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airplanedude
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:46 am
Real Name: August
YouTube Username: airplanedude
Location: Fort Thomas, KY
Contact: Skype

Campbell County, KY Siren System + Test

Thu May 31, 2018 11:28 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggauQD9bPnE&t=2s

Part 1: Campbell County’s System

Today, the county's system consists of all Federal Signal sirens, with many older 2001-SRNs, Modulators of varying ages, and 1212 prototypes (for more information, please read this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFDK1...). However, this wasn't always the case. Just as I was becoming interested in sirens, the county was finishing the process of replacing its old civil-defense era system. At the time, 4 Thunderbolts and an old STH-10 remained. 3 of those Thunderbolts were located in the city of Fort Thomas, where I live. One of them in particular, formerly located on the roof of Ruth Moyer Elementary school, was my childhood siren, being located less than a mile from my house, and having gone to school there. It, along with the remaining Thunderbolts, was deactivated and replaced with a Modulator in early 2012. However, unlike its counterparts, which were all removed by the end of 2012, the Moyer ‘bolt perched happily on the roof of the building for 5 more years until the summer of 2017, when construction workers removed it due to renovation. Ever since then, my interest in recording a Campbell County siren during a test had grown. However, there was a slight issue. Of all the counties surrounding the Cincinnati area, Campbell has the strangest testing protocol. Aside from the testing time (first Wednesdays at noon), it was all a mystery to me. In the past, I had heard the Modulators perform alert, westminster chimes, alternate wail, or nothing at all (with the last option being the most common). But, as it turns out, I think I have it figured out.

Test Time: First Wednesdays at noon (if there is zero chance of inclement weather)

Test Signal: 2 OPTIONS
“Growl” Test (more common)
OR
Full Test (less common)

“Growl” Test
2001-SRNs: growl
Modulators and 1212s (MCP): alternate wail (~3 minutes)
Modulators and 1212s (UltraVoice): westminster chimes

Full Test
All Sirens: alert (3 minutes)

Note: This is my best estimate, I am not 100% sure of anything. This list is subject to change.



Part 2: The Test

In essence, we discovered through a Facebook post that the county was going to sound off the system on Wednesday, May 30th.

“We will be doing a test of the Campbell County Outdoor Warning Siren System on today @ 2:00PM. This will be a full test of the outdoor warning sirens, we experienced some issues with some of the sirens after the growl test done on May 3, 2018 and following repairs, we need to test the system again. Those hearing the outdoor warning sirens should not be alarmed.” -Campbell County Emergency Management Office

None of us were going to pass up this opportunity. So, after recording a 2T22 in Bracken County, we headed back to Campbell. Michael and Christian had settled on the prototype 1212 in Cold Spring, while I figured that this was my chance to record the closest siren to my house, which is something I had been wanting to do for quite some time. Why don’t I just record it on a first Wednesday, you may ask? Well, two words. Clermont County. (And fear of not testing). Upon arrival, the weather went south quickly (thanks a lot, Tropical Depression Alberto), so I decided to take refuge underneath one of the park shelters, but I got a blast of reassurance when I saw the fire department pull up underneath the siren. With both cameras rolling, 2:00 arrived. FSK came through, and I was in for a sweet almost-surprise. I’d call it a success.
Campbell County, KY

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