tentacles Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 Sucks to hear that, I hope you can find a ride. I just recently found out I'm only getting M-T-W off that week, which means I can't carpool with FrankRizzo, but I'll still pay our share of the hotel TH-F. Other option is, I could quit. It's looking quite attractive, actually... I wish I knew when guys would be firing some 24's, I won't leave without seeing at least one. And with that 24" WASP machine there, I hope I get my wish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUUUUUN Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Personally, I have every single one of you people who are going. I *SHOULD* be going, yet I am not, while the drive is only 12 or so hours and I am financially able to make the drive, I am reporting to MCRD San Diego Aug 4 and during the PGI will be doing some fun Basic training. OOHRAH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted July 26, 2008 Share Posted July 26, 2008 Tentacles, are you leaving wednesday or thursday? If you can, I'd suggest leaving thursday, or at least wed night after competition. Hey, I did it last year, then proceeded to sleep for 15 hours after work. Wed night is "Best exhibition ball shell" which is where I suspect they will be. Might want to make a post on passfire to see when Karl Maertz is firing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Hay I know someone brought up the idea of APC name tags for the convention. Think maybe with this new donator thing going we could possible get some made up. I thought someone said they had ways of doing it. Id love to see the forum being reconised while walking around. Im sure we would get more hits from it also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Well, that's an idea. There's enough time to make something up, graphics-wise. Everyone would have to print their own name tag, though, I think. Any good graphics wizards among us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 If someone wants to donate a grand or so, I'd be happy to print them up and come hand them out in person. If you were incinuating that the donation money could be used, you're out of luck. This new software wasn't cheap, and we don't exactly have a surplus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 If black and white is okay, I can print up a couple dozen (maybe up to 40) badges and laminate them here at work. Maybe just PM me with your name etc. I'll be there starting saturday until wednesday night. If you want to find me saturday the first thing I will be doing is connecting up the vendors to the telephone line for credit sales. So in the vendor area. If someone does want to design graphics, that would be even better, and if it's nice I could get them printed in color (like 8 badges per page would be good). It's gotta happen *soon* though because I'm in the process of moving apartments and will need to fit this in between now and leaving for PGI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 (edited) For you APC guys... I have a few things I might be taking up there that I wish to part with. Perhaps a trade for chems/tools/tubes or money or something. I could use some fine KClO4, airfloat red gum, maybe good poplar charcoal, maybe literature if its good, maybe some permanganate as I havn't picked up any OTC here yet, strontium nitrate perhaps, maybe some parlon, silicon, Ti, fine Mg or Mg/Al, etc... Propose a deal. PM me or something. *4 pairs of kevlar arm sleeveshttp://www.sentrysafetysupply.com/images/s...images/9378.jpgThey look kinda like that. One note though, kevlar is plastic, strong and fire resistant plastic, but still plastic, I don't know if they create static electricity. I originally got these off ebay luckily 7-1/2 pairs for the price of 2 pairs or so... *16cue wireless firing systemhttp://www.pyrodirect.com/ccp0-prodshow/030-0016.htmlThis type. Tested firing a few e-matches and thats it. Got it last year at PGI. *Introductory Practical Pyrotechnics by Tom PerrigrinA bit of highlighter markings and thats about it. Good for a noob. *A bunch of 3" short fat spiral wound tubes. I haven't really been able to find a use for them. Perhaps some of you big rocket gurus could use them for headers or something... dunno. Will probably be giving these out for free as I haven't found anyone who actually wants them. *Chems...1lb -10+20 mesh flake Ti from firefox-fx 90-6-4 Ti/V/Al... seems a bit too course for use IMO.1lb lead tetroxide ceramic grade1+ lbs MnO2 ceramic grade1+ lbs Illmanite ceramic grade (a Ti/Fe oxide ore)1 lb -325 mesh Zn powder from firefox-fx I'm posting this here rather than the agora as its only aimed to those going to PGI this year. EDIT:===============================================On a side note, anyone know of any particularly cool places to go to that are on the way from Austin, TX to Gillette, WY ? Perhaps really cool stores pyro, chem, or otherwise? Particularly awesome if they happen to be on or just a short drive off of I-35, I-135, I-70, I-25, or I-90. I'm going north on I-35 through Oklahoma, then through Kansas on I-135 then west on I-70 into Colorado, then north again on I-25 into Wyoming, and Gillette is pretty much on I-90. Perhaps some awesome store for DIY stuff? I guess one of the catches to being able to go to a cool pyro store on the way up... is that it will probably be closed for the time being and making its way to Gillette too... Maybe some of you guys have spent some time in those states for whatever reason and came accross some particularly cool stores? Dunno... I'm going to need a few driving breaks, just trying to see if I can perhaps stop somewhere interesting instead of just at gas stations... OH, and it'd be cool if we APC guys