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Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Sat Feb 24, 2018 8:22 pm

Headed out to Lakewood today to record the only confirmed working, non-defective siren in their system (their other sirens, 3 EOWS-612's all have issues of some sort or another and last I checked the one at the FD #1 is not working at all) before they are all replaced (including this siren). All 4 existing sirens will be replaced by 4 new sirens of an unknown manufacturer/type (bids have yet to be taken still) sometime later this year. I also got a video of it doing chimes last week (that video is on my channel in if you're curious in seeing that as well).

As you can hear, this siren has a few broken speaker drivers, hence the hissing on windup. The reason it starts out quiet and slowly increases in loudness until eventually reaching full power is because it is an older Modulator, which uses (and came originally with) the older MCP (Modulator Controller Plus) controller, which was made from 1995 until 2002, when the current UltraVoice controller succeeded it. This means this Modulator was installed sometime in between 1995 and 2002, since that was when the MCP controllers were made.

The earliest Modulators ever made (from 1990-1995) used the older MC controller (Modulator Controller), which was made from 1990 until 1995 when the MCP succeeded that controller. Unlike the older MC controller and the newer UltraVoice controller, the MCP utilizes this slow, gradual windup to put less stress on the speaker drivers over time, so the drivers and the siren would have a longer lifespan before needing replacement.

Siren Type: Modulator 6024 (first/second generation)
Location: Lakewood Park, City of Lakewood, Ohio
Controller: MCP (Modulator Controller Plus)
Installed: 1995-2002
Tested: First three Saturdays of the month in chimes, and on the last Saturday of each month in Alert. Tests are typically not weather dependent and are conducted year-round.

*The crackling in the beginning of the alert test video is rain hitting my raincoat (not the siren). I held out my raincoat over my camera like a roof so it wouldn't get all wet. It did get pretty wet, but not as much as it would've had I not done that.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvH7YYQOlyY
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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Fri Jun 29, 2018 10:54 pm

(Man, I can't believe my account here is still active after all these years. But I wanted to share something relevant to this topic...)

It seems as though at least one of Lakewood's 612's are gone and replaced with a Modulator. I drove by Lakewood FD1 and noticed a 4016B or 5020B Modulator II on the roof where the 612 was. I was busy and didn't have time to stick around and get a better look, let alone a picture, but I was completely surprised that the city replaced the sirens with so little fanfare or notice. Last I heard they were still looking for bidders. I guess they were in a rush to get the new ones up because we are in the heart of severe weather season in Northern Ohio right now.

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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:33 am

fire_freak_57 wrote:
Sat Feb 24, 2018 8:22 pm
The earliest Modulators ever made (from 1990-1995) used the older MC controller (Modulator Controller), which was made from 1990 until 1995 when the MCP succeeded that controller. Unlike the older MC controller and the newer UltraVoice controller, the MCP utilizes this slow, gradual windup to put less stress on the speaker drivers over time, so the drivers and the siren would have a longer lifespan before needing replacement.
That makes zero sense.
My knowledge excels on the Federal Thunderbolt siren and SiraTone EOWS sirens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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1981 SiraTone C/B prototype
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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:49 pm

Tyler wrote:
Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:33 am
fire_freak_57 wrote:
Sat Feb 24, 2018 8:22 pm
The earliest Modulators ever made (from 1990-1995) used the older MC controller (Modulator Controller), which was made from 1990 until 1995 when the MCP succeeded that controller. Unlike the older MC controller and the newer UltraVoice controller, the MCP utilizes this slow, gradual windup to put less stress on the speaker drivers over time, so the drivers and the siren would have a longer lifespan before needing replacement.
That makes zero sense.
I received info from a source that this MOD was added in 1998, which makes more sense.

Also, as of today, Lakewood’s System of this MOD and the broken EOWS-612’s has been replaced by a new system of Federal Signal Modulator II’s; 4016B’s. This MOD had its speaker drivers replaced and was upgraded from the MCP controller to an UltraVoice. The EOWS-612’s have been removed. A new siren was also added for extra coverage and is located in Madison Park. This means there is no longer any active EOWS-612’s in Northeast Ohio.

