Help me select or tune ?my horns (Page 1/2)
longjonsilver AUG 27, 12:31 PM
i have always hated my wimpy Fiero horns. Sounds like the duke accelerates. ;-) So reading threads on horns i trot off to the scrap yard to find some. i found a cool one off a Caddy with a TRUMPET attached to it, rusty tho. i also pulled two off an Oldsmobile that are interconnected on the drivers side - one wire to two horns. Kinda cool. They are real greasy - thats a good thing for those of you that don't live in the rustbelt. One horn is damaged in an on-purpose-ident. Here are the horns:

best image hosting

They come from these cars:




Caddy




Oldsmobile

i didn't buy any horns because i came back with more questions than i left with.

As a woodwind musician (horns are my thing) i want to play not just a two note chord but a minor triad or even a minor seventh, which means that i need three or four horns. Can horns be tuned? How? Can i tune my Fiero horns?

Some guys on this forum say that Caddy horns sound good. Are there two of them? i only found one from the Caddy in the pic, and i can't find any horns on other Caddys. Where are they? What do big older Oldsmobile horns sound like? i can't find horns on Chevy trucks. Where are they? Which are the best sounding horns?

thanks
jon

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I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun! 3800 SC swap to come!

Charlie1963 AUG 27, 12:44 PM
Here's the type of setup you need. There's 4 horns, A,C,D,F notes. Sounds great, I have a set like these on my Fiero. https://www.ebay.com/itm/GM...4:g:f54AAOSwo2dbfO~D
IMSA GT AUG 27, 01:06 PM
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[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 08-27-2018).]

longjonsilver AUG 27, 02:10 PM

quote
Originally posted by Charlie1963:

Here's the type of setup you need. There's 4 horns, A,C,D,F notes. Sounds great, I have a set like these on my Fiero. https://www.ebay.com/itm/GM...4:g:f54AAOSwo2dbfO~D



Cool, they tune to a D minor 7 chord in the second inversion. ;-) What more could i want? How to test them in the scrapyard before buying? What are the electrical challenges of hooking up 4 horns to a Fiero system that is designed for 1 or 2??? i notice that the horns from the Oldsmobile that are daisy chained together use substantially heavier wire than my horns.

jon

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I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun! 3800 SC swap to come!

fierofool AUG 27, 02:35 PM
Many horns can be tuned. Look at your dual horns. See the Torx Head stud sticking up? That will change the tone or volume of the horn. I forget which.
Charlie1963 AUG 28, 10:41 AM

quote
Originally posted by longjonsilver:


Cool, they tune to a D minor 7 chord in the second inversion. ;-) What more could i want? How to test them in the scrapyard before buying? What are the electrical challenges of hooking up 4 horns to a Fiero system that is designed for 1 or 2??? i notice that the horns from the Oldsmobile that are daisy chained together use substantially heavier wire than my horns.

jon





I simply connected two of the new horns to each one of the stock horn wires. I didn't have to change the fuse or other wiring. If you're a member of the Fiero group on f/b this link will take to a clip that plays the stock horns and the new horns on my car. https://www.facebook.com/ch...os/1988715024481888/
theogre AUG 28, 01:08 PM
Two Notes are often better then one even tho sound level is close to same.
Beat Frequency sound often gets thru other noises and sound insulation better. (Is part of why old Conelrad/EAS/EBS Sound was made to have two "notes"/tones. like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exf3PtnhQv8 )

Best is Get a set of horn from same car. Most Any vehicle w/ 2 horn are good.

See my Cave, Horn

To test the two tone setup use Audacity/Generate/Tone
Mute one tone, play and un mute that tone.
Two EAS tones are nice hearing either but "hurts" to hear both at same time. Note that you can easily make the EAS tones but Do Not broadcast them. FCC have fined many people/companies even for faking true tones. https://www.broadcastlawblo...nd-other-eas-issues/

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(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 08-28-2018).]

fierosound AUG 29, 11:30 AM
For my cars I got horns from any GM full-size van or truck.
The hi/low pair are loud and sound better than the poor factory Fiero ones.

If you want to play music - get something like this.
https://www.amazon.ca/Wolo-...araha/dp/B00029XHWC/


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[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 08-29-2018).]

theogre AUG 29, 05:40 PM

quote
Originally posted by fierosound:
For my cars I got horns from any GM full-size van or truck.
The hi/low pair are loud and sound better than the poor factory Fiero ones.

If you want to play music - get something like this.
https://www.amazon.ca/Wolo-...araha/dp/B00029XHWC/

Almost any "big" cars have better horns too.

You should have a switch to use OE style quickly when you have a music/air horns. Most of them sold thru Wolo Fiamm and others are junk and often fail in a year or less. Fiamm aftermarket horns of any type are not the same as sold to OEM. In some places, using musical and/or air horns can get you stopped for noise and other reasons from cops so having a switch to what horns are used can be handy driving thru them. Or keep OE setup and use second horn button to run these.
longjonsilver OCT 16, 01:12 PM

quote
Originally posted by fierosound:

For my cars I got horns from any GM full-size van or truck.
The hi/low pair are loud and sound better than the poor factory Fiero ones.




i pulled the horns from the Caddy in the original picture, not the other car. Easy peasy. The Caddy horns were all greasy and therefore not rusted. They were hidden on the drivers side, and the horn with the trumpet was in front of the radiator. i want to assure myself that the trumpet one works before buying it, , because it wasn't greasy and so i has rust. So i just installed the small horns. They are tuned to a Gb and Bb. A major third (or a minor 6th ), in any case they sound like a read car now. i wonder how much better they will sound with the trumpet one installed. i pulled the Y wire so i can hook up two to one side.
Plug right in to the stock wires and ground to the chassis. Along with my power brake booster from a 95 GMC Sonoma, i feel like i have a new car. A Sonoma booster is a good thing to have for an ex-northern California guy.

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Astronomy says we will find a coded signal from outer space. Then we'll KNOW that life exists there, for coded signals aren't by chance.

Biology says there are coded genetic signals in every cell, but we KNOW that no intelligence created life.

I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun!