Talk:Siren (alarm)

sound power

The article includes the text "sound power (123 dB at 10 feet)". As it stands this is ambiguous. Its most likely meaning is one of:

• sound power level of 123 dB (re unspecified unit)
• sound pressure level of 123 dB (re 20 μPa) at 10 ft
• sound level of 123 dB(A) at 10 ft

Does anyone know which of these (if any) is correct? Thunderbird2 (talk) 15:52, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

"Best Practices" section reads like an installation manual

Right. Like I said. It reads like an installation manual.

108.7.168.116 (talk) 04:10, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

disambiguation page

Please put the noisemaker on first place on the "siren" disambiguation page.

No sane person expects anything else than the noisemaker and THEN the Greek mythological creature when he searches for a "siren". The other stuff has to be placed much lower.

92.223.44.112 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 04:35, 29 November 2010 (UTC).

History

There are two references provided for "John Robison" and his "musical sirens". I can't speak for the one in German, but the English reference given mentions neither Robison, sirens, nor the year 1799. I suggest it be replaced with a suitable reference, or at least removed. If a suitable reference can't be found to support the assertion that Robison invented the siren in 1799 and applied it to organs, then perhaps this entire section needs to be rewritten, to reflect actual, verifiable history? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.95.43.249 (talk) 18:53, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Electronic are not as common?

Is this statement really accurate? "Most fire sirens are single tone and mechanically driven by electric motors with a rotor attached to the shaft. Some newer sirens are electronically driven by speakers, though these are not as common." In my own following of siren enthusiasts online and just general observations in the communities I visit, electronic sirens are becoming the norm, at least in the U.S. Municipalities see them as the cheaper alternatives (less maintenance, lower manufacturing cost, etc.). Even in my own city, nearly all the 1000Ts have been decommissioned in favor of the more popular 2001s. --RKrause (talk) 16:34, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Move to Siren (acoustic alarm)?

I would like to suggest a name change for this article - the name "noisemaker" is a vague description and could apply to a myriad devices. Paul venter (talk) 09:17, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

Requested move

• Siren (noisemaker) → Siren
• Siren → Siren (mythology)

– Should be obvious, really. A modern reader is much more likely to be looking for the noisemaker that they encounter in daily life than the mythological creature. 172.9.22.150 (talk) 13:20, 15 January 2014 (UTC)

• Oppose, as there are many meanings of the word. If anything, Siren (disambiguation) should be moved to Siren. bd2412 T 20:33, 15 January 2014 (UTC)
• Oppose any move; pageview statistics are jaw-droppingly strong in favor of the mythological creature. [1] [2]. Red Slash 03:16, 16 January 2014 (UTC)
• Oppose any move (other than Siren (noisemaker) → siren (alarm) to use more normal English); the current Siren page is primary, the "noisemaker" (a what?) is named after the mythological beast. In ictu oculi (talk) 05:15, 16 January 2014 (UTC)
  • See Discussion below. Andrewa (talk) 16:05, 20 January 2014 (UTC)
• Semioppose Oppose moving the noisemaker, support moving the mythological subjecct, replace with the disambiguation page per BD2412. -- 70.50.148.122 (talk) 06:51, 16 January 2014 (UTC)
  • I fail to see how there's any way the mythological creature doesn't have primary topic. The pageview advantage alone should guarantee it primary topic. Red Slash 03:14, 17 January 2014 (UTC)
    • See Discussion below. Andrewa (talk) 16:05, 20 January 2014 (UTC)

• Absurd – the disambig page should move to Siren, as there's clearly no primarytopic here. Dicklyon (talk) 19:04, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

• Semioppose similarly to the IP above. I'm surprised that there's so much interest in the mythology, but this does seem therefore to be a case of no primary topic, so the DAB should be at the undisambiguated name. But I'm not sure that noisemaker is the best disambiguator... other suggestions? Andrewa (talk) 13:14, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

Discussion

The claim that the mythological creature is the primary topic above seems to rest on the pageview statistics and the history of the name (the claim that the noisemaker is named after the creature).

The second argument, regarding the name's history, is completely contrary to policy, to the point that I'm a bit surprised that it's even raised here by an experienced editor. Where does WP:AT give any support at all to it?

Regarding the claim (made several times above) that the pageview statistics alone settle the issue, please note that the guideline explicitly rejects this argument. See Wikipedia:Disambiguation#Determining a primary topic: There are no absolute rules for determining whether a primary topic exists and what it is... Tools that may help to support the determination of a primary topic in a discussion (but are not considered absolute determining factors...) include:... Wikipedia article traffic statistics or Wiki ViewStats traffic statistics (my emphasis, with ... indicating my snip of omitted text).

There may be valid arguments that the mythological creature is the primary topic, but we don't yet have any above. Andrewa (talk) 16:08, 20 January 2014 (UTC)