I’m under the assumption that Lakewood’s testing schedule is going to be the same as it was before. I had assumed that Lakewood would likely go with Modulator II’s, and I guess I was right. I am hopefully going to be going down there to take pictures of the new sirens and see them in action for their weekly test in chimes and their test in alert on the last Saturday of the month. I can’t wait to see whether the MOD II at Lakewood FD #1 is roof mounted like the -612 was or if it was pole mounted instead.
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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:13 am

fire_freak_57 wrote:
Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:49 pm
Tyler wrote:
Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:33 am
fire_freak_57 wrote:
Sat Feb 24, 2018 8:22 pm
The earliest Modulators ever made (from 1990-1995) used the older MC controller (Modulator Controller), which was made from 1990 until 1995 when the MCP succeeded that controller. Unlike the older MC controller and the newer UltraVoice controller, the MCP utilizes this slow, gradual windup to put less stress on the speaker drivers over time, so the drivers and the siren would have a longer lifespan before needing replacement.
That makes zero sense.
I received info from a source that this MOD was added in 1998, which makes more sense.

Also, as of today, Lakewood’s System of this MOD and the broken EOWS-612’s has been replaced by a new system of Federal Signal Modulator II’s; 4016B’s. This MOD had its speaker drivers replaced and was upgraded from the MCP controller to an UltraVoice. The EOWS-612’s have been removed. A new siren was also added for extra coverage and is located in Madison Park. This means there is no longer any active EOWS-612’s in Northeast Ohio.

I’m under the assumption that Lakewood’s testing schedule is going to be the same as it was before. I had assumed that Lakewood would likely go with Modulator II’s, and I guess I was right. I am hopefully going to be going down there to take pictures of the new sirens and see them in action for their weekly test in chimes and their test in alert on the last Saturday of the month. I can’t wait to see whether the MOD II at Lakewood FD #1 is roof mounted like the -612 was or if it was pole mounted instead.
They paid more money to get virtually the same equipment they already had? That can't be right.
My knowledge excels on the Federal Thunderbolt siren and SiraTone EOWS sirens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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2014 Federal UltraVoice UVICU
1981 SiraTone C/B prototype
1984 SiraTone C/B

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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:43 pm

Tyler wrote:
Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:33 am

They paid more money to get virtually the same equipment they already had? That can't be right.
Well all their -612’s were broken. They did not work correctly. Case in point here (this is one of their -612’s from earlier this year that one of my friends recorded; is one is roof mounted at FD #1 and the MOD II was installed on this same roof mount pole; this one was supposed to sound Westminster chimes for its weekly test; you can see it also hardly rotated at all):



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mAvYchKCEk

Here it is when Tom (SRP) recorded it last year. You can hear the busted drivers more clearly in this recording.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewtB9zkJFec

And here’s the other busted one which was located at Cove Park. The third -612 supposedly never worked hardly at all either. You can hear this one has some crackly and likely some busted drivers and other problems as well. You can also see the rotator slows down a lot right before the test is over.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk2rAr2OCTQ

The “audible test” (which is when they test their sirens in Alert) is supposed to last for one minute; as the Modulator 6024 at Lakewood Park runs for one minute as it is supposed to. But as you can see, these 612’s don’t.

