Uploaded July 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This has to be one of my favorite siren tests of all time.
For my final First Saturday siren test in Northeast Ohio before I move to SW Ohio permanently (my dad got a new job, so we are moving in a couple weeks to the Dayton area), I decided to go see one of Knox Township's new sirens, these Sentry 14V's. As most of you are aware, these sirens went up around March 23rd (but were not operational till early June), after being ordered around November of last year (shortly after I filmed the Allertor in Homeworth; that recording has now become one of the most popular videos on my channel). These sirens replaced the famous refurbed ex-Beaver Valley NPP ACA Allertor 125's Knox Township installed around 2012. Those Allertors were replaced due to numerous electrical faults and problems with the sirens (originally we thought the radios were the culprit, but upon installation and successful testing of the new system with them, we realized it was definitely issues with the Allertors themselves), leaving only the one in Homeworth active during the last few years the system was operational.
As is usual with Knox Township, this test couldn't have went smoothly. I nearly got a failure, until I messaged Cameron (Sirens of NE Ohio), who was going to go with me but wasn't able to, about what I should do; he said he'd call Homeworth VFD (who sets them off) and a nice lady answered and said they were busy and would set them off momentarily. Moments after he informed me they'd set them off, this siren wound up. Cameron, you're truly a godsend! Lol.
I cannot describe the feeling of elation and utter joy I had when this siren wound up. It was very loud, punchy, and had a nice tone to it, but wasn't loud enough to irritate your ears, but was attention grabbing. Certainly not as loud as the Allertor, but still was very potent, and no doubt carries far.
These sirens appear to still be set up to do the 3 wacky one minute alert cycles that the Allertors ran, only now cancel tones are sent, as the sirens are now only tested for one minute, instead of three minutes as was standard with the old sirens. The reason for this was supposedly because running them for the full 3 minutes might cause confusion. Today, since testing was late, they sent cancel tones later than normal which is why the siren winds down (not sure if that's a brake, sounds too fast for a capacitor and whatever it is causes the motor to torque so much it shakes the siren and the pole) and winds up for the second cycle before being cancelled. Knox Township has 4 of these three phase AC-only 14V's, purchased from C&K Early Warning Systems of Litchfield, as well as one 3V8-H-B, located on private property at Brunner Farm (that siren replaced an Allertor that was removed in 2015 after being knocked down in a storm and was a total loss). In person, you could faintly hear the 3V8-H-B off in the distance.
This siren is located at the Township Garage adjacent to Knox Elementary School, which is located across the street. Two of the 4 14V's in the system are painted green and white, and according to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, these sirens were in locations serving the West Branch School District so they were painted school colors (white and green) at no additional cost. The remaining Sentry's are the regular standard beige/tan color. I decided to record this one as the Allertor here had never been recorded (it was one of the non-functional units, and even had the power completely turned off, meaning there must've been some serious electrical issues with that one). Obviously, the new sirens work perfectly fine, and now that I know of all the problems the old sirens had, I am glad that they were replaced.
Apologies for the wind noise, this siren is located near a soybean field, so there was nothing to block the wind with, and this is the only horn I could easily set up in front of to get a nice chopper shot. Enjoy!
Forgot to mention, with the installation of the new system, Knox Township completely changed their testing time and procedure. The new sirens are tested on the First Saturday of the month (March-October) at 1 PM for one minute/cycle of alert (or in the case of today, testing ran a bit longer, which is how I found out they still do the goofy three Alerts). As you may recall, the old testing schedule was every other Saturday at 5 PM for three minutes. This is no longer the case, with the installation of the new system. While their tests are shorter and more convenient (being earlier in the day), they're still just as epic as they were with the old system.
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Camera(s) Used: Canon PowerShot SX50HS (Intro Photos), Canon Vixia HF-R700 (video & audio)
© Copyright 2019 by firefreak57 studios. Do not copy any content on this channel without permission. All rights reserved.
