Kevtistic's Alarm/Bell/Detector Collection

[BigKayCea]

Last weekend, I was on vacation with family and got lucky enough to stop by the Allegan Antiques Market–their last such one for the 2024 season–and even more lucky, I got a hold of new devices!

Two Simplex 4040s, an Edwards 340 vibrating bell with a 6" gong, and a Vanguard wind-up bell are the latest additions to my collection. One of the 4040s is being traded to a fellow collector in an upcoming event.

Normally, there would be a little “pop” mechanism on top of the Vanguard, but it disappeared long ago by the time I bought it.

[TheCarson116]

Man are you lucky: I almost never find commercial devices like that at the places I go!

I have some Vanguard-brand devices just like that one: they’re wind-up mechanical heat detectors to be specific. That “pop” mechanism is the heat sensor: when the temperature gets hot enough the disk pops off releasing the hammer mechanism & ringing the bell (simple but probably not very effective given how long any heat detector takes to activate).

[BigKayCea]

The Flat Rock Speedway flea market rolled around once again this year, and it did not disappoint! I met up with a few fellow collectors and made some trades, plus bought some devices of my own! This is a long post, but very informative.

This is my Vulcan VA-M-30 wind-up bell, manufactured by U.S. Safety and Engineering Corporation.

I was quite excited to buy this Family Gard FG888D smoke detector for only a buck, especially with its original packaging and instructions.

Sadly, the euphoria dwindled when I tried testing it. After replacing the original 9-volt battery with a fresh one, I discovered that the piezo was extremely weak, and would give off a scratchy sound. For everyone’s info, the unit is set to temporal coding.

At the same table with the Family Gard, I bought this Probe Model 101 smoke detector for a buck, which I later learned is an extremely rare Sears rebrand. As you can see in the last picture, the original clip connector is so corroded that I’ll have to replace it at some point before I can even test it. The original battery was even worse with corrosion. The original packaging isn’t in the best of shape, either, especially with the yellowing.

As part of my trade with a fellow alarm enthusiast, I obtained this National Time & Signal Corporation (Natsco) 541S pull station, a rebranded Sigcom unit that also came with a replacement key.

The trade also included this Natsco Type 620M pull station, which came with a replacement break rod inside the unit. There’s another variant of this pull station with smaller font. If you look closely in the third picture, you’ll see a 620M casting, model info, voltage info, and an address.

Third in the trade was this Simplex 4090-6 chime, the first time ever that I have a chime in my collection.

Rounding out the trade was my favorite device of them all, and one with many personal connections: A Natsco 624W-AV horn/strobe, which is a rebranded Faraday unit. As somebody who grew up seeing and hearing very similar devices all throughout grade school (and being petrified of fire drills), I was gleeful to have this, and I still am!

I saved something pretty neat for last. This a black vibrating bell with a 10" gong, and you’ll notice a few holes in front where the nameplate used to be. I was told by a fellow enthusiast that this may be a Schwarze, but it’s unconfirmed. I was able to get it to ring on 3VDC, but after a couple of seconds, it mysterious stops ringing, or the striker starts missing the gong entirely.

Sound clip: National Time & Signal Corporation 624AV W horn/strobe

[TheCarson116]

Man are you lucky!

@BigKayCea

This is my Vulcan VA-M-30 wind-up bell, manufactured by U.S. Safety and Engineering Corporation.

As I said previously, that’s a wind-up mechanical heat detector, not a bell (though it is also kind of a bell as that’s what signal it uses to indicate an alarm).

@BigKayCea

Sadly, the euphoria dwindled when I tried testing it. After replacing the original 9-volt battery with a fresh one, I discovered that the piezo was extremely weak, and would give off a scratchy sound. For everyone’s info, the unit is set to temporal coding.

In a similar fashion I once found & bought an FG888D at a thrift store of sorts & thought that I had finally found a replacement for the one I had gotten rid of years back, only to find that it did 4/6 instead of Temporal 3 (& that it had an LED too: my original one did not), so I’m still on the hunt for one that matches the one I used to have.

