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Every time we get a new product in, I feel like a kid on Christmas day; this weekend was no exception. We've actually gotten a lot of new demo products in which we'll be posting about soon but what I have been most excited to get my hands on is the SAF-206S; the Siren & Light Controller from Axixtech. I had been watching the tracking status like a vulture waiting for it to arrive. When it did, I had my box cutter ready and the unit was opened within moments of arrival.
So, what's in the box? Pretty much what you would expect: the unit, quick connect terminals, bail bracket for mounting, legends for the push buttons, and the instruction manual. Speaking of the instruction manual, all you have to do is take one look at the back of the unit and you'll be glad it's in the box. Not because the unit is complicated, but there are so many options that you'll be thankful to know what all of them do. To give you my best review I'm going to have to break this into sections.
The Summary:
Here's the quick summary:
Pros:
- Built rock solid
- Very ergonomic and designed with "in combat" use in mind
- Lots and lots of power management
- Choice of 1 or 2 siren speaker hook ups
- User selectable PA & Radio rebroadcast volume level
- Quick connect terminals make installation very easy
Cons:
- Wail tone is a little mediocre compared to the other tones
- Back lighting is bright with no option to dim
- Fuses for pursuit switch and buttons are internal and require dis-assembly to replace
- PA mic feels a little on the chintzy side
The Siren:
Let's talk a little bit about the siren. The 206S is capable of running the siren in several different power configurations. You can run it at 40 watts, 100 watts, or two speakers at 100 watts a piece for a total of 200 watts of power. For most applications, 100 watts is fine, but more and more departments are stepping up to dual speaker setups. Buy the 206S, and you have the capability to upgrade in the future by just adding another speaker.
The selection of tones is exactly what you'd expect: the essentials. No more, no less. This includes: your standard Wail, Yelp, Airhorn, Manual, Phaser and Hi-Lo. I know some of you out there are tone freaks; you like the older sirens, before things went all electronic. If that is the case the 206S isn't going to be for you. The tones on the 206S are definitely digital sounding in nature. The Wail probably suffers the most at sounding digital but only at the very peak of the rise. Yelp has a nice pulse and is shrill enough to get that teenager with earbuds in to look around and see what's going on. Phaser has always been one of my favorite tones and it sounds great on the 206S. If you aren't a fan of the Phaser you can use the dip switches to substitute the European style Hi-Lo instead. Don't worry, Airhorn and Manual are along for the ride too. I really like their button placement. You'll find them on the far left side of the unit, making them easy to find in the heat of the moment. The Airhorn has a nice deep rich tone which I appreciate. There's nothing worse than hitting the Airhorn and having it sound like something off of a clown car. Manual, of course, gives you the quick, "whoop whoop," or if your siren is currently active, it will cycle to the next tone in line. The section knob for the siren tones is over-sized and easy to operate without paying a lot of attention to the siren. The 206S can also be hooked up to your vehicle's horn ring for hands-free start up and tone selection.
Also on the siren side of things, is radio re-broadcast and PA. Radio re-broadcast can be easily hooked into via the back of the unit and is selectable from the siren knob. PA is operated by using the attached microphone. The microphone is a little lightweight feeling in your hand, but it does the job. Both functions' volume can be controlled directly from the face of unit, using the PA volume dial.
The Light Controller:
Now that I've gone on, in depth, about the siren and its' features, let me introduce you to the light controller/switch box. The 206S is meant to be the central hub for all of your warning equipment and, also, the point of power distribution. The are some boxes that I'd be a little hesitant to run tons of power through, but this unit is built for it. You don't have to worry about tons of terminal strips or using relays for everything. You'll need to wire up 3 to 4 separate power feeds, depending on your equipment. That may sounds like a lot, right? This is because the 206S keeps power for the siren, and power for the light controller separate. That way, if something happens and you blow a fuse or have a critical melt down, you won't take the other system down with you. There are two power feeds for the siren amplifier (you only need to hook up one for a one siren setup) and two massive 50 amp (max) power inputs to supply power to all your warning equipment.
As you can see on the back of the unit, each of the three stages on the pursuit switch, as well as the six push buttons, have their own terminal for equipment hook up and are fused at 10 amps a piece. The down side to that is the fuses are actually inside of the unit so if you blow something (which ideally you won't) you'll have to remove the cover to get to them. The pursuit switch can be programed in a variety of ways: activating stage 1, 2, and 3 separately from each other, 1+2+3 and so on. You can also program one of the front face buttons to act as a momentary switch for a gun lock or pattern changer. Speaking of the buttons, they have great tactile feedback. Unlike some other brands where if you hit the membrane button a little off center, they just squish and don't activate. These feel nice and solid under your fingers and activate readily. The back lighting shines through them with ease, even with a legend installed. That may be another one of the box's downfalls: you can select any level of back lighting you like... as long as you want bright.
Pictures:
The Video:
The End:
I think I have pretty well touched on the most important features of the Axixtech SAF-206S. It really does pack a lot of bang into a small box and makes a great one stop shop for anyone in the market for reasonably priced all-in-one solution, even though it has a few short comings. Overall, I feel it's an 8/10. What is done right, is done solidly and well. What is done wrong adds up to minor annoyances rather than deal breakers.
