I assume that eventually LED N/A’s will take over. I also think that there’s enough variety between the four major companies (Honeywell, Simplex, Wheelock, and Edwards/EST) to keep things interesting for a while, although I think Simplex and EST have gradually been losing customers over the past 10 years or so.
Agreed. It absolutely disgusts me to see them in new buildings nowadays, considering its high pitch and loudness.
Especially given the close proximity they usually have to each other…
I’m just not a big fan of one-pitch electronic horns in general. I like horns that can have their pitches changed (like the SAE VA4 or Edwards 792).
Regardless of how much those of us here like or dislike Spectralerts, I think we can all agree that their sounds does a pretty darn good job of getting people to leave a building.
Thats a understatement… 
I do agree they definitely fulfill their purposes! 
If I see one in a bathroom I hold everything in.
I assume it’s fine if it’s only a strobe?
While we’re on the topic of SpectrAlerts, I’m on the way home from Cape Cod, and just* left the Dunkin’ Donuts of Brewster. This is what I found:
Yup. Two SpectrAlerts. Both horn strobe units. Wouldn’t one be enough? The Classic’s probably disconnected, though.
(The image is blurry because I didn’t want to look suspicious. To take it, I aimed, snapped, and pretended to make a social media post.)
*Maybe a little longer ago than just
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I saw something a bit strange at a school once. The system is/was Notifier (panel unknown) with ceiling-mount Wheelock AS’s in the classrooms and Wheelock ZNS’s in the halls and other common areas. I believe that either A) the AS’s were added for additional protection sometime in the late 90s/early 00s and tied in with the old system, or B) that the entire new system was installed sometime between 2008 and 2010, when both the AS-series and the ZNS-series were being manufactured. It may have just been that a tech thought the AS’s look better on the ceiling then ZNS’s (and I would agree), but decided to install ZNS’s on the walls. What do you all think?
I’m more inclined to believe that the AS’s were put in for additional coverage in the late 90s and early 2000s and the ZNS’s replaced whatever horns were in the hallways and other common areas.
26500 American Drive (Southfield)
Panel:
Siemens Desigo Fire Safety-series model, non voice-evac
Detectors:
Unknown thermal/optical detectors, presumably Siemens, above elevators
Pull Stations:
Cerberus Pyrotronics MS-51 models
Notification Appliances:
Wheelock NS horn/strobes
One Wheelock MT-24MCW horn/strobe
Wheelock ZH-MC-R horn/strobes
None of the pull stations or NAs were rebranded by Siemens, making this setup a little unusual.
Someone probably tore off the labels on the NAs. :lol:
Another vintage fire alarm system has bit the dust here in Brockton. The main police station was originally built in 1967 with a Gamewell FlexAlarm system, with old-style Federal Vibratone 450 horns and Gamewell Century pulls (one was replaced during the 90s with an Edwards 270-SPO), along with some System Sensor 2400 smoke detectors installed during the 90s (probably to replace old heat sensors.) The old annunciator in the main lobby was replaced with a Fire-Lite ANN-80 annunciator, suggesting the new panel is Fire-Lite. The old Federal horns were replaced with Wheelock Exceder horn/strobes, but they kept the existing pull stations and smoke detectors.
Were the horns flush mount or were they on retrofit plates with a light or strobe plate?
Horns only. But there was an interesting install setup; next to a stairwell there was a little alcove, and there was this black plastic grate nearly three feet high, and near the bottom was a pull station, and above it behind the grate was a horn. After the upgrade, that horn was removed, and a Wheelock Exceder was placed in front of the grate.
Yeah you showed me the picture. I have to admit that it looked weird.
Alright, where do I start with this next system… it’s installed in a medium-sized building that was built in 1972 with one addition in the 1980s. I’m just going to start a list of all the devices in this building, as it’s the largest variety I’ve ever seen by far:
SpectrAlert Advance (approx. 10)
Fire-Lite MS-2 (x1)
Mircom Select-A-Horn/Strobe (x2)
SpectrAlert “Classic” (x1)
Fire-Lite BG-12 (newer version) (x2)
Wheelock MT (newer version) (x2)
Edwards 270-SPO (5x older 1980s version, 1x newer GE version)
Simplex 4251-20 (approx. 5)
Unknown Chemtronics heat detector (x1, although there may be more)
Simplex 4255-1 heat detector (x2, although there may be more)
Simplex 4051 (x2)
Edwards “pre-Integrity” (x3)
RMS T-bar (x2)
Edwards 892 remote strobe (x2)
Unknown Simplex bell (x1)
Unknown Simplex panel (x1)
Autocall 4050 pull station (x1, or maybe 2, I can’t remember)
I think that’s it. Keep in mind, this is all under ONE ROOF.
A mall in the north end of my city seems to be getting a system upgrade. The old system is some sort of older Edwards/EST system (I believe two stage), with Edwards 6" Adaptabels, and 270-SPOs. I went there a few days back and noticed some new devices being installed. I noticed on every other support beam in the mall, there was a New Edwards 439-10AWG, and about 2 or 3 feet under it, a EST Genesis. I did also notice that the old alarms were still there and intact, which means I may have to go back and see if I can snag a few from the dumpster once the old alarms meet their demise… :lol:
Livonia Dermatology Plaza (Livonia) - This is the only place in Livonia that I know of with a Harrington system. It’s my first encounter with such a system in-person.
Panel/Annunciator:
Harrington Tracker-series panel, model unknown
Detectors:
Unknown
Pull stations:
Harrington HSPS-series pull stations
Notification appliances:
Wheelock Exceder horn/strobes and strobes
One SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobe, which I believe acts as a sprinkler alarm
McLaughlin’s Furniture (Novi)
Panel/Annunciator:
Panel unknown; annunciator is an Ademco brand, model unknown (circa 1980s-1990s)
Detectors:
System Sensor 2451-series thermal heat detectors
Pull stations:
NBG-10 pull stations
Notification appliances:
System Sensor MASS2475ADA horn/strobes and strobes, at least one of which was mounted on a hallway ceiling