Old Coast Guard Horn

[Sam_Hooley]

I recently bought a bronze horn from a fellow who said it came off of our local Coast Guard station in Bay City, Ore. I can't find any information on it, and I'd like to get it working. I'm hoping somebody will recognize the manufacturer.

 

[gm280]

I have no additional info on it, but it should be pretty easy to get it working. It is a standard buzzer type setup. The only electronic part looks like a capacitor. And even if that cap tests bad, shouldn't be hard to buy a replacement cap of the proper size. And if the relay/buzzer is open or shorted, you can rewind it and make it work. Post your progress. I'd like to see it.

 

[Scott Danforth]

My guess, either an old Fiamm or old Fisa (two old horn manufactuers)

 

[mike_i]

That's a 50 ohm 25watt resistor gm280 is referring to. Looks like there's just the resistor and a relay. Did you connect it to 12v to see what happens? If you do just tap the wires to the power source real fast just in case it's reversed polarized. If it doesn't work reverse the wires and try again.

 

[Sam_Hooley]

That's a 50 ohm 25watt resistor gm280 is referring to. Looks like there's just the resistor and a relay. Did you connect it to 12v to see what happens? If you do just tap the wires to the power source real fast just in case it's reversed polarized. If it doesn't work reverse the wires and try again.

We hooked it up to my car battery and tested each end. I was hoping that we'd hear the thunk and just have to adjust the nut on top to get the horn to go, but I think I'll take the electrical apart and go through everything. It's been at least a couple decades since it's worked.

 

[mike_i]

did you see the relay engage?

 

[Scott Danforth]

with it originally being building mounted, are you sure its DC? and not AC?

 

[mike_i]

with it originally being building mounted, are you sure its DC? and not AC?

Good question. How big is the horn, can you tell if it was mounted on a building or a boat? I was assuming it was mounted on a boat therefore it was a 12v system.

 

[gm280]

That's a 50 ohm 25watt resistor gm280 is referring to. Looks like there's just the resistor and a relay. Did you connect it to 12v to see what happens? If you do just tap the wires to the power source real fast just in case it's reversed polarized. If it doesn't work reverse the wires and try again.

Yep, looked at it again and it states the resistance on the part. Thanks for the correction. And I just had my eyes checked/tested and she stated they were good without glasses. Hummm....

 

[Scott Danforth]

Good question. How big is the horn, can you tell if it was mounted on a building or a boat? I was assuming it was mounted on a boat therefore it was a 12v system.

could be 12 volt, could be 24 volt if DC. most vessels used by the coast guard are 24 volt

if AC, could be 12 volt (motorcycle and mopeds), 24 volt (household phone transformer supply), 48 volt (industrial), 120 volt, or 240 volt.

I would first ohm out the windings to make sure they are intact. ohm out the big resistor that @gm280 couldnt read....

then I would try up to 18 volts or so on DC, then if that doesnt work, start with 12 volt AC and work up from there

it may just be wall art.

 

[gm280]

could be 12 volt, could be 24 volt if DC. most vessels used by the coast guard are 24 volt

if AC, could be 12 volt (motorcycle and mopeds), 24 volt (household phone transformer supply), 48 volt (industrial), 120 volt, or 240 volt.

I would first ohm out the windings to make sure they are intact. ohm out the big resistor that @gm280 couldnt read....

then I would try up to 18 volts or so on DC, then if that doesnt work, start with 12 volt AC and work up from there

it may just be wall art.

Well Scott, the only defense I have about the "resistor" issue is that it was upside down. So how could you expect me to be able to read that? I can hardly read things right side up and most certainly can't stand on my head... lol

 

[Scott Danforth]

Well Scott, the only defense I have about the "resistor" issue is that it was upside down. So how could you expect me to be able to read that? I can hardly read things right side up and most certainly can't stand on my head... lol

figured it was like me lately...... arms not long enough....... time for cheaters.

 

[Sam_Hooley]

We've checked the resistor and it gives 50 ohms, as for the voltage since it was marine we are assuming 12 volt, but it could be 6 or 24 as well. AC is something we've been thinking about, to vibrate the disc back and forth.

 

[Sam_Hooley]

did you see the relay engage?

It was dark and raining and we were using jumper cables, so unfortunately we weren't focused on that as much, just to see if it would shout.

 

[gm280]

We've checked the resistor and it gives 50 ohms, as for the voltage since it was marine we are assuming 12 volt, but it could be 6 or 24 as well. AC is something we've been thinking about, to vibrate the disc back and forth.

The "resistor" is not a resistor like I initially stated. It is a capacitor. And if you read 50 ohms across it, then you must have it paralleled with the coil. Otherwise, it isn't good. If I could be there and look at it for a minute I could easily tell you if it was an AC horn or DC. And that would be because of how it was wired. A DC can vibrate if they are using the relay action to make and break the circuit. That is how the old radios back in the vacuum tube days made their pulsating DC step up voltages work...

 

[GA_Boater]

It is a 50 OHM, 25 watt resistor. Caps aren't rated in OHMs, caps are rated with farads.





Have you cleaned the contacts? Looks like a set of points and need to be clean.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Hey @gm280 ...time for stronger cheaters

 

[gm280]

Hey @gm280 ...time for stronger cheaters

Okay, seems I already went through this once. I initially stated it was a cap and was correctly corrected. However, I thought I was calling it a resistor and corrected that it was a cap. So it isn't the eyes that are going, but more like the mind. Sorry for this stupid mistake the second time. Maybe I need to read all the comments before commenting on things. YES, it is clearly a 50 ohm RESISTOR. And reading 50 ohms across it means it is perfect... I hear the mind goes first....I think...

 

[Scott Danforth]

actually the mind is the 2nd or third thing to go....we just dont remember what the first 1 or 2 were.......

 

[mike_i]

It is absolutely positively a resistor. It's most likely good, the only way to properly test it is with one lead disconnected from the circuit. I wouldn't mess with the resistor it's more important to determine what voltage the horn operates on.