[BC] Broadcasting sirens

[WFIFeng@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/28/2006 2:43:07 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
amstereoexp at yahoo.com writes:

> (As for the relevance to this list... sirens are a form of "broadcasting",
>  are they not?)
>  

In the Devon area of Milford (where WFIF is located) they have a similar 
network of sirens, only these do double duty. They use them as a massive public 
address system whenever the tide is expected to reach flood levels. First, they 
air the wailing siren sound a few times. Then an announcer gets on, pausing 
every few words (waiting for the echo) to announce why the alarms went off. You 
can hear the sirens indoors quite easily. When we hear them, we step out onto 
the deck to listen for the announcement. Because we are *on* the tidal marsh, 
those announcements are very important to us... they've saved our cars from 
getting rim-deep (or more) in flood waters more than once.

Whoever set this system up did it right. They must have tested and listened 
to get the timing right. They pause just long enough for the echo/decay of the 
last few words to fade before saying the next group. If they simply spoke 
normally, the echoes would obscure what was being said, making it an 
unintelligible mess. With the pauses, tho it sounds awkward, you can understand every word. 
Very clever, very effective.

Willie...