This has to be one of my favorite siren tests of all time.
For my final First Saturday siren test in Northeast Ohio before I move to SW Ohio permanently (my dad got a new job, so we are moving in a couple weeks to the Dayton area), I decided to go see one of Knox Township's new sirens, these Sentry 14V's. As most of you are aware, these sirens went up around March 23rd (but were not operational till early June), after being ordered around November of last year (shortly after I filmed the Allertor in Homeworth; that recording has now become one of the most popular videos on my channel). These sirens replaced the famous refurbed ex-Beaver Valley NPP ACA Allertor 125's Knox Township installed around 2012. Those Allertors were replaced due to numerous electrical faults and problems with the sirens (originally we thought the radios were the culprit, but upon installation and successful testing of the new system with them, we realized it was definitely issues with the Allertors themselves), leaving only the one in Homeworth active during the last few years the system was operational.
As is usual with Knox Township, this test couldn't have went smoothly. I nearly got a failure, until I messaged Cameron (Sirens of NE Ohio), who was going to go with me but wasn't able to, about what I should do; he said he'd call Homeworth VFD (who sets them off) and a nice lady answered and said they were busy and would set them off momentarily. Moments after he informed me they'd set them off, this siren wound up. Cameron, you're truly a godsend! Lol.
I cannot describe the feeling of elation and utter joy I had when this siren wound up. It was very loud, punchy, and had a nice tone to it, but wasn't loud enough to irritate your ears, but was attention grabbing. Certainly not as loud as the Allertor, but still was very potent, and no doubt carries far.
These sirens appear to still be set up to do the 3 wacky one minute alert cycles that the Allertors ran, only now cancel tones are sent, as the sirens are now only tested for one minute, instead of three minutes as was standard with the old sirens. The reason for this was supposedly because running them for the full 3 minutes might cause confusion. Today, since testing was late, they sent cancel tones later than normal which is why the siren winds down (not sure if that's a brake, sounds too fast for a capacitor and whatever it is causes the motor to torque so much it shakes the siren and the pole) and winds up for the second cycle before being cancelled. Knox Township has 4 of these three phase AC-only 14V's, purchased from C&K Early Warning Systems of Litchfield, as well as one 3V8-H-B, located on private property at Brunner Farm (that siren replaced an Allertor that was removed in 2015 after being knocked down in a storm and was a total loss). In person, you could faintly hear the 3V8-H-B off in the distance.
This siren is located at the Township Garage adjacent to Knox Elementary School, which is located across the street. Two of the 4 14V's in the system are painted green and white, and according to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, these sirens were in locations serving the West Branch School District so they were painted school colors (white and green) at no additional cost. The remaining Sentry's are the regular standard beige/tan color. I decided to record this one as the Allertor here had never been recorded (it was one of the non-functional units, and even had the power completely turned off, meaning there must've been some serious electrical issues with that one). Obviously, the new sirens work perfectly fine, and now that I know of all the problems the old sirens had, I am glad that they were replaced.
Apologies for the wind noise, this siren is located near a soybean field, so there was nothing to block the wind with, and this is the only horn I could easily set up in front of to get a nice chopper shot. Enjoy!
Forgot to mention, with the installation of the new system, Knox Township completely changed their testing time and procedure. The new sirens are tested on the First Saturday of the month (March-October) at 1 PM for one minute/cycle of alert (or in the case of today, testing ran a bit longer, which is how I found out they still do the goofy three Alerts). As you may recall, the old testing schedule was every other Saturday at 5 PM for three minutes. This is no longer the case, with the installation of the new system. While their tests are shorter and more convenient (being earlier in the day), they're still just as epic as they were with the old system.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Camera(s) Used: Canon PowerShot SX50HS (Intro Photos), Canon Vixia HF-R700 (video & audio)
© Copyright 2019 by firefreak57 studios. Do not copy any content on this channel without permission. All rights reserved.
