Federal Signal "Rumbler" siren - effective?

[Robert Gift]

The recordings I have heard on line cannot convey effectiveness.
Has anyone heard this supplimental siren in person?
From the electronic siren tone, the Rumbler creates a sound 75% lower in frequency (two octaves lower) which is broadcast through cone speakers (not exponential horn speakers).
Thank you,

[StonedChipmunk]

Most definitely. Here in Tennessee, I was riding around on my way back to school here (Spring Break) and I heard a patrol car going somewhere in full display (Yelp tone, if you are curious). It did not have the rumbler siren, and it was traveling in the other direction on a somewhat divided freeway. I could not hear it until about the moment that the front of our car and the front of their car were parallel, and could only hear it for about 1 second.

However, back in Hawaii, select Maui County patrol cars have Rumblers on them (they seem to be avid FS minions - sirens, EV equip, fire alarms...). I was fortunate to be visiting there for a week and staying almost directly across from the Maui County PD headquarters, and there were police cars EVERYWHERE for the second half of my trip for some reason. I hadn't seen a car until one day, when they suddenly were everywhere. Maybe there was a pursuit that day, because they had speed traps almost every mile. There were even police golf carts out there with radar guns! (I could not even start to tell you what comes to my mind when being chased by a golf cart.)
Anyways, that evening the sky was lit up with police lights and the air was filled with sirens. I knew there was something different here, though, because normally police sirens were really high-pitched, but these sounded like they were coming from a bass amplifier or something.
So, we set out the next day. We were on a highway when suddenly I hear a very very low siren in the distance. I was beginning to get scared that a tsunami was coming, when way out in the distance I could see the distinct pattern of some sort of flashing light. A fast strobe light? A party in someone's house? No, it seemed to be a blue light of some sort. Police? Ah! But that siren must be some sort of super low siren, or I wouldn't- Woosh! Passes by me, I get an ear-piercing load of high-pitched squealing, just like back here in Tennessee.

So, yes, Rumbler sirens are very effective, in my opinion. People just have to get used to them now. (And it's a great way to expel all the canned-up energy today... thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell a story.)

[Robert Gift]

Interesting! Thanks, Munk.
Did you see the green flash while in Hawaii?
My impression is that Rumbler sirens do not have much wattage and are not heard too far away. But in cities and urban areas with lots of noise, they penetrate vehicle bodies better than typical higher pitched sirens.
I know that in our Expedition, we can certainly hear the deep bass of auto sound systems before we hear the music accompanying the bass.
Often we also cannot tell from where that bass is coming.

[TrashTrampoline]

Sorry to rehash an old thread but here is a link to a couple "Siren Demonstartors" I created. One of them is the "Rumbler" It duplicates the sounds of the tones but not the "Feel" of the bass.

Enjoy!
http://trashtrampoline.org/sigs/rumbler/rumbler.html

[AllSafe]

From a post I made earlier:

The system uses one or two specially designed 80W very-long-throw speaker drivers to generate low-frequency sounds at a very high volume (about 120dbA@10ft). It gets its output from an existing siren tone generator. I've heard about rumble generators which are sometimes used in augmented reality systems and they are quite effective.

[Robert Gift]

... The system uses one or two specially designed 80W very-long-throw speaker drivers to generate low-frequency sounds at a very high volume (about 120dbA@10ft). It gets its output from an existing siren tone generator. I've heard about rumble generators which are sometimes used in augmented reality systems and they are quite effective.

I know the Rumbler has two speakers. Didn't see a wattage.
I do not believe the Rumbler produces 120 dbA at 10 feet. Don't think it is powerful enough for that, nor are the cone speakers strong enough to handle it.
Thanks, Safe

[Robert Gift]

Tramp - thanks so much for your link.
Was very interesting hearing the diffferent manufacturers' tones.
In China, all I ever heard was Hi-Lo.
Also, their sirens were not loud at all. But, much traffic is bicyclists and motorcycles (75cc to 150cc tops) and single-cylinder diesel tricycle wagons, etc.