Please tell me....

[PGHBoom]

... I'm not the only one who has spent hours watching videos on YouTube, watch all the demo videos on the fireworks retailers web site, painstakingly planned out every aspect of the first big show only to hit the first switch and say to yourself "HOLY CRAP, WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO"? This happened to me on July 2nd. I woke up that morning excited and anxious. I laid out my five 4x8 sheet of plywood and seven mortar racks. I attached the Red Dragon igniters to my new 12 new P4 firing modules (PYROBOOM). Synched them up to my new P1200 Control Desk (also PYROBOOM)and waited for night to come. Night took its sweet old time getting here and at 9:30 a nervously pushed the first button. All I can say is there is no internet video that can prepare you for the sight and sound of your first big show. Even though the field I was shooting at was a decent size I was overwhelmed and thought show may be to big for the area I was in. So I chickened out and cut the show down by almost half. When I felt that I had pushed the limit enough (did I mention it was a NO PERMIT SHOW), I hit the finale button and watched in amazement. Only after the last shell went off did I notice the police officer walking up and asking, "are we done". I said yes and he walked away. The next day I found out that the only reason he stopped was because traffic on the main road was backing up due to people pull over to watch. Now granted my show was not nearly as impressive as a number of videos posted for this July 4th, but it made me happy that a good number of people I did not even know enjoyed it. Now knowing the reactions of the neighbors and having friends on the police force and local fire company, next year the gloves are coming off. Here is my show for this year:

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http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1242&stc=1
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http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1243&stc=1
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And here is the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywmcMaout8M

[Adam PA Artist]

Awesome and congratulations im glad your show went well for you ''

[displayfireworks1]

What , where did this come from. you doing all this in Pittsburgh and I don't know about it. You looking great, elevated platforms, racks, angled mortars and everything. That is a nice piece of property. I know you did all this without a permit and the police showed up. Email where you live I can try to help you get a permit next time, the little bit I see of this location it looks good. Unless you live directly in the city of Pittsburgh, then forget about it. LOL. I am curious did you fire anything off prior to the display or was the property quiet right up until shoot time? I know you were a little reluctant to get into it this deep, but you in it now. I like it . You going to be in it over your head if I have anything to say about it.

[PGHBoom]

Dave,

I actually started out a few years ago with a few 200 gram items in front of the house and quickly realized I had to move the firing location. so last year I put together this one fuse show.

1248

So this year I combined my wife's graduation from nursing school and the July 4th into one big pyro fest. The funny thing is my wife kept saying, "you should contact Dave". Since this was my first big show I wanted to see what I could do on my own and I thought you would be busy with other projects.

I actually decided to up my game after finding your videos on line then finding your web site. Thank you Dave.

[PGH_Pyro]

yeah, years ago I also got the "are you done?" from a city cop that rolled up on my little show in the 'hood.
"i am now" i said. : )

looks like a nice set-up you had, there. congrats. glad the cop didn't make more trouble for you.

[RGB919]

BRAVO! That was awesome! I liked in the video that you said what you where shooting and where you got it.

[PyroManiacs]

Nice setup.

On the 3rd, we shot for about an hour and a half in a closed strip-malls parking lot in Philly, cops just drove right by without even slowing down.

Having a city bomb squad tech there probably helped us a wee bit. ;)

[Wholesale Fireworks]

Great show and thank you for the opportunity to supply you product for such an awesome display. We would like to post your video to our Facebook page. let me know if we have your permission and we will post it Thank you

[PGHBoom]

Please feel free to post Ray. I am hoping to do another show on Labor Day.

[chriskrc]

Nice show plus it was nice to see the products listed as they were going off.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Nice looking setup! Quick question. Why did you angle all the boards in one direction? Were was there something you were looking to avoid shooting at or over?

I love the question by the cop... I can almost see his face dry and lacking in personality. Glad he went away though. That's when you REALLY know you still have room to grow the show!! ;-)

[PGHBoom]

A quick background of the shoot site. The yard is owned by a friend who's father is a retired policeman of community I live in, so she grew up with many of the current officers. The officer was in his mid 30's and actually watched about 5 minutes before coming up. He was real cool about it. As far as why the angle and direction, there are overhead power lines I was trying to avoid. If you were standing on the small fire pit looking at the boards, the lines ran left to right and the crowd was to your back about 250 feet away. Probably still to close because a few small tubes and what looked to be plaster plugs found their way to the crowd. No injuries but it made it a bit more exciting. My next shoot will extend into the neighbors yard which should push it back another 50 feet.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

It's always good to have cops or retired cops in the family (or your friends family!). Just glad this cop was cool about it. Might not be a bad idea to get a permit next year though just in case. Especially if you're dealing with power lines and crowd line issues. Although, 250 feet away (based on what I see in your pictures) seems to be far enough away (legally anyway). You weren't shooting any 3" shells were you? I mean REAL 3" shells, not the BS they market in the 1.4G world as 3' shells. Even then, sometimes when/if the wind is right it just can't be avoided. I got popped in cranium twice on Saturday by falling debris, and I thought we were plenty far away enough, but the wind did turn in our direction at that point. Oh well.

Like I said... There's always room for expansion until they slap the cuffs on you. That's my plan anyway!! :o Loved you setup and show. Keep it up!!

P.S. I absolutely LOVE that High Stepper cake!! I couldn't get any this year, but I'm definitely going to get some next year!

[PGHBoom]

I did have some Excalibur shells. But all the rain down came from 500 gram cakes. As far as permits go, the shoot area is probably right on the edge of not getting one. But it is the $1,000,000.00 Liability Insurance that would kill me. I thought I saw Kellners had some form of insurance you could purchase through them, but I have not looked into it any further.