They said they were replacing their system as early as last year. They budgeted about $130,000 for the new system and they preferred electronic sirens as that is what they had previously. The newly added one filled a coverage gap that was always left open in the old system but was not addressed then because the City of Lakewood was already planning on replacing their system. It makes sense for them to likely not replace the MOD 6024 from 1998 that’s already at Lakewood Park because our of their sirens that was the one that worked the best. My guess is it’s been upgraded from its original MCP to the UltraVoice controller given that’s what the new MOD IIs use. They might’ve replaced the speaker drivers on the 6024 as well as several were blown; or they could’ve just replaced the siren entirely; but I think the city wanted the keep the MOD there since it is the one that works properly.
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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Sun Jul 01, 2018 7:01 pm

fire_freak_57 wrote:
Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:43 pm
Tyler wrote:
Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:33 am

They paid more money to get virtually the same equipment they already had? That can't be right.
Well all their -612’s were broken. They did not work correctly. Case in point here (this is one of their -612’s from earlier this year that one of my friends recorded; is one is roof mounted at FD #1 and the MOD II was installed on this same roof mount pole; this one was supposed to sound Westminster chimes for its weekly test; you can see it also hardly rotated at all):

video

Here it is when Tom (SRP) recorded it last year. You can hear the busted drivers more clearly in this recording.

video

And here’s the other busted one which was located at Cove Park. The third -612 supposedly never worked hardly at all either. You can hear this one has some crackly and likely some busted drivers and other problems as well. You can also see the rotator slows down a lot right before the test is over.

video

The “audible test” (which is when they test their sirens in Alert) is supposed to last for one minute; as the Modulator 6024 at Lakewood Park runs for one minute as it is supposed to. But as you can see, these 612’s don’t.

They said they were replacing their system as early as last year. They budgeted about $130,000 for the new system and they preferred electronic sirens as that is what they had previously. The newly added one filled a coverage gap that was always left open in the old system but was not addressed then because the City of Lakewood was already planning on replacing their system. It makes sense for them to likely not replace the MOD 6024 from 1998 that’s already at Lakewood Park because our of their sirens that was the one that worked the best. My guess is it’s been upgraded from its original MCP to the UltraVoice controller given that’s what the new MOD IIs use. They might’ve replaced the speaker drivers on the 6024 as well as several were blown; or they could’ve just replaced the siren entirely; but I think the city wanted the keep the MOD there since it is the one that works properly.
Honey, there is a difference between dead batteries and broken equipment. The reason the 612s never finished a cycle was because the batteries weren't supplying enough power to the MCP. The low voltage cutoff was triggered and the system shutdown. They are supposed to replace the batteries in these units every 2 years. Even if some drivers needed replacing, it still wouldn't be much of an issue. Those drivers only cost about $274 from Federal's website. Another thing I should note is that those 612s are just as old as the 6024 is. They made 612s up into 2006 and 7. If they wanted to stay in their $120,000 budget, they should have told the dealer to upgrade the 612s and 6024 and add a 4016B. The cost for that wouldn't be nearly as much as what they got, their system would have been much more effective and reliable and on top of that, they would've had a nice chunk of money to spare.

Here is their old coverage:
Old.PNG
Old.PNG (1.96 MiB) Viewed 4264 times

Here is their new coverage (way too much blank space):
New.PNG
New.PNG (1.56 MiB) Viewed 4264 times

Here is what it would look like had they upgraded their old equipment and added a 4016B:
New-Old.PNG
New-Old.PNG (2.04 MiB) Viewed 4264 times
My knowledge excels on the Federal Thunderbolt siren and SiraTone EOWS sirens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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1981 SiraTone C/B prototype
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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Mon Jul 02, 2018 12:59 am

Tyler wrote:
Sun Jul 01, 2018 7:01 pm
fire_freak_57 wrote:
Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:43 pm
Tyler wrote:
Sat Jun 30, 2018 7:33 am

They paid more money to get virtually the same equipment they already had? That can't be right.
Well all their -612’s were broken. They did not work correctly. Case in point here (this is one of their -612’s from earlier this year that one of my friends recorded; is one is roof mounted at FD #1 and the MOD II was installed on this same roof mount pole; this one was supposed to sound Westminster chimes for its weekly test; you can see it also hardly rotated at all):

video

Here it is when Tom (SRP) recorded it last year. You can hear the busted drivers more clearly in this recording.

video

And here’s the other busted one which was located at Cove Park. The third -612 supposedly never worked hardly at all either. You can hear this one has some crackly and likely some busted drivers and other problems as well. You can also see the rotator slows down a lot right before the test is over.

video

The “audible test” (which is when they test their sirens in Alert) is supposed to last for one minute; as the Modulator 6024 at Lakewood Park runs for one minute as it is supposed to. But as you can see, these 612’s don’t.

