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PGI '07 Fargo


Mumbles

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My plans have changed a bit too. I will be at the convention for a day or so. I'll get there sometime saturday, and leave sometime sunday. I'm not registered, so I'll have to pay for admission, or try to get someone to sneak me in in their car. Any takers? :)

 

Also if anyone has a camping site I can throw a tent on for a night, that would be coo tool.

 

If anyone wants to meet up let me know. I've been kinda MIA lately, but sending me a PM would be best. I can give you a phone number to reach me at and such. I am in the vicinity of Billings, MT at the moment, and I hope to be there around 4 or 5 on saturday, probably leave sometime midafternoon on sunday. I have to work and such..

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Might be kinda late, but if anyone wants some saran, I think I will be able to bring 30lbs or so, say $25 for a 5lb bag.
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Ok... update for me...

 

Leaving at 9am ish from Austin, TX ish.

Hopefully getting to York, Nebraska that evening.

Then getting to the convention around the evening of the 4th?

"1,260 mi – about 19 hours 24 mins" - google maps

 

I'll be cooking some of my own food at times, but how would you all like to go eat somewhere a couple times? I'd need a ride. I have no idea what restaurants are in West Fargo though.

 

Since this is my first year i know im going to be confused as all hell for a while.

 

Probably going to have my cell off most of the time... not sure on that though.

 

Bringing a little more than the bare minimum up there.. hoping to return with some barium nitrate, strontium nitrate, Al, Mg, MgAl, Ti, 1lb BP rocket tooling, etc...

 

I'm not sure how easy it is to recognize people... but ill have long curly brown hair. I think im going to shave my beard tonight. Perhaps i should make an "APC" shirt for myself. It would be a green or orange shirt with "APC" on the back and/or front in black perhaps. Might bring my white "D.I.Y." shirt. I don't know...

 

I have been busy moving shit into a new house and working and trying to hangout with a friend thats moving out of state by the end of the month and the 1st of august is no exception... ive gotta make sure i have all my camping stuff together, last minute checks and all... and move more shit to my new house... then see if i can't hangout with the friend again... then go to sleep early and get up early... then off!

 

Edit:

Ok its 7am on the 2nd... leaving in 30mins... Excited. Hungry. Thirsty. I'll bring a FRS/GMRS walkie talkie and keep it on channel 1 for the convention... unless there is alot of activity, then 3 or 4. And ill have my cell.

 

It'll be nice to meet some of y'all!

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update: I will be able to attend the friday night shoot :):):)!!! hopefully I can get good seating. (Not that its going to matter, as long as I can hear it I will be happy :lol: )
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And I'm home... Met FrankRizzo there and a guy from totse who i built some rockets and payloads there with... including a methyl borate lampari rocket that would have been really cool if their had been enough burst...

 

Got alot of stuff...

3/4" universal spindel tooling, 3/4" crosset comet pump, 7/8" gerb tooling, 7/8" long winded screamer tooling (minus spindel, but i got a guy who will gladly make one for free), some tubes, 5lb barium nitrate, 1lb bismuth trioxide, 1lb HCE, 1lb Ti 40-60mesh (for free because i sat and talked to the guy a while), 16-cue wireless firing system, and 1 8" fibreglass mortar (steppin up from 6"), 120ft quickmatch, and 3 rolls of fast sticky match...

 

Didn't see you there swany. I started to run low on money as the week progressed though anyways... might not have $50 left in my wallet... hmm...

 

Next year ill bring alot of stars and stuff... ill also likely complete... and ill step up to 10" and/or 12" shells...

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Yeah, I was looking for someone with your tags from Texas. My cellphone quit working after a day, so I couldn't find you. I didn't recognise anyone else, but we were probably at some seminars togeather. Nice score on the free Ti, hah.

 

So........

 

Who's up for next year?

 

EDIT:

Yeah, and how bout that friday night show, almost burned down West Fargo (not really, but yeah) eh? Felt sorry for anyone driving on the interstate when the Mega/Superstring smoke wafted over there.

