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Siren_Dude
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Allertronic RE-1600 *Update and Need Help*

Mon Apr 22, 2013 6:40 pm

Hi all,

So recently I have been working on getting my RE-1600 going again and have ran into issues. I have followed the manual and I believe I have all the proper power requirements but the amplifiers and siren horns are not working to well. The siren runs off of 24VDC and the batteries charge off the 110VAC. I purchased new batteries, new fuses and checked all other connections before I powered it up. On the siren I re-connected all wires to the collector ring assembly and put the chain back on the rotating motor.

I followed all the pr-start up procedures and once connected to power, all seems normal in the control panel. Amp ratings are perfect and all power lights are on and working. The amplifiers take a 30Amp fuse and I put bran new ones in before testing. So here is where the problems start, all the amplifiers were put on LO for testing (so my ears don't get blown out) and the power lights were on properly. The amps only get power when one of the manual signal buttons are pushed and held, which I did and the siren sounded for about 4 seconds before the amplifiers starting smoking and stopped. 2 out of 8 fuses burnt out but after the power was shut off the power light to the amps still worked but siren wouldn't start. Right now the only thing that works properly is the rotating part of the siren.

There were two other smaller cables going to the battery box, which I think went to another small 12V battery but found nothing mentioning of that in the manual. The photo of the battery is last picture and the wires are the red/green going over the top of the control cabinet. I don't believe however that it?s causing the problem.

If anyone can help me out here I will be very grateful. I am not a pro at these more intricate electronic panels. Can I save the amps that smoked or are they all toast? Is there anyway to fix this or did I somehow screw it up (or maybe just the overall age of the siren)? If you need anymore photos or info please let me know.

Thanks for the help!

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SirenMadness
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Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:57 pm

Did you check for shorting in each voice coil? If they're OK, then I guess there must have been a short circuit somewhere else in the siren to trip the fuses. Or there was something wrong with the amps to begin with?
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Bryan
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Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:06 am

I would start, by checking all your drivers and their impedance, and make sure that the loads on the amps are distributed. If the amps started smoking that seems like a sign either too much load or a capacitor could of gone.

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Crazywarriorman
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Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:08 am

God, those ACA Collector rings are so fun to work on.
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Re: Allertronic RE-1600 *Update and Need Help*

Thu May 16, 2013 2:40 am

If there was smoke emanating from one of the amplifiers, you may have a driver that failed to a short circuit, or you may have your wiring shorted somewhere else. Check the output devices (the largest power transistors) on the amplifier board for signs of burning or overheating/melting - they might need to be replaced. Take note of anything else on the amplifier circuit board that looks discolored, charred, burnt, or melted. If you can fire up the single amp board by itself and see where the smoke is coming from (after verifying that it isn't caused by something simple like a shorted driver), that can be helpful (supposing the amp board still powers up).

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