[Wholesale Fireworks]

Thank you sir I will get it posted today

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I did have some Excalibur shells. But all the rain down came from 500 gram cakes. As far as permits go, the shoot area is probably right on the edge of not getting one. But it is the $1,000,000.00 Liability Insurance that would kill me. I thought I saw Kellners had some form of insurance you could purchase through them, but I have not looked into it any further.

I contacted an insurance company (in Nebraska I believe) to inquire about a $1M policy for a shoot here in Florida, and they quoted me a figure of $1800. That stuff isn't cheap. If you get a better price from Kellners, let me know. Maybe they'll cover Florida too!

[PYRODAN]

Very nice show! What firing system are you using? And how do you like it? I see the little black boxes here and there.

[masterblaster]

... I'm not the only one who has spent hours watching videos on YouTube, watch all the demo videos on the fireworks retailers web site, painstakingly planned out every aspect of the first big show only to hit the first switch and say to yourself "HOLY CRAP, WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO"? This happened to me on July 2nd. I woke up that morning excited and anxious. I laid out my five 4x8 sheet of plywood and seven mortar racks. I attached the Red Dragon igniters to my new 12 new P4 firing modules (PYROBOOM). Synched them up to my new P1200 Control Desk (also PYROBOOM)and waited for night to come. Night took its sweet old time getting here and at 9:30 a nervously pushed the first button. All I can say is there is no internet video that can prepare you for the sight and sound of your first big show. Even though the field I was shooting at was a decent size I was overwhelmed and thought show may be to big for the area I was in. So I chickened out and cut the show down by almost half. When I felt that I had pushed the limit enough (did I mention it was a NO PERMIT SHOW), I hit the finale button and watched in amazement. Only after the last shell went off did I notice the police officer walking up and asking, "are we done". I said yes and he walked away. The next day I found out that the only reason he stopped was because traffic on the main road was backing up due to people pull over to watch. Now granted my show was not nearly as impressive as a number of videos posted for this July 4th, but it made me happy that a good number of people I did not even know enjoyed it. Now knowing the reactions of the neighbors and having friends on the police force and local fire company, next year the gloves are coming off. Here is my show for this year:

.

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1242&stc=1
.
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1243&stc=1
.
And here is the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywmcMaout8M


ahhhhhh you've got the Crown Brocade Classic / Tropic Thunder setup there. You my friend have great taste :)

[PGHBoom]

PYRODAN, I am using the P1200 Control Desk from PYROBOOM with the P4 modules. I like them, very reasonably priced for a newbe to putting on shows. I pplan on adding additinoal modules throughout the year. COBRA seems to be the most talked about system on this site but I enjoy the simplicity , cost and expandibility of the P1200.

http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=1304&stc=1

[PYRODAN]

Nothing wrong with that. I almost bought the same system before I decided on the Cobra system. What did you use for an initiator ?

[Rick_In_Tampa]

ahhhhhh you've got the Crown Brocade Classic / Tropic Thunder setup there. You my friend have great taste :)

Twas a very nice show indeed.

[PGHBoom]

Red Dragon Igniters, also from PYROBOOM. Only had one of 50 not fire and I traced it back to my helper pushing the two halves together enough to break the wire.

[wampas30]

This might be a newbie question, but how do you have the cakes secured to the boards? I usually put mine all together and wrap them in duct tape so they can't fall over.

[PyroManiacs]

This might be a newbie question, but how do you have the cakes secured to the boards? I usually put mine all together and wrap them in duct tape so they can't fall over.

They can be glued/caulked down as well.

[primetime347]

Very nice show. Did you end up cutting off the tops of all those cakes? If you did not, I bet you had a hell of a mess to clean up. ;)

[Westpapyro]

This might be a newbie question, but how do you have the cakes secured to the boards? I usually put mine all together and wrap them in duct tape so they can't fall over.

Not sure on this case but I believe both ways are fine. If you glue down make sure to take any loose paper bottoms off first. And if your taping together just make sure you have a wide enough body that it can't tip over. I have also used a heavy duty bottom board and used 3 inch screws around the cakes and then tape the cake and screws together. Leaving the screws sticking out around two inches but secure enabling the tape to attach and hold the cake. I have seen guys tape cakes to boards directly also? In a field it is sometimes just easier to stake each individual cake with two foot wooden stakes hammered into the ground and the cake taped to it.
Lots of safe options out there just be cautious and think safety.
Chuck

[PGHBoom]

I glued (caulked) them down with liquid nails. The only problem is cutting the unused/unfired ones off the plywood. If you try to pull them off, the thin wood base would peal off the bottom of the cake. I did a rough cut and then marked then from the under side and cut with a jig saw.

I did try to stake them down for Labor Day but it was a lot of work leveling and staking each one down.

1477

The 4X8 sheets of plywood were quite heavy for 2 or 3 people. I may try Rick_In_Tampa's layout using 2X8 sheets next July.

[Butterman900]

Two cents coming at ya... 2x4 boards are indeed much easier to handle plus it provides some separation should you have a cake catch fire or a side blow out. Also to remove cakes I after liquid nails I have had good success with a flat shovel. Never tried to remove live cakes but I can usually pop the cake off with the bottom board during cleanup so I wold imagine it would be the same.

[primetime347]

I agree. 2x4 boards are much easier to move around for one person. I use 4x4 boards for my set up. Its not too heavy with cakes on it that 2 people can not move around.