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Yeah im definatly up for new year! I'll bring stars and comps and supplies and ill definatly compete... so long as i can wake up in time.

 

Oh yeah man that was alot of smoke... even on the second one with the strings of crackers separated it was still like a wall of fire. I was pretty close to it and got a few pics... crappy camera... but they will make nice backgrounds when i get around to getting them off my camera.

 

Next time we should try to meet at like the rocketry building at some particular time or something. I spent most of my time there.

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I might try to go to the PGI next year. Actually I am dying to go! I just need to convince my parents why it would be worthwhile + get good grades this year + other shit(ass kissing/brown nosing). Is there any fun non pyro related tourist stuff to do around the PGI convention and/or around the places that are hosting the PGI convention?

 

Do you have to be part of the competition to launch stuff or can you do non competitive launches.

 

A long time ago I was talking to someone who had gone to the previous PGI conventions and he mentioned that it was rather expensive. Whats the general average budget for you guys(this is another determining factor!).

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I should definately have a driver's license by the time the next pgi comes around, so I'm kinda planning on going hopefully. Cost will be a big factor for me too, I would like to know what you guys spend.
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Depends, I stayed with some family friends and ate cheaply and such. Think I put 1050 miles on the car, but I was doing much more than PGI, lots of friends in the area I was seeing.

 

With registration and everything, it gets fairy pricey. Being a PGI member and registering itself is probably $200, then any special seminar registration fees, and then living costs.

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...and 1 8" fibreglass mortar (steppin up from 6")...

 

Next year ill bring alot of stars and stuff... ill also likely complete... and ill step up to 10" and/or 12" shells...

Sorry to highjack the thread, but PLEASE post construction pics and vids of your shells. Right now, I'm struggling to roll color/effect changing round stars so my 6in shells have some variety. I suck at the moment...sizes are all over the place.

 

We need more serious shell builders around here posting their work and tips.

 

Looking forward to your progress!

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The only solution(s) to effectively roll color-changing stars are to make sure all of the stars are wetted uniformly before adding comp, and to use some sort of star-sizing tool (screen, linear sorter, etc.) at frequent intervals when the stars get close to your target size. Something like Hobby Fireworks' star sorter, or a simple solution like cheap baking pans with the bottoms perforated by a Unibit will help considerably with your success. Dark relay comps are also good for making a color change more pleasing to the eye.
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From Passfire:

 

 

Shimizu Dark Comp:

 

Potassium Nitrate 75

Charcoal Airfloat 8

Potassium Perchlorate 7

Antimony Trisulfide, Chinese needle 3

Red Gum 2

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Hijack continues...

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

I am contemplating making some sizing screens / boxes with sheets like this:

http://www.mcmaster.com/param/images/wirecloth/ItemDetailPerforatedRoundStaggered9255t781.gif

from McMaster-Carr...

 

Expensive, but my arbor punched plastic food boxes suck as sizing screens. If anyone wants to continue this, please reply in the Random Thread #1. I'll look there as I do not want to pollute this one with more off-topic stuff.

 

Thanks.

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I tried looking around for some people, but couldn't find anyone. Then again it was hard not having a badge and kind having to hide from security. I had to wear a sweatshirt all day to hide my "badge" and I was dying. I was only there for sat night, and sunday though. Swany called me, but of course I didn't even get the message until about a week later.

 

I have some competition plans ready to go though. That best first time class B award is mine even is shankings must ensue.

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Mumbles, I got there ~1:00pm on Sunday, so I probably missed you in any case. You missed an absolutely incredible week. :)

 

Swany, did you ever ever make it through the mfg. area?

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I was there all day sunday. I waltzed in around 11:00 AM no questions asked. I couldn't really leave the safety of the RV's to go look around though.
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As a suggestion to make it easier to recognize APC members aside from meeting somewhere for future conventions... perhaps we should make an APC "identification card" thing that we can print out and wear with our convention lanyards. Decently sized and eye catching?

