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OLD IBM/SIMPLEX FIRE ALARM @ ELLET HIGH SCHOOL
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 เม.ย. 2020
- Ellet High School was built in 1948 in Akron, Ohio. When the school was originally constructed, a pull rod fire alarm system was installed and automated with an IBM 4201-2 control panel using 8 inch, IBM single stroke bells. As time marched on, the school was expanded and the fire alarm system extended. The old IBM panel was eventually replaced with a Simplex 4208 control panel. The original IBM single stroke bells were left in place and tied into the newer Simplex control panel. The original 8 pull rod stations were also left in place in the event of an electrical outage. Sadly, the school was demolished in 2020. I am happy to report that shortly before demolition, the old fire alarm system was removed and saved for historical preservation.
I love vintage schools. Makes me so sad to see all these old schools be demolished.
I never seen an 8 inch bell before. I think there should be a program for this whole country that’s set to protect historical buildings from demolition.
I agree! The architecture on some of these buildings are amazing, and it hurts to see them go.
There is a program like that, schools like this don't qualify because there's nothing significant about them apart from being old.
@@fdsman Not only that, the NRHP doesn't protect things as well as you would think. Near me a historical railway post office had the Ann Arbor Railroad lettering taken off it. That violates the NRHP rules 100%. Is it enforced, no.
I hated it when they repainted my school bells. I loved seeing the bell rust over time.
Beautiful old school, with gorgeous architecture. You did an amazing job on this video, keep up the great work Glenn. Cheers from Rick and Sarah.🤗
WAIT ONE MINUTE! how do you know that's his real name?
My favorite thing about this type of fire alarm system, is that it does allow you to create your own code.
Me too!!
you can do that on some modern addressable panels as well. it's just not the same 😢
I’m glad the preserved the old fire alarm system 😃
these old schools are a symbol of how far humanity has come in architecture, design and fire safety
Welcome back! :) I love the vintage manual trip bells and the pull rods and the single stroke bells.
Thank you! Most appreciated.
That's great! Those brass bells would be totally restorable. That's a great old Simplex panel, don't see many from the 70s left, I've only inspected one still in active service. Excellent candidate panel for restoration. Anyone wanting to see what the original IBM panel looked and worked like I have a restored example on my channel. Glad to see you posting again!
Hi Brett, always good to hear from you. Now that I'm pushing 60 years old, I'm slowing down a bit. That IBM panel you restored several years ago was the best job and display I have ever seen. You did a beautiful restoration job on that panel for sure. Take care and be safe!
That was cool. My elementary school in the mid 90s had a system like this. I believe my school was built around that era.. I think 1950 or 51. Very cool to understand how it all worked years later.
I love IBM branded fire alarms. If they weren't so dang expensive, I'd get myself one of the IBM chevrons for my collection. I'm into retro computers and stuff so that goes right along with it as one of the more interesting pieces.
This channel is so interesting. Best of all, cool older fire alarms
Thank you for watching and for your comment.
I love the music! I’d really love to get one of those old motorized coder modules.
Glad to see another one, and with bells at that! I love the IBM stuff because my Elementary school (now closed, but building still in use) had an IBM system installed around 1950 with single-stroke bells that did 4-4 and break-glass pulls. BTW, that painted Edwards Adaptabel obviously replaced an IBM one, as I can see IBM ones in your other photos.
You are correct, there were both IBM and Edwards class change bells in this particular school. Thank you again for watching and your comments are always appreciated.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms I don't know of any IBM fire alarm systems in my area, but a few schools DID have IBM time systems, while the fire alarm system would be Gamewell (though one had an Edwards system). One such example is my parents' middle school, built in 1952 (they attended there in the early 70s) with IBM 4015 6" bells. Most of them have since been disconnected and painted over in favor of an electronic tone over the PA system when they had a partial renovation in 2008 (along with disconnecting the old Faraday Type 2 horns as part of the original Gamewell fire alarm system, in favor of a Notifier NFS2-640 voice-evac system.)
