Took the BoB dvd to work and used it as a screen saver on the laptop (with the sound turned down ) ….as you do…… and it got the bit where there is a lookout ontop of a tower on the airfield. The phone rings and he answers it, says “right” ambles over to the hand cranked air-raid siren and starts to turn the sirens handle.
My question is, what makes the sound produced by the siren rise up and down ?, does it depend on how fast the handle is turned (in which case every one who’se cranked a handle in a war film, all turned at the same speed cos the air-raid sirens all rise and fall at the same time !), is there a kind of centrifugal ‘brake’ that starts to work when a certain speed is attained by the guy doing the winding ?
I dont know, so over to you guys.
By: Lincoln 7 - 23rd September 2011 at 13:35
Lance, send me a couple of your tablets, you certainly know how to confuse . com. people.:diablo:
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: Grey Area - 23rd September 2011 at 12:10
No, you know what you thought he meant.
There’s a difference, you know! :p
And I’m sure that ppp will explain what he meant for himself, if he so chooses.
By: Lincoln 7 - 23rd September 2011 at 09:26
GA, Well, a least I knew what he meant.So your next retort will no doubt be, “Well what did he mean?.;)
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: Grey Area - 22nd September 2011 at 22:45
ppp originally said:
It seems rather stupid to have dismantled the network, they could certainly save lives in a disaster.
Read that carefully, Jim.
No mention of air raids, just the general term “disaster” – hence my question.
Read the thread properly before you jump in with the… ahem…. “witty” comments another time, eh?
By: Lincoln 7 - 22nd September 2011 at 20:18
But how would they have saved lives?
How could a siren tell people a) the nature of the disaster and b) what they were supposed to do to mitigate the effects?
Lance, Your the best wind up merchant on the forum;) You know as well as everyone else the warning was sounded due to an impending air raid, after the raid, if it happened to be where you were,then the all clear was sounded.
It’s sounding gave folks the chance to seek cover, thus, and hopefully saving their lives.
Have you stopped taking your tablets again?.:eek:
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: Indiaecho - 22nd September 2011 at 19:50
I grew up in a mining area, and we had a mines rescue station in our town that used an air raid siren to alert the rescue teams if they were needed.
Luckily I don’t think I ever heard it used in anger, but it would be tested every Monday morning at 10am, right up to the mid 1980s when the final mines closed.
It was great watching the bemused and panicked faces on visitors to the town every Monday!!!
By: Grey Area - 22nd September 2011 at 18:02
But how would they have saved lives?
How could a siren tell people a) the nature of the disaster and b) what they were supposed to do to mitigate the effects?
By: Lincoln 7 - 22nd September 2011 at 17:44
I would imagine Lance, ppp meant to have said, “Could have saved lives PRIOR to an impending disaster”. It’s academic now, as they have been removed, apart from the odd few.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: Grey Area - 22nd September 2011 at 17:26
It seems rather stupid to have dismantled the network, they could certainly save lives in a disaster.
How?
By: Lincoln 7 - 22nd September 2011 at 11:23
ppp. I couldn’t agree with you more, utterly stupid to remove them.
The one at Sutton Bridge, is still operational, and the local rag tells folks the time and day when they are going to test it, as it is a flood alarm unit nowadays.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: ppp - 21st September 2011 at 20:16
The warning siren network doesn’t operate anymore, the last would have ended operation around 1990. Some sirens are used for flood defence warning and nuclear warnings, such as the ones at naval bases at Portsmouth and Plymouth (see link), but they are separate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lnPCN6Bjvk
It seems rather stupid to have dismantled the network, they could certainly save lives in a disaster.
By: nJayM - 21st September 2011 at 14:39
I am sure not so long ago I have seen some Police Boxes with sirens
I am sure not so long ago I have seen some Police Boxes with sirens in and around Edinburgh.
Whether they operate or not or whether they are still in place I will only know after a comprehensive recce.
Here are some pics URLs albeit the first is 1960s
http://www.flickr.com/photos/allybeag/512731892/ (note cars)
That box may have been moved to http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_a_o/0_around_edinburgh_-_tollcross_police_box_034560_zoom-in.htm
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl Pan this location with search word Tollcross in Street View
Here are a few more recent ones but the sirens aren’t visible. http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_my_p_0/0_my_photographs_0_edinburgh_police_boxes.htm
By: Lincoln 7 - 21st September 2011 at 13:45
As far as I am aware, every Police Station, and every Rural Stn, ie just a Police house with an office built onto the side all had a siren. They were switched on by hand, but all stations had a standby hand cranked one as a backup, just in case. The one at Sutton Bridge also served as a flood defence warning in case the river Nene broke it’s banks.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: TwinOtter23 - 21st September 2011 at 08:17
Here’s a YouTube clip of the hand cranked type of “Carter Air Raid Siren” that I mentioned in my earlier post http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HntOFbl3LWQ&NR=1
From the search it would seem there are various types, including electrically operated!
I’ve rechecked the recording and I was told that “… you’re not modulating it properly!”
By: bananasplits - 21st September 2011 at 07:24
Air raid sirens
Hi
I work at Fords Dagenham and to date have found two 415 volt(big ones) WW2 air raid sirens high up in the roof.Wether there were more who knows but the building where i work is about 2.5 million square feet so perhaps you might get an idea from that:confused:
By: Wellington285 - 20th September 2011 at 22:46
I used to work at Glenside Psychiatric Hospital in Bristol that used to have a WW2 siren stuck on the roof above the ward I worked on. It was used as part of the fire alarm system for the whole hospital, the first time I heard it go off my heart missed a few beats, until the Charge Nurse told me what it was. Many Bristolians thought it was to inform the population that someone had escaped.
I think all Police stations had them dont know if they had to switch them on when they got a message or they were switched on automatically from a central command centre
Ian
By: EGTC - 20th September 2011 at 01:33
I grew up in Southall, West London and if I recall correctly Southall police station has an air raid siren on top of it. Infact, I remember they still tested it fairly regularly and assume they still do (I moved out of southall back in 2000) Maybe if you contact them they might be able to answer your questions? 🙂
By: TwinOtter23 - 19th September 2011 at 23:01
Many were hand turned units, which were turned in a certain way and for a given duration to indicate a raid or the all clear!
I was told off last year by an ex-Observer Corps member for not getting it correct when recoding some sound clips! 😮
By: MarkG - 24th February 2005 at 22:17
The hand operated sirens “wail” at whatever speed you turn the handle. To get the rise and fall note you just wind it up then slow down, wind it up again etc.. The “all clear” was a steady wail so you just wind it at a constant speed.
They work by spinning a sort of “fan” thing (not sure what the proper name is) inside the casing at high speed. There’s a whole load of gearing in there to make the fan spin very much faster than the handle, that’s why they take a bit of time to wind up in the first place.
Anyway, there are three on eBay at the moment so you could buy your own and give it a try!
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February 24, 2005 at 7:27 pm