@BigKayCea

At the same table with the Family Gard, I bought this Probe Model 101 smoke detector for a buck, which I later learned is an extremely rare Sears rebrand. As you can see in the last picture, the original clip connector is so corroded that I’ll have to replace it at some point before I can even test it. The original battery was even worse with corrosion. The original packaging isn’t in the best of shape, either, especially with the yellowing.

Funnily enough I actually just got a Probe 105 myself from someone out in California, though according to him it doesn’t work (anymore at least: he told me that it worked up until the day he took it down & sold it). Hopefully there’s something I can do to get it back in working order though (I only have the unit too: more than likely the original box was thrown away when the detector was first bought, & I don’t know about the manual: I missed out on the mounting bracket though due to forgetting to ask the guy for it, so I guess my only hope is someone with a 3D printer (especially since one of my other Probe units is also missing its mounting bracket).

@BigKayCea

As part of my trade with a fellow alarm enthusiast, I obtained this National Time & Signal Corporation (Natsco) 541S pull station, a rebranded Sigcom unit that also came with a replacement key.

Nice! (especially the replacement key: always handy to have! (provided you don’t lose it of course!)

@BigKayCea

Third in the trade was this Simplex 4090-6 chime, the first time ever that I have a chime in my collection.

I actually have the exact Faraday equivalent of that chime, 4VAC & all (which meant it was difficult to power but I figured that 6VAC wouldn’t be too much for it to handle, & it wasn’t as far as I could tell (especially since I don’t have a source of 4VAC).

@BigKayCea

Rounding out the trade was my favorite device of them all, and one with many personal connections: A Natsco 624W-AV horn/strobe, which is a rebranded Faraday unit. As somebody who grew up seeing and hearing very similar devices all throughout grade school (and being petrified of fire drills), I was gleeful to have this, and I still am!

I have a National Time horn/strobe just like that one, but mine’s missing the strobe (& sadly finding a replacement for it is easier said than done, so as of now it’ll have to remain just a horn).

All excellent acquisitions though!

[BigKayCea]

Here’s a true gem in my collection, and one that fellow user Joseph S./VintageCollections picked up for me while taking a tour. There’s not many other people I know who own such a thing.

This is an original casting to a National Time & Signal Corporation (Natsco) Type 620M.

Speaking of Natsco, Joseph also managed to “fix” my Type 311 horn by using electric tape to attach longer wires to the original wires coming from the back of the unit. As a result, I now have a sound clip of it:

Sound clip: National Time 311 mechanical horn

[TheCarson116]

@BigKayCea

This is an original casting to a National Time & Signal Corporation (Natsco) Type 620M.

Where & how the heck did you get something like that?

@BigKayCea

Speaking of Natsco, Joseph also managed to “fix” my Type 311 horn by using electric tape to attach longer wires to the original wires coming from the back of the unit. As a result, I now have a sound clip of it:

Nice! Glad you were able to fix it: having a device that looks as good as it works is always great.

[BigKayCea]

Joseph and a small group of others got a special tour of the Natsco headquarters, and some of the staff there gave them some old castings.

[TheCarson116]

Oh okay, interesting. Never thought something like that would happen! (that is, modern/current NTAS employees would have something from that far back in the company’s history)

[Randomnicious]

You said that there were markings on your Edwards DC Adaptahorn? Those permanent marker markings can be removed by taking a dried out Expo to it; it actually works perfectly darn well on plastic and on laminated labels, not sure it works on painted metal surfaces though. It worked for my alarms that had markings on them.

[BigKayCea]

Just in time for Turkey Day:

I have a new coded pull station for the collection–an Acme Fire Alarm Co. 1201-FX! It does four rounds of a 2-3 code and also has a feature in which the bell/gong can be tested with a special key. Speaking of keys, this device sadly did not come with one.

