Consumer e match

[Marine pyro]

I remember seeing a thread on the forum talking about consumer e match I was just wonder what site those were on.

[Marine pyro]

I think it's called FireWire.

[Playingwithfire85]

they're not sponsors on here but there are two companies, that i know of, that sell them. PM

[spanks_4]

Send to me also please.

What is the advantage of an E-match over something like the talon igniter?

[PyroManiacs]

Electric match is a 1.3G item.

Talon Igniters are 1.4G.

Unless you are properly licensed, you can only buy "igniters".

[mguerra]

I posted a link but it was removed so that must be a no no. Sorry.

[mguerra]

These things have an ematch like head and a shroud like an ematch but are ATF approved for consumer use. They are primarily designed to fit in to an ematch port but not that many consumer items have an ematch port, so I'm not sure how you would use them that much. I do think Dominator has some 1.4 product with ematch ports, however.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

What is the advantage of an E-match over something like the talon igniter?
Ematches contain a drop of "pyrogen" a highly flammable & shock sensitive material that requires a very small amount of voltage & current to ignite them. When ignited, they "throw" quite a bit of sparks & ignite instantaneously. The Talon --or other brand "igniters" use a bridge wire--a fine piece of nichrome wire --when voltage is applied to it--the wire heats up & ignites the visco fuse. Igniters require that you "clamp" them around [or on] the fuse to work & many times the tiny bridge wire gets broken & they fail. Also, there is a time delay from "fire" to actual ignition. Having a "1.4g ematch" opens up huge possibilities to those that do not have a BATF license and want to do larger shows or pyromusicals. You can fire a lot more ematches with the same amount of voltage & current compared to Talons. Also, Talons can not be hooked up in series--they must be wired in parallel & when you do this-if you do not test each one before tying them together, you can have a bad Talon & the others in parallel with it will show your continuity test as being "good" when, in fact, you may have one or more bad ignitors. 1.3g product has Ematch ports, & now we are seeing a lot of the 1.4g Pro product coming out with the Ematch ports too--like the Dominator slice cakes & comets, Kellners BOSS system, etc. Having a 1.4g approved type of Ematch is a great step forward. No storage worries, no license required, and many more ways to expand what you do with your shows. Price wise, they are more expensive than 1.3 Ematch, but, hey, if you need it, you can get it! Kudos to whomever got the product approved!!!

[PyroManiacs]

Excellent explanation, Joe!

[Marine pyro]

Also I beleive they have plastic pieces that you can buy that act as a e-match port for visco. So I 100% agree that soon enough mostly all 1.4 will go the same direction and have the direct e-match hook up like 1.3. I mean I think electric firing is a safe alternative to lighting fireworks anyways so why wouldn't they do it.

[PGH_Pyro]

it is/was in the BATFE/CPSC's interest to approve these because it is safer for Joe SixPack who maybe only shoots stuff a couple times a year. He / She now can be back away from their cakes/show body and fire away .

[spanks_4]

Thanks for the explanation Joe! Think I will be going consumer E-match/I-match for my show just to help keep timing.

[Playingwithfire85]

has anyone tried these yet? I am still waiting on my order which should be here in a few days. I plan on doing a few tests on video such as visco and friction tests. if you have any suggestions let me know.

[displayfireworks1]

If anyone is looking to purchase these new non-regulated electric match, be careful. Word I am picking up is the ATF is insisting the color coding of the wire be the blue and white combo. There are some that made it out there with a variation of the blue and white combo. Until the new compliant wire comes in, they are not available until late September. The ones out there for sale may not meet the ATF wire color requirement. That is why you are seeing "Out of Stock" on sites that sell them. If you are going to the PGI convention you will see them for sale, but then again if you are going to the convention you will probably see real electric match for sale cheaper. Until I try these out for myself, my opinion is still open on these.
For those that do not know most other countries like the United Kingdom have no restrictions on who can buy and store electric match. These regulations about electric match are unique to United States.

[Playingwithfire85]

I haven't seen anyone selling them with anything but blue/white wires and even their stock is very limited.

