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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 มี.ค. 2016
- This was the first real test of my Gamewell Type B Diaphone horn. I tested both aluminum pistons I have, both without the 40 holes and extra collar. . The piping on the supply was restricted to 1/2 inch rather than the required 1 inch but the horn still operated pretty well. But this, no doubt, had some effect on the power of the blast. Definite tone difference between the 2 pistons though they were only about 1-2/1000th difference between the two.
These horns made their presence around 1920, especially in the Northeast, Long Island and Pennsylvania. They were manufactured by Gamewell in Massachusetts, so the NE was the logical market. Used mainly by volunteer or combination departments, they would blow out a code alerting firemen of emergencies. Codes would correspond to various intersections and streets. This was long before plectron radios, pagers and cell phones, even telephones for most people in the early 1900's. Many have been de-commissioned since the 1980's as technology made them obsolete, and an annoyance to their neighbors. Trust me, you don't want this horn as your next door neighbor !
Still, there is something very nostalgic, at least to me, about the bellowing, mournful blast on a foggy night, followed by the sounds of sirens in the distance.. These horns were in use when I started as a volunteer fireman in Long Beach, NY in 1974, when the town was burning and it was the busiest Department on Long Island. I heard them many, many times.
The horns activated several times a day in those days, regularly. Real estate had crashed, taxes were high, drugs took their toll, the old upscale hotels and apartment buildings built in the early 1900's were run down and worth more in flames. And the city burned around us; and these horns blew, and the firemen came. I eventually made my career in firefighting, retiring from Fairfax County, Va FD as a captain in 2005. When I got the opportunity to acquire one of these relics I jumped on it. Kind of makes me feel young and crazy again, running into burning buildings when everyone else was running out !! Hopefully it's sound will bring back memories for others. Tested March 24, 2016 in Wilmington, NC. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I'm sure you neighbors love you
Not when he have the horn!
@@furybolt1474 he was sarcastic
they love him so much they are gonna freaking kill him (figurative)
I grew up in a small town called Brownsville in Pennsylvania. Our fire stations used this same horn. Hearing this brought back memories. I never knew how it worked. Thanks for posting this!
Sounds much nicer with the 2nd piston. Very cool!
+12799MaDeuce everybody likes the second one and I like the first one ! LOL They're both great, the first just reminds me of the one on my old firehouse in Long Beach, NY. The second is a much smoother note though, I just like the bark of the other ! Thanks for watching. Hopefully get some more tests soon.
Thanks for this video. I always wondered what this sound was. Once I knew what the name of the horn was, I was able to find out it's coming from the fire hall in Swarthmore, PA and I'm hearing it two towns away, 6.5 miles as the crow flies.
Also makes a REALLY GOOD dog deterrent!
@Thebrightestbrick88 That's why they run off!
I like the second blast of the second piston.
Thanks for this! Yeah the last one sounded the best. Real good harmonics in the tone.
Man would you be a fun neighbor to have! I yell at mine with a megaphone across the canal and they yell back with theirs!
What a strange hobby...I love it.
The sound brings me back to when I started as a volunteer back in 1974 before cell phones or even pagers were common. Good times.
There’s a lot of “Siren Enthusiast” out there.
The diaphone horn is an amazing device, originally invented by a British Organ Builder, Robert Hope-Jones. The pipe organ and in particular, the theater organ (the Wurlitzer Co bought Hope-Jones' pattents), have Diaphone pipework in them, some going down to 32' in length which is 16 cps. They shake the building. Yes you need LOTS of volume of air, the 1/2" line is not enough but STILL man they are VERY impressive, thanks for posting.
"Not again please!"
-Neighbor
Definitely a great horn to blast at new years Eve or fourth of july.
Warehouse Point Fire company Has Two of these baby’s with a 3-8 piston and a double regulator. Up close sound like a goose far away and a DYING goose up close. Tests 10 blasts each afternoon of the day. It’s call blasts are different. 5 honks for a medical, 8 for structure fires, and 10 for other emergencies. Sounds awesome.
