Скачать или смотреть What Happens When a Siren Gets Struck By Lightning — Whelen WPS-4004, Stuttgart, AR

So apparently one of Stuttgart’s Whelen sirens got hit by lightning and wouldn’t stop sounding the “Hi-Lo” tone as a result. This was the day of the week they would normally test (Wednesday), though it was cancelled due to the weather; even so, they test the “Wail” tone for 3 minutes, not “Hi-Lo” for....well, at least 20 minutes. The other four sirens were not affected.

I should note that the system was actually upgraded over the past year or two due to issues with them. Prior to the upgrade, the sirens used digital ESC-864 controllers, and a WPS-3016 existed on the system (they probably all used to be 3016’s prior to four of them receiving new Vortex or WPS-4000 series heads, though that’s just my guess). The 3016 was replaced with a new three-driver, omnidirectional siren (now either a WPS-2903 or OA3), and all sirens received a controller upgrade; interestingly, though, it appears as if the cabinets were unchanged.

SIREN DETAILS
Owner: CITY OF STUTTGART (presumably)
Manufacturer: WHELEN ENGINEERING
Model: WPS-4004
Controller: ESC-2030(?) (former digital ESC-864; upgraded 2019-2020, cabinet reused)
Tone(s) Used:
— 3 Min. Wail: Tests and Tornado Warnings
— Live Voice Broadcast: At start of tests (unsure as to whether it’s used during activations for Tornado Warnings)
— “Seemingly Endless” Hi-Lo: This one instance
Test Policy: Siren is tested every Wednesday at roughly 12:00 PM, weather permitting