The latest addition is my vintage Kahlenberg 115AMP whistle. Their new whistles are cast bronze w/ a brass bell. This older whistle is 100% machined brass. The valve is bronze.
This was an eBay purchase.
When the whistle arrived I found the initial sounding was not always spot-on, so I adjusted the gap, now it sounds immediately every time.
A new old-stock Kahlenberg 117AMP whistle from eBay will arrive next week. I will figure the mounting configuration when that arrives.
Yes, the Kahlenberg 115AMV Whistle is small, loud (132dBA at 1 meter), tolerant of a wide pressure range (50 - 200 PSI) and consumes lots of air (55.8 SCFM at 100 PSI). Glossy Web Page
This is a high pitch, 1,500 Hz.
The larger Kahlenberg 117AMP Whistle that will be arriving next week is larger, loud (122dBA at 1 meter), also tolerant of a wide pressure range (50 - 200 PSI) and consumes lots and lots of air (219 SCFM at 100 PSI). Glossy Web Page
Yes, the Kahlenberg 115AMV Whistle is small, loud (132dBA at 1 meter), tolerant of a wide pressure range (50 - 200 PSI) and consumes lots of air (55.8 SCFM at 100 PSI). Glossy Web Page
This is a high pitch, 1,500 Hz.
The larger Kahlenberg 117AMP Whistle that will be arriving next week is larger, loud (122dBA at 1 meter), also tolerant of a wide pressure range (50 - 200 PSI) and consumes lots and lots of air (219 SCFM at 100 PSI). Glossy Web Page
It turns out there are instructions included w/ new Kahlenberg whistles that describe changing the gap to have the whistle sound properly at different pressures.
The 117AMP whistle arrived. This is a new old-stock unused whistle.
The tonal quality of the whistle is outstanding.
A quick check shows that mounting in my planned location will be close to having enough room. My boat has an open array radar, where the antenna spins around above the pedastle. My installation has 5° wedges under the pedastle to angle it forward, so it remains flat while the boat is operating at speed, on a plane.
My plan is to mount each whistle on the arch’s flat surface, adjacent to the radar pedastle, at the rear. The taller 117AMP whistle won’t clear the rotating array at the front, but it might just clear at the rear. I need to disassemble some canvas to permit me to do a trial fit, to see if this will work.
My plan is to have the whistle on the top of the arch screwed into the valve on the interior of the arch, w/ the whistle and the valve snugged up tight against the fiberglass / gelcoat arch, at about ½" thick.
It turns out there are instructions included w/ new Kahlenberg whistles that describe changing the gap to have the whistle sound properly at different pressures.
The 117AMP whistle arrived. This is a new old-stock unused whistle.
The tonal quality of the whistle is outstanding.
A quick check shows that mounting in my planned location will be close to having enough room. My boat has an open array radar, where the antenna spins around above the pedastle. My installation has 5° wedges under the pedastle to angle it forward, so it remains flat while the boat is operating at speed, on a plane.
My plan is to mount each whistle on the arch’s flat surface, adjacent to the radar pedastle, at the rear. The taller 117AMP whistle won’t clear the rotating array at the front, but it might just clear at the rear. I need to disassemble some canvas to permit me to do a trial fit, to see if this will work.
My plan is to have the whistle on the top of the arch screwed into the valve on the interior of the arch, w/ the whistle and the valve snugged up tight against the fiberglass / gelcoat arch, at about ½" thick.
The 117 whistle has a ½" NPT fitting, that I reduced to ¼" NPT, then a quick connect air fitting for this test clip.
The test pressure was 125 PSI. If a blow nozzle was used, then I got almost no sound. However, when I use my lungs / lips, I can blow the 117 whistle and make it sound, albiet quietly.
The air distribution system on my boat is 1" plumbing, w/ 1" copper and a 1½" regulator, all running at 200 psi.
The 117 whistle does not yet have a valve, so I need one that will maintain flow, so I’m thinking about using a 3/4" NPT United Brass Works 25WT valve w/ a fitting to reduce down to the ½" NPT right at the valve.
The Kahlenberg 117 web page has a HEAR IT! pushbutton demonstrating the sound when properly supplied by air.
Note that my smaller 115 whistle has ¼" NPT fittings and was not affected by my test connection.
The whistle will be mounted by drilling a through hole in the top of my fiberglass / gelcoat arch, near the radar pedestal, where that exterior surface is flat.
The whistle base assembly and the 90° fitting will sandwich the arch, so the valve will be in the arch interior.
These images show the disassembled whistle. I was unable to remove the stem from the base to show the banjo bolt holes better. My guess is they use a thread sealant to resist disassembly of those two parts, w/ then mated w/ machine threads.
Inspecting down the threaded hole shows cross drilled banjo bolt holes, shown in the middle image.
Here are images showing my Kahlenberg 117 whistle mounted on the arch of my 2000 Searay 380 Sundancer.
The location was selected to be close to the open array pedestal because the factory makes that location a flat rectangle for mounting the radar. The rest of the arch is a curved surface and I wanted the whistle to be straight vertical.
Hats off to you Wingless. Must admit it’s been a pleasure seeing someone take such pride in their install. Very nice. Lovely boat too!.. wish I had one
The boat has been very consuming of both time and money. This is just the latest project. One prior big project was me creating my new custom enclosure, where I taught myself to sew, designed the enclosure, created the patterns, then made the enclosure.
The base of the whistle has a ½" NPT female thread and no other mounting points.
The cavity below the whistle does not have much top-to-bottom room, so I drilled a clearance hole for the ½" pipe nipple, wrapped the nipple w/ a cut tire inner tube and used a hose clamp to expand the rubber, clamping the whistle to the fiberglass.
The whistle is very secure, w/o any movement or wobble.