Great demo.
Lol the dog was like "ROOOO-ROOOO-OH SHIT!"
successful test.. need one here.. maybe two.
The first piston sounded great, just like the one I grew up hearing on the Brooklyn Ave firehouse in Valley Stream.
yup, that's my favorite too. Sounds like the old Long Beach West End horn when I was with LBFD back in the 70s.
Do either of you remember the Lawrence-Cedarhurst FD diaphone horn, that sounded A LOT like your first blasts on this video. Would love to hear a recording of that, haven't heard that horn in decades (they don't blow a horn at all anymore, it's all pagers now)
@@megatop412 I think I was hearing the LC horn off in the distance growing up. Or it might have been Hewlett or Woodmere. Valley Stream had four horns, one on each the firehouses, except for H&L 1 which had a siren. It sounded cool especially when a box call came in. The Gamewell boxes would pulse out the box number four times I believe. No recordings though.
PRETTY NIFTY!! 👍👍👍
That was pretty neat! Amazing what one or two small changes can do to affect air flow.
I hear that all the time
Very Good Loud Diaphone
I think I personally like the more "BLAAAT" tones, the more corse and uneven tone
The second sound reminds me of a WABCO E-2 train horn.
To me it sounds like the big ships coming up the river near me !
I used to love sirens the most well… I think I have changed my mind!😀
When I started in the fire department back in 1974 on Long Island (NY) all the departments had horns, sirens or both. My department had 3 horns like this spread across the city. And back then they went off a lot! Good times, very few audibles left today unfortunately.
The 1st one sounds so much cooler
Sounds similar to the one I grew up hearing but not the same. I miss hearing the sound of the town's "Bull Horn" as we called it.
Humane Fire Company of Royersford PA decommissioned theirs a couple years back. It had a much deeper tone than a lot I’m finding in videos. They also change tone over the years through wear and tear. Great sounding horn though.
I have 2 other pistons and they all sound different. The "looser" ones seem to have deeper tone and less "bark". And it's only a difference of a few thousandths of an inch in size.
thanks for the info Re the regulator...just ordered one..
these came from a local firehouse...what can you tell about gaskets...I am going to make my own.
.rubber for the horn and automotive gasket paper for the bottom flange..do I need one on the back plate?
Frank, I used a blue automotive gasket paper for all 3, got it from Auto Zone. Kind of on the thick side and rubberized, worked fine. When I got the horn it didn't have a gasket on the back plate but according to specs it should have one, probably will work without, it did for the guy I bought it from. On the bottom flange which connects to the 1 in piping there should be a fine screen between the flange sections to keep out crap from getting to the piston, mine was missing this. I cut one out of an old coffee maker gold type screen, works fine, window screen would probably work too but the mesh is bigger than what the original would have had. Do make sure the pistons are clean and free before blowing it. Don't grease them or WD-40 them, it collects dirt and gums up. Very light coat of a light machine oil if anything at all. The piston should slide easily out the rear of the horn, there will be a 1/4" hole in the piston you can thread a 1/4" bolt into to make it easy to get out. Don't force it if it won't come out, it could be corroded to the brass motor body.. that may complicate things. What department did these come from, I have a buddy who maintains a nationwide database on gamewelldiaphone.com/database/ I'm sure he'd like to know what became of the horns. Please join this Facebook page, there are a few guys who are real gurus on these horns who would be happy to help and would love to see them ! facebook.com/groups/gamewelldiaphones/
Woaaaaaaaa! Nice!, it sounds very similar to the WABCO Type "E" horns used on trains from many years ago.
Leslie A200.
@@TheBoysTopSecretisOrganization WHOOOOOOOAAAAAA❗ wish i had something like that, i could rig it up with a motion sensor for Halloween and spook the kajeeeebies outta da trickortreaters 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😃😀😃😀😃😲😱❗
question: can this be used on large-fleet cruise/seacargo ship?
the documents you mention regarding the gaskets...where can I get a copy...I am getting another diaphone next month I think it is a type c...and yes I joined the fb page.
