American Signal Corporation

American Signal Corporation is an outdoor warning siren company in America founded in 1942.

History

The company began as Biersach and Niedermeyer Co. in 1873, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin based metal fabricating operation. After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, concerns surfaced that the American public should be notified in the event of air attacks. The United States Department of the Army granted the company a contract to manufacture outdoor warning sirens and in 1942 the company began production of over 2000 sirens to be installed throughout the Pacific Theater for American troops and Air Bases. The need for these outdoor warnings increased during the following years as the Cold War brought a new threat of nuclear war.

In the late 1960s the company's name changed to Alerting Communicators of America (ACA) and the production of new models began, to suit the needs of individual municipalities. Banshee, Screamer, Cyclone, Howler, and Allertor are just a few of the names under which these sirens were known. In the 1980s, the company produced a line of sirens known as the Penetrator series, a more substantial variant of sirens the company had previously manufactured. In 1982, the company became the first in its industry to provide a wireless digital supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system called CompuLert, with over 6000 installations worldwide. Over the decade, the prominent advancements the company made in its siren's designs included battery operation, high powered Voice/Sirens and indoor alerting systems. Similarly designed sirens were still manufactured, but under new names, such as the Tempest series. As of 2010, ASC is still in operation and supplies many towns and cities in the U.S. with outdoor warning sirens, most of which are now used to warn the public of threats such as tsunamis, severe weather, chemical spills and civil emergencies.

Early production siren models

Original siren from early production (1940's-1950's):

• Mobil Directo (Biersach & Niedermeyer brand)

Sirens from the 1960s until the 1980s:

Watch an Allertor in alert and attack.

• ACA Allertor 125
• ACA Hurricane 130
• ACA Hurricane 130 (MK II)
• ACA Screamer Series. (Ranging from 2 HP to 10 HP)
• ACA Banshee 110
• ACA Banshee 115
• ACA Sentry 95
• ACA Cyclone 125
• ACA Cyclone 120 (This 40 HP. version lasted only a short while)

Sirens in production during the 1980s until the early 1990s:

Watch a Penetrator in alert and attack.

Head Shot of A P-50 The Small Tube is the air intake the "fluting" around the bottom of the chopper is the air exit

A Pole Mounted ACA P-50 is The colony TX

• ACA Cyclone (A foreign 60 HP. version was built as well)
• ACA P-10
• ACA P-15
• ACA P-20
• ACA P-50
• ACA Howler
• ACA Alertronic 6000
• ACA Alertronic 4000

Sirens made after 1990

After going bankrupt in 1992 and being sold to a new owner, the company changed its name and the name of its sirens in production.

Sirens built from 1992 onward:

• RM-127
• RM-130 (The RM-130 is the predecessor of the modern T-128, and uses the same horn system while maintaining appearance similar to the Penetrator series)
• T-135 (Same as the ACA P-50)
• OM-120
• RE-1600

Current mechanical sirens

Tempest siren line is the current mechanical siren line.

• ASC T-112
• ASC T-121
• ASC T-128
• ASC T-135-AC/DC

Current electronic sirens

These are the electronic speaker array sirens produced by the company.

Alertronic line:

• AL-1000
• AL-2000
• AL-4000
• AL-8000

Others:

• E-Class public address speaker array
• iForce/Quadrant modular array

References