A piece of plastic had been broken off of this device by a previous owner.

In a back corner of this device, there is a stamped imprint which reads 1201-B. I don’t know exactly what this refers to, but if I had to guess, it is for a door that holds the internal coding mechanisms.

[NEOhistoryfan101]

I think these normally have a front door, which is unfortunately missing

[TheCarson116]

Yeah: also seems like it’s missing its mounting box too (unless it’s designed to be mounted over a pre-cut hole).

[BigKayCea]

I’ve seen similar-looking Acme coded pulls with a door, but those devices also had the Acme nameplate on front. Perhaps the “FX” variant refers to a device that is mounted over a pre-cut hole. That, and coded pulls from other manufacturers have an exposed lever instead of it being enclosed by a door.

[BigKayCea]

I’m excited about these two newest acquisitions!

First up is my Commercial Products Group 450D mechanical horn–a rebranded Federal Signal ‘Vibratone’ unit–and more popularly known as the Simplex 2901-9806. This is the D-1 series; I’m not certain how rare a CPG rebrand is, but according to a little research, they were acquired in 2015 by Potter Signal and also rebranded Autocall devices for a time. This unit comes with its original packaging and inserts.

Second up is a newer device, but still particularly interesting for a couple of reasons–my System Sensor PC2R-P horn/strobe. Like the CPG unit, it has its original packaging and inserts, but also, it has no ‘FIRE’ lettering on the front anywhere. Initially, I thought it might have been a factory error, but there are other models just like it with or without the lettering, oddly enough.

[TheCarson116]

@BigKayCea

First up is my Commercial Products Group 450D mechanical horn–a rebranded Federal Signal ‘Vibratone’ unit–and more popularly known as the Simplex 2901-9806. This is the D-1 series; I’m not certain how rare a CPG rebrand is, but according to a little research, they were acquired in 2015 by Potter Signal and also rebranded Autocall devices for a time. This unit comes with its original packaging and inserts.

Oh wow, not sure I’ve ever seen a CPG-rebranded Vibratone 450! (though since CPG might have been somehow related to Federal Signal at one time going by the products they both sold) Nice job in finding one!

“also rebranded Autocall devices for a time”? Not sure I’ve ever seen any examples of that: heck as far as I know CPG always made their own stuff.

@BigKayCea

Initially, I thought it might have been a factory error, but there are other models just like it with or without the lettering, oddly enough.

Pretty much any SpectrAlert Advance model with “P” at the end of the number (like that one, which stands for “plain”) is an unmarked model. Neat though: not many collectors have one of those!

[BigKayCea]

A new year, and two new acquisitions!

From what I’ve heard, this sort of alarm is hard to find in the wild nowadays, but I was able to get a hold of one! It is a Simplex 2903 incadescent light plate with a Simplex 2901-9806 horn. The horn is a rebranded Federal Signal Vibratone (‘B2’ series) manufactured on 1/12/1981. While I was able to power up the light plate without much issue, the horn only sounded for about a millisecond, and I haven’t been able to get it to work since.

Rounding out this post is my BRK Electronics, Inc. SL177 strobe unit, with ‘First Alert’ branding on the manual and the unit’s back side. It is designed for hardwired applications, and at least one variant with a piezo exists. It is advertised as assisting with evacuations for individuals with hearing disabilities.

[TheCarson116]

@BigKayCea

From what I’ve heard, this sort of alarm is hard to find in the wild nowadays, but I was able to get a hold of one!

Yeah that’s for sure.

@BigKayCea

While I was able to power up the light plate without much issue, the horn only sounded for about a millisecond, and I haven’t been able to get it to work since.

Oh? Sorry to hear that: wonder what could be wrong with the latter (& how to fix it for that matter: hey that rhymes, heh).

@BigKayCea

Rounding out this post is my BRK Electronics, Inc. SL177 strobe unit, with ‘First Alert’ branding on the manual and the unit’s back side.

Interesting…

@BigKayCea

at least one variant with a piezo exists.