This video is highly impressive. I really admire your handiwork, and your Diaphone sounds fantastic. In the face, sir, you also resemble a good friend of mine named Pete.
Russell L. Smith thanks Russell. I just picked up another extra piston. Curious to see if that one will have a slightly different tone too. Haven't tested it yet. I'm using the horn in a few weeks to start a race on St. Patrick day, I'll try and get a video of the latest piston.
By the way, Chuck, since you worked with the NY fire department back in the mid '70s, did you by chance ever work with a relatively large male NYPD officer named Herman Jansen? He lives here where I live, but retired from the NYPD Brooklyn District several years ago - not sure when, though. He's a cool and funny guy to be around, let me tell ya.
Ole' Herman was working for the NYPD at about the same time you were with the NY fire department. You sound a lot like him as well, but you resemble my friend Pete Johnson - another friend where I live.
Russell L. Smith I wasn't with FDNY, though I took the test about 1977 I turned it down as I had been called by Fairfax County in Virginia first and the wife and I decided to stay in Virginia. I started out as a volunteer in Long Beach, NY in the early 70s when that place was the busiest department on the Island. My dad was a detective with NYPD, spent most of his career in the Bronx. He worked Fort Apache, the 41 Precinct in the 60s when it was the ultimate hell hole. Didn't know your buddy but with the thousands of guys on the job thats not unusual.
Thanks for that heads-up. Sorry for misreading your auto-biography on here.
Either way, what you've done with your Diaphone is quite interesting. I wish I had one of those but I know if I ever did and tested one here in my neighborhood, I'd have the neighbors calling the local police on me all the time for disturbing the peace here, LOL!
However, we do have a nice commercially-installed ASC RM-127 electro-mechanical rotating siren that goes off each Wednesday for testing (four total in my town). Sure is nice to hear it going off, not only for the tone quality but also for reassurance that it'll work when needed. It sounds like the much newer ASC Tempest T-128 or current-production T-135.
There were many of these in Northern California also.
+Audinos yes, I heard there were a number out west too. Matter of fact, in the original 1956 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie, filmed in Sierra Madre, a diaphone can be heard for almost 2 minutes in this scene !! th-cam.com/video/wsnQ5qHengs/w-d-xo.html Thanks for watching !
HAHAHAHA That was great to watch and hear, thanks for sharing it.
awesome! that woman may have shit her pants
Hi, did you get my email regarding the diaphone air horns?
Got them from local fire dept....do I see a gasket on yours in the back ...does that cover the exhaust holes...they are all aluminum in gret shape.
I did put a gasket on the back of mine though it didn't have one when I got it and the last owner used it without one. I found reference to a rear gasket in some old literature so I cut one. I cut it to cover the rear holes at it appeared to me the rear plate covered the holes anyway. I don't know for sure if that is correct but it worked fine. Next time I fire it up I'll try it without the gasket and see if there is any difference. Here is a good you tube someone put up if you haven't seen it of a guy breaking the horn down. I don't think his had a rear gasket. th-cam.com/video/LVXoyTTmAPk/w-d-xo.html What was the name of the department that decommissioned these ?
My father has one of these, not sure what model it is but it's definitely this type of horn, made by Gamewell. We'll try to get it going eventually but we don't have a large air tank at the moment...
It came from the now defunct (due to budget cuts) Enterprise volunteer fire company in Hamilton, Mercer county NJ.
Nice find ! If you ever decide to get rid of it let me know, or if you need info on getting it working just ask .
Thank you for the offer. We won't be getting rid of it any time soon, because it was on the fire department my father and his father (my grandfather) both worked at. Plus, we both like things like this. (We actually have a gamewell pull box too, I want to see if I can get it working.)
The placard on the horn says:
THE GAMEWELL CO.
NEWTON, MASS.
