I was wondering when your were going to post again
1 Like
Additions from 2023:
Siemens AS-MC-R-B
Siemens AS-MC-R-B Fire Alarm Horn/Strobe | Siemens-branded W… | Flickr 
Wheelock RSS-2415C
Wheelock RSS-2415C Fire Alarm Bell | Ceiling-mount Wheelock … | Flickr 
Siemens SFM24-6A
Siemens SFM24-6A Fire Alarm Bell | Samuel | Flickr 
Cerberus Pyrotronics MBDC-6-C
Cerberus Pyrotronics MBDC-6-C Fire Alarm Bell | Cerberus Pyr… | Flickr 
General Signal MB6-24
General Signal MB6-24 Fire Alarm Bell | Device manufactured … | Flickr 
Siemens MS-51C
Siemens MS-51C Fire Alarm Pull Station | Device manufactured… | Flickr 
Simplex MS-301CB (received as part of a trade with Conor/CJ9899)
Simplex MS-301CB Fire Alarm Pull Station | Device courtesy o… | Flickr 
Unelco 470 (this pull station is NIB, although it’s unfortunately but unsurprisingly missing its original key and instructions)
Unelco 470 Fire Alarm Pull Station | Samuel | Flickr 
Simplex 4251-20 (received as part of a trade with Conor/CJ9899)
Simplex 4251-20 Fire Alarm Pull Station | Device courtesy of… | Flickr 
Edwards 270-GAO
Edwards 270-GAO Fire Alarm Pull Station | Samuel | Flickr 
Siemens RL-4C
Siemens RL-4C Remote Alarm Indicator | Samuel | Flickr 
System Sensor 5601A
System Sensor 5601A Heat Detector | Samuel | Flickr 
Edwards 281C
Edwards 281C Heat Detector | Samuel | Flickr 
Mircom MIR-2400A
Mircom MIR-2400A (System Sensor 2400A) Smoke Detector | Flickr 
Mircom MIR-1400A
Mircom MIR-1400A (System Sensor 1400A) Smoke Detector | Flickr 
Edwards EC30U-3
Edwards EC30U-3 Smoke Detector | Edwards EC30U-3 photoelectr… | Flickr 
EST 6616 (courtesy of Hunter/YouTube user Canadian alarms)
EST 6616 Fire Alarm Control Panel | Panel manufactured in 19… | Flickr 
Edwards 6616-C801 (courtesy of Hunter/YouTube user Canadian alarms)
Edwards 6616-C801 Fire Alarm Annunciator | Device manufactur… | Flickr 
1 Like
Nice acquisitions Chupa!
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a General Signal-branded fire alarm device before! (I know they owned several companies including Edwards & Mirtone at one time, but I’ve never seen them put their own name on a device until now) Had no idea Mirtone rebranded System Sensor detectors either.
“Alright, hit the reset button!” (buzz) (RING) “Oh! Again?” (RING) “Uh-uh! Okay let me do it…” (RIIIIING) (buzz)
I think they’re common in Canada. Nic’s Systems and Electric got a bunch of em.
Thanks! The GS branding is certainly unique. My hypothesis is that they used the GS logo as it allowed these bells to be sold under GS’s different brands (EST, Edwards Signaling, and Mirtone) without requiring a different label for each brand. Per its packaging, this particular bell was sold under the EST brand.
I know exactly which video you’re referring to! I’ve been told that the “common control” cards are the Achilles’ heel of these panels. The one in this panel fortunately works perfectly—the panel goes into alarm, silences, and resets as it should. I’m very happy to have this panel as my elementary school had an identical 6616; this is the system that sparked my interest in fire alarms.
I believe they were indeed only sold in Canada, although they don’t seem to be particularly common—I’ve only seen these bells on perhaps 4 occasions in the last 17 years (and they’ve shown up online only a handful of times). They weren’t in production for long (circa 1996-2001), and the 439D-series bells were still commonly used at that time. The later Edwards MB-series bells (with the black label), on the other hand, are much easier to find.
Sure thing! Oh yeah: good thinking on General Signal’s part!
Glad you got the reference & that your 6616 is working fine (though I know the panel in said video is the bigger brother of the 6616, the 6632, instead. Still similar however including when it comes to the default zone & control card).
Odd if you ask me that General Signal wouldn’t just sell Edwards’ existing 439D-series: heck if it’s not a 439D-series bell who makes it? (unless General Signal themselves did)
Oh by the way: even though that ridiculously-rare Unelco-rebranded Standard 200177 is missing its key & instruction sheet a Standard key might work with it (& last I checked someone’s selling 3D-printed ones on Ebay).