That's what my school had a similar one that did code 3-4-5 witch is what we now call temperal code.
My school had 4 floors. A pull rod system ran straight up from the basement to the top floor. They used 10 inch diameter golden bells as the main trip bell and smaller 3 inch black bells as the fire bells in each room. They later added a switch in the office that could turn on a pre recorded voice announcement over the p.a.(tho they often forgot to switch it on) they then later added pull stations at each of the stairwells
Very cool video! Thanks for sharing. Ellet grad - 76
The good thing about this is channel is the fire alarms that are shown in the videos are salvaged
Noahandrews Andrews yeah!
Glad to have you back after feels like a year (probably not a year lol).
Actually it was a year. How fast time does go by. And the older you get the faster it goes. Thank you for staying with me, most appreciated.
I'm always in a good mood when you upload
This is a cool video of old fire alarm systems. It really blows that this school is going to be demolished. Nice video as always.
Thank you, most appreciated.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms You're welcome. Please stay safe my friend.
My High School (Same one as from Hugh Jackman’s “Bad Education”) had a very unique IBM/Simplex system prior to a 2014-2015 EST Fire Alarm upgrade. In the 1950s, an IBM Coded Fire Alarm system was installed. The pulls were the type NY and the bells were 10 inch IBM Bells. In the 1960s, the High School got rebuilt where the system got added onto. The new parts of the building had Simplex 4263-1 pull stations and Simplex STR 6 and 10 inch bells. One of them broke down and was replaced by a newer 4070 series bell. Some time in the late 70s to early 80s, a few of the IBM NY pull stations likely broke down and were replaced by 4263-1s. By the late 1980s, only 6 IBM NYs were left in the building. In the 1990s, a fire alarm upgrade was attempted but was halted due to a budget crisis (Watch Bad Education). Meanwhile, a walkway was built with Simplex Smoke Detectors and 4904 strobes and then in the early 2000s, the auditorium got renovated and there were Simplex 4904 Bell/Strobes where the bell was a Faraday and the pull stations were 4099-9001s. In the mid to late 2000s, many of the old IBM bells began to break down and were replaced with Wheelock MB 10 inch bells. In the early 2010s, the cafeteria got renovated and since Faraday stopped making bells and Simplex stopped making the 4904 strobe plates, a System Sensor bell was mounted next to a Simplex TrueAlert strobe and the pull stations were 4099-9001s. The final system was a coded fire alarm system tied into a Simplex 4100U. I wish they kept the old system active to this day.
WOW, talk about a mix-matched system. Sounds like a real mess to me, some people just never know when to leave well enough alone. A really good electrician could have extended and kept that old IBM/Simplex system going.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms The electricians kept the system going for a very long time. I wish they removed some of the coded pull stations, added strobes and Simplex T-Bars. The 4100U was programmed for code 3 and I have the code directory, one 6 inch bell and 2 Simplex 4263-1s.
Ah, welcome back!
Really interesting video, I live in Youngstown which also has many old schools.
Welcome back!
Nice to see you back. Good video!
Thank you so very much !
Your back. Thanks for a another upload how are you doing my friend. Hope is all well happy 2020. Quick questions. What was that beeping sound when u set off the alarm And does the simplex panel. Automaclly shut off itself or it has to be set off by someone
I'm pushing 60 years old so I'm slowing down a bit but I'm doing just fine, thank you for asking. This was a very large school and had several additions built onto the original building, so the fire alarm system was what I call mix and match. There was another Simplex panel (4100 U) that was in the custodian's office, which was located right down the hall from where I pulled the fire alarm. That panel is where the beeping sound was coming from, indicating the system was in actuation mode. And yes, the system had to be reset to turn off the bells and/or system. It was reset from the 4100-U panel. Thank you again for your observation and great questions. Take care and be safe!
