Oklahoma checking in

[Jay_]

Hi everyone! My name is Jay and I'm a consumer shooter that likes to put on shows for the family and friends on the 4th. I have been scaling my shows up the last few years and planning my biggest shoot yet this year. Looking forward to learning from this community, and continuing to improve my shows with information gathered here. Glad to have found this place!

[fatcat]

Welcome aboard. What part of Oklahoma do you live in. I spent 5 years at Altus and wouldn't mind going back except for the tornadoes. LOL

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Welcome aboard Jay! Glad to have another back yard pyro on the boards. Tell us about your show plans for this year. Who do you buy from? Do you use a firing system? How big is your show going to be?

[Jay_]

Thanks guys!

I'm up here in northern Oklahoma, Perry to be specific. Tornadoes are a drag for sure and I lost all my junk back on May 3rd of '99. I do have a nice hidey hole now for the family and I so we stay weather aware and close to home in storm season.

As far as my show plans for this year, I'm looking to get into some 1.4 pro products for the first time and also try my first pyro musical. I will be placing orders with Superior, American Wholesale, and Wfboom very soon. For a firing system, I ordered a Cobra 18r2 and a 18m yesterday. I will be buying more modules once I figure out the entire layout of my show, and what my requirements will be. I'm stepping up from the budget firing system I have used the last few years.

My show will be small compared to many of the shows that are put on by the members here. If planned out correctly it will be my best one so far and I cant wait to start putting it together.

[MtnViewPyro]

Welcome Jay. I’m from Missouri and understand the storm issue for sure. Supposed to get rough later today actually. Anyways, congrats on the cobra, I’m planning on making the plunge with a cobra this winter. Last year a purchased a few 1.4pro items but didn’t put in my show. This year I will have a significant amount of 1.4pro items throughout the show and am very excited.

Look forward to hearing more about your show once you get it all figured out. Feel free to ask any and all questions you have on here. A good group of pyros that will help you out. I’m still learning and am so pleased I’ve been a member on here.

[displayfireworks1]

Jay you are starting off just like many of us have before you. Do not feel your budget or displays are too small or not good enough. Advancing into one of the professional firing systems like the Cobra will give you a little more confidence. Also thank you for participating in the Article of Pyrotechnics continuing education certificate program.

[Jay_]

Thank you Mountain View pyro and I hope the worst of the storm goes around you. I looked at the radar a few minutes ago and it looks like a rough evening to be up that way. Missouri is a great state for fireworks and I’ve made many trips up I44 over the years to buy fireworks in Joplin.

Appreciate the welcome and encouragement Dave! I’d like to say thank you for facilitating the articles of pyrotechnics program! After researching with little to no success as how to get certified to purchase 1.4 pro items I had given up. I was incredibly excited when I stumbled across your AP video on YouTube (I subscribed by the way:)). I’m wearing my wife out talking about possibilities for the show.

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome!

[Kenny East]

Welcome, grow the show every year, add a module, add a rack... Keep getting equipment to better your show. Don't try to do it all at once.. You will end up with all your racks, a good firing system. Then no fireworks for the show. Nothing sadder than empty racks before the show.

Anyway welcome, have fun, and feel free to as if you have any questions

[Rick_In_Tampa]

I’m wearing my wife out talking about possibilities for the show.

Jay - If the wife doesn't threaten you with divorce at least once during the peak pyro season, you're not working hard enough!! Just sayin. Glad to hear you're using the Cobra system. Last year was my first year with the Cobra and it was night and day. The flexibility you get with an electronic system really takes your game to a whole new level. You're going to be very pleased.

You mentioned you were going to try a pyro musical. Did you get the Show Creator software with your Cobra? If not I would highly recommend it. It makes scripting out the show really easy. You get a really nice visual of all the "hits" overlayed across the wave form of the songs, and you can see how long each cake burns during the song. It saved my bacon already as it identified a 20 second hole in my show that would have been black sky. Not cool.

[PyroManiacs]

Welcome Jay!

[Jay_]

Thanks Kenny, I still have at least 1 more module to buy and that money would look a lot better in the air. I do have my old firing system that I may use to shoot my finale with so hopefully I can buy only the modules that I need for the pyromusical. I will have plenty of questions for sure, so I’m looking forward to being able to ask experienced Pyro’s instead of endless google and YouTube searches.

