British General Electric: Difference between revisions

	British General Electric
	; "Sole Australian Representatives of the General Electric Co. Ltd. of England" Logo restoration done by Aaron P. (airin'pringles)
Headquarters	388 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Founded	≥1909
Defunct	1960s?

VisualWikitext

Latest revision as of 00:33, 21 November 2024

British General Electric (B.G.E.) was an agency of the General Electric Company (GEC) of Coventry, West Midlands, England. GEC was a major industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defense electronics, communications, and engineering. B.G.E., founded no later than 1909, was a part of the GEC's rapid domestic and international expansion in the early 20th century—it was the sole representative of the GEC in Australia amongst agencies established in Europe, Japan, Australia, South Africa, and India. B.G.E. primarily did business in the markets of radio sets and household appliances like vacuum tubes; during World War II, B.G.E. was commissioned to supply electric air raid sirens (alternatively spelt syrens, assembled by English corporations and licensed to B.G.E. under partnership, a common practice for the company) to warn the public of incoming Axis air raids. After the war, the sirens fell out of use and B.G.E. took on other business ventures for the remainder of its existence. The agency had distributors and facilities in Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, Launceston, and Townsville by 1954. B.G.E. was likely eliminated in the mid-to-late 1960s when the GEC's new managing director Arnold Weinstock made cutbacks and instigated mergers in a drive for efficiency, resulting in new growth for the company. The GEC itself was eventually broken up by 2006 and is now BAC Systems and Telent, while B.G.E.'s former headquarters at "Magnet House" 388 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 is now occupied by several businesses.

Products

Small sirens

Electric Syren Cat № 0-5001

Electric Syren Cat № 0-5002

Electric Syren Cat № 0-5003

Large sirens

Single rotor

WIP

Dual rotor

B.G.E.'s dual rotor air raid siren makes use of 2 large 24" 12 (top) and 14 (bottom) port rotors/stators—commonly mis-regarded as 10/12 port stators due to the slower rotation speed of a 50 Hz motor compared to a 60 Hz one—driven by a 2.75 or 3 hp 3 ph dual sided 50 Hz 400/440 V AC motor that spins both rotors at around 2880-2900 rpm. 3 tall mounting legs are attached to the lip of the bottom stator and allow the entire assembly to be bolted down to a flat surface.

wip

Although the dual rotor siren was produced by several different companies, all were supplied to the public by B.G.E.

These sirens were regulated and maintained by the National Emergency Service of Australia. After World War II, the air raid sirens were supposed to be returned to the Department of Public Works; some local fire brigades requested through their local council that the sirens be donated for the purpose of signaling a fire or emergency.

References

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Logo restoration done by Aaron P. (airin'pringles)|image=BGE logo.png|title=British General Electric|hq=388 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000}}
-'''British General Electric''' (B.G.E.) was an agency of the General Electric Company (GEC) of Coventry, West Midlands, England. GEC was a major industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defense electronics, communications, and engineering. B.G.E., founded no later than 1909, was a part of the GEC's rapid domestic and international expansion in the early 20th century—it was the sole representative of the GEC in Australia amongst agencies established in Europe, Japan, Australia, South Africa, and India. B.G.E. primarily did business in the markets of radio sets and household appliances like vacuum tubes; during World War II, B.G.E. was commissioned to supply air raid sirens (assembled by numerous corporations and licensed to B.G.E. under partnership, a common practice for the company) to warn the public of incoming Axis air raids. After the war, the sirens fell out of use and B.G.E. took on other business ventures for the remainder of its existence. The agency had distributors and facilities in Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, Launceston, and Townsville by 1954. B.G.E. was likely eliminated in the mid-to-late 1960s when the GEC's new managing director Arnold Weinstock made cutbacks and instigated mergers in a drive for efficiency, resulting in new growth for the company. The GEC itself was eventually broken up by 2006 and is now BAC Systems and Telent, while B.G.E.'s former headquarters at "Magnet House" 388 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 is now occupied by several businesses.
+'''British General Electric''' (B.G.E.) was an agency of the General Electric Company (GEC) of Coventry, West Midlands, England. GEC was a major industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defense electronics, communications, and engineering. B.G.E., founded no later than 1909, was a part of the GEC's rapid domestic and international expansion in the early 20th century—it was the sole representative of the GEC in Australia amongst agencies established in Europe, Japan, Australia, South Africa, and India. B.G.E. primarily did business in the markets of radio sets and household appliances like vacuum tubes; during World War II, B.G.E. was commissioned to supply electric air raid sirens (alternatively spelt ''syrens'', assembled by English corporations and licensed to B.G.E. under partnership, a common practice for the company) to warn the public of incoming Axis air raids. After the war, the sirens fell out of use and B.G.E. took on other business ventures for the remainder of its existence. The agency had distributors and facilities in Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, Launceston, and Townsville by 1954. B.G.E. was likely eliminated in the mid-to-late 1960s when the GEC's new managing director Arnold Weinstock made cutbacks and instigated mergers in a drive for efficiency, resulting in new growth for the company. The GEC itself was eventually broken up by 2006 and is now BAC Systems and Telent, while B.G.E.'s former headquarters at "Magnet House" 388 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 is now occupied by several businesses.
 == Products ==
-=== Dual rotor siren ===
+=== Small sirens ===
-B.G.E. produced a unique vertical dual rotor siren, which has a distinctive appearance. This siren uses a dual rotor design, with the top rotor being 12-port, and the bottom rotor being 14-port. This results in a 12/14 port siren. The siren runs on a 3HP dual sided AC motor, which runs at 2880RPM, 50hz, and was designed for three-phase AC. The siren was produced by several different companies, but all were supplied by B.G.E.. Since the siren runs at 50hz, the siren resembles a 10/12 siren when operating. The siren heavily resembles a dual rotor [[Federal Electric Fedelcode|Fedelcode]] or [[Federal Signal XT22|XT22]] with the housing removed.
-=== Single rotor siren ===
+==== Electric Syren Cat № 0-5001 ====
+==== Electric Syren Cat № 0-5002 ====
+==== Electric Syren Cat № 0-5003 ====
+=== Large sirens ===
+==== Single rotor ====
 WIP
+==== Dual rotor ====
+[[File:BGE dual rotor.jpg|thumb|240x240px|The dual rotor siren at the Oakville Rural Fire Brigade, Oakville, NSW.]]
+B.G.E.'s ''dual rotor air raid siren'' makes use of 2 large 24" 12 (top) and 14 (bottom) port rotors/stators—commonly mis-regarded as 10/12 port stators due to the slower rotation speed of a 50 Hz motor compared to a 60 Hz one—driven by a 2.75 or 3 hp 3 ph dual sided 50 Hz 400/440 V AC motor that spins both rotors at around 2880-2900 rpm. 3 tall mounting legs are attached to the lip of the bottom stator and allow the entire assembly to be bolted down to a flat surface.
+wip
+Although the dual rotor siren was produced by several different companies, all were supplied to the public by B.G.E.
+These sirens were regulated and maintained by the National Emergency Service of Australia. After World War II, the air raid sirens were supposed to be returned to the Department of Public Works; some local fire brigades requested through their local council that the sirens be donated for the purpose of signaling a fire or emergency.
+== References ==
 [[Category:Sirens]]
 [[Category:Single Toned Sirens]]