A-22908-
45 PSI. MAX 0.10 AMP-DC
That second test that you did sounds so much similar to the Diaphone that we used to have in New Milford NJ at Company 2 . The Diaphone at Company 2 used to make that Tug boat sound which is pretty strange and Scarey I mean all Diaphones do that But Company 2 in New Milford NJ makes that High pitch noise and it really loud . All Diaphones are suppose to that loud . Its a Horn for the Fire department for a Fire call
+Thomas Nativo it's so strange that such a small difference in the piston diameter makes such a big difference in the sound. The second definitely sounds more marine like and smooth, which is cool, but I like the harsher bark of the first one, probably because it sounds just like the one in the first firehouse I was a volunteer in on Long Island in 1974. I'm curious to see if that marine sounding piston will sound different if I get it fully piped at 1 inch, I think because it's a looser fit it eats more air than the first one.. more testing ahead ! Thanks for listening !
yep
This how to get everyone mad!
What regulator do you use...what make/model....I just got 3 Diaphones model B and want to test thhem
You got 3 horns ! Awesome, where did they come from do you know ?? Have you had horns before ? Anyway, the regulator I have is made by Coilhose Pneumatics in New Jersey, 1 inch. Run it at about 35 psi to the horn. I'm sure you know they need enormous volumes of air to work, 1.2 cubic ft. per second ! Are yours aluminum or brass piston ? Or mixed ? You can go with higher pressures on the brass pistons. Love to see a video of them ! Here' a website with alot of info you may havealready.. gamewelldiaphone.com/ There's also a Facebook page if you search for Gamewell Diaphones.
Whats the decible rating from 100 feet away?
That regulator may seriously restrict air flow if you do not have one capable of the requirements of the horn.
I like the sound of the second one better.
I don't understand how you say you only have a 1/2 hole, it look like that's a 2" hole reduced to 1/2", all you to do it swap that for a 2" to 1" reducer.
Looks like fun.
Thanks for posting video.
C Smith that's my problem, the bung plug absolutely won't come out. I've tried everything from a pneumatic impact gun, 36 in pipe wrench, heat...it will not come out. My last option is to cut it in 3 places and chisel it out but I'm afraid if i screw up the threads too bad the tank becomes useless. I just did another short video with the first piston this past week, that one's my favorite because it sounds more like the one in Long Beach NY where I began my FD career. thanks for listening. If you have any ideas for getting that bung plug / bushing out please post them !
I watched your other test video on the firehouse, it sounded different to me, is that just because it's facing away, and in this one it's facing the camera?
For your tank, I bet they used Loctite on the threads, that releases with heat, I think a propane torch can get it hot enough.
C Smith yes, and the one at the firehouse is facing down a street lined with buildings, at my house the camera was in front and few close structures.
That’s awesome lol
Hey Chuck...are you still checking replies here..if so could you let me know...I have some tech questions about the pistons you used..I will check back here in a few
Looks good! Are u a fellow Long Islander??
Former Long Islander ! From Long Beach. Started as a vollie back in 1974. Wound up doing 27 yrs in Fairfax County, FD in Virginia. Retired 11 years now. This new toy of mine reminds me of the wild times in LB when the place was burning up in the 70s!
Hello, I was wondering if this would work: if I took 4 compressors each with a 1/2 inch output hooked them in series to a 2 inch air line and then hooked them to twin diaphone setup. Both with brass pistons( with the ring of forty holes) the horns take twice as much air as a horn with an aluminum piston. So would the setup work( I should get the horns by the end of the year.
