the horn has to be louder and get ppl’s attention. The Federal Signal Vibratone 350 as used here can produce over 70dB (typical amount of ambient noise). Iirc, Vibratone 350s are about 95-100dB at 10 feet which is actually not loud at all in such a big space like a gym, and it is just loud enough to get ppl’s attention. It is DEFINITELY not going to cause hearing problems, even if you are very close to the horn, as it is gonna be much further than 10 feet from your ears. You’d be exposed to about 87dB at most depending on how far is the horn, and the noise only lasts a few seconds
Put a pillow over it? That’s what I ended doing for my school. I had the custodian duct tape some thick old pillows. On then. Doesn’t look pretty but it solved the issue of hurting everyone’s ears. The manufacturer told me to fuck off after giving them a piece of my mind. In the 25 years of running a school, never have I been treated with disrespect from the scoreboard industry. I’m starting a movement to protect the recklessness and immortality of excessively loud scoreboards.
Just as loud as most fire alarms. Not loud at all as there’s usually one score board in a gym, which means one horn. Those horns can reach anywhere from 90-100dB at 10 feet, and since a gym is so big, you’ll never experience the full volume of the horn. There is a reason why the manufacturer of those score boards is using those horns
There is a cut out in the housing of the score boards, which isn’t shown here. In that cutout, there is a square grille which is the front of the horn. The horns these particular ones use are Federal Signal Vibratone 350s
THE FREAKING BUZZR IS TOO LOUD FOR MY GOOD HEARING!! I WATCHED A MIDDLE SCHOOL GAME AND THE BUXZER TICKKKED ME OOFFFFF!! :( CRINGE NEVCO HORN ITS LIKE 100000000dB LOUD!! I KNOW ITS FOR ATTENTION TO PPL BUT ITSSS TOOO LOOOUUUDDDDD!
