Sweet scores! Saw those Faraday strobes on marketplace recently, glad to see they went to a good home! Also, the Schwarze 6" bell runs off of 6VDC, I’ve got one too (they are Faraday 161 bells) and it runs off that current, a lantern battery will power it no problem!
Thanks for the tip. I’m curious as to know how some of my antique/vintage devices get the operating voltage determined, especially when there’s no serial plate or other engraving. I’ll most likely need to wire the bell up, first.
Do you use alligator clips when attaching the wires to the battery for your DC alarms?
Alligator clips work good! Use them lots on AC & DC Alarms myself!
Just saw the post on the Wilkinson fire alarm. 
This Merlite Fire Alarm (manufactured by Merlite Industries) is the latest acquisition to my collection. It is vintage, and it was designed for small settings (e.g., residential).
The original inserts are included, but as you can see, they do show wear and tear from age and handling. It runs on two D batteries and can be hung on a hook from the backside, making it easy to mount.
The metal cover lifts up from the front to replace the batteries. There’s also a loose wire for some reason–does anybody know what this would have been for? The sound it makes is a squealer sound–I’ll upload a sound clip soon once I get ahold of some D batteries.
I’m so excited to share my next few finds!
After many years of searching, and thanks to a fellow collector, I finally got my hands on a National Time P806F! This particular bell would have been made in the mid to late 60s judging by the design of the metal tag. It was also flush-mounted behind a grille in the wall, hence the ‘F’ at the end of the type.
I also managed to get ahold of a National Time 411! Other types that exist include the 411F (flush-mount), 441 (dual-projector), a rare type flush-mount into the wall and behind a silver grille with the metal tag stamped on the front, and an even rarer type colored red.
Later variants of these horns would have used “Audible Signal Appt.” (apparatus), and some earlier variants just said “Signal”.
The mounting place is practically identical to the P806F.
I also got ahold of a National Time C2-series horn/strobe, which is actually a rebranded Gentex Commander.
The strobe is rated for 15 candela and can be set to steady or temporal for mechanical horn or piezo sounds.
If one were to peel off the Natsco tag, they would find a Gentex emblem behind it. Other companies that have rebranded this horn include Hochiki and Potter. Interesting, both Gentex and National Time are based right here in Michigan!
The horn/strobe disassembles rather easily. Note the stamped Gentex emblem on the mounting plate.
Except for the Natsco Type 641 pull station, both the bell, horn, and horn/strobe came from the former Dickinson Junior High School (circa 1968) in Livonia, MI, a building which was recently razed to make way for a new early childhood center. The school did use 641s, however, and were likely among the first 641s Natsco made. Before that, they would have made 620M (or 620M2X) types along with break-glass models and extraordinarily rare coded models. Both the bell and horn were behind a rectangular silver grille recessed into the wall, the same as all the others in that school. This picture is one of many common Natsco setups of that time.
1 Like
My grandparents house still has the same Pittway 83R smoke detector you have. In fact their house was built in 1988 as well.
Over the weekend, I was excited to have found this for only a buck and snag it. This is an Exide/S.H. Couch 274-108 incandescent light. Sadly, the original electronic components to this light were missing, so I had to use my flashlight to make a ‘replica’ of what this device would look like when active. Thanks to the folks over at the Facebook fire alarm community group, I can buy some third-party accessories online down the road should I choose to tinker with it.
From what I’ve seen, there are versions with different font styles as well as a ceiling-mount version. More popularly, a version of this known as a Simplex 4050-80 horn/light combo incorporates this design.
thats a realy cool find
looks like the thunderbolt siren thats really cool
What you’re all looking at is the culmination, so far, of ten year’s worth of collecting alarms, bells, detectors, and other miscellanea. Every device I own has a little anecdote or fun fact about it, and for some, they’re reminders of how I conquered my fear of fire drills from such a young age as a person with autism. Who knows what the next ten years will bring? Thanks to some recent networking with other fire alarm enthusiasts on social media, I’ve been slowly branching out a little more into buys and possibly trades. The future’s as bright as an alarm light, or strobe, or LED, whatever is preferred.
Thanks to you all!
Stop spamming that everywhere: people will share their photos if they want to.
2 Likes
I agree with you on that
The latest additions to my collection are here!
My Autocall Type CFWTML initiating device might be the first-ever coded pull station to my collection, but I may have to disassemble the casing to confirm The device also comes with its original glass!
I also bought an IBM 4250 initiating device. While I already own one from a previous purchase, this unit has its original glass still intact! I’m thinking of restoring this or the other unit if I ever get around to it.
Finally, I have my Tonepak No. 302 vibrating bell. According to some eBay listings, it can be powered by an AC or DC battery. I’ve seen something like this (or very close to) before–the Motown Museum in Detroit comes to mind, where it may have been a doorbell for one of the recording studios.
Those are some cool old autocall pulls
It has been long overdue, but I have uploaded sound clips of my National Time 411, P806F, and C2 horn/strobe.
411:
P806F:
C2 mechanical horn, steady:
C2 mechanical horn, temporal:
C2 piezo horn, temporal:
i used to have one of those Edwards 17 bells. I bought it at a Flea Market sale for $5 about 2 years ago. According to the person I got it from. It was an old Elevator alarm bell. it would ring if the “Alarm” button was pushed in the elevator. I no longer have it, I gave it to @VintageCollections a while ago.
I have a new device, and it’s a beautiful one, too!
This is my Schwarze Electric No. 6F bell, with a 10" gong and running on 6VDC. A previous owner or two modified this bell to have a mounting chain-link for displaying the unit on a wall, as well as a lamp wire to plug into an outlet. The bell works per the previous owner, but I’m going to wait to get my own bench power supply to run the bell for safety reasons.
The best part of this whole thing is the patina! It’s all original!
If it’s 6VDC how was the previous owner able to use a 120VAC cord to power it? (wouldn’t that just severely overvolt it, unless of course it was for connecting it to a 6VDC power supply that had a plug for some reason, or the bell has something inside it that steps down the voltage & flips it from AC to DC)