Heh! I did a backyard display tonight with a bunch of effects, but the key one was a 1000-shot Roman Candle barrage. It's a big job to quickmatch that many candles so they all ignite, and even more of one to time their ignition so the display starts 'slow' and grows in intensity. All 100 candles lit, and in proper succession! Yay! I can still 'match' tubes!
It's been four years since I was a lead-shooter on a show. 'Been busy making machines to make the fireworks, instead of shooting them. Nice to know it still works.
Do you use burn rate fuse for that, or do you use an electronic ignition system? I always figured model rocket igniters and 3F or 4F BP inside the tubes surrounding the fuse where it enters the containment area would solve most problems I've had.
I've got a couple rolls of water proof canon fuse I've used for timing ground displays. One roll burns pretty consistently at 1" per second unless you crush it, but he other roll does all kinds of weird things.
When I've had a problem its almost never been with the main line, but with the fuses on the devices themselves. Using all consumer pack stuff of course.
Hey cut me some slack Llloyd. Even S&S fireworks only became legal here a few years ago. Crackers, rockets, and mortars are still verboten. On the other hand I've had a perfectly legal model rocket "accidentally" blow up once or twice...
P.S. When I quite using those stupid 9V or worse 3V launch controllers and just started using a car battery all my problems with model rocket igniters just went away.
"Bob La Londe" fired this volley in news:lp7neo$rbg$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
Bob, When I use electrical ignition, it's with commercial electric matches, not with the consumer 'hot wire' igniters. For the consumer, a new brand of "true" electric match JUST now came on the market - manufactured by MJG corporation - that does not require a license to purchase or a magazine in which to store them.
The sort of shows where we need those have cue counts in the hundreds or thousands, not just a handful like a backyard show.
Maybe it's just the challenge of 'getting it right', but I like doing small shows with time fuse and quickmatch. It sort of takes you back to when there were no electrically-fired shows.
Quickmatch is a loose paper tube inside of which are several thin strands of twine coated on their outsides with a layer of black powder. Contained in the tube like that, it burns at a rate of tens of feet per second -- essentially instantaneous for distances up to eight feet. Time fuse is a core of black powder tightly wrapped in several layers of twine and/or cotton tape/or paper tape, about 1/4" in diameter. It burns reliably at around 1.4 seconds per inch, or so. It is NOT that shiny red or green stuff that looks like laquered thick string. That's variously called 'visco' (polyviscose fuse) or 'cannon fuse'. That's the stuff you used to see on big firecrackers like the famed M-80.
So... anyway... visco is my 'lighting' fuse. I use time fuse and quickmatch to time and ignite the actual fireworks. The fuses are removed from individual fireworks, and cut up quickmatch strands inserted in replacement of them, so that any fire on that bundle of strands will
are connected with lengths of the quickmatch. Timing between cues is effected with time fuse. Short lengths of time fuse tied into a length
parlance. I started my commercial fireworks career manufacturing timers in bulk for display companies.
That one cue of 100 candles last night was not just one after another. They were arranged in three groups, angled left, right, and straight up
-- an arrangement called "Prince of Wales Feathers". First, six candles lit all at once. 20 seconds later, 21 candles at once, and 20 seconds after that, the remaining 73 (with one extra in the middle). 100 candles
I miss the handheld roman candles of old. We used to shoot them out over the lake, standing on the shore of the base lake on LRAFB when I was a kid. The water moccasins didn't like the show, so they stayed well away from us those nights. Kudos on your timing of the show. Once a pro, always a pro.
Congrats.
I stayed home and tried to go to bed early, but the farking dog next door was going batshit crazy all night. It took me an hour and fifteen minutes before there was a lull in the crackers and the dog shut up long enough for me to get to sleep. Of course, the asshole neighbors didn't lock their dog up in the house or garage before leaving for the weekend. I banged on the side of their house for ten minutes to no avail. Ear plugs helped, but not enough to get to sleep.
My Golden Retriever would go nuts with fireworks or thunder. ( no barking, just panting and shaking) I took her to the vet for a check-up on Wednesday and got some doggie Zanax for her, also picked up an ace bandage to wrap her with for thunder storms. Never got to use any of it. She passed away thursday night. Eyes are all watery just writing this. she was only 9, way too soon to lose her. Vet at the animal ER thinks it might have been a stroke or brain tumor.
One of my dogs spent the night in my lap wrapped in a blanket and shivering because of the fireworks in the area. He doesn't do well in thunder storms either. The other dog, his litermate, couldn't care less.
I do have another dog in the house, supposed to be my wife's but I think the dog likes me better. "Trouble" is not afraid of anything, she's a Cock-a-poo/Beagle mix with what has to be some trerrier or schnauzer in there too.
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