They said they were replacing their system as early as last year. They budgeted about $130,000 for the new system and they preferred electronic sirens as that is what they had previously. The newly added one filled a coverage gap that was always left open in the old system but was not addressed then because the City of Lakewood was already planning on replacing their system. It makes sense for them to likely not replace the MOD 6024 from 1998 that’s already at Lakewood Park because our of their sirens that was the one that worked the best. My guess is it’s been upgraded from its original MCP to the UltraVoice controller given that’s what the new MOD IIs use. They might’ve replaced the speaker drivers on the 6024 as well as several were blown; or they could’ve just replaced the siren entirely; but I think the city wanted the keep the MOD there since it is the one that works properly.
Honey, there is a difference between dead batteries and broken equipment. The reason the 612s never finished a cycle was because the batteries weren't supplying enough power to the MCP. The low voltage cutoff was triggered and the system shutdown. They are supposed to replace the batteries in these units every 2 years. Even if some drivers needed replacing, it still wouldn't be much of an issue. Those drivers only cost about $274 from Federal's website. Another thing I should note is that those 612s are just as old as the 6024 is. They made 612s up into 2006 and 7. If they wanted to stay in their $120,000 budget, they should have told the dealer to upgrade the 612s and 6024 and add a 4016B. The cost for that wouldn't be nearly as much as what they got, their system would have been much more effective and reliable and on top of that, they would've had a nice chunk of money to spare.
Well that’s not what they decided to do. It does sound stupid to me too; I’m not disputing that. But at least they decided not to have any sirens at all.

But I’m not Lakewood BOC. I didn’t make that decision; they did. I can’t make it for them. Only they can. It’s a done deal now. They’re already installed to my knowledge according to someone who resides in Lakewood and noticed that they’d been replaced last week.

Was it a poor decision? Maybe. I can’t change it however.

Here’s the link to the BOC minutes PDF that has the proposal from the new dealer, Bearcom Wireless Worldwide which was bidded on in April and Bearcom Wireless won the bid to replace the existing sirens and install the MOD IIs. Bearcom’s proposal can be found on page 7.

http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... 041618.pdf
sirenfreak57
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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Mon Jul 02, 2018 1:43 am

$25k for a 4016B?! Good lord, it would cost them $27K to upgrade all 3 612s.
My knowledge excels on the Federal Thunderbolt siren and SiraTone EOWS sirens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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2014 Federal UltraVoice UVICU
1981 SiraTone C/B prototype
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Re: Federal Signal Modulator 6024: Alert: Lakewood, Ohio (2-24-18)

Mon Jul 02, 2018 2:01 am

Tyler wrote:
Mon Jul 02, 2018 1:43 am
$25k for a 4016B?! Good lord, it would cost them $27K to upgrade all 3 612s.
Well, at least they replaced the broken driver in the 6024 and upgraded the controls....but yeah that’s extremely expensive. But hey, one 2001-130 and controls and software from Federal Field Services (another large regional FS factory authorized dealer in our area) for my city last year cost $32K....you’d think electronic units would cost more as they’re supposed to be more “high-end” and whatnot.

Yeah, I’m not sure what FFS (Federal Field Services; which is our regional factory authorized service and dealer) would price for the same installation. Maybe less...but I have no idea. I’m assuming the new sirens are in the same place the old ones are; I know the 4016B at Lakewood FD #1 is mounted on the same roof mount the 612 sat on.
sirenfreak57
Owner of a Allertor 125 Control Cabinet, EOWS Driver, and other odds and ends.
My YouTube Channel | Summit County Siren Map | Cuyahoga County Siren Map

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