ACA Hurricane

The ACA Hurricane is an electro-mechanical and rotating-directional, 130dB civil defense siren, manufactured by Alerting Communicators of America (ACA). ACA began manufacturing the Hurricane 130 in 1968, and ended production in 1981. The Hurricane 130 is similar to the Thunderbolt siren by Federal Signal Corporation and was also popular with towns looking for a high output 130dB siren.

The Hurricane MKII-130 siren illustrated in the manual. (Model CD1-103 Size C)

Hurricane 130 model in 1968

History

The Hurricane 130 was designed by James E. Biersach of Alerting Communicators of America (ACA) and was presented at a Civil Defense convention in November 1968. ACA had also manufactured sirens during this time and utilized new fiberglass casting techniques, which was never before used by any other manufacturers. The Hurricane 130 was a supercharged electro-mechanical siren utilizing an air compressor to produce a high output similar to the Thunderbolt siren. It was available in dual tone 8/10, 10/12, 8/12 port, or single tone 8, 10, or 12 port configurations; most models however came equipped with an 8/10 chopper port ratio (similar to a Major Third). It was meant to compete with Federal Signal's Thunderbolt siren series at the time. The Hurricane came off with a square horn (similar to the design of the Thunderbolt siren), with the exception of having two throats separately attached to the chopper enclosure. The original Hurricane 130 came with a unique all-in-one chopper and motor assembly with a direct-drive air compressor with a 25-horsepower motor.

ACA later revised the design of the Hurricane 130 to differentiate it from the Thunderbolt siren and to also avoid any potential lawsuits over the two similar designs. ACA also corrected design flaws that were discovered in the original model. These changes to the design include a pole-mounted vertical compressor, with the controller removed from compressor assembly and housed in its own separate enclosure and a redesigned chopper assembly for easy maintenance. The horn was changed to a circular design and this was named the "Hurricane 130 MKII". It also utilizes a belt-driven compressor assembly connected to a 30-horsepower motor, as opposed to the previous direct-drive compressor with a 25-horsepower motor . ACA continued production of the Hurricane siren until 1981, when it was replaced with the Penetrator P-50, a 50-horsepower, dual-tone siren producing 135dB at 100 feet. All versions of the ACA Hurricane are rare, with the early "square-horn" variant being the most rare out of all of them. Most of the units have been replaced by newer and modern sirens.

Technical information

Year	Type	Horn Shape	Port Ratios (Chopper)	Notes
1968	Hurricane 130	Square	10/12	Cylinder-shaped rotator assembly, with small slip rings and horizontally mounted direct-drive compressor assembly with a 25 HP motor.
1970s	Hurricane 130	Square	10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12	Larger stationary rotator assembly, with larger slip rings for improved performance.
1970s	Hurricane MKII-130	Round	10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12	Prototype and experimental stage version, utilizes the exact stationary rotator assembly, chopper assembly, and compressor assembly from the Hurricane 130 model.
1973	Hurricane MKII-130	Round	10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12	This type featured a larger non-stationary rotator box, a redesigned chopper assembly, a larger round exponential horn, and used a 30 HP compressor, as opposed to an earlier 25 HP compressor.
1973	Hurricane MKII-130	Round	10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12	Equipped with solenoids to produce "High-Low" tone capability for a "Fire" signal.[1]
Mid-1970s	Hurricane MKII-130	Round	10/12, 8/10, 8/12, 8/8, 10/10, and 12/12	Utilizes a modified "clamshell type" rotator box to allow for easy maintenance. Most commonly seen Hurricane of all types which mostly came with an 8/10 chopper port ratio.

