There is no other sound quite like that of a fire truck screaming by. What makes this so impressive is the ear deafening wail of the venerable Federal “Q” Siren. I was very fortunate to do some good old fashioned horse trading for a 10″ chrome Q siren in excellent condition.
The siren needed a little bit of work and we were fortunate enough to have the support of Federal Signal by supplying us with a new chrome grille and bullet cover for the motor. We had the impeller housing, finger guard and pedestal re-chromed by John Dorgan in Arizona. While the siren was apart, we decided to have Spectrum Industrial Coatings add a blue powder-coat finish to the impeller and clutch cap.
The great staff of Central Auto Electric in Union, MO were extremely helpful in getting the siren apart and getting it back together. We were pleased to find that all it needed was a good cleaning and one new bearing. Mike, the owner of Central Auto Electric, bent over backwards to help us out.
All we had to do was put the new chrome pieces on and install the 1ga cable to supply the motor with electricity.
Installing the Q-Siren was pretty straight forward. We first drilled the four mounting holes and then one large 9/16″ hole for the power cable. Lastly, we drilled a small hole under the base for the electric brake wire. Using some left over ARP stainless steel bolts, we secured the Q Siren to the bumper after guiding the power cable and brake wires through. We still have to install the heavy duty relay, but that will be easy enough.
The Q Siren really looks sharp sitting up there and it’s amazing how big it is. We can’t wait to crank this siren up!