[mguerra]

I have ordered some of this consumer ematch product and will try it out and report back on its performance and color coding. It should make cake firing more predictable for a time programmed show, since you can eliminate the variable burn time of the visco fuse. Let's see!

[displayfireworks1]

I am not 100% sure but I believe some have a subtle variation of the blue, it may be blue with a white line. While the difference is subtle, it does matter to the ATF is the word I am getting.

[Playingwithfire85]

I did notice that difference between the two major sites selling them. I ordered them from the site that's selling the original atf approved manufacturer's products so I think I'll be Ok.

[Playingwithfire85]

I got my package today. First igniter out of the box has no continuity and will not fire. Second fired fine. Just that one failure has got me questioning using it in my show already.

[Northern Sky]

The next to the last show Friday night shot by NLPC Northern Lights Pyro Club at PGI will be using better than 2,000 I- matches.

[displayfireworks1]

As time goes by and more people use these on their displays we will see how they perform. It is nice to see an option out there for the average consumer.

[Marine pyro]

has anyone tried these yet? I am still waiting on my order which should be here in a few days. I plan on doing a few tests on video such as visco and friction tests. if you have any suggestions let me know.

When you do test these I would like to see the video. When I get home in two years I plan on using these igniters but am hesitant because they are so new. I have seen a video in which they were tested and they almost work the same as e-match.

[mguerra]

I am curious to know if it is safe to pull back the shroud and tape the bare match to visco or insert it in to the lift of cakes and mortars. Or if it has the same sensitive properties of regular ematch, and we need to leave the shroud in place. I will do a little testing.

[displayfireworks1]

A good way to test is to run against a striker on book matches.

[Playingwithfire85]

I didnt have a box of matched but i ran mine against some fine grit sand paper and i also tapped one with a hammer and go no reaction. I am going to continue trying to see if I can get a reaction out of it thats why i was looking for more ideas to test. I am trying to come up with a way to do the static test also.

[Northern Sky]

Since I can't post a link you can do a search for: i-MATCH iNiTiATORS.

If you look in the right place you will find a company selling the I=Matches with the perfect size Brass Awl for using i-matches in cakes on promotion with your purchase.

These are the real thing. available in 1, 2, 3 meter lengths.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

The next to the last show Friday night shot by NLPC Northern Lights Pyro Club at PGI will be using better than 2,000 I- matches.
Why are you using the I-matches instead of the E-matches for this, Dane?

[displayfireworks1]

I have some of these non regulated electric match making their way to me. I will video review them. People are acting like traditional electric match is somehow obsolete all of sudden. Maybe my view will change once I check them out, my initial thoughts are these are for people that do not have access to regular electric match. This may be a game changer in the average consumer market. As far as professional application, I do not see a market for it there.

[Northern Sky]

Why are you using the I-matches instead of the E-matches for this, Dane?

That is a Brand name for this product, "iNiTiATORS" .

" i-MATCH iNiTiATORS". is the search.

[displayfireworks1]

He quotes the question and does not answer it. LOL
My guess is, it is to promote the effectiveness of the new match in a large scale display.

[Playingwithfire85]

I really hope they got those 2000 initiators at a wholesale cost because at almost $1 each shipped would be insane. I have never played with real e-matches before but these have a nice little pop to them and send sparks a good 8-12 inches from the shroud. The comp on them looks almost like some NC lacquer I tried to make one time using smokeless powder. Hopefully they come down in price some or else I will be stuck to my refusing methods and talons for now. I wouldn't say that these would make talon obsolete solely because of price and applications.

[mguerra]

Ok I got them and tested them a little. Banging with a hammer, no fire. Striking on a box of kitchen matches striker, no fire. Striking on 80 grit sandpaper, no fire. Firing with Sequencefire module, good fire! I removed the visco on a canister shell, enlarged the hole a bit with a brass poke, replaced the visco with the consumer ematch, taped it at the top and bottom of the shell so it would not pull out of the lift, and dropped in to a mortar. Perfect fit, no jamming, the consumer ematch is no thicker than the visco was.

[Marine pyro]

Excellent, so with all that said it sounds as if these consumer e-match are good to go.