More crazy testing... Cobra Mini Slats

[esgrillo]

Did a full scale test of an idea I want to do for the 4th, to "ring" a retention pond behind my shoot site for small effects like strobes/smoke utilizing mini slats. It is about an 850ft run with 14 mini slats spaced out on it.

Was able to fire all 14 using 1 18m w/quick plug conversion and cat5 output to the "ring". Couple of black box booster batteries helped handle distance.

Yes I know this could be done with additional 18ms around the pond but this option is way cheaper and kinda cool lol.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stDWgv_9crQ&lc=z22ivvcowtn4vhfvdacdp430ssrjbasmvsksdxac12lw03c 010c

[PyroKing31]

Nice Ed, Be looking forward to what you can do behind the water. Perhaps a water cake or two.

[mb_pyro]

Cool idea. What were the booster boxes used?

[esgrillo]

Thanks. I am hoping to pop smoke in the beginning so I can give my laser something to reflect off after that I have several sections of the show that use the slats for strobe effects during lower volume sections of the show.

I have done water cakes a few years in a row. They looked OK. A bit hard to see from audience POV because the water level is about 10ft below grade. Time for something else.

[esgrillo]

Cool idea. What were the booster boxes used?

My friend Reed S made them. They consist of a 22.5V hobby battery, 6 relays, and connectors for the cat5. The signal from the 18m activates the relay on that cue which then powers the output wires with the 22.5v battery to the next cue. It it is designed to operate the 6 cues on a mini slat coming off an 18m which has the quick plug conversion and RJ45 connector for cat5. In theory you can connect an unlimited amount of them together. Battery is about $30 relays about $10 total, other hardware about $10. I had posted another earlier video that shows the guts of the booster here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI5T3V1Oaxg

[mb_pyro]

Very nice. I plan on picking up an 18m configured like this when the spring sale comes around. Not sure if I will have the opportunity to do a front long enough to need the boosters but they would be very convenient in the future.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Very ingenious setup Ed. I can see many possibilities with the Cat5/Booster setup.

[cody138]

Older post here but just curious if you tired the same set up without the booster to see if it would still fire? Also any parts list on the booster, types of relays, wiring diagram etc?

[esgrillo]

yes they will... they will follow the std Cobra matches / cue chart they publish. My friend made these for me so I dont have a wiring diagram the relays were these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HWH1QVJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The battery was a std RC 22.5 battery the rest is standard connectors.

They ended up working good. You can see them firing my strobe "ring" at the 6:00 mark of my 2020 video.