Welcome back, these videos are so interesting, do you know any school bells using 60s gray simplex STR 10” fire bells ?
Currently I do not, but I am very familiar with the type of bells you are talking about. I'll keep looking and see what I can find. Thanks for watching.
This is why I got to love old buildings.
Those Fire Alarms are Nice and Old! By the way, Happy Easter!
Happy Easter to you as well. Best wishes !
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Indeed. The Best Easter Fire Alarm Show!
My brother went to go here during the School's last year & went to the new one for a while
8 inch bells were never very common, but it seems like they have the best tone.
Yes, I agree.
Thanks for another great video. Question, assuming you work in the fire alarm industry, how did you first get into it? I've been interested in alarms for years and I'd like to make a job of it, but I don't know where to start. Did you start with some formal electrician training, or did you get a job with a company without any relevant formal training?
I am not an electrician nor do I have any formal training, this is a hobby of mine that I have been doing for 15 plus years now. I love history and old hardware and saw a need to document and archive these old fire alarm systems/schools since so many are being destroyed at an alarming rate. I also work with many museums to provide fire safety artifacts for use as exhibits. Thank you again for watching and best wishes.
My school has or had pull rods, the bells are still infection, but not hooked up, the horns, possibly 4050s or 4040s or 4051s are blocked up by silver metal plates.
Very nice ! ! This made my week
Thank you Brian. Best wishes!
Great job sir.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you brother !
i really wanna have my own little system board with chime strobes any suggestions on what i should get?
It all depends, there are many different companies that make such control panels using chime strobes going back as far as the 1970's. eBay is a good place to start looking. Best wishes.
As far as I know, there were multiple variants of the 4208. There were different voltages, sizes and the option to have a codewheel or not. This appears to be the 120VAC model with a codewheel (I can't tell how many zones it has). I was wondering if this panel had to be manually reset or if resets on its own after a certain amount of rounds like older coded panels.
You are correct that Simplex made multiple versions of the 4208 control panels. This particular 4208 panel had to be manually reset to stop the bells from ringing.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Oh. Is that why when you first pulled the alarm it did 3-4 instead of 4-4-4-4 on the first round? Because it was reset when the codewheel was in the wrong spot?
FACT: my school has a old control panel by simplex. My fire alarms in my school are simplex 4040's
I have never seen a loud bell like this, Plus I like the trouble bell because the bell was so little.
You didn’t do it!!!!!
Love the OLD Simplex it’s EPIC AND Anciently. It’s an ancient Simplex.
With a Simplex 4251-20 and the 4208.
Btw soon I hope it does not get replaced with Fire Lites system.
I don't think it's worth to replaced the system due to the building being demolished in the near future.
@@FireRescue80 Yeah, it's not like what happened with my old elementary school, because their old Simplex 4208 panel started failing and so it had to come out, resulting in the first fire alarms I ever heard in my life (Simplex 4051+4050-80 horn/lights) being replaced with boring mundane SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobes...
@@ZakWolf Were the old alarms thrown out?
@@FireRescue80 I'm afraid so. Ever since then I've been looking on eBay for a Simplex 4050-80 like my school had, but so far no luck.
The school was torn down
I was gonna comment that I was sad that there were no moving code wheel until you opened the control panel.
You never know what you'll see until you watch the entire video.
Very cool; probably a random question; I saw one video where the pull rod was pulled three times; did some systems have a set up, to prevent accidentally/false alarms, using a certain number of pulls?
To answer your question, no. I sometimes pull the rod more then one time to hear the manual trip bells ring, plus I just like pulling the rod.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms okay; very cool, & I can understand.
Nooo!!! Why get rid of history! It’s beautiful don’t demolish it!!!😢
Question, did Autocall manufacture fire alarm control panels where you can customize the code?
Not until the 1990's, when their control panels were no longer mechanical but electronic. By this time Autocall had been sold and the company became Thorn-Autocall.
