List of sirens built by Alerting Communicators of America

This article lists the outdoor warning sirens built by Biersach & Niedermeyer Co., Alerting Communicators of America and American Signal Corporation.

Biersach & Niedermeyer Co.
Model Type Motor HP Port Ratios Years of Production Sound Output and Type Notes
BN52 - BN54 Gas-Mechanical 25 8 1942–1953 Rotating 125 dB at 100 ft. The first version of the Mobil Directo which used a 25HP Wisconsin air-cooled engine.
BN44E Electro-Mechanical 10 10/12 1948–1967 Rotating 124 dB at 100 ft. The second version of the Mobil Directo which used a 10HP electric motor.

Alerting Communicators of America sirens
Name Type Motor HP Port Ratios Years of Production Sound Output Type Notes
Allertor 125 Electro-Mechanical 10, 15 8/12, 9/12, (10/12 - Used on Type 1/reused from Mobil directo) 1967–1980 Rotating 126 dB at 100 ft. Design changed at least three times throughout production. The most common port ratio is 9/12. The Allertor 125 can produce 2 tones. Alert and Attack (Wail). A third signal was also available, Yelp, which required a special type of motor and used a reversing magnetic starter. Early models used a gear driven rotator, which was changed to a chain drive rotator later.
Alpha Cyclone 120 Electro-Mechanical 40-50 8/12 1968-1970 Omni Directional 120 dB at 100 ft. Extremely short lived siren. Only proof of this ever existing is from an ACA ad in 1968.[1] This was one of the only sirens ACA didn't encase in fiberglass.
Cyclone 120 Electro-Mechanical 40 or 50 8/12 1970–1980 Omni Directional 120 dB at 100 ft. Produces 120 dB at 100 feet. Produces the 3 following tones: Alert, Attack (Wail) and Pulse (Coded damper needed for pulse signal).
Cyclone 125 Electro-Mechanical 50 8/12 1980–1994 Omni Directional 125 dB at 100 ft. Produces 125 dB at 100 feet. Produces the following 3 tones: Alert, Attack (Wail) and Pulse (Coded damper needed for pulse signal).
Howler Electro-Mechanical 10 9/12 1972–1989 Rotating 123 dB at 100 ft. The Howler is a rotational version of the Screamer S-10. Extremely rare, only one left in service.
Hurricane 130 Electro-Mechanical (horn and blower) 2 (chopper) 25/30 (blower) 8/8, 8/10, 8/12, 10/10, 10/12, 12/12 1967-1972 (square horn) 1972-1981 (round horn) Rotating 130 dB at 100 ft. Started off using a 25HP blower with a square horn, redesigned to 30 HP with round horn. All known recordings are 8/10 port ratio. This siren is similar to Federal Signal's Thunderbolt series.
Screamers Electro-Mechanical 2, 5, 7.5, 10 8, 9, 9/12 1968–1994 Omni Directional 102–115 dB at 100 ft. Series of small vertical sirens, comparable to Federal Signal Corporation's vertical sirens from the 1930s.
Sentry 95 Electro-Mechanical 1 5/6 Sometime around the late 60's/early 70's. Omni Directional 95 dB at 100 ft. Very rare siren. Dual tone circular port siren. 95 dB at 100 ft. Manufactured by Klaxon, sold in USA under ACA name. Eight are known to exist, all under the Klaxon SS6 model. None exist under the Sentry 95 branding or model.
SuperBanshee/Banshee 120 Electro-Mechanical 25 8/12 1968–1994 Omni Directional 119 dB at 100 ft. The SuperBanshee (originally called Banshee 120) was a dual-rotor omni directional siren. Most were only capable of the standard two signals, but they were also available with coding dampers to make the Hi-Lo signal for local code purposes.
Banshee Electro-Mechanical 10 (Banshee 110), 15 (Banshee 115). 8, 9/12, 10/12, 8/12 (Banshee 110) 8, 9/12 (Banshee 115) 1967–1973 (Banshee 110) 1973–1994 (Banshee 115) Omni Directional 112 dB (Dual tone), 116 dB (Single tone) at 100 ft. There are two models of the common Banshees, the Banshee 110, and the Banshee 115. The Banshee 110 was originally only offered in 10/12. The 110 and 115 were later both available in a 9/12 port ratio, and 8 port for special orders only. After 1983, the Banshee 115 was made available in 8 port. Both units could be fitted with coding dampers. Coded models could produce a pulsating signal for local code purposes.
Penetrators Electro-Mechanical 10, 15, 20, 50 8, 9/12 (P-10 and 15) 8/12 (P-50) 9 (PN-20) 1982–1994 (10, 15, 50), 1992-1994 (20). (Later continued as the RM series) Rotating 124–135 dB at 100 ft. 10 and 15 HP models were nearly the same, aside from motor used. The P-50 was and still is the loudest dual tone siren in the world. The P-15 (Single-tone) and P-50 were still being produced by ASC until 2002 and 2007, under different names (P-15 being the RM-127 and the P-50 being the RM-135/T-135 AC). The PN-20 was the last siren made by ACA. These were a DC powered counterpart to the P-15. They were equipped with battery backup and used the rotor from the Screamer S-5. The PN-20 continued into the ASC years under the name RM-130
Alertronic 5000 Electronic none Single tone at 500 Hz. Dual tone at 500 and 680 hz. 1983–1984 Rotating 125 dB at 100 ft. Very short lived siren, replaced by the AL-6000R. Currently no videos known to exist and only a couple of photos of this model of siren. It has been claimed that Rhinelander, WI used to have one, however there is no evidence of this.
Alertronic AL-6000R Electronic none none 1985–1991 Rotating 124 dB at 100 feet Replacement for the Alertronic 5000. These have 8 horns. Each horn has 2 100 watt drivers, with a total of 16.
AL-7200 Electronic none none 1985-??? Omni Directional dB rating is unknown. One of the largest Alertronics. These had 24 CJ46 horns, each driven by three 100 watt drivers. The total wattage is 7200 watts. They were configured with three rows of horns, each row having eight horns around. These sirens were used in the Oak Ridge, TN siren system, and are not known to be installed elsewhere.
AL-12000 Electronic none none 1985-? Omni Directional dB rating is unknown. The largest Alertronic model available. These had 30 CJ46 horns, each driven by four 100 watt drivers. The total wattage is 12000 watts. They were configured with five rows of horns, each row having six horns around. None of these units were known to exist.
AL-1000 Electronic none none 1984-1995 Omni/uni Directional dB rating depends on model. A small industrial siren. These used smaller horns than the others. They had one 100 watt driver per horn. Horns could be removed for uni-directional applications.
AL-2000/AL-4000/AL-6000/AL-8000 Electronic none none 1984-1995 Omni/uni Directional dB rating depends on model. The most popular Alertronic sirens. Models include AL-2000, AL-4000, AL-6000, and AL-8000. Horns could be configured differently for uni-directional applications. Each Atlas CJ46 horn has 2 100 watt drivers. Wattage ranges from 800 to 3200 watts throughout the models.
AR-1600 Electronic none none 1991–1995 Rotating 126 dB at 100 feet This was the replacement for the AL-6000R. It only has 4 horns rather than 8. These came with 16 100 watt drivers, 4 on each horn.
Quadren Electronic none none 1992–1994 Omni/uni Directional dB rating depends on model. One of the last electronic sirens made by ACA before their bankruptcy. Three base models were available, AL-1600, AL-3200, and AL-4800. They could also be configured in uni-directional setups, as they had 4 separate quadrants. They could be mounted on walls, corners, or on poles. They could be used indoors and outdoors. Design was later used by ASC, and later became the i-Force.
Performance Plus Series Electro-Mechanical 7.5 9 1989–1993 Rotating/Omni Directional 115–125 dB at 100 ft. Two Performance Plus models were made, a Banshee and a Penetrator. These have three-phase AC motors, and run on batteries. A power inverter converts the DC power to AC. Dane County, WI used to have a few Penetrators, and a few Banshees have been found elsewhere.

