This is my Edwards 310 fire horn. I found this at an antique shop, and one of the previous owners had painted over the entire device (including the serial tag), so much so to the point that the seller advertised it as a “Green Horn”. (I was only able to confirm the specifications with online research and my smartphone’s camera light.) A previous owner had written “120 volts” in permanent marker on the back, but the device is rated for 115 volts. I’ve never seen these in the wild, but I do know that a dual-horn variant as well as a variant without the projector exist.
As an added bonus, I have a sound clip of my Archer 275-498 vibrating bell:
Neat! Wonder if it’s the predecessor to the 1st-generation Adaptahorn (round & with a projector like the one on this horn). Odd if you ask me how the base is cow bell-shaped even though the plate on the bottom of the projector is round.
Don’t know why someone would paint it unless it was to make it look better if the original paint was chipping & peeling (not to mention possibly rusting as well).
The projector reminds me a lot of the one on the Benjamin Electric/IBM/Simplex 4030.
The label says it’s rated for 115 volts, but really anytime you see “115” or “110” it means “120”.
Nice find! (don’t think I’ve ever seen a 310 actually)
Thanks for the comments. I’ve never seen an Edwards 310 in the wild, but I do know that the since-demolished Redford High School in Detroit had these (in red and without any projectors) in one of their wings based on old photos I found online. A gray, dual-projector version was found in a fire drill video uploaded by YouTube channel PeriscopeFilm a couple of weeks ago.
At long last, I have a acquired a new National Time device, and a rare one at that! Although the serial plate is unfortunately missing, I believe this is the National Time P810 vibrating bell. This bell brings back a lot of memories, because at least two schools I’ve attended over the years had these installed as part of National Time systems, and I’ve seen them in countless other places.
This particular bell has the number 319 engraved on its cast iron shield; whether that number refers to production order or something else is unknown. The cast iron shield also indicates that this bell would have been used outdoors. According to the seller I bought this from, the National Time P810 runs on 110 volts and was removed from a school roughly 50 years ago that has since been razed.
However, I was in for a little bonus when I went to pick up the device. It turns out the seller had another device being sold (unbeknownst to me); after giving it a once-over, I decided to buy it with the bell, and here it is:
It’s an Edwards 372-A projector horn! Part of the AdaptaHorn series, there are also versions that exist with AC power, DC power, and versions without projectors. This one comes with a screw that adjusts the volume output. I was told by the owner that this may have been used as a basketball buzzer (for a gym).
Nice acquisitions! Interesting if you ask me how that National Time bell has a baseplate very similar to those found on Edwards bells & mechanical horns (like the 372-A you also got in fact).
I’ve got a couple “2nd-generation” Adaptahorns myself (they’re the models that came after the projector models, which I call “1st-generation” Adaptahorns, but before the current square models, which I call “3rd-generation” Adaptahorns): one that’s surface-mount & 12VAC, & one that’s flush-mount & 24VDC. I might also be getting a 1st-generation Adaptahorn (with the projector) sometime in the future.
I do agree that the National Time bell has an identical baseplate. I know the same company also rebranded devices from Faraday, Federal Signal, Gentex, and Wheelock, but I’ve never seen an instance where they rebranded Edwards devices. Still, it is an interesting observation.
Bump. New to here and have been collecting FA stuff for a few years now, and thought it was neat to see someone else from SE Michigan who does too! Was considering buying that bell a while ago, but ended up with a 311! Great to see it went into good hands!
Welcome to the forums, and thank you! It may just be me, but National Time stuff sometimes feels really elusive to find in person, so I was really lucky to get my hands on that bell. I also have a National Time 311, which was among the first alarm-related devices I bought for my collection, but sadly, it isn’t functional. I imagine the coil might need to be replaced, which is currently beyond my skill level.
On a related note, I also have a National Time 641 like the one in your photo.
Neat! I feel the same when it comes to National Time, as the only places you can seem to find their devices are either municipal buildings or schools these days. One place that is literally an absolute gold mine for older National Time devices is Michigan State University, which literally has EVERY device by them you could imagine! They’ve got everything from Speaker Strobes to 311Fs to Faraday Rebrands! Here are a few photos:
Cool! I was on the MSU campus for a visit years ago, and while I don’t remember the name of the hall I was in, it had National Time 620M pull stations mixed with rebranded Faraday horn/strobes that were mounted on the wall over grilles (if one were to look closely enough, they could still see inside where the old alarms used to be).
Neat! Didn’t go in that hall! Also, me and a few friends were able to purchase the ENTIRE old NT system in one hall (641s and Faraday Rebrands) and will be getting the whole thing soon, as a new one was just put in!
A new device has arrived–it’s my First Alert FCD2N carbon monoxide detector. It requires 120VAC to operate and doesn’t take batteries as shown by the prongs that attach to a wall outlet. As you can see, the number 25604 (colored in purple) is stamped on the back, possibly to identify an individual production unit. You will also notice that this device was made two days after the 9/11 attacks.
Nice acquisition! Yeah, older alarms often came in AC-only versions like that (before people realized making alarms powered only by AC electricity with no battery backup in the event of a power failure was a bad idea).
I’ve got a similar device that’s actually one number up from yours: an FCD3N, & it was manufactured on September 25th, 2000, a year before but several days after 9/11 (& not long before I was born coincidentally enough. How coincidental that yours was made on such a date). The FCD3N could be thought of as the battery-powered version of the FCD2N, as while the design is different the basic elements are the same: horn, test/silence button, & three LEDs, labeled “POWER”, “SERVICE”, & “ALARM”.
Here’s a new addition to the collection–a Schwarze 6" bell! It’s not wired to anything, sadly, so I don’t have a way of testing it at this time. There’s no serial tag plate, either–just a metal stamping of the Schwarze logo on the component casing–so the voltage and model are both unknown. I have a feeling it is at least 100 years old, though, because according to some archived Electronic Record catalogs I found on a wiki, serial tag plates for these bells appeared as early as 1923, while the metal stamping appeared as late as 1921.
Another oldie and goodie–my “Fire Systems” VT-6-8 single-stroke bell. I have the name in quotation marks because since it sounds so generic, I’m not really sure if that is the official name. The bell runs on 110 volts AC.
This is my Faraday 5509 non-ADA strobe, likely the thinnest device in my collection. The original instructions, unfortunately, are oil-damaged, so I decided not to unravel them. As a device that is almost like-new, I hooked it up, and it works!
Next is my Faraday 4434 vibratory bell, which has been rebranded by other companies such as Simplex, National Time, and Tork Alert, among others. Note that the Faraday label on the box is almost completely faded. I tried testing with with three 9-volt batteries combined, but I didn’t get any meaningful results out of it, so I’ll have to most likely buy a standalone 24-volt battery to power it.
Last up is my Faraday 6160 horn, one of many in a series that has been seen rebrands from Simplex, FCI, Harrington Signal, and others. Sadly, this device did not come with wires for hooking it up, so I’ll have to buy them before I can test it.
After spending some time researching wiring devices correctly and buying a 24VAC transformer, I finally have two new YouTube videos published of my Faraday 6120 horn and Faraday 4434 bell!