1:41
There probably was an older water fountain where that one currently is mounted
Oh wow, they still used code motors in the 70's?
Question, were some mechanical fire alarm control panels really still in production as late as the 1970s? I thought they were discontinued in the 1960s.
Some companies were still making them up through the 1970's.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms So by the 1980s, all the companies discontinued the mechanical FACPs?
@@sigglass2183 Yes, by the 1980's all the fire alarm companies had stopped making mechanical fire alarm systems.
1:21 What is the small 3rd bell used for under the 2 Large bells
WillardCrafto class change bell
Quick question: what is the point of the manual trip bell? And I love the old single strokes
When fire alarm systems were first instslled, they put in manual bells. That means, you can manually "pull" the bells. Each pull would sound the bells. Sadly, due to large numbers of fatalities in school fires at the time, the systems were required to be replaced by an automated system.
Great question! Back in the day, manual trip bells were used in the event of an electrical outage. If for some reason there was an electrical interruption, one could still utilize the fire alarm system by simply pulling the rod to operate the manual trip bells to signal a fire or conduct a fire drill
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms, but don't modern fire alarm systems have battery backup?
@@calumbrooknicolson Yes, the newer fire alarm systems do have battery backup, but back in the 1930's thru the 1950's pull rods and manual trip bells were very common in most schools.
Oh wow thank everyone. I am in more to of the modern fire alarms and not to good with the old stuff
What did the old fire alarm panel look like back did it have both trouble bells
If you watched the entire video, starting at 7:52 you will see what the old (original IBM) fire alarm panel looked like. The original two IBM trouble bells were left in place when the new Simplex panel was installed. You will see that too if you watch the whole video.
Would the trouble bell ring if there was something wrong in the system on that panel
Yes, the trouble bell would ring if there was any open circuit or if any of the components went bad on the control panel.
was the simplex pull station at 6:57 tied into the pull rod system? or another system that had been installed?
That particular Simplex pull station in the Boiler room was tied-in to the control panel and/or pull rod system.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms interesting
why did they stop using bells and move to the screechy ones
Because those types of signals are cheaper to purchase.
how do reset it after the alarm goes off i curious about that
There is a reset switch on the master control panel. Turning the key on the reset switch stops the code motor on the control panel.
Were you able to salvage any of the old fire alarm system, or was it destroyed with the school demo?
This system was saved for historical preservation.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms, great! I'm deeply fascinated by older technology and the engineering genius that made it all work. And I really enjoy your videos on these older units. Keep up the good work👍
@@ronaldmackall1621 Thank you for watching and for your kind words. Best wishes to you and yours in the coming New Year.
It’s just the worst that all the old schools are getting shut down and demolished. I don’t know why they can’t just install new alarms in the schools, upgrade some of the electrical and call it a day.
I'm an alum of this school and the building had a bad roof. Bad enough that certain areas of the second floor were "off limits" during my time and afterwards before because of leaks in the roof causing loose asbestos. It was determined that it would have been too expensive to do a gut rebuild that would have included installing a new roof. Not to mention they had a fire in 2016 and it was a in "newer" part of the building and was attributed to faulty wiring. After that the city formally condemned the building and gave them three years to build a new building (built right behind this one) and also overriding a city councilman's attempt to look into whether cash was on the cards to build the new building.
The loose asbestos is a health code violation
What was wrong with this building for it to be torn down
The building had a lot of maintenance issues and instead of putting money into renovations, the school district decided to just build a new school.
Still looking for a school that has 4051s.
7:59 is that photo taken in ellet or is it just the same type the school had?
Its a picture of the exact type of IBM panel that was in the school before it was replaced by the Simplex panel. But no, it was not the actual panel that was in the school.
If you put two pins immediately next to each other without the gap would the output to the bells remain on as they pass the switch or would it still be enough to break the circuit allowing the bells to strike twice? e.g. ......l.l.l.ll.l.ll.l.l.l.l.ll.l.ll.l....... (Viva la vida)
If you look closely, putting two pins right next to each other still provides a gap between the pins on the wheel. So there is still a break in the circuit between each pin.
