Hey guys. I saw another post of a fire alarm model, and I decided to make a topic related to this subject.
To start this off, here is one of my models. It is a Xenon strobe, and a horn that sounds like a “whistle”.
Here is the Sketchup file:
http://www.fast-files.com/getfile.aspx?file=134930
When I think whistle horns, I think the SHG or the AS (one of my teachers in elementary school likened the AS in the multipurpose room as a masquerade whistle) but it does look really nice. Great job!
Reminds me of when I saw a video from inside one of the schools destroyed by the Moore, OK tornado, and I heard what I initially thought were the school’s Wheelocks sounding erratically, but then turned out to be one of the teachers blowing a whistle. The actual fire alarm wasn’t sounding, I guess it was rendered nonfunctional early on by the tornado (since there was certainly enough dust and sprinkler waterflow to set it off).
What I meant by “whistle” was it sounded like a modern-ish alarm, such as a Wheelock NS or Spectralert Classic.
Oh OK. Yeah I could see how that would work also. But it still is a pretty cool design though. I really like it!
Here’s a little device I designed this morning. I’ve had the idea for a while now, intended to be a solution for the new mass notification requirements while maintaining the presence of only one device. Additionally, it takes advantage of the low-profile offered by LED strobes.
The design of the device allows three distinct alarm conditions (in this case, Fire, Alert, and Police, although others could be possible) to be communicated by the same device. Slightly translucent trim around the device appears white normally, but is illuminated by several multi-color LEDs depending on the alarm condition. The alarm is then easily identified by the color of the device.
The strobe utilizes LED technology as well. Since I haven’t seen any high-power multi-color LEDs, three separate LEDs power the strobe. These are located within the body of the device. A convex lens takes the light emitted from any of the three LEDs and focuses it into the reflector, where the light exits the device. This combination of lens ensures that there is no visible difference in the strength of the LED flash other than the color. The strobe will flash white for fire, amber for alert, and blue for police presence/lockdown.
Device in “Normal” condition.
Notice there is no lettering on the device. The slight indentation above the horn is a layered screen with pre-illuminated wording. I forget the name of this technology, but if you’ve ever seen the signs from Menard’s O-Gauge model railroad buildings, you know what I’m talking about.
The layered screen allows multiple words to appear brightly on the device depending on the alarm condition, while the device remains blank under normal conditions.
Notice the translucent trim around the edges of device. This area illuminates in different colors depending on the alarm condition.
“Fire” Condition
“Alert” Condition
“Police” Condition
That is an actually really cool design that you put together! Maybe you can patent it!
This is a very nice sketch! Straight-forward, practical, no-bull appearance but still in a small footprint. Kind of looks like a Wheelock MIZ or Gentex GX-90 crossed with an older Mircom/Potter Select-A-Strobe. As for the “whistle horn”, I’d honestly prefer a horn more along the lines of a Simplex TrueAlert or Cerberus Pyrotronics U-MMT, but ya can’t have it all :D.
This is just my $0.02, but I am getting extremely tired of seeing all of these “designer-look” signals that are all the rage in the fire alarm world. Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve grown up around older (1970s-1990s) systems and I’ve never had a problem with the “boxy” devices; you can easily see them and it’s clear what their defined purpose is. The device in the quote above isn’t necessarily a “designer” device, but the final product would have a very nice, clean appearance.
Personally, I don’t really care if it sticks out unless the devices are as large as the grille of a 1985 Volvo 740 wagon :lol: .
I don’t care much for the design, I care more about the sound they make and that they WORK.
I had made a model a couple days ago of a triangular-shaped ceiling alarm— because why not. The horn would most likely sound high pitched, comparable to a modern Wheelock device, as well as the strobe being an Xenon.
These are all pretty neat, Nick’s advanced lighting idea especially. I do agree that NA designs have gotten too elaborate in recent years - a basic, utilitarian design works best. The triangle-shaped device sketch does look cool though.
Oh wow that really looks very nice! I love that design!
