SuperBanshee
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Decot Sirens Updated.

Tue Feb 28, 2017 9:11 pm

A while back I made a topic regarding the Red Arrow sirens built by Theodore Decot. I cleared it out because of two main reasons:

1. Some of the information was found to have been incorrect despite being touted from a reliable source. I didn't want anyone getting confused once further studies began and the story changed. Nor did I want to get slammed for posting something that wasn't correct. I believe in maintaining accuracy even if this means going back and rewriting everything.

2. I am helping to finish an actual book about the Red Arrow siren. This was started by my mentor Bill Nagler and the son of Theodore Decot: Harold Decot. I didn't want to post everything in the book online mostly because it just became too long. I'm looking at 30+ pages at the book currently stands.
The book should be complete soon enough and I am looking into an e-book option should physical printing become costly.

That said, nothing is really a secret per se so here are some interesting facts and photos I'll keep up on here.

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Mayville's Red Arrow.
I posted this a while back but here it is again. When I was young I remember being told it was an antenna. It has a strange shroud with rippled cutouts set to a more geometric pattern than the Red Arrow usually had. Originally I took photos of this siren as part of a memories album but continued interested in the Red Arrow meant this was far from the end.

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Princeton's Red Arrow.
My mentor Bill and his friends rebuilt this 12 horsepower siren but he did not oversee its final assembly and installation. It uses an extra fast motor which turns the rotor at a faster speed than most 12 horsepower Red Arrows.

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Norwalk's Red Arrow (in pieces)
Bill Nagler has mentored me on how to repair these sirens. I'm very grateful for his help and I aspire to do my best. At this stage it's all volunteer work on my end but it means everything to me.
Here is Norwalk's 3 horsepower Red Arrow, showing the stator drum with primer and the first layer of paint.
The siren itself is black while the shroud is bright red. Priming and painting these sirens is not a cakewalk but I find it gets easier with practice. We are hoping to have this one back up when the weather settles down and warms up.

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My Two Tone Siren.
This siren was made by Decot Engineering Works of St. Paul, Minnesota. Much is to be said about this company and its constant misidentification but in a nutshell this was the company that took over Decot's siren business after he died in 1940. My siren formerly belonged to fellow TSB user Archon. It took some time to get it home but I'm pleased to say it's safe. Color scheme for this one ought to be silver shroud and black body so it will be repainted once I can hog the garage again.

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New Red Arrow advertisement.
The Red Arrow changed many times during production. Mr. Decot sought to improvise the Red Arrow which gave some rather interesting variations including the New Red Arrow which used a direct-coupled rotor and motor shaft. These New Red Arrows were introduced around 1935 but I have yet to find any still in service around here. We think they were mostly sold outside Wisconsin.

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