ACA Hurricane
The ACA Hurricane was a 130dB civilian defense siren, created in 1968, and stopped production around 1980, produced by Alerting Communicators of America, now American Signal Corporation. The Hurricane is very similar to the Federal Signal Thunderbolt Series.
History
The ACA Hurricane 130 was designed by Jim Biersach of Alerting Communicators of America and presented at a Civil Defense convention in November, 1968. They introduced other sirens, however, this utilized new fiber casting techniques, never before used by any other company. The Hurricane started off with a square horn (very similar to the Federal Signal Thunderbolt), but ended with two throats where the horn attaches to the chopper enclosure. These were produced until 1973, when a larger, rounded horn was made that was a true exponential horn. Additionally, the Hurricane siren was a supercharged mechanical siren, utilizing a blower and high output chopper similar to the Federal Signal Thunderbolt. The siren was popular with towns looking for a high output 130dB siren. The corporation continued production until 1980, when it was replaced with the P-50 50 HP, 135 dB siren (also known as the T-135). All Hurricanes are very rare, as most of them have been replaced by newer sirens.
Technical information
| Year | Type | Horn Shape | Rotor/Stator Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Hurricane 130 | Square | 10/12 | Cylinder shaped rotator assembly, with small collector rings. |
| 1970s | Hurricane 130 | Square | 10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12 | Bigger rotator, with larger collector rings for better performance. |
| 1973 | Hurricane 130 MKII | Round | 8/10 | This type onwards used a 30 HP compressor, as opposed to earlier 25 HP compressor. |
| Mid-1970s | Hurricane 130 MKII | Round | 8/10 | Used modified rotator to allow for easy maintenance. This is the most commonly seen Hurricane of all types. |
Cities using the Hurricane 130
| Cities Using Or That Have Used The ACA Hurricane | Number of Sirens, Operation Status | Model |
|---|---|---|
| Addyston, OH | 1, Removed | MKII-130 |
| Kewaunee, WI | At least 4, Removed and Replaced Later on (Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant) | MKII-130 |
| Baxter, MN | 1, Removed | 130 |
| Benton Harbor, MI | About 10, Removed and Replaced With Whelen WPS Omnidirectional Sirens in 1996 (Cook Nuclear Power Plant) | MKII-130 |
| Crystal River, FL | Approximately 10, Removed (Crystal River NPP system). All replaced with Whelen sirens. | MKII-130 |
| Centralia, IL | 2, 1 Removed, 1 In Private Possession | 130 |
| Darien, IL | 2, 1 Still Operational, 1 Removed for Private Possession. | MKII-130 |
| Fayetteville, OH | 1, Removed | MKII-130 |
| Garland, TX | 4, Removed. Replaced with Whelen sirens. | MKII-130 |
| Greendale, WI | 1, Removed. Replaced with an American Signal Corporation T-128. | MKII-130 |
| Glendale, WI | 1, Removed. | MKII-130 |
| Greenville, TX | 2, 1 is out of service as the switch is set to the (OFF) position. The Hurricane located near the car dealership has a detached blower, with reports of the siren changing directions. It is assumed active as the power switch remains in the (ON) position with no evidence of cut wires. No test videos have been made on this one. | MKII-130 |
| La Crescent, MN | 3, Removed (1 Hurricane MKII-130 is replaced by a Sentry siren and other Hurricane is replaced by a Federal Signal 2001-130) | MKII-130 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 2, 1 operational. The one at the West Bradley fire station is confirmed to still be working, no sources of replacement.[1] It will only be removed if it ceases operation. The other one is stored at the ASC Headquarters. | MKII-130 |
| Moore, OK | 2, All Removed and Replaced. | MKII-130 |
| Oak Harbor, Ohio | All removed and replaced with Thunderbolts and XT22s. | MKII-130 |
| Plymouth, MN | 1, Removed. | 130 |
| Rolling Meadows, IL | 3, Removed. | MKII-130, 130 |
| Spencer, IN | 2, All removed in 1993. 1 Bought by Private owner, the other one was most likely scrapped. | MKII-130 |
| Minnetonka, MN | 3, removed. | 130 |
References
- Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management