Tim Delpans Tim, I'm gonna post this question to a facebook page I'm on , you should join it, search facebook for Gamewell Diaphone, you'll find it. But with dual horns, you need to be able to supply a ton of volume, each horn takes 1.7 cubic ft per second., more for the brass pison. My thoughts would be to have a large tank and feed the horns directy from a 1 inch or bigger line. I fill my 60 gallon tank fron a pancake compressor a little at a time then to the horn with 1 inch. My piston is aluminum. I'll see what the other thoughts of some guys are on this. Your neighbors are gonna hate you bro ! LOL
Thanks for the quick reply! The compressors each have a three gallon tank, but they go to a 120 gallon tank with a 2 inch output which would then go to the horns
Is there a way I can contact you via email so we can go further on this topic
Tim, sorry I didn't get back sooner, busy week. Most of the guys on the Facebook page wonder why you are planning on using 4 compressors. You're not really gaing anything doing that. You can fill the 120 gallon tank slowly using just one. The 120 gallon tank is an approved air tank correct, not some old propane tank or something hopefully, they are not rated to handle the rapid depletion of air and could be dangerous. If you are coming off the 120 with 2 inch piping to the horn you should have plenty of available volume. I assume you're going to tee that off to 1 inch piping to each horn. You will have to have a regulator and valve between the the tank and horns. You need to set that to between 35 and 40 psi (possibly a bit more for 2 brass pistons and horns) and you need to set it WITH AIR FLOWING . Best thing to do is join the facebook group Gamewell Diaphone as there are guys on there with much better knowledge of the dynamics than me.
The 4 compressors was just used to fill it up faster.yes I am going to tee the 2 inch outlet like you said, and my grandfather has a box of air pipes regulators adapters etc.and a hole bunch of 1 inch galvanized pipe and I talked to someone who owns a type b with a brass piston. And he ran it AT 60 PSI which is crazy, the brass piston can go as low as 10 psi with the right volume!
The air tank is a proper air tank with a (possibly 2 and a half inch) outlet
Hi do you know where i could buy one like that i am a vol firefighter and would like to get one let me know tks
Daniel St-Amand I know a guy in Conn. that has a couple. I believe they go between about 600 and 1000 bucks depending if it's been cleaned up or not. You'll also need a big air tank, valves, piping, compressor, etc. If you are on Facebook join the group Gamewell Diaphones and post a message there. The guys name is Frank J, he frequents that page and services these horns in the NY, NJ and CT area.
Privately owned backyard Gamewell Diaphone because screw the neighbors 😂
They got a kick out of it, they had watched me clean it up when I brought it home.
Second piston definitely better.
Is that from Mineola
no
HWY, um, guess what? at least on the second test you are never fully opening the valve. How can you not realize that your fingers are preventing the valve from traveling the full amount??
It might appear that way but the valve did open all the way. I had tried it a few times before I filmed it and got the same tone. I picked up a 3rd piston since and that one sounds different too.
Sounds like a Leslie A-200
The MN railfan 1003 no...
The MN railfan 1003 Actually, kinda yes at 3:48. They are not supposed to sound like that though...
What are these horns for
They were originally used as signalling devices for fire departments well before the age of personal alerting devices or radios. They would be mounted on the roofs of firehouse's or tall poles and would blow out a code which could be looked up in a book that firemen carried in tht their pockets. It would give you the approximate street location or zone so firemen could go to the scene from home. Most fire departments were volunteers and responded from home if they could. There are still a number of these horns in service today. Most departments keep them for nostalgic reasons only or emergency if radios go down.
@@captfxco cool I’ve always been interested in sirens and horns and bells that’s cool
@@uhAverage there's a facebook group called Gamewell Diaphones you should join it.
Sir I think there's something wrong with your tuba
2:05
#2
Be sure to set the thing off when ur house gets on fire.
Another New Yorker in Swarthmore.....shocker
Jim Ruda LOL just another one who escaped !
At 2:30, is that your neighbor yelling "dont do that again for weeks!", lol. Sounds like my neighbors, but is only for a car stereo, not a damn ship horn. Noticed the vid is 3 years old, have you had to move yet? Lmao
LOL No I'm still here..but my neighbors moved !!
@@captfxco HAHAHA!!! That's epic man! Props! Lol
Glad you gave those stupid dogs a good scare!
Hoon
Just do it on a plain field WHY DID YOU DO IT NEAR THE NEIGHBOR!?!
Baaaaahh
Could you get me one for free? My dumbass neighbor rides his Harley Davidson at night so he needs it
Fhire hon
Lil Perky Learn grammar
I was just immatating the dude
it’s called a joke too I was kidding