The ACA Hurricane is an electro-mechanical and rotating-directional, 130dB civil defense siren, created and produced by Alerting Communicators of America(ACA). ACA began manufacturing the Hurricane 130 in 1968, and ended production in 1981. The Hurricane 130 is very similar to the Federal Signal Thunderbolt series, being a supercharged siren.
The Hurricane MKII-130 siren illustrated in the manual. (Model CD1-103 Size C)
History
The ACA Hurricane 130 was designed by James E. Biersach of Alerting Communicators of America and presented at a Civil Defense convention in November 1968. They introduced other sirens, however, this utilized new fiberglass casting techniques, which was never before used by any other company. It was available in dual tone 8/10, 10/12, 8/12 port, or single tone 8, 10, or 12 port configurations, but most models were equipped with an 8/10 chopper port ratio (similar to a Major Third). It was meant to compete with Federal Signal's Thunderbolt siren series at the time. The Hurricane started off with a square horn (similar to the Federal Signal Thunderbolt), but ended with two throats where the horn attaches to the chopper enclosure. Additionally, the Hurricane siren was a supercharged mechanical siren, utilizing a blower and high output chopper similar to the Federal Signal Thunderbolt. These were produced until 1973 when a larger, rounded horn was made, that was a true exponential horn, and was changed to prevent a lawsuit. This siren was popular with towns looking for a high output 130dB siren.
Later on, ACA opted to change the design of the Hurricane to make it stand out from the Thunderbolt siren, and to also avoid any potential lawsuits over the two similar designs. Aside from that, they decided to correct some design flaws that were discovered in the original model. These changes to the design include a pole-mounted vertical blower, the controller was removed from blower assembly and housed in its own cabinet, and most notably, the horn changed from rectangular to circular. This model was dubbed the "Hurricane 130 MKII" by the company. It also utilizes a 30-horsepower blower motor, as opposed to the 7.5-horsepower blower motor on the Federal Signal Thunderbolt. The company continued production of the Hurricane siren until 1980, when the Hurricane was replaced with the Penetrator P-50, a 50-horsepower, dual-tone, 135 dB siren. All versions of the ACA Hurricane are very rare, with the square-horn variant being the most rare out of all of them. Most of units have been replaced by newer, capable sirens.
Technical information
Year
Type
Horn Shape
Port Ratios (Chopper)
Notes
1968
Hurricane 130
Square
10/12
Cylinder-shaped rotator assembly, with small collector rings.
1970s
Hurricane 130
Square
10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12
Larger stationary rotator box, with larger collector rings for improved performance.
1973
Hurricane MKII-130
Round
10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12
This type featured a larger non-stationary rotator box, a redesigned chopper assembly, a larger round exponential horn, and used a 30 HP compressor, as opposed to an earlier 25 HP compressor.
1973
Hurricane MKII-130
Round
10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12
Equipped with solenoids to produce "High-Low" tone capability for a "Fire" signal.[1]
Mid-1970s
Hurricane MKII-130
Round
10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12
Utilizes a modified "clamshell type" rotator box to allow for easy maintenance. Most commonly seen Hurricane of all types which mostly came with an 8/10 chopper port ratio.
2, 1 removed which was installed on a multi-level parking garage-type building which was demolished, other unit was removed from its place in 2010 which is now in private possession.
3, 1 has been removed and replaced by an American Signal Corporation / Fulton Technologies Tempest T-128. One was removed in 2010 for private possession, located in 1934 Manning Rd., and was replaced by a Federal Signal 2001-130 which has been also replaced recently with a T-128. Location of the third unit is yet to be confirmed which was said to be replaced with a Federal Signal 2001-SRNB.
3, removed. One unit was a 1968 version of the Hurricane which featured a smaller cylinder-shaped rotator assembly, replaced by Federal Signal 2001 series electro-mechanical sirens in 1989 due to partial system failure during a tornado warning.
1, removed. Used to be located at North Shore Montessori School. Replaced in 1992 with an ACA Penetrator P-15 electro-mechanical siren located at Lincoln Park.
2, both have been removed. An ATI has replaced the Hurricane located off the highway, which is located across the way from the Hurricane’s old location.
3, removed. The Hurricane MKII-130 unit located in Veteran's Park was replaced by a Sentry 10V electro-mechanical and omnidirectional siren, while the Hurricane MKII-130 unit located in Ice Arena was replaced by a Federal Signal 2001-130. The third unit which was located in Kistler Park did not have any type of siren replacement. Before its replacement, the last active two (2) Hurricane MKII-130 units in La Crescent, have no functional rotating mechanism and one of which does not have any functional blower which resulted in weaker coverage.
Exact number of units unknown, only 1 unit remains active and located in Milwaukee Fire Station 39 (8025 W Bradley Rd.) is confirmed functional with no sources of replacement.[3] It will only be removed if it ceases operation. The other unit is stored at the American Signal Corporation (ASC) Headquarters. All square-horn Hurricane 130's were manufactured here, and according to other siren enthusiasts, more Hurricane 130 units were installed in the city one time.
All units were removed and replaced with Federal Signal Thunderbolt and XT22 sirens. All units were part of the Davis Besse nuclear power plant system.
3, removed. One of which was reported having three signal capability which was located in Former Rolling Meadows Fire Department Station 15, which was replaced by an ACA Alertronic AL-6000R in 1988. All Alertronic AL-6000R units that replaced the Hurricane 130 units have been replaced also with an American Signal Tempest T-128 AC/DC.