Why demolish such old buildings? It does look like it has a lot more life left In it!
I'm an alum of this school and the building had a bad roof. Bad enough that certain areas of the second floor were "off limits" during my time and afterwards before because of leaks in the roof causing loose asbestos. It was determined that it would have been too expensive to do a gut rebuild that would have included installing a new roof. Not to mention they had a fire in 2016 and it was a in "newer" part of the building and was attributed to faulty wiring. After that the city formally condemned the building and gave them three years to build a new building (built right behind this one) and also overriding a city councilman's attempt to look into whether cash was on the cards to build the new building.
Does it go 4 times around like the others or until the reset switch is triggered?
It keeps going until the reset switch is activated. Thanks for watching and for your question.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Thank you for answering. I knew 4208's would do that. As far as I know, other 4208's don't have the code wheel, therefore they sound Continuous.
@@212Elevators I really hate those continuous ringing systems.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms It would only be one ding for this case because the bells are single stroke.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Another thing: Does any of its silence switches disable the NACs?
Where could I find an auto call 121-s horn
You can buy one by contacting my website...oldschoolfirealarms.com
Is there any panels you have for sale?
@@TexasRailfan2008 sorry I don’t I
I might be buying an Autocall break glass pull station soon, and did you respond to my message on your website yet?
I never received your message on my website.
Beautiful school, why they must have to demolish it
A new building has replaced the old one.
5:00 is when the bell goes
Please tell me the bells were saved. Just saw that the school was recently razed.
The whole fire alarm system was saved including all those bells.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Thank goodness!!
What do they do when they care down the old school building
They usually build a new building to replace the one they tore down.
Why is the music so eerie?
The school is permanently closed and will soon be destroyed and gone forever, hence the sad and haunting music that accompanies the subject matter. It is a time gone by never to be seen again, including the old fire alarm system.
Did you save the panel and all the bells
YES
DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNN you're lucky!
Why is it that 4-4-4-4 is referred to as marching code?
Because you can literally march to the code being projected and/or sounded over the horns or bells.
When another video?
Probably sometime this summer.
Where was the og panel located, n y did they replace it?
The original IBM panel was in the exact same place that the Simplex panel was. The Simplex panel replaced the IBM panel in 2010. This school was recently demolished and a brand new school was built on the same site.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Was the panel in the same cabinet, where the og panel was?
@@bigsebby3799 No.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Do u know y the new one replaced the og?
@@bigsebby3799 The old school did have some major maintenance issues and since the school district had the money, they decided to build the new school .
Do they have smoke detectors To activate those alarms
There were no smoke detectors in this particular school. But smoke detectors could have been hooked in to this Simplex control panel.
This school has been demolished
Have they started tearing down this school as of this writing?
This school has now been demolished and is gone.
Would you believe they make 12” bells
Yes, I have several 12 inch, single stroke bells in my collection.
did you save the class change bells?
No.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms so they got smashed?
@@theray2009 No, the fire alarm system from Ellet High School was saved. It was not smashed or destroyed.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms the class change bells were
@@theray2009 The class change bells were Edwards.
we have an old simplex panel like that in our house but bigger and for security
Was the whole fire alarm system saved
Yes it was.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Were the class change bells?
@@theray2009 There was both IBM and Edwards class change bells.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms were they saved
@@theray2009 Yes, the entire system was removed for historical preservation.
I saw a t-bar
The Schools I Worked in the Single Stroke Bells Were Recessed in the Walls Both Outside and Inside These Did Not have The Pull Stroke System "
Sadly this school with be demolished soon.
It was demolished back in the summer.
Oh. Very sad then. Did u get the alarms out?
@@gibco25-offical56 From what I was told. Yes.
