(Missed Wind-ups) 5-2-26 Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000T Siren Short Alert/Attack Test, Paducah, KY

Yesterday, I got on up at our hotel and went up to Henderson, KY, to try for some more crossings on the CSX Henderson Subdivision. Unfortunately, in the over two hours of waiting I did there, CSX ran absolutely nothing through Henderson on the Henderson Sub. Even more "fun", something got lined south through Henderson at about 10:00, but when I had to hit the road for Paducah about 50 minutes later, the train it was lined for (I025, I believe) still hadn't made it out of Evansville on the other side of the Ohio River... After almost 2 hours of driving from Henderson, I thankfully made it over to Paducah and got to my target with plenty of time to spare: the Thunderbolt 1000T at Concord Elementary School on the west side of Paducah. I decided to head for this 'bolt as it's missing all four of the bolts connecting the horn to the chopper cap, meaning the only thing holding the horn to the siren is the bracket for the horn. As a result, the horn wobbles quite a bit in strong wind and while the siren is sounding, especially when it starts to rotate, and is nicknamed "Loosehorn" by siren enthusiasts as a result. The horn not being connected to the chopper cap also makes it sound rather off, which I suspect is at least partially thanks to the large lip at the base of the horn partially blocking the chopper. Anyways, 1 PM rolls around and nothing. Thinking they're just running a bit late, I keep rolling. 1:10 PM rolls around, and still nothing, but I keep rolling, though @CentralALSirens lets me and the other enthusiasts out here know that apparently the county's having radio issues and they're still trying to test the sirens. Then 1:20 PM rolls around and still nothing, though I still keep rolling. About 5 minutes later, I finally decide to give-up and start packing-up. However, about 2 minutes after that, at about 1:27 PM as I'm loading my camera into my car, the sirens finally roar to life for their monthly test, and proceed to do a short alert. As such, I quickly get my camera set-up, and am able to record it doing this short alert followed by a short attack! After it finishes-up the short attack cycle, I pack my camera away again and have it charging in my car while I chat with @madisoncountysirens4295 over the phone. While doing so, just after 1:30 PM, the sirens fire up *again*, so I grab my camera and record it doing *another* short alert cycle. Either way, I was definitely quite annoyed at this point, given how I'd set-up at a better angle earlier and if I'd just left my camera rolling I would've been able to get an at least decent video of the first two parts of the test... I swear I was just cursed on this morning given my luck yesterday. Thankfully, after this test, I was able to meet-up with James, Harris, @MusicCitySirens, @DSRX100, @AmericanSirenProductions, and @NepsterWX for lunch before we all wandered back over to this siren to hang-out for a few hours after. Definitely a nice way to end what was probably one of my most annoying days out in a while. Either way, the next time I return to Paducah I plan on rerecording this siren for the monthly test again, as I want a much better video of it than this one. From the McCracken County EMA's Facebook page about this test: "We understand that many of you heard multiple tornado sirens sounding today, and not all at the usual 1:00 PM monthly test time. We want to take a moment to explain exactly what occurred and, most importantly, reassure the public that there is no risk to safety." "During the scheduled 1:00 PM monthly test, Central Dispatch was unable to activate the sirens from their console. This issue is related in part to the recent transition to our new radio system, which required updates and changes to dispatch equipment." "As a precaution, and to ensure the integrity of the siren system itself, Emergency Management activated the sirens from our office at approximately 1:25 PM. This served as a redundant safety check to confirm that the sirens were functioning properly and they did." "While that test was taking place, Dispatch personnel were actively troubleshooting the issue on their end. They were able to identify and correct the problem, and at approximately 1:40 [SIC] PM, the sirens were successfully activated from the dispatch center." Source: https://www.facebook.com/McCrackenCountyRescue/posts/pfbid02m4QL1nueKCwegG7Agwo9VSkG5C3zsFZsBKqCusRdqVh5NwY4h9UW6CLHXPZuY4Sol McCracken County, KY, tests at 1PM on the first Saturday of every month, weather permitting. The Kentucky Statewide Siren Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1vwEZVW9AMJqG3APwVlsg11TcMPI&ll=37.81351877613369%2C-85.81882284999999&z=7 If you like my videos, feel free to leave me a tip on Ko-Fi! Any tips you give will be used to help cover the cost of gas on my trips. https://ko-fi.com/freebrickproductions