American Signal Corporation sirens
Name Type Motor HP Port Ratios Years of Production Sound Output Type Notes
OM-102-AC/OM-109-AC/OM-112-AC Electro-Mechanical 2, 5, 7.5 102 and 109: 9, 112: 8 1994-2004 Omni Directional 102 dB, 109 dB, and 112 dB at 100 ft. Rebranded versions of ACA's Screamers. The S-10 was not carried over when ACA became ASC.
OM-117-AC Electro-Mechanical 15 8 1994–2004 Omni Directional 117 dB at 100 ft. Rebranded version of ACA's Banshee siren, only in the 15 HP version.
OM-120-DC Electro-Mechanical 7.5 9 1998–2004 Omni Directional 120 dB at 100 ft. The battery-backup equipped counterpart to the OM-117. Used the same housing as the ACA Performance Plus Banshee.
RM-127-AC Electro-Mechanical 15 8 1995–2002 Rotating 127 dB at 100 ft. The same as the single tone Penetrator-15.
RM-130-DC Electro-Mechanical 7.5 9 1995–2002 Rotating 127 dB at 100 ft. The same as the earlier Penetrator-20.
OM-125-AC/C-125-AC Electro-Mechanical 50 8/12 1995–2007 Omni Directional 125 dB at 100 ft. The same as the Cyclone 125.
AL-1000/AL-2000/AL-4000/AL-6000/AL-8000 Electronic none none 1995–2011 Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. Rebranded versions of ACA's omni directional Alertronics. These had digital controllers, unlike ACA's analog version.
RE-1600 Electronic none none 1995-2007 Rotating 126 dB at 100 ft. Rebranded AR-1600. These had digital controllers, unlike ACA's analog version.
Tempest (Rotating) Electro-Mechanical Comes in 7.5, 20, and 50 HP 8 (8/12 for T-135 AC) 1993–Present (1981-2007 for T-135AC) Rotating 129.5–135 dB at 100 ft. Three sirens in this line up: T-128, T-135 AC, and T-135 AC/DC

The T-135 AC was known as ACA P-50, the name was changed after ACA's bankruptcy. The T-135 AC/DC is a siren that is bigger and more powerful than the T-128 and has a similar design and also has a battery backup system. This was introduced around 2007, replacing the T-135 AC.

Tempest (Omni Directional) Electro-Mechanical 7.5 8 1998–Present Omni-Directional 113–121 dB at 100 ft. Two sirens in this line up: T-112 and the T-121

The T-121 is an 8 port siren that has a similar design to Federal Signal's Eclipse 8. The T-112 is a hornless version of the T-121.

i-Force (Old) Electronic none none 1995–2002 Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. Rebranded version of ACA's Quadren. Resigned in 2002 to the current models.
i-Force (New) Electronic none none 2002–Present Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. The i-Force is an electronic siren made by ASC that comes in many different sizes (Sound Cells). Similar to Federal Signal's Modulator.
E-Class Electronic none none 2002–Present Omni Directional dB rating depends on how many drivers. 400 watt speakers can be arranged in whichever pattern is needed. Very similar to ATI's omni-directional sirens.

See also

References
  1. "Old Alerting Communicators of America Brochure". www.airraidsirens.net. 1968.
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