 

Qwezxc12, Heh. Yeah i need to get more pics... Actually... if you were there... i might have seen you... I remember seeing a "Tommy Arfiger" shirt just like your icon. I have been using pumped stars from a modified normal medical syringe. I need to get a star roller set up... really bad. I have thought a bit on using dark relay too, however... again no roller yet... I wonder if one could make a "dark" matrix comet...

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...Qwezxc12, Heh. Yeah i need to get more pics... Actually... if you were there... i might have seen you... I remember seeing a "Tommy Arfiger" shirt just like your icon....

Ha-Ha! Too cool!!! I wasn't there, but if it was a white shirt, screen printed red and blue, I made it. I wonder who it was? I sold a ton of Tommy FalFiger, Arfiger, and AKfiger T's on the Fal Files and AR15.com several years ago. I also sold a bunch to a FAL gunsmith who ran a shop called Azex Arms in Arizona.

http://www.apcforum.net/files/qwezxc12AKfigerT.jpg

 

I quit making them for sale after negotiating through a cease and desist order (send registered on VERY expensive stationary) from Mr. Hilfiger's lawyers in Manhattan :ph34r: I managed to get out of it by using the defense of trademark use in parody or satire from USC 18, but frankly the money was too little to risk further entanglements. I still own the screens at the print shop...so now, I just give them away to friends. If it was a black or navy T, another later member sold them after I gave him the artwork...but he only got the FAL image, not the AR-15.

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Wow thats alot! Hmm... im pretty sure it was on a white shirt with red and blue... and i know it had a gun... leaning towards the AR... but it could have been an AK... hmmm.
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  • 2 weeks later...
And I'm home... Met FrankRizzo there and a guy from totse who i built some rockets and payloads there with... including a methyl borate lampari rocket that would have been really cool if their had been enough burst...

 

Got alot of stuff...

3/4" universal spindel tooling, 3/4" crosset comet pump, 7/8" gerb tooling, 7/8" long winded screamer tooling (minus spindel, but i got a guy who will gladly make one for free), some tubes, 5lb barium nitrate, 1lb bismuth trioxide, 1lb HCE, 1lb Ti 40-60mesh (for free because i sat and talked to the guy a while), 16-cue wireless firing system, and 1 8" fibreglass mortar (steppin up from 6"), 120ft quickmatch, and 3 rolls of fast sticky match...

 

Didn't see you there swany. I started to run low on money as the week progressed though anyways... might not have $50 left in my wallet... hmm...

 

Next year ill bring alot of stars and stuff... ill also likely complete... and ill step up to 10" and/or 12" shells...

A guy from totse? Hay im on APC too. You lucky sucker, got some barium nitrate, they were out by the time I got there. But got some 1lb. strobe tooling, 40foot of time fuse, 1000 feet visco, 2lbs AP, some end disks for 3&4in shells, 25 4" plastic hemis, 10 3in japan made paper hemis, and a press

 

Didnt meet anyone else but bob there. Some of you might have seem me waering my shirt around. Its my 75:15:10 one that I screen printed. Its at this time the only one in existance. Who's Frank Rizzo? Was mumbles there? To bad I just now decide to explore this half of teh forum.

 

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n3/psyco_1322/S4020818.jpg

 

Im gonna have some shirts for sell at the convention next year. It will be going out of the rocket building by word. Tables cost to much and im not standing there all day, ever day. If you want a custom shirt than PM me and we can figure something out. It will end up costing you about $30. Depends on shipping or if you wanna pic it up at the convention. Ill have some that will be cheapper there but Ill have more of them, custom one time shirts tend to be more. If I make a lot it lowers in price.

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FrankRizzo is a member here - he's on passfire under a different name (like most of us on both boards)

 

Wanted to add, FrankRizzo found these vids of the Grand Public Display 2007 (Fri AM pyro show)

Personally, I felt the display by Sagaria was better, but the AM display seemed like more of an advertisement - a sort of "we're showing you what we can do".

 

http://www.pyroreview.com/gallery/showgall.../cat/514/page/1

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