The ACA Hurricane is an electro-mechanical and rotating-directional, 130dB civil defense siren, manufactured by Alerting Communicators of America (ACA). ACA began manufacturing the Hurricane 130 in 1968, and ended production in 1981. The Hurricane 130 is similar to the Thunderbolt siren by Federal Signal Corporation and was also popular with towns looking for a high output 130dB siren
History
The Hurricane 130 was designed by James E. Biersach of Alerting Communicators of America (ACA) and was presented at a Civil Defense convention in November 1968. ACA had also manufactured sirens during this time and utilized new fiberglass casting techniques, which was never before used by any other manufacturers. The Hurricane 130 was a supercharged electro-mechanical siren utilizing an air compressor to produce a high output similar to the Thunderbolt siren. It was available in dual tone 8/10, 10/12, 8/12 port, or single tone 8, 10, or 12 port configurations, most models however came equipped with an 8/10 chopper port ratio (similar to a Major Third). It was meant to compete with Federal Signal's Thunderbolt siren series at the time. The Hurricane came off with a square horn (similar to the design of the Thunderbolt siren), with the exception of having two throats separately attached to the chopper enclosure. The original Hurricane 130 came with a unique all-in-one chopper and motor assembly with a direct-drive air compressor with a 25-horsepower motor
ACA later revised the design of the Hurricane 130 to differentiate it from the Thunderbolt siren and to also avoid any potential lawsuits over the two similar designs. ACA also corrected design flaws that were discovered in the original model. These changes to the design include a pole-mounted vertical compressor, with the controller removed from compressor assembly and housed in its own separate enclosure and a redesigned chopper assembly for easy maintenance. The horn was changed to a circular design and this was named the "Hurricane 130 MKII". It also utilizes a belt-driven compressor assembly connected to a 30-horsepower motor, as opposed to the previous direct-drive compressor with a 25-horsepower motor . ACA continued production of the Hurricane siren until 1981, when it was replaced with the Penetrator P-50, a 50-horsepower, dual-tone siren producing 135dB at 100 feet. All versions of the ACA Hurricane are rare, with the early "square-horn" variant being the most rare out of all of them. Most of the units have been replaced by newer and modern sirens.
Technical information
| Year | Type | Horn Shape | Port Ratios (Chopper) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Hurricane 130 | Square | 10/12 | Cylinder-shaped rotator assembly, with small slip rings and horizontally mounted direct-drive compressor assembly with a 25 HP motor. |
| 1970s | Hurricane 130 | Square | 10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12 | Larger stationary rotator assembly, with larger slip rings for improved performance. |
| 1970s | Hurricane MKII-130 | Round | 10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12 | Prototype and experimental stage version, utilizes the exact stationary rotator assembly, chopper assembly, and compressor assembly from the Hurricane 130 model. |
| 1973 | Hurricane MKII-130 | Round | 10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12 | This type featured a larger non-stationary rotator box, a redesigned chopper assembly, a larger round exponential horn, and used a 30 HP compressor, as opposed to an earlier 25 HP compressor. |
| 1973 | Hurricane MKII-130 | Round | 10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12 | Equipped with solenoids to produce "High-Low" tone capability for a "Fire" signal.[1] |
| Mid-1970s | Hurricane MKII-130 | Round | 10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12 | Utilizes a modified "clamshell type" rotator box to allow for easy maintenance. Most commonly seen Hurricane of all types which mostly came with an 8/10 chopper port ratio. |
Cities that had/use the Hurricane 130 Model
| Cities Using Or That Have Used The ACA Hurricane | Number of Sirens, Operation Status | Model |
|---|---|---|
| Addyston, OH | 1, removed which was roof-mounted. Currently owned by Clayton Werden Electric Company. | MKII-130 |
| Baxter, MN | Exact number of units unknown. 1 unit suffered from a mechanical failure which was removed and replaced in 2007 with a Federal Signal 2001-130. | 130 |
