History Producer Looking To Record a Working Siren around LA

[Owen Moogan]

Dear Members of the Siren Board,

My name is Owen Moogan, producer of The Angry History Show, a popular podcast I do with my production partner, Dean Karayanis.

First off, I love your site - I'm always thrilled when I find a site or community as enthused about preserving and remembering our history as I am.

I found a handful of sirens near me in Los Feliz (I had two shots near me to attach but they didn't go through), through Dennis Hanley's site. Very, very cool.

I’m writing to ask you if you know of anyone - or perhaps you can help steer me in the right direction - who has a working siren in the SoCal area. I’m doing an episode on the Battle of Los Angeles scare from ’42 and would love to get some fresh audio of a siren as part of my production.

I appreciate any leads you may be able to provide.

Here’s the link to my show…

angryhistory.com

Thanks very much and I hope this post find the community well!


Best,

Owen Moogan

[coastalsyrolover]

The best advice I can give you: Buy one. Negotiate a deal and just get one. Been done before... Sadly here on the west coast (LA included) most places with sirens that were only used for air raid are decomissioned and wont sound. Also if they were sounded then panic would ensue. A couple of people in LA do own one of the federal 500 sirens and I think another guy owns one of the SD-10s. Other than that a working siren system would be a coastal area (Huntington beach has 3 T128s that sound in attack mode) and a few others in coastal cities but they usually aren't older ones in the so cal area... If it's just a siren sound you want though I would suggest the 2001s for the prison escape sirens, The T128s in Huntington beach, Buying or negotiating for one or finding someone on here who does own one to help out. Some of the old cali systems made for some epic ambience though! Oh actually while it comes to mind... I am not sure if it still works or if it's sounding or anything like that... But there are a couple of dam break HOR sirens there and I believe there is a Thunderbolt 1003 on the songs plant. The 1003 may be your best bet considering LA had a couple of thunderbolt series sirens. More info if you would like when I am not half asleep.

[holler]

Talk to KX250 rider on here (Charles Murray). He's in Moorpark and has a couple of old sirens, some from the LA system.

[kx250rider]

Yes, I have two of the Federal SD-10s; as were used in the older parts of the City of LA, as well as a Thunderbolt 1000T (used in Beverly Hills and a few other incorporated LA County cities). The Fort Mac Arthur museum at San Pedro has a restored & working Federal 500T, which was also used in the newer parts of LA. I can be contacted through this forum, or at [email protected].

I'm kind of laid up right now from surgery, but I should be up & around in a week or so.

Charles

[Owen Moogan]

Coastal, Holler - thank you very, very much for the quick attention. It is much appreciated.

Mr. Murray - thank you. I will reach out to you via email. And I hope you're feeling better very quickly.

Best,

Owen

[coastalsyrolover]

Oh it was kx250rider who owned the SD10s. And cool... I thought the thunderbolt was from texas or something.

[Pete]

Isn't there someone in LA with a Chrysler, too?

[coastalsyrolover]

Isn't there someone in LA with a Chrysler, too?

I think youtube user "BigMikeSocal" or something like that might have one and a thunderbolt as well. 3 or 4 of the chryslers that were in socal still stand.

[kx250rider]

Oh it was kx250rider who owned the SD10s. And cool... I thought the thunderbolt was from texas or something.

The Thunderbolt I have installed at the house in Moorpark came from another siren collector in Wisconsin (My wife and I drove back there to get it in 2007). I know I remember that collector telling me it had come from a midwestern or southern state, but I don't remember the details. One of the two SD-10s came from Northern CA, and the other from Rio Vista, TX.

Charles

[goldfinch]

Dear Members of the Siren Board,

My name is Owen Moogan, producer of The Angry History Show, a popular podcast I do with my production partner, Dean Karayanis.

First off, I love your site - I'm always thrilled when I find a site or community as enthused about preserving and remembering our history as I am.

I found a handful of sirens near me in Los Feliz (I had two shots near me to attach but they didn't go through), through Dennis Hanley's site. Very, very cool.

I’m writing to ask you if you know of anyone - or perhaps you can help steer me in the right direction - who has a working siren in the SoCal area. I’m doing an episode on the Battle of Los Angeles scare from ’42 and would love to get some fresh audio of a siren as part of my production.

I appreciate any leads you may be able to provide.

Here’s the link to my show…

angryhistory.com

Thanks very much and I hope this post find the community well!


Best,

Owen Moogan

Owen, if you're trying to get a 1942 LA air raid siren sound, you'll have to figure out what sirens they had back then. The last siren system LA had was installed in the 1950's and consisted of mostly Federal Signal SD-10's and Federal Signal 500's. I believe they were both dual-tone types. In 1942, it could have been a completely different sound. It all depends on how accurate you want your production to be.