Wayy OT. Alternative to siren for startup warning.

JesperMP

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Hi there.

At the moment we are using a motorised siren for startup warning. You know, the type that goes whoeeeEEEEEEEEEEeeeeee.... !

It costs a hefty 1000 Euro, so maybe there is a slightly less expensive alternative out there.

I have seen some people use a plain doorbell type ringer, you know the type that goes drrriiiinnnnnnggg...
That must be cheap, but does not sound intimidating enough to my opinion.

I would like to have something like out of Star Wars, you know the warning sound that comes in the rebel base when the evil empire attacks, like bwaaWRRAAARK bwaaWRRAAARK !

Any ideas ?

btw. onomatopoeticons are funny.

NB. It is seriously meant, really.
 
There are several horns available that have multiple tones to choose from. In my facility, we have several production areas that use switches to summon maintenance. Depending on which area's switch is on, a different tone is sounded. It has 16 tones available and the tone is selected depending on the combination of 4 dry contact input bits' status. There are some really obnoxious tones to chose from!
 
I think we are already using one of these for alarm annunciation.
But our type selects the "melody" by means of DIP switches.
Could be smart to have it make different sounds depending on what is supposed to be indicated.
What is your type, and what does it cost ?
 
I have heard of a water plant that had their alarms hooked into the intercom. Then they used .wav files for alarms.

Or...how about one of those car horns with 40 different presets?
 
Anything that uses the plant intercom or WAV files must have a computer involved. From personal experience, management LOVES the idea of all those tones until they see the amount of the check that has to be signed to make their wishes a reality. The horns that I mentioned can be controlled with a PLC. A horn control system with a dedicated PLC could be inexpensive to put together. The horns whose tone is selected using dip switches will only put out a single tone. It all comes down to what is desired and how badly it is desired. You get what you pay for.
 
We have a siren which also has a recordable input, from its internal microphone, (From RS components). Sadly it's my voice which warns the AGV is approaching - my legacy to the company - but how about a nice soothing female voice, just like the computer in "Alien"???
 
I was once asked by a client for an audible warning in a Zone 0 Hazardous area.

Commercial ones were prohibitively expensive.

My solution ? I bought a policemans whistle, piped an airline into the H.A. from a valve solenoid in the panel.

Voila!

Negligable cost - and worked a treat !
 
The horns whose tone is selected using dip switches will only put out a single tone.

I have used the Federal signal unit that rdrast linked to http://www.federalsignal-indust.com/...D=4&lookup=187
It uses jumpers, but you don't have to be a genius to figure out what they are doing with the jumpers. I just soldered leads to the jumper pins and connected them to a couple of SPDT relays (printed circuit board style) that I mounted in the base. With just three PLC outputs I was able to select all the sounds available . I also discovered a couple that were not intended.
 

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