Simplex 2903-9838: Test

This is a test of my Simplex 2903-9001 Light Plate and 9838 Horn combo. These devices were among the many graciously given to me by VintageVibratone.

The 2903 series, series of light plates began production in the very early 1980s, it even speculated that the earliest models were from 1979. The 2903 light plate is iconic in its design, and invokes a sense of 80s nostalgia. From the highly geometric plastic design, to the bright red “FIRE” lettering on the lens, to the triangular shape of the lens itself-The 2903 light plate and its companions are iconic in their design. This plate is designated as a Simplex 2903-9001, which means it was manufactured with a single bulb. There are variants that came with a strobe, the 2903-910X, and, rarely, a few that employed a dual bulb design; namely the 2903-9005. There is also a front mounted horn version, the 2901-9X02, as well as a speaker strobe version, the Simplex 2902. These speaker strobes were most likely commonly used with the Simplex 2120 multiplex system, a fire alarm panel dating back to the late 1970s that was designed for large scale systems with voice evacuation support.

Behind the plate, I have a Simplex 9838, otherwise known as a Faraday 6120. These horns share the same mechanism as the Simplex 9833/Faraday 6020, but have a different grille design. These horns are interesting in the fact that the pitch is adjusted by bending a metal tab on the back of the horn, rather than using a conventional screw. These horns were most likely made to phase out the older Simplex 9806 (Federal Signal 450D) and 9833 Horns, along with the old 2903 plate, but ended up being used alongside them for a bit during the late 1980s. The 9838 would go on to be one of the very last of its kind before electromechanical horns were completely phased out in the early 2000s. It would be used alongside Simplex’s 4903 light plates, and the mechanism would be used in Simplex’s 4903 Mechanical Horn Strobe’s, which didn’t last very long at all in favor of electronic horns.

For coding, I decided to use the following options:

120BPM

90BPM

Simplex 2001/4002 Code 3

Continuous

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