# strange object on utility pole? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079 "2014-04-14T12:51:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/1 "2014-04-14T12:51:45Z")
A couple of miles NW of Dexter, Michigan (and I suppose in many other places I haven’t seen yet), there is a strange object on a utility pole next to the road. The pole is maybe 30 feet tall, and on top is something that vaguely resembles a [high-voltage insulator,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Insulator_railways.jpg) or a stack of mushroom caps. Except it’s quite a bit bigger than the typical HV insulator: this object is maybe 10 feet tall, and 18 inches in diameter. It’s vertical, colinear with the pole, and doesn’t apear to have any wires/cables connected to it from anywhere but the utility pole that’s holding it up. Any idea what this is? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/2 "2014-04-14T13:05:27Z")
Sounds like a lightning arrester to me. Did it look like one of these guys? [![](http://2.imimg.com/data2/LG/LO/MY-2917341/lightning-arrester-250x250.jpg) ](http://2.imimg.com/data2/LG/LO/MY-2917341/lightning-arrester-250x250.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/3 "2014-04-14T13:34:01Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Sounds like a lightning arrester to me. > > Did it look like one of these guys? > [http://2.imimg.com/data2/LG/LO/MY-2917341/lightning-arrester-250x250.jpg](http://2.imimg.com/data2/LG/LO/MY-2917341/lightning-arrester-250x250.jpg) Not really. The items in your picture all have some sort of ribbed horizontal projection at their base, and the vertical portion has very flat ribs. On the item I saw, the ribbed segments were more like [spherical caps;](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_cap) at their outermost edge, they had a substantial downward slope, maybe 30-40 degrees, similar to the sketch at that Wikipedia page. The gap between each ribbed segment was maybe a foot. It’s at least a couple of years old, but it’s not present on Google’s Streeview. It might be a few weeks before I can get out that way again; when I do, I’ll snap a few photos and upload it. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/4 "2014-04-14T14:40:10Z")
A temperature or other weather [sensor](https://www.google.ca/search?q=weather+sensor&rlz=1C1GIGM_en-GBCA550CA550&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=4vJLU7GkAsemygGI3ICADA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1263&bih=880#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=dvBqyR0N0D_QCM%253A%3BVL7G2Jhkj7uEuM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwncno.squarespace.com%252Fstorage%252Fwnc%252520weather%252520sensor.JPG%253F__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION%253D1309953006943%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwncno.squarespace.com%252Ftemperature-sensors%252F%3B1024%3B768)? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/5 "2014-04-14T14:56:18Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > A temperature or other weather [sensor](https://www.google.ca/search?q=weather+sensor&rlz=1C1GIGM_en-GBCA550CA550&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=4vJLU7GkAsemygGI3ICADA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1263&bih=880#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=dvBqyR0N0D_QCM%253A%3BVL7G2Jhkj7uEuM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwncno.squarespace.com%252Fstorage%252Fwnc%252520weather%252520sensor.JPG%253F__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION%253D1309953006943%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwncno.squarespace.com%252Ftemperature-sensors%252F%3B1024%3B768)? Don’t think so, as it didn’t have all those components on it. But I found a picture in your links that caught my eye - [this one.](http://pond1.gladstonefamily.net/lg_vent.jpg) What I saw looked similar, except: -the bowls were maybe two feet in diameter -they were stacked with maybe a 1-foot gap between them -they were gray/black -there were perhaps ten of them, making a stack ten feet high ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/6 "2014-04-14T14:59:22Z")
Probably a lightning arrestor. Something like this,OP: [https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=VVPpK-qkdWIivM&tbnid=B7MFkGKFG2t6zM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.osha.gov%2FSLTC%2Fetools%2Felectric\_power%2Fillustrated\_glossary%2Fsubstation\_equipment%2Flightning\_arresters.html&ei=ofdLU4DQDsHXygH3-oHAAQ&bvm=bv.64542518,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNFq\_5WW7xgPSqyf7UaGMm0xjzjbUA&ust=1397573900367739](https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=VVPpK-qkdWIivM&tbnid=B7MFkGKFG2t6zM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.osha.gov%2FSLTC%2Fetools%2Felectric_power%2Fillustrated_glossary%2Fsubstation_equipment%2Flightning_arresters.html&ei=ofdLU4DQDsHXygH3-oHAAQ&bvm=bv.64542518,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNFq_5WW7xgPSqyf7UaGMm0xjzjbUA&ust=1397573900367739) ---