got together for breakfast, lunch, or dinner at some point. EDIT:So far looks Like I might be able to get a little tour of a proximity and specialty aerial shell manufacturing facility about 45 min off I-35 in Oklahoma. I worked on a display with the vice president of the company and he offered a tour sometime. I'll have to try to get in contact with him soon. Edited August 2, 2008 by asilentbob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 Leaving from Dallas, TX today. Be there around 6am tomorrow. I think. See you all there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacob Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 Don't take too long, a certain someone just brought in a 10' diameter girandola with 174 drivers.link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 At the convention now... with psyco_1322 its been goin ok. Ace pyro is doin the majority of the displays which alot of people don't really like. Myself included. Yeah... Too many breaking glass comets... some of the choreography sucks... alot of the shells could be better quality... umm... choosing to use a few huge horse tail / waterfall shells far back when the same amount of said shells up close as 3" shells would look better... Mostly little shit. This convention is really seeming to be a builders convention. Tons of manufacturing going on, a bit more in the chem building than last year... Not much turnout of the public for the displays and it seems like most of the pgi members who show up just with beer and to watch fireworks arn't here... but hey I'm fine with that... they were probably the ones bitching most about the distance anyways... the competition stuff seems much higher quality this year. The 16" shells have been amazing, can't wait for the 24"... Made a few 6" shells... possibly going to attempt a 8" triple petal... yeah don't think its going to work very well... but yeah... might try... If I can scrounge enough stars... Some of the PGI t-shirts this year have a great design IMO at $10/ea... Psyco and a friend have been making some really weird rockets... the lampare bottles have been working good... They did a 32oz one with denatured alcohol and copper chloride lifted with 3 3/4" rockets... Umm... lol did a rocket with over a dozen roman candles on the top... they lit the candles first... then the rocket didn't light and the roman candles finished up... it was raining... and the fuse was working like crap. Umm... dunno... got some insanely high mesh Ti... Its like dark aluminum... but titanium... scary shit. Ok... Think we are going to go get pizza... Ugh... lotta weird shit has happened this convention... I have learned a shitload more than last year... and I didn't go to any seminars... yet... might not at all... dunno... Been busy building shit Shot a 6" double petal that I had built a long time back, it worked. Wish I could have seen it from a different angle and farther back. Did another 6" with those Ti/BP ish stars... worked ok. Made another 6" shell of shells with spider stars and fireworks helper in the insert stars... and a pistil of small mint stars... should be good... attaching 3 1-3/4" spider shells and a 3" shell with TT stars as rising shells... did some other smaller shit too.. .but meh... but yeah serioulsy this is enough for now... no super long post now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredjr Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Decided to put my 16" in competition. It worked almost like I envisioned. Close enough to impress the judges and take first place in best exhibition ball shell! Had an awesome week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Nice job!! Congratulations!!! (Wish I could have been there to see it. Next year, perhaps. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Awesome man! Shot a double petal 6" from a while back... then made and shot a 6" shell with weird way too fast Ti/BP comets... one that was a shell of shells with a pistil of weird "mint" colored stars and spider stars in the insert shells and rising shells... one that was a 6" ring of purple commercial crossetts, it worked beautifully, shot it, the shell of shells, and the 8" a bit before open shooting closed down for good, hope someone got a vid of all them... The 8" that was a triple petal... but the outer petal of comets and stars looked like shit...... So 4 6" shells and an 8" LOL... plus like 3 3" cans... and made a 4" daytime smoke shell but it got stuck near the rocket range when it started raining and I never saw it again, I assume it went to the burn bucket... aww well... I think the finalle left a profound feeling of unfinished business with everyone. When will companies get it through their heads, you don't end a PGI grand public display without firing a shit ton of aerial salutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 (edited) Yep I got videos of about everything we shot I think. Well most of the shells, about all the rockets that were interesting. I will sort through them tonight and see whats what and get them posted. Yah I was kinda disapointed to see that the end show was missing about 200 salutes in 5 seconds. That would of ended things nicely. That and I think there was only a wopping 2-3 lampares that got threw into the middle of a show. Im not sure who Jacob and Fredjr were at the convention, or how many other members there were there but it would be great if we exchanged IDs so we know who everyone is around here. Names with faces are always good. It doesnt have to be on the board but can be PM. Another thing Bob forgot to mention, we ended up with a shit ton of handheld signal flare motors and some other random flares along with them. They are small little endburning, somethimes