I grew up in milwaukee and I remember the sound of this siren scaring the shit out of me when i was a little kid. Now i can't get enough of it. It's one of the lowest pitch start-ups I've found. Anybody else remember this from when they were a kid?
That still sounds healthy but is slightly damaged on the outside. I loved how that pole rocked back and forth after the attack signal. Nice catch John!
I really like the full wind up on this one -- the low, growling tones are fantastic! It's really disappointing when you compare any modern siren model to older ones like this, thunderbolts, xt22s etc...there's no comparison.
This siren has not been replaced. And even if it were to be replaced, a T-135 would take it's place, since Milwaukee County runs only on ACA/ASC Sirens. Milwaukee County only has the money to repair sirens, so if anything were to happen to this siren, a repair would happen
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the attack mode used (or was used) for stuff like missle strikes? I remember when the Cuban Missle Crisis happened they were to use the attack mode for missle launch.
@RamFett, so your saying that a lot of the times, they get tested, every other month? It seems very rare in the Chicago area for the test to be cancelled. Even if bad weather is coming, they might at least turn it on, and let it rotate once, maybe.
Thanks Dan. The damage seems superficial, just wear and tear from exposure to the elements. The two holes in the fiberglass appear to be along what may have been seams or thin spots from assembly. You'll notice there are a couple of horizontal depressions along the projector as well. I wish I could rent a lift truck and get up there to patch all those up.
that slow wind up to full speed and that particular ratio of tones... still freaks me out after 20 years. a couple p-50s (the one on 76th and Oklahoma in particular) mixed with a couple allertors was the nightmare sound of my childhood, and the p-50 still makes me anxious
@ESP472 The attack signal is the rising/falling signal that starts at 1:42. It is used to warn of an impending disaster and basically means take cover immediately. The alert means that a potentially threatening situation is developing and to seek further information via tv, radio, etc. Alert is what is used for tornado warnings. Except for tests, I can't remember the attack signal ever being used.
I've heard the video of that one (taken from the base of the pole). It's exactly the same model of siren as this one. How exactly does it sound like crap? Please explain.
Interesting. I've not heard of them that far west. I've only heard of ones in Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas and Tennesee. Was it an active installation and if so, do you know what it is intended to warn of?
All siren poles do that. that's the natural bending of the wooden pole. it's not broken. It's meant to bend so it doesnt snap in half when a major storm comes through.
Thank you. Yes, this is the Greenfield Park siren. I honestly wasn't expecting a test, so around 11:00 I called the EM office and when I got an answer in the affirmative, I didn't have a new siren scouted out to record. So I went to this old standby, which I wanted to get a better video of anyway. Plus I really like the yellow on this one.
Oh wow, I was thinking this was the only yellow one in Milwaukee County! Where's the other one located? I'll have to scout those out and take pictures when I come out there either this month or next.
@TspesVladD Milwaukee County does perform growl tests sometimes, when they feel that full testing is not an option. You can tell because all the sirens will be about a quarter turn from their positions before. And the county claims to pefrorm silent tests and equipment polling even more often. But yeah, it is fairly rare for full testing to take place in two consecutive months.
hey dude. how loud is this to you. i'm after one for it's next test i NEED saftey warnings. i was planning on about 70-90 ft away on a tripod. dosen't mean i'll be that close but i may put the camera there. i may bak up if i must. should i use hearing protection?
Looking at pics of a 135 that was removed in Allen, TX, that thing has to be what...8' in diameter? I see in both the T-135/P-50 vids that these sirens rock back and forth. I know they've gotta be heavy sirens, but isn't there any way to re-enforce the pole just a bit? I mean, if there's any risk one could come toppling down? Sorry if this was already discussed. I would've read more, but I could see you (RamFett) had an incident with a spammer or something. It dwarfs my puny FS-2001.
@icecoldprincess2009 If you're talking about how long it takes to go from the alert signal to the attack signal, that's because the person controlling them took a minute to start the second part of the test. It has nothing to do with the siren itself. Sometimes they wait a minute like this, other times they start the attack part immediately.
They can still make the most recently-dropped ones on special order (i.e. the P-50/T-135, Cyclone, Allertronic, etc), but from what I hear it's expensive since they have to make them from what parts they have left over. If I had to guess, I'd say the P-50/T-135AC would be in the neighborhood of $50,000 or more now, which is why you don't see anyone buying them anymore.
I don't see how these stay up with the wind capturing them. Perhaps the hole was a wind relief which just rusted out? What year were these made by the way?
That's because it has two motors: One spins the rotor, making the noise and a separate one rotates the entire siren head. When the siren is shut off, the rotator simply stops, while the rotor winds down. Some other sirens have only one motor with a gear or belt drive that powers the rotation. Those types of rotators slow down at the same rate as the rotor does, as opposed to stopping abruptly.
These are definitely loud sirens. We had a Thunderbolt 1000T that really put out the sound, which was replaced by a T-128 about five years ago. The T-128 is a pretty good siren, but I think the T-135 would be much better as it is much louder. I know this is similar to that, so I do admire the video as it is a really great siren.
@RamFett I think he means the P-50 needs to continue rotating throughout its Attack cycle. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe if it stops rotating during Attack, then the chopper motor and rotator are wired together.
Great quality recording!!! This sounds a little strange as it gradually quietens itself after sounding and seems to take forever to start it's next sound to me.
This is an ACA P-50, because it stopped rotating before wind down, unlike ASC T-135s which stop rotating after they wind down, and during attack, T-135s don’t stop rotating until they almost completely wind down after the attack.