**Author:** ![StrangerThanFiction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@StrangerThanFiction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrangerThanFiction)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/7 "2014-04-14T15:57:02Z")
Could it have been a tornado siren? [![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-swTnw8cEoFo/TXxYgTwhqiI/AAAAAAAABaU/ZSf2i9yzYUk/s1600/tsunami%2Bsiren.bmp) ](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-swTnw8cEoFo/TXxYgTwhqiI/AAAAAAAABaU/ZSf2i9yzYUk/s1600/tsunami%2Bsiren.bmp) ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/8 "2014-04-14T16:00:34Z")
Tornado siren was my first thought as well. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/9 "2014-04-14T16:10:59Z")
estimating sizes at a distance is tricky. maybe it’s the first pole in a new high tension line. photo would be good, both zoomed and full pole with a known height object next to it. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/10 "2014-04-14T16:13:58Z")
> [@StrangerThanFiction](#): > > Could it have been a tornado siren? > > [http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-swTnw8cEoFo/TXxYgTwhqiI/AAAAAAAABaU/ZSf2i9yzYUk/s1600/tsunami%2Bsiren.bmp](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-swTnw8cEoFo/TXxYgTwhqiI/AAAAAAAABaU/ZSf2i9yzYUk/s1600/tsunami%2Bsiren.bmp) How times have changed. As a kid they were called air raid sirens. They were tested once a month and scared the crap out of us (it was on a pole across the street from our house). If it went off at any other time other than five minutes after Noon once a month, that meant the bombers and missiles were on their way. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/11 "2014-04-14T16:47:27Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > estimating sizes at a distance is tricky. > > maybe it’s the first pole in a new high tension line. > > photo would be good, both zoomed and full pole with a known height object next to it. Stay tuned. If I’m lucky I’ll snap a few pics this coming weekend, otherwise it’s gonna be about three weeks… ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/12 "2014-04-14T23:44:09Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > How times have changed. As a kid they were called air raid sirens. They were tested once a month and scared the crap out of us (it was on a pole across the street from our house). If it went off at any other time other than five minutes after Noon once a month, that meant the bombers and missiles were on their way. When I was a young-un, we had one about a block away. I always wondered this, even about the scheduled tests. After all, I figured, however evil those Russkies might be, the weren’t dumb, and the scheduled times for those tests was easily knowable. So why not just launch their bombs with suitable timing to hit just as the tests are running? Huh? Huh? Even the Russians could figure that out! ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/13 "2014-04-14T23:51:46Z")
The spherical caps look like they’re there to weather-proof whatever’s inside. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/14 "2014-04-15T14:06:53Z")
Here’s a siren in Dexter Michigan. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0LDo3zDlgvc/maxresdefault.jpg "Dexter Twp, MI Whelen 2910 Siren Test 4-5-14") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LDo3zDlgvc) Does it sound like this ? 🙂 It seems like the Whelan brand siren. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kRAMXaAyIG8/maxresdefault.jpg "Whelen WPS-2810 Tornado Siren Test with Tones!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRAMXaAyIG8) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-object-on-utility-pole/686079/15 "2014-04-15T14:50:00Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > Here’s a siren in Dexter Michigan. The caption says that one is on North Territorial Road. The one I saw is on Island Lake Road, but going from memory, it looks like that might be the same type that I saw. Here’s a [PDF file with details about that whole series of sirens.](http://www.midstatecomm.com/PDF/WPS2900_Series.pdf) So what’s with the funky shape? The PDf file mentions the configuration as a stack of “one to ten omni-direcitonal speaker cells assembled in a vertical column.” The second page shows a photo of a 400-watt speaker driver, and also shows someone installing it into the final assembly. So where does the sound come out? What do the big clamshell things do for it?