[Jay_]

Jay - If the wife doesn't threaten you with divorce at least once during the peak pyro season, you're not working hard enough!! Just sayin. Glad to hear you're using the Cobra system. Last year was my first year with the Cobra and it was night and day. The flexibility you get with an electronic system really takes your game to a whole new level. You're going to be very pleased.

You mentioned you were going to try a pyro musical. Did you get the Show Creator software with your Cobra? If not I would highly recommend it. It makes scripting out the show really easy. You get a really nice visual of all the "hits" overlayed across the wave form of the songs, and you can see how long each cake burns during the song. It saved my bacon already as it identified a 20 second hole in my show that would have been black sky. Not cool.

All and all the wife is pretty cool about my spending habits. The 4th is the holiday that I talk/think about all year, and while she may raise an eyebrow at the amount of product that show us in our garage, it is a big family activity for us and we also make retail trips to Missouri from time to time to pick up odds and ends. The kids love going.

I will be buying the cobra creator software for sure! The “hits” and sync is really what I’m going for, and I certainly want an action packed show with no delays

[Jay_]

Thank you! Glad to be here!

[rkmcdon]

Welcome Jay. I'm in Fort Smith AR right on the Oklahoma border. Will be a bit closer to you next weekend as I venture across the state line next weekend for a shooters school in Tahlequah. Closer still I think on May 26th when I'll be in Barksdale, OK for my first shoot apprenticeship. You're already ahead of me with that Cobra. It's an investment I have yet to make, but man am I ready. Door be afraid to post your shoot this year regardless of your budget!

[Jay_]

^^Thank you! The fam and I were in Ft. Smith last year on the 5th of July. We were road tripping and did Talemena drive, then went north and stayed the night in Ft. Smith at the Courtyard. I hit a couple tents there looking for post 4th deals as well ;). Nice town, and I really like your downtown.

I still need to get a proper camera for filming fireworks. The first year that we recorded was last year and I just have a bunch of segmented videos shot from phones. The video I have of my fake finale was shot rotated 90 degrees, so you get a kink in your neck trying to watch it. I think that I can fix it with video editing software, but have yet to try.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

All and all the wife is pretty cool about my spending habits. The 4th is the holiday that I talk/think about all year, and while she may raise an eyebrow at the amount of product that show us in our garage, it is a big family activity for us and we also make retail trips to Missouri from time to time to pick up odds and ends. The kids love going.

I will be buying the cobra creator software for sure! The “hits” and sync is really what I’m going for, and I certainly want an action packed show with no delays

Great to hear that you make it a family affair. Wish I started doing show on this scale when my kids were smaller. Would have been nice to get them involved sooner.
Here's a screen shot of what my show looks like for this year. You can zoom in along the timeline and get much more granular. You will definitely like the software.
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=2941&stc=1

[pimpdaddee28]

Welcome to PT Jay!!

[Jay_]

Thank you pimpdadee28! I've been watching your videos on YouTube for several years and you have helped me pick out more fireworks than you know! Thanks for the welcome and congrats on over 5k subs!

[Jay_]

Great to hear that you make it a family affair. Wish I started doing show on this scale when my kids were smaller. Would have been nice to get them involved sooner.
Here's a screen shot of what my show looks like for this year. You can zoom in along the timeline and get much more granular. You will definitely like the software.
http://www.pyrotalk.com/bulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=2941&stc=1

Wow Rick, that is a BUNCH of modules! I'll be getting the software in the next couple of days, if my week will slow down a bit. I have some songs and effects in mind, and it looks like it will be the best tool possible in figuring out what I need and how many. I really like the layout of it. Seems easy to use...and I like easy!

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Jay - I'm using 12 modules this year. Small by many standards, but my largest show ever. What I like about the software is the fact that you can look at the waveform of the songs and place the "hits" (the yellow vertical lines) exactly where you need them down to a 10th of a second. You can even zoom in to get really granular. The only down side to the software is you can only use it for 2 years before you need to pay again to renew the license. Not really happy about that. But for now, it works great.