@zappatx They are well anchored in the ground and have a lot of weight to hold them there, wind is not much of an issue. The holes are on a fiberglass part, so they are not caused by rusting. It becomes brittle and cracks due exposure to the elements, as well as extreme vibration produced by the siren itself. There are no relief holes in the projector, as they would disperse sound. I do not know the exact years of production, but this one is from the 1980's.
Well, if it's of any help, "T-135" is more than just the model; it's also a description. T, of course, is short for "Tempest". 135 is the measurement. 135 decibels at 100 ft. That's what I read at the American Signal website. Hope that helps.
Is it just me or does part of the fiberglass projector in line with the chopper vibrate a bit? It looks like it ripples a bit when the siren is at full speed. That might be the source of the holes. Lol, the siren is so loud it literally destroys itself with sound waves. :P
@Bigrick356 I believe ASC has already done that with the new T-135's, which are roughly 1-2 db louder than the P-50, although neither is actually 135 db. As is typical of manufacturers, the advertised db ratings are higher than the actual ones, even in perfect conditions. The P-50 is still my favorite siren, though.
All your postings are so cool. I'd love to have one these babies in my yard, but I suppose it would annoy the neighbors. Is there a hole rusted through the resonator? Did you ever record the siren in Jackson Park? Looks like the same siren I think, and it overloks the baseball diamond. Plenty of room to set up camera and mics. Do you use PZM mics or what?? KEEP THE SIRENS COMING!!
@spotandtiggerbug What's the difference? Isn't the T-135 the exact same siren as the P-50? Only thing I noticed was that THIS particular siren is yellow. Not bad, that shade of yellow.
@RamFett Thank you for explaining that. I've read somewhere as well that in some states they have to have that pause by law so as not to confuse people into thinking that the siren test is an actual emergency.
Several holes, actually. The projector's fiberglass is deteriorating. Watch in full screen and HQ and you'll see how much the siren itself vibrates the fiberglass. No wonder it's coming apart after being in sevice for 20+ years.
@bulldozer950 actually the ASC T-135AC is the Same Design as the P-50 except they were Grey colored vs Civil Defense Yellow. the T-135DC is the Current Production Model which is Single Tone and uses DC Motors.
@Frefind this is supplied with a 50HP motor, with the name, p-50 (penetrator-50hp) since the diameter of the projector is 6FT, i think the chopper is 2-3feet in diameter, so you need some serous horses to turn an impeller that big! biggest and loudest(135dB at 100ft) ROTATING siren in the world, Chrysler don't rotate(138dB at 100ft)
Well, for starters, if you have good zoom on your camera (8x optical or better), set up a bit farther back. I prefer the 150 to 200 foot range, as it does not max out the audio. Any closer and I'd say wear hearing protection. This video was taken around that distance, and while the siren packed a punch, I did not feel it necessary to wear my ear plugs. I've sat through entire stock car races that hurt my ears far worse than this siren did at this distance. You'll feel it in your chest, though.
P-50 holds the record for the second loudest siren at 135 decibels at 100ft, which to put in perspective, a gun being fired is around 145 decibels, and a 400,000 watt rock concert sized speaker can be 130-150 decibels.
@misterwhelen4004 That would be true, except that they're not in production anymore. The ASC T-135 AC/DC now fills the role of loudest siren in production. Neither siren actually produces a full 135 decibels (ratings are almost always hyped up by the manufacturers), and the new one is slightly (1 or 2 db) higher than the old P-50. I still prefer the old ones. Thanks for subscribing, though.
It's in Jackson Park on the south side of Milwaukee, in some woods near a Union Pacific's Mitchell rail yard. Archon took pictures of it, you can see them on the siren archive.
@AKSoapy29 Not unless it was impractically huge and used a ridiculous amount of energy. Even then, there's too much open room for airflow in these sirens, it would probably have only a minimal effect, if any. Blowers only work on thunderbolts and Hurricanes because they have very small port openings, only a couple square inches. And all the ports are blocked but 1 or 2 at a time. A P-50's chopper is 3 feet wide, with several square feet of open space for air to flow through.
I don't know of any guns that create long horizontal tears when they impact. The holes appear to be close to symmetrical, so I'd tend to believe they are the result of weak seams in the fiberglass that are being slowly chewed away by repeated activations of the siren. Also, to shoot from directly underneath, the assailant would have to break into a County Parks maintenance facility to line up that shot. Not plausible, in my mind.
No shootigs. The shroud's coming apart because it is old, brittle fiberglass housing a siren that creates intense sound vibrations that are ripping it apart. I'd bet the fiberglass is at or beyond it's intended lifespan by now. Yes, I was happy with the postiions it stopped at for wind-downs. My freshly charged rechargable batteries gave out and cut off the very end of the wind down. I apologize. P-50 stands for Penetrator-50 hp. Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Gift.
You're not seeing things, the shroud is rippling when the siren runs at full. At first I thought the tree branches were distorting the video, but you'll notice it only happens when the siren hits its peak. Considering how much vibration I could feel from 150 feet away, the fiberglass right next to the source of the noise would definitely experience the same thing, just a lot stronger.
I'd say that's exactly what's happening. It's a pretty old siren, as I'd assume only the earliest P-50's were made in Civil Defense yellow. With as much moving air and sound vibration as these sirens produce, it's not hard see how the fiberglass takes a beating. I've never observed any of the gray P-50's around Milwaukee as having any of the holes or tears in the shroud like this one. It could also be attributed to faults in the manufacturing process that were corrected during later production.
@TheRepublicOfJohn i do. born in ca and live here again now, but lived in bham for 2 years in the mid-90s when i was still quite young. nothing scared me more than the tornado sirens. that includes the northridge quake in 1994. i've heard them on various other times when visiting and while i was there for college and it's still a chilling sound.
