Location: Pleasantville Park
System: Fairfield County
Testing schedule: Every Wednesday at noon, weather permitting
Testing time: 12:00:06 PM (on time)
Cycle when tested: 30 second alert
Cameras used: Canon PowerShot SX540HS (tight shot), Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (wide shot & audio)
Recording distance from siren: 210 feet (tight shot) 195 feet (wide shot)
Loudness: Not very loud but also not quiet - 98 dBA (black meter), 102 dBA (orange meter), 110.9 dBC
Temperature: 46°F
Other enthusiasts present: Connor (‪@Thunderbolt1000Tfan‬ )
Other notes: For the fourth Wednesday of January, we decided to record this Vortex in Pleasantville since there was a shelter near it that we could set up under to protect our equipment from getting wet from the rain. That ended up being a more difficult task than we originally expected though, since there's a playground right in between the shelter and the siren. Fortunately, we managed to pull it off and get decent videos. For the spot I had my PowerShot set up at, I had to extend my tripod all the way for the siren to clear the playground structure, and I turned image stabilization on since it's more sensitive to vibrations that way. I had the tripod for the wide shot on the edge of the shelter, and I didn't even bother using my CyberShot here since there was no room for a second (extended) tripod where the siren would be visible. Loudness wise, this felt about average for a Whelen. My meter(s) read 98 dBA and 102 dBA when the horn faced us, while Connor's got 110.9 dBC. It wasn't too tough on the ears but we could still feel it rumbling us decently. This also happens to be my 300th video of a siren sounding up close that I've uploaded to KZfaq. Enjoy!
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