Sorry if it sounds like a noob-ish question, I am new to fire alarms and related devices. I got this electric horn for Christmas. I’ve seen these used as fire alarms, but is it actually classified as a fire alarm?
It is a Standard Electric Time Co. Model 50 12 Volt buzzer-horn. I have attached pictures below. I apologize for the image size. If this is a fire alarm device, is there any information I can get on it? Google provides nothing, except the history of the company.
The ID Tag states the following info:
Volts 12
Cycles 60
Amps 1.9
Model 50
Serial No 2A17M3
Looks like this could have been meant as a general signaling horn, meaning that it could’ve been used for a variety of purposes, with fire protection being one of them.
I agree with U8ol0 and Prog, this horn could have been used for fire alarm use, among other things, but red usually seems to be a sign for a fire alarm-only signaling device.
Do you have a 12-volt AC transformer? I’d love to hear the sound of this thing!
Those were made starting I think around the 40s by Auth Electric. I hear they are extremely loud. By the information you provided from the sticker, this one runs on 12 volts AC so you will need to find a doorbell transformer that puts out 12 volts AC. unfortunately 12 volt AC transformers are not that easy to find. You might have to look at a place like an electrical supply store, or an electronic supply store, or even Radio Shack if they even still have parts.do not overpower or underpower these coils because they could burn up and stop working. If you underpower it probably won’t work at all and overload your transformer.
If I can find it, I used to have a model train transformer that was fed 16V AC. It was a Variac-style, so using my electricity-measuring-meter-thing (I forgot the name) I could measure the output and fiddle with the knob until its output was as close as possible to 12 volts. I’ll find some way to power it, eventually. I find it odd, though, that this thing would run on AC.
I also find it sort of odd that very old, rare, or unusual things tend to pop up into my collection of noisemakers. I’m not complaining to any measure, I just find it unusual.
AC fire alarm horns were common in the past. It’s actually an easy way to create an alarm- the alternating current could vibrate the plate back and forth, without a fast switching mechanism. They eventually switched to DC power, because DC is easier to transform and is more common.
As for the train transformer, we will need more info- amperes, load, and the hertz of the alarm (the alarm could come from another country with different AC power).
Andrew, please correct me if anything’s incorrect. Thanks!
No worries, I found a 60W max 120VAC to 12VAC converter on Ebay for 7 dollars. If I buy it now, it’ll even come in time for New Year’s madness. I’ll order it and get a video of it the minute I get it in the mail and safely wired up.
These are quite loud. They were also available in a single projector version. My high school had the single-projector versions before they remodeled it. On these the horns could be rotated so the signal could be set up for different locations, like a hallway corner or end.