| Benton Harbor, MI | 10 units were installed as early warning system for Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant. All removed and replaced in 1996 with WPS-2000 series electronic sirens from Whelen Engineering. | MKII-130 |
| Centralia, IL | 2, 1 removed which was installed on a multi-level parking garage-type building which was demolished, other unit was removed from its place in 2010 which is now in private possession. | 130 |
| Crystal River, FL | 10 units were installed for Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant early warning system, all replaced with electronic sirens from Whelen Engineering. | MKII-130 |
| Darien, IL | 3, 1 has been removed and replaced by a refurbished Tempest T-128 from Fulton Technologies Incorporated in 2021. 1 was removed in 2010 for private possession located at 1934 Manning Rd., and replaced with a Federal Signal 2001-130 which has been also replaced with a refurbished T-128 in 2021. Location of the third unit is unknown which was said to be replaced with a Federal Signal 2001-SRNB. | MKII-130 |
| DeKalb, IL | 3, removed. 1 unit was a 1968 version of the Hurricane which featured a smaller cylinder-shaped rotator assembly, replaced with Federal Signal 2001-DC electro-mechanical sirens in 1989 due to partial system failure during a tornado warning. | 130 |
| Elk Grove Village, IL | 4, removed. 1 unit was replaced with an Penetrator P-50.[2] | 130 |
| Garland, TX | 4, removed. 2 units were sold in an auction in 2004, replaced with omnidirectional electronic sirens from Acoustic Technologies Incorporated (ATI) and were replaced later with sirens from Whelen Engineering. | MKII-130 |
| Greendale, WI | 1, removed and replaced with a Tempest T-128. | MKII-130 |
| Glendale, WI | 1, removed which was located at North Shore Montessori School. Replaced in 1992 with a Penetrator P-15 located at Lincoln Park. | MKII-130 |
| Greenville, TX | 2, both have been removed and sold in an auction. | MKII-130 |
| Kewaunee, WI | 2, both removed and replaced | MKII-130 |
| La Crescent, MN | 3, removed. The Hurricane MKII-130 siren located at Veteran's Park was replaced by a Sentry 10V electro-mechanical and omnidirectional siren, while the other unit located in Ice Arena was replaced by a Federal Signal 2001-130. The third unit which was located in Kistler Park did not have any type of siren replacement. Before its replacement, the last active two (2) Hurricane MKII-130 units in La Crescent, have no functional rotating mechanism and one of which does not have any functional compressor which resulted in weaker coverage. | MKII-130 |
| Milwaukee, WI | Exact number of units unknown, only 1 unit remains active located at Milwaukee Fire Station 39 (8025 W Bradley Rd.) with no plans of replacement and the other unit is stored at the headquarters of American Signal Corporation. | MKII-130, 130 |
| Minnetonka, MN | 3, all removed. | 130 |
| Moore, OK | 2, all removed and replaced. | MKII-130 |
| Normal, IL | Exact number of units unknown, all removed and were replaced with ACA Penetrator P-15 units. | MKII-130, 130 |
| Oak Harbor, OH | Exact number of units unknown, all units were part of the early warning system for Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station and were replaced with Thunderbolt and 2T22 sirens from Federal Signal. | MKII-130 |
| Plymouth, MN | 1, this unit was placed along I-694 which was removed in 1990 and replaced by a Federal Signal 2001-DC. | 130 |
| Rolling Meadows, IL | 3, removed. 1 unit had three signal capability which was located at Former Rolling Meadows Fire Department Station 15 and was replaced by an ACA Alertronic AL-6000R in 1988. All Alertronic AL-6000R units that replaced the Hurricane 130 units have been replaced with a Tempest T-128 from American Signal Corporation | MKII-130, 130 |
| Spencer, IN | 2, both removed in 1993. 1 unit was bought by a private owner, the other unit was most likely scrapped. | MKII-130 |
References
- ^ N/A, N/A. "ACA Hurricane MKII-130 Manual" (PDF). Civil Defense Museum. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-05-19.
- ^ "Photo of Elk Grove Village, IL ACA Hurricane MK1 - The Siren Board". www.airraidsirens.net. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
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