Excel Alerting Systems, Inc.
| Excel Alerting Systems, Inc. | |
| |
| Names | Excel Alerting Systems
Excel
|
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Mequon, WI |
| Founder | Dale Moeller |
| Key people | Dale Moeller
Jim Biersach
|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Products | Outdoor warning sirens |
| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by | American Signal Corporation |
Excel Alerting Systems, Incorporated (EAS), also known as simply Excel and erroneously Excel Alerting Communicators (EAC), was a short-lived siren manufacturer founded in 1997 by Dale Moeller, as well as several members of American Signal Corporation who were not satisfied with the direction HÖRMANN Warnsysteme was taking the company. Excel produced the Tempest-128 (originally designed in 1993 by ACA) until the company absorbed the failing American Signal later in 1998.
History
Excel was founded after the bankruptcy of Biersach & Niedermayer (BNCO), which had to sell off its siren division, Alerting Communicators of America (ACA), in order to recoup costs to pay off its debts. In 1993, HÖRMANN Warnsysteme became interested in purchasing ACA to gain a foothold in the US siren market. ACA demonstrated many of its newer sirens at its facility in 1993, which sealed the deal after impressive results. Soon after, the company would be purchased by HÖRMANN, and would be reformed into American Signal (ASC) the same year, operating alongside HÖRMANN America. Many of ACA's sirens would be discontinued while others would be carried on into ASC, and ACA would ultimately come to an end.
HÖRMANN would do a terrible job at running ASC, evident in the company's low sales and poor quality control. Not only this, but they were apparently greedy and lacked morals, according to a former employee.[1] In early 1997, Dale Moeller, who formerly worked for ACA, alongside Jim Biersach and several other ACA members, decided to take matters into their own hands and split off from ASC, forming Excel Alerting Systems. Excel would put the Tempest-128 into production shortly after its founding, an experimental rotational siren which had been designed in 1993. After ACA was sold to HÖRMANN, they decided against producing the siren into production, instead opting to keep producing the existing Penetrator series. Several Tempest-128 units would be sold in late 1997, with the 1st unit installed in Random Lake, WI. In 1998 or 1999, ASC was sold back to Moeller, bringing an end to Excel. Due to its small scale, Excel only managed to sell a handful of units during its operation, and very few exist today.
Products
Tempest-128
The Tempest-128 (T-128) is a rotational electromechanical siren, and was the only siren produced by Excel. The Model T-128 uses an 8-port rotor driven by a 7 hp 48 V DC motor located in the rear housing. 8 large L-shaped horns are directly bolted to the stator ports, which forces the sound up and out of the front of the siren directly, which greatly increases sound output and range, and allowing the siren to boast a sound output of around 129.9 dB at 100 ft. These horns converge at the very front of the siren, forming a "flower" shape. To protect the horns from corrosion or damage, a large 2-piece shroud is place over the chopper and the horns, and the slits between the horns and the shroud act as the air intakes for the chopper. The siren is rotated through the use of an internal direct-drive rotator, using a ¼ hp motor connected to a gear reducer to drive a small gear around a larger gear. This is located directly below the motor, and this is also where the collector rings are located. The siren rotates over a very small stationary box that holds the wiring, attached to the mount. The Excel T-128 has several differences compared to a standard ASC unit, particularly the connections, controls, and the large cavity underneath the rear housing, which would not be present on an ASC T-128. Interestingly, the Excel T-128 will immediately stop rotating upon the chopper being unpowered, in a similar fashion to the ASC T-135AC.