What is the music
good to see that you're still around and surviving in this cold and cruel world.
@@Vigilance108 Good to hear from you! Stay safe and take care of yourself.
you too bud.
Now in Days There Have Spectralert Classics and Spectralert Advance Wheelocks simplex's Gentex Commander's Gentex SHGs Mr Truealerts L Series Low Sounders voice evac alarms
I see with this system it’ll reset itself after 4 rounds.
Chad Sheppard the autocall systems did that too
See a relly good video on TH-cam mate hove a good day am a big fan of u mate hove a good day mate hove a good one mate hove a good day mate form Greg Bouchard
I Replaced Many Systems with the Pull Rod ' You Needed the Trouble Bell So In Case The Signal Rod Jammed The Trouble Bell Would Complete the Circuit Even Though It's Protected by Cartridge Fuses ' I Found it Interesting that A School I Worked in Built in 1969 Had A Red Light Outside the School Along With A Bell Over the Fire Department Hookup Box ' The Outside Light Work Flash The Code Unless The Wheel Lock Jammed " School is Still in Operation in Jersey City N.J ' I Was an Electrician for the City ' A Very Large School ' So Many Codes '
Thank you Michael for watching and for your comment. I like hearing from the electricians and techs in the field who maintain and work on the old systems.
IBM has code 4-4
That is true, the original code on the IBM control panel that was installed in 1948 was code 4-4. That changed however once the old IBM panel was replaced with the Simplex panel.
Old School Fire Alarms I see this code is very similar to the autocall 4-4-4-4 and does four rounds and then resets itself.
Old School Fire Alarms IBM was sold to Simplex later on
Whats with the music theme?
The music is not upbeat that's for sure, nor is it meant to be. Most of my videos are taken at schools that are going to be demolished and have had a long history. So I look for music that has somewhat of a haunting / melancholy feel. These old schools and the old hardware that is in them are being destroyed at an alarming rate. It is truly sad and disappointing that many people do not give a rat's ass about history.
I mean’t name*
@@relevanteaglealarms109 Sorry about that. The soundtrack was recorded back in the 1980's and unfortunately I do not remember where I got it from.
@@relevanteaglealarms109 This is the soundtrack from the movie Flowers in The Attic.
AT SOUDS RELLY GOOD MATE KEEP UP THERE GOOD WORK ON HERE MATE HOVE A GOOD DAY MATE
IN my school we A rare fire alarm in my Gym In my School they have P2Rs
P2Rs are not rare. They're everywhere.
umm
Im talking about my gym fire alarms
i know the p2rs are not rare
OMG OHIO 😂😂
They're demolishing an old school building in my hometown of Brockton, MA. Built in 1916 originally as part of the old high school, in 1974 it was repurposed into an elementary school. I didn't see any pull-rod alarms, but they did have a Simplex 4208 system installed then, with 4051 horns on 4040-60 light plates, 4251-30 break-glass pulls, old 4262 ionization detectors and 4255-1 heat sensors. Later on in 2002 it became a pre-K center and then it was repurposed into an alternative school for juvenile delinquents. Sadly in 2015, the old Simplex panel began failing, so they "upgraded" to a Fire-Lite MS-10UD system with System Sensor SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobes. But I'm glad to report that the Simplex 4208 panel that has been sitting inactive for years will be taken out and donated to Brockton's fire museum! Nothing else worth saving though, unless anyone is interested in common mundane SpectrAlert Advances and i3 smoke detectors...
See my blog post here:
wile-e2005.livejournal.com/268528.html
Thank you Zak for the link. What a great looking school. So happy to hear that the old Simplex hardware was salvaged and not destroyed.
@@OldSchoolFireAlarms Yeah, we'll be salvaging the old Simplex panel for the fire museum. But all the old Simplex 4051 horns and light plates were replaced with cheap SpectrAlert Advances and tossed out years ago, along with the old smoke detectors.
@@ZakWolf Thanks for the update.