Some other things I forgot to say:
That Siemens-branded bell sure is rare! Is it a rebranded System Sensor given the label design?
Ditto (rare) for the first two devices.
How is that MS-301CB reset if there’s no hole for a screwdriver? (I’ve seen ones like that before but never knew how they’re reset without a screwdriver hole)
Amseco is the original manufacturer of these bells (there’s an Amseco logo at the back of the base); they were also rebranded by Simplex. I think the main advantage of these motor bells is that they have a much lower current draw than traditional vibrating bells like the 439D. 439Ds are gluttonous, consuming a whopping 0.085A of current; this MB6-24, on the other hand, only draws 0.025A. The mechanism in these bells features a rather unique design, as shown in this video.
Fortunately, I already have some homemade keys that work well. I still wish I could find an original key, but I know they’re hard to find (and I’m certainly not the only collector who’s looking for one!).
I had always wondered who made those bells, and I never found an answer until I received this one. It seems that System Sensor is indeed the manufacturer: this bell features a quality control sticker with System Sensor’s logo at the back of the base. I see the Edwards- and Notifier-branded versions of these bells far more often than the Siemens-branded models.
Interestingly, this bell is a nearly perfect clone of an older Amseco design that was common in the '90s. The photo below shows the Siemens bell (at the left) next to an older Mircom-branded Amseco bell (the Amseco logo is visible in the upper right corner of the base). Despite the similarities, the gongs are not interchangeable due to a slightly different alignment pattern, and the motors/mechanisms appear to be different as the Siemens/System Sensor bell has a higher current draw and a longer striker.
The hole to insert a screwdriver is actually on the left side of the pull station. The mechanism in these pull stations is completely different from that of the current MS-401-style pull stations: pulling the front cover releases a spring which, in turn, presses down on a switch as it swings downward. This video demonstrates the operation of these pull stations.
Ah. I have two Amseco motor bells myself: a 24VDC MSB-6B-PV4, & a 12VDC MSB-10B-PV4.
Well that’s good.
Ah. Funnily enough I have a very similar bell in terms of design, but it lacks a label & anything else that would tell me the manufacturer & model (it might be an Amseco or System Sensor one though given the two you showed).
Oh, huh. Thanks for explaining that.
Found this document yesterday, thought you might find it interesting:
Catalog Sheet 85001-0503-I: Motor Driven Bell – 24 Vdc (yellowpages.co.th)
I also discovered that there’s an Edwards-branded version of the bell under the same model number (which looks a lot like a System Sensor bell given the design of the label, though from what we discussed System Sensor may have some relation to bells with this design):
1 Like
Nice find! I don’t often see older Edwards datasheets online. It’s interesting that this one is branded as being from “EST International”.
These bells are extremely common in my area. I often see them being used as replacement devices on existing systems, although I’ve seen them in a handful of new installations from the 2000s. The label was updated a few years ago and now features the current Edwards logo:
Edwards MB6-24 Fire Alarm Bell | Picture taken in Ottawa, Ca… | Flickr 
1 Like
Thanks! Yeah: I’m sure they can be found if one looks hard enough though. Yeah: moreso in that the datasheet says “Edwards” & “EST” everywhere even though the bell itself is branded “General Signal”.
Oh, really? Huh, okay. Surprised Edwards still sells them since all the photos of the MB6-24 I can find online feature the older label design, implying that they discontinued it some years back, possibly in favor of their own 439D-series (honestly don’t know why Edwards rebranded a supposedly-Amseco motor bell in the first place anyway, unless they wanted to offer installers a lower amp draw bell).
I wish my work carried them, but they are a little costly. We just carry the Potter PDC bells, which are a lot better than the older 24vdc bells they had, which sounded awful, and the gongs were very lightweight. The new PDC bells are back to being more metal gongs that have a better ring to them.
I think I know exactly which older Potter bells you’re talking about. I have a Simplex-branded version, and I completely agree with your description; the gongs on those bells (at least the 6" models) resonate very poorly.
The new PDC models look like they’re rebranded Hong Chang bells, which I believe are the same bells that Mircom sells as the BL-6/10B. They certainly have nice-sounding gongs (and so do the Edwards MBs and their rebranded relatives)—they feel heftier than the gongs of the older Potter bells and reverberate nicely—although I find that nothing beats the sound of a 439D gong!
