High schooler refurbishes weather alert systems
By Eric Thomas
Since age 12, Alex Lansaw has been chasing after something he learned about in social studies. He joined a group online at that time and became extremely interested in weather alert sirens. Once a young boy with a hobby, he is now a young man wanting to take the siren world by storm.
As he was getting into this hobby, he found a small warning siren with which to experiment. His passion grew quickly.
“It then escalated when I was gifted a used full-size siren by a company,” explained Lansaw. “But it was missing a controller.” After tracking a controller down in Missouri, he convinced his mother to drive him 6 hours away to purchase the used controller.
“When I finished refurbishing this alert siren, I attached it to a 15-foot telephone pole on our property. A few years went by, and a storm knocked it almost to the ground,” Lansaw continued. This particular refurbished siren was later sold and installed in Glasgow in 2022 for a fraction of the price for a brand-new siren.
Since that first successfully installed siren, he has rebuilt, made upgrades and sold refurbished units across Central Illinois.
“I installed one at a Boy Scout camp in Wisconsin, sold and shipped a siren to Canada, and I have been all over the Midwest on the hunt for parts and full units,” he added.
This past spring, Lansaw became involved in taking down a siren. He was contacted to travel to Springfield, where he helped the business’ building owner and a few other people dismantle the siren on top of the 240-foot Pillsbury plant. “This building will be torn down in the next couple of years, and I wanted to preserve a piece of local history,” he stated.
He obtains used equipment to refurbish through a map of Illinois that he moderates. The map shows active and inactive siren locations. “If I see one I would like to obtain, I can pinpoint contacts for the town and inquire about the sirens,” Lansaw said. “I’ve slowed down on this because I have a stock of newer, refurbished electronic sirens. I also have a wide variety of connections for parts and full units.”
Currently, Lansaw researches a lot by watching online for any town discussing sirens. He hopes to keep expanding by connecting with small communities that don’t want to break the bank on fixing or buying a new siren.
According to Lansaw, most modern siren dealers don’t want to deal with the older equipment and just want to install brand-new equipment. “They will argue that parts for the older sirens are not always available,” he mentioned. “That is just not the case. Parts are still available for older sirens, or they can be fixed or upgraded.” A brand-new siren installed can be as expensive as over $30,000, which could be out of the realm for small community budgets.
Lansaw mentioned a concern about a modern trend as well. Many towns, counties, large cities, etc. are phasing out sirens and converting to phone alerts. He is concerned that people might not always be by their phone, nor have service — and not everyone has access to a phone. “This is why it’s important to have multiple ways to receive alerts, especially outside, like a siren,” he concluded. “I don’t do what I do just for the money. I do it because I enjoy it, and I want to save lives and help out communities with a small budget.”
This is Lansaw’s senior year at Jacksonville High School. He serves as FFA president and he plans to go to Lincoln Land Community College for their two-year precision ag degree. His parents are Jeff and Susie Lansaw, and he lives at home with a younger sister. To contact Alex Lansaw about his alert sirens, send an email to lansawwarningsys@gmail.com.