That would be the 7010BSL if I’m not mistaken (which is also an actual smoke detector). There are also two different generations of the SL177 as I just discovered: yours is a 2nd-gen unit, the 1st-gen version looks like some of the detectors BRK made in the 90s (such as the 2002). Said 1st-gen version also had a smoke detector variant in the form of the 100S.

@BigKayCea

It is advertised as assisting with evacuations for individuals with hearing disabilities.

Mhm: that’s the point of such devices. Gentex Corporation used to make smoke detectors with attached strobes (along with standalone strobes that could be triggered by their detectors), & BRK/First Alert & Kidde still make such units to this day (though nowdays they utilize LED strobes for less power draw & heat, longer life, & compactness).

[BigKayCea]

New additions to the collection! Special thanks to Joseph S./VintageCollections for assistance
in helping me describe the following devices:

This Jameson Home Products, Inc. CD-3 ionization detector is first up. It is under the ‘Code One’ branding and runs on a 9-volt battery. From what I’ve researched about this detector online, there is a Firex-branded variant as well as a rare variant featuring the cartoon beagle Snoopy from ‘Peanuts’. I’ll have a sound clip posted soon.

Second up is this Autocall CFW3-TML break-glass station (left). I previously bought an Autocall CFW-TML (right) from the same antique mart, with the differences being that the one on the left doesn’t have a general signaling switch, a different nameplate, and a different indicator light, to name a few. I also learned that both units are not actually coded; the ‘TML’ in each unit refers to ‘terminal’, in which the coding mechanisms would have been integrated into the panel(s) each unit was connected to.

Last up is this incandescent (or possibly a strobe) lamp I bought with the left Autocall unit from above. It runs on 12 volts (possibly DC-powered), and according to Joseph, the base plate is considered neutral electronically, and I presume the lead wire is ground, but I have yet to test it. I’m not 100% sure if this unit was originally manufactured for fire alarm signaling, as Joseph stated it most likely was used as an automobile lamp. I was unable to find any identification for this unit online, but I bought the unit from the same firefighting memorabilia area at the antique mart.

[TheCarson116]

Nice acquisitions there!

@BigKayCea

This Jameson Home Products, Inc. CD-3 ionization detector is first up. It is under the ‘Code One’ branding and runs on a 9-volt battery. From what I’ve researched about this detector online, there is a Firex-branded variant as well as a rare variant featuring the cartoon beagle Snoopy from ‘Peanuts’. I’ll have a sound clip posted soon.

FireX is the original maker of that detector as Jameson supposedly rebranded all their detectors from other manufacturers.

@BigKayCea

Second up is this Autocall CFW3-TML break-glass station (left). I previously bought an Autocall CFW-TML (right) from the same antique mart, with the differences being that the one on the left doesn’t have a general signaling switch, a different nameplate, and a different indicator light, to name a few. I also learned that both units are not actually coded; the ‘TML’ in each unit refers to ‘terminal’, in which the coding mechanisms would have been integrated into the panel(s) each unit was connected to.

Interesting…is the “general signaling switch” for use in a two-stage system or…? (is that “nut” on the left side of the right station where said switch & its cover would go?)

Another thing that’s notable I’d say is that the flip-up cover on the left station is red, has a number on it, & has empty horizontal screwholes, while the right one either has no colored plate or has it painted black, no number, & has vertical screwholes with screws.

[BigKayCea]

I visited a favorite antique store in my area today, and for $65, I acquired another Autocall unit for my collection!

This is an Autocall Type NYS, a coded pull station with a conduit box on the back and mostly intact, minus at least one key for testing the gong and box itself. Although the front nameplate identifies the code as ‘1-4’, upon closer inspection, I discovered that the code wheel was fabricated for ‘6-4-3’ coding! This leads me to think that the coding mechanisms were swapped from another unit and installed into this one. The unit is in working condition, and I hope to perform a cosmetic restoration on it down the road.