Cities that had/use the Hurricane 130/MKII-130 Model

Cities Using Or That Have Used The ACA Hurricane	Number of Sirens, Operation Status	Model
Addyston, OH	1, removed which was roof-mounted and was later in possession by Clayton Werden Electric Company and currently now in private possession.[2]	MKII-130
Apple Valley, MN	1, removed	MKII-130
Baxter, MN	Exact number of units unknown, 1 unit suffered from a mechanical failure which was replaced in 2007.	130
Benton Harbor, MI	14 units were installed as part of the early warning system for Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant.[3] All removed and replaced in 1996 with WPS-2000 series electronic sirens from Whelen Engineering Company.	MKII-130
Centralia, IL	2, 1 removed which was installed on a multi-level parking garage-type building which was demolished, second unit was removed from its place in 2010 which is now in private possession.	130
Crystal River, FL	5 units were installed for Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant early warning system, all replaced with electronic sirens from Whelen Engineering Company.	130, MKII-130
Darien, IL	3, all removed and replaced with the last unit being replaced in 2021.	MKII-130
DeKalb, IL	3, all removed with 1 unit was a 1968 version of the Hurricane which featured a smaller cylinder-shaped rotator assembly.[4] All were replaced around 1989 with Federal Signal 2001-DC electro-mechanical sirens around due to partial system failure during a tornado warning.	130
Elk Grove Village, IL	4, removed and 1 unit was replaced with a Penetrator P-50.[5]	130
Garland, TX	11, removed. The first 2 units were removed and sold at an auction in April 2001, while the last 2 units were removed and sold at an auction in November 2004. Replaced with omnidirectional electronic sirens from Acoustic Technologies Incorporated (ATI) and were replaced later with sirens from Whelen Engineering Company.	MKII-130
Glendale, WI	1, removed which was located at North Shore Montessori School and was replaced in 1992 with a Penetrator P-15 located at Lincoln Park.	MKII-130
Greendale, WI	1, removed and replaced with a Tempest T-128.[6]	MKII-130
Greenville, TX	2, both have been removed and sold in an auction.	MKII-130
Kewaunee, WI	2, both removed and replaced	MKII-130
La Crescent, MN	3, removed. The Hurricane MKII-130 siren located at Veteran's Park was replaced by a Sentry 10V electro-mechanical and omnidirectional siren, while the other unit located in at Community Ice Arena was replaced by a Federal Signal 2001-130. The third unit which was located in Kistler Park did not have any type of siren replacement. Before its replacement, the last two (2) active units in La Crescent have no functional rotator mechanism and one of which does not have any functional compressor which resulted in weaker coverage.	MKII-130
Miami, FL	1, removed which was installed roof-mounted on top of One Biscayne Tower.	130
Milwaukee, WI	Exact number of units unknown, only 1 unit remains active located at Milwaukee Fire Station 39 (8025 W Bradley Rd.) with no plans of replacement with the other unit currently stored at the headquarters of American Signal Corporation.	MKII-130, 130
Minnetonka, MN	6, all removed.	130
Mishicot, WI	1 unit installed for Point Beach Nuclear Plant early warning system, removed.	MKII-130
Moore, OK	2, all removed and replaced.	MKII-130
Nekoosa, WI	1, removed which was roof-mounted and had three signal capability located at Nekoosa Fire Department. (951 Market St.)	MKII-130
New Brighton, MN	Exact number of units unknown, one unit was installed on top of New Brighton Elementary School which was removed and replaced. [7]	130
Normal, IL	Exact number of units unknown, all removed and were replaced.	MKII-130
Oak Harbor, OH	Exact number of units unknown, all units were part of the early warning system for Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station and were replaced with electro-mechanical sirens from Federal Signal.	MKII-130
Plymouth, MN	1, this unit was placed along I-694 which was removed in 1990 and replaced by a Federal Signal 2001-DC.	130
Rolling Meadows, IL	3, removed. 1 unit had three signal capability which was located at Former Rolling Meadows Fire Department Station 15 and was replaced by an ACA Alertronic AL-6000R in 1988.[8] All Alertronic AL-6000R units that replaced the Hurricane 130 units have been replaced with a Tempest T-128 from American Signal Corporation.	130, MKII-130
Spencer, IN	2, both removed in 1993 with 1 unit bought by a private owner.	MKII-130
Two Creeks, WI	1 unit installed for Point Beach Nuclear Plant early warning system, removed.	MKII-130
Two Rivers, WI	2 units installed for Point Beach Nuclear Plant early warning system, both removed.	MKII-130
Wisconsin Rapids, WI	1, removed.	MKII-130