spin stabalized, composite motors that pack a nice slow and powerful take off. Edited August 18, 2008 by psyco_1322 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted August 18, 2008 Author Share Posted August 18, 2008 psyco: Those the ones Ned was selling? I thought about picking up a couple for the price but the date scared me off, and the reports of them CATOing in people's hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredjr Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I put a few pictures of my 16 in a photobucket album. Included some construction pics. http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/FSx...20inch%20shell/The shell was glitter to blue with red pistil with 30 - 3" insert shells glitter to blue with red pistil. Also had 5 rising flowers same as inserts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Psyco, his cousin, and I were the ones that were like always in their aside from Dan Creagan... we were near that corner of the area too... and had the really messy table... and were always making something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankRizzo Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 (edited) Psyco, his cousin, and I were the ones that were like always in their aside from Dan Creagan... we were near that corner of the area too... and had the really messy table... and were always making something. bob, I think Tyler, Tentacles, and I might have been right up there in competition for "messiest work area". http://pyrobin.com/files/workarea.jpg Edited August 19, 2008 by FrankRizzo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyco_1322 Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 bob, I think Tyler, Tentacles, and I might have been right up there in competition for "messiest work area". http://pyrobin.com/files/workarea.jpg You guys can have second place http://pyrobin.com/files/table.jpg Was Tentacles the one that was running around with that big o leather jacket on when it got cold? lol I talk like he isnt around.BTW Tentacles those were about the same thing, Ned was selling a few and both Dans had some and were giving them away. The exp dates are why they were there, they get thrown out and some guy from Passfire, cant remember who right now, uses the igniter cases for his smoke bombs and gives the motors/flares to one of the Dans IIRC. It was the Plains Wessex hand flares that light by smacking them that were rumored to CATO on ignition. I never seen any of those composite engines fail. Burned some of the para flares and they were quite bright with a nice burn time. Oh and Bob that wasnt my cousin, it was my friend from back home, but he was my "step brother" for that week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asilentbob Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Man... I dunno... Think we were about neck and neck for messiest area... And I don't think there was really an APC dinner... next year perhaps... it should be another good convention... and likely to have 5+ APC guys around at any given time... Though I'd guess a total of about 10, a good amount for chatting over food and/or beer? I'll be 21 then and with more car room to carry shit there and back ... Psyco, I didn't know if you wanted to mention that or not, so I just said cousin. But yeah now that I have those case formers I'm going to have to start getting more into canister shells... I have no idea what I'll do with that one thats like 8" or whatever. A bit big for a canister shell for me lol. Going to also need to try to sit down and get around to pounding out some rockets sometime... And crossettes... After that ring shell I feel inspired... and now I have those quasi-end covering things that should work good with them. FrankRizzo, I ended up with 2 extra female 6" hemis... so you and/or the Dans might be missing one(s) or maybe more were thrown in on accident, dunno. Also I think you left a box of those rocket flare things on that table, psycho, his friend, and I split them up and took them home as it looked like all your shit was packed up and you had already left in the morning/afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 Psyco: Nah, the guy in the jacket wasn't me, I was the one with slightly long hair and wearing the PGI hat. I borrowed your 4" case former but didn't finish the shell before my wife and I had to leave wednesday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Bob, I think that 8" case former is Tom Niesen's, he mentioned misplacing his at the convention. No need to worry, though! (Don't know if you're on passfire, so:) "Yup, that was mine. It was a solid maple former with two wraps of chipboard around to get it up to size. I own a wood lathe and have a bunch of maple so I'm going to turn a nice new former. Whoever has it can keep it as a souvenir. I bought the lathe for the sole purpose of turning case formers anyway." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I am kind of disappointed I missed the best exhibition ball shell competition. It looks like it was absolutely killer. Scores of 8 or more are very rare and reserved for the absolute best shells. That competition had five 8's, and several more 7's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tentacles Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Mumbles: They were truly beautiful shells, and the weather was uncommonly good for it. The wind was blowing the stars towards the audience leisurely, so that the longer lived glitter stars would go out almost above your head, and you could see all the other stars moving toward you. Even as far back as they set those big guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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