1 Like
I agree. Those 439s ring so nicely, you can definitley tell if there is one in between a bunch of other bells lmfao.
1 Like
Additions from 2024:
Mircom MS-401AD (courtesy of Hunter/Youtube user Canadian alarms)
Firecom MS-401 (courtesy of Conor/YouTube user CJ9899)
Mirtone GSA-73353 (uncommon addressable version; courtesy of Hunter/Canadian alarms)
Chubb 950-1000 (I had been looking for one of these pull stations for well over a decade!)
Simplex “2099-9109C” (this pull station is labelled as a 2099-9109C, but this seems to be an error—I think it’s actually a 2099-9117C; courtesy of Conor/CJ9899)
Edwards 270-SPO (older variant with no “fire alarm” lettering; courtesy of Hunter/Canadian alarms)
I also purchased an Edwards 270-DOC (double-pole switch with NO and NC contacts) from the 1970s. While it looks like a typical 270-SPO from the front—it’s practically identical to the 270-SPO pictured above but has “fire alarm” lettering at the top—, it’s quite different inside: it has the partially recessed switch that was used on the original (1950s-1960s) variant of the 270 series, but it doesn’t have the arm to hold the front cover or the metal tab that pushes against the lever. Interestingly, unlike typical 270-SPOs from its era (and similarly to current 270-series pull stations), the lever stops about halfway down upon activation. For reference, here’s a photo showing an original-style (1960s) 270-SPO at the left, the 270-DOC in the middle, and a typical 1970s-1980s 270-SPO (like the one pictured above) at the right:
Edwards 270-SPO (early ‘90s variant)
Edwards 270-SPO (mid-to-late ‘80s variant with French lettering)
Edwards 281A
Edwards 343-D Adaptabel
Edwards 339D
Mirtone 74204 (courtesy of Hunter/Canadian alarms)
Wheelock MT-12/24
Amseco H24WR Select-A-Horn
System Sensor P2415A SpectrAlert (courtesy of Adam/YouTube user Twentythree33)
System Sensor S1224MCA SpectrAlert (with small-footprint mounting plate)
Simplex speaker (no model number appears on the device, but I think it’s a 2902-9713; courtesy of Conor/CJ9899)
Wheelock LS-24 (courtesy of Conor/CJ9899)
Geographics GEO-1000A (courtesy of Conor/CJ9899)
Finally, Conor kindly offered me a spare Simplex 4006 (with on-board LED annunciation) that he had in his collection; I therefore traded the FireShield he gave me a few years ago for this panel. I particularly enjoy the greater user-friendliness of the 4006 with respect to programming.
All excellent acquistions there Chupa!
Had no idea that Wheelock made LS-series strobes with bilingual lettering like that LS-24!
Thanks! The bilingual LS is certainly uncommon. Coincidentally, I spotted one in the wild for the first (and, so far, only) time at Calgary International Airport last summer:
I’ve seen a handful of systems in Canada that use Wheelock speaker/strobe models with this style of strobe, but all of these signals only featured English lettering. I’m surprised that I haven’t seen bilingual versions of these speaker/strobes; I would assume that they exist, given that remote strobe models were available with bilingual lettering.
It’s been 4 years and I’ve somehow never replied to this thread lol. It’s been an honour to provide some pretty cool stuff to you over the years. For those who don’t know, when El and I first met, he gave me a box of new and used devices (some very cool stuff) from his collection that he wanted to pass along, so ever since then I’ve been trying to return the favour as best as I can lol. Working at a Fire Alarm company (particularly on install) definitely helped and I was lucky enough to acquire some pretty rare pieces over my time there, and whenever I had duplicates or something I knew would fit better in his collection than mine, he’d be first on my contact list haha. We both have very similar mindsets when it comes to collecting and we pay attention to the finer details. The only device I think I traded back for was that bilingual 2099-9921 since I had the French and English versions so I knew I had to complete the Holy Trinity. Needless to say, we’ve been buddies for almost 5 years now, still trading with him every time I visit, and here’s to another 5 years of trades and rare finds!
3 Likes
Thank you for the kind comment! I’m grateful for the devices you’ve offered me over the last few years. Many of these devices are practically impossible to find online, so I’m delighted to have them in my collection.
I’m thrilled to have been able to meet up with you on multiple occasions in the last few years. Interacting with other fire alarm enthusiasts online is great, but being able to share this hobby with others in person makes it so much more enjoyable.
1 Like