Went back to visit the Davis K-8 school today, and I got even MORE pics!
I hope the member Simplex 4050 is reading this. She had a few questions about the system. And I managed to find out a little more info about it too…
Even though it is hard to see, the 4251-30 DOES have the glass on it! For some reason the lettering often refuses to show up when I do pics like this.
Here’s one of the Simplex 2098-9806 test stations. It has the newer Simplex logo on it, so these were later installations, probably put in when they replaced the old Simplex panel some time in the 1980s or early 1990s. I saw in the main office and didn’t find the panel there. I think it’s hidden in an electrical/mechanical closet. But I am still willing to bet it’s either a Simplex 2001 or a Simplex 4002.
The Simplex annunciator. I’ve noticed that for a large school, the system only has four zones! The way it’s installed, it is possible the old annunciator could’ve been a Simplex 4246-1 annunciator that controlled the system! Cause with most of the public schools they install the panel in the main office.
Another Simplex bell and 4051+80 next to each other. They did an overgrown install job, because there is another bell and horn/light only six feet away! And hallways I’ve seen have two to three of them, and each classroom pod has one to two of them! No wonder the loudness of the bells and fire alarms was at thunderclap-level!
This 4251-30 is missing the glass. Also note the “Please DO NOT block alarm” sign above it. None of the others have that. This one is right near the annunciator.
Here’s a better shot of the bad install job I referred to. Not only was the 4051 installed on two backboxes, but the 4050-80 plate was also messed up by sloppy painters! I can’t believe Simplex did an install job like that. They should’ve just put the horn and the light plate on a single large backbox like this…
…which was at NewAgeServer’s middle school. But then again, in that pic the 4051+80s were not the original signals when the school was built, so it makes sense they put that one on a backbox like that. But the 4051+80s at my elementary school ARE the original signals from when they built the school in 1974!
But moving on from that crappy install job…
This is in the small gymnasium (labeled as the “Playroom,” and this is where they are having voting for the primary elections tomorrow). I saw through the grille of the SAE AV32 plate, and the horn is indeed a Simplex 4051. Judging by the way it is installed, it looks like that the old 4050-80 plate broke down and they replaced it with that SAE light plate. I wonder why they went with those. I guess cause it was the only retrofit plate on the market at the time that resembled the old 4050-80s.
One of the Edwards 270-SPOs. I noticed that this one is obviously newer, and probably replaced a 4251-30 that died (in the late 1990s/early 2000s we had EST installers doing the fire alarm work, and installations in new schools).
What the?! There’s an Edwards 270-SPO HERE too! I remember back in 2000 there was a Simplex 4251-30 there, but I guess it broke down (hey, the school is 34 years old!) and it needed to be replaced. Seems kinda odd seeing a newer 270-SPO with an older Simplex alarm like that.
And finally, the SAE AV32 light plate in the main gymnasium. There is also a Simplex 4051 horn behind this one too. And it looks like it replaced another dead 4050-80 light plate. The other two Simplex 4051 horns in the gym still have their original 4050-80 plates.
Any questions/comments would be appreciated, please! 