285 replies to this topic

[maximusg]

Heay all, just returned from a road trip. I picked up a bag of KNO3 which is awesome and i am now very happy

Unfortunatly the ceramics store was closed (easter holidays) so i didnt get to see what stocks they had left.

Edited by maximusg, 17 April 2006 - 12:22 PM.

[jamesy]

Well Alan my friend, unfortunately how it is, is how it's going to be. There is not much you, myself or any other enthusiast can say or do to change that (which really bugs me). I have spoken to the explosive inspectors before at the Qld Department of Mines and my feeling was, they don't really care about people who are making home rockets etc... their concern and focus is the illegal firework trade. In my opinion it is good as it keeps them busy, away from us :-)

Yes I agree to about keeping the pyro sources close to your chest. Took me what felt like a million years to source various items and when you get a stranger asking to spill your secrets, it's a little like "Do your own ground work mate !!". However, there is no harm I guess in behind the scenes emailing to close forum friends. As long as you have trust in them not doing what you are trying to protect.

By the way, love your work man. I?m a huge fan and probably visit your site on a daily basis and have watched your videos about 1000 times... love em :-) Owe most of my knowledge to you.. thanks mate. Would love to reference some of your work on the community pyrowiki if that's ok :-) Can't find material as comprehensive as yours anywhere on the net.

Jamesy

[littlejohny]

By the way, love your work man. I?m a huge fan and probably visit your site on a daily basis and have watched your videos about 1000 times... love em :-) Owe most of my knowledge to you.. thanks mate. Would love to reference some of your work on the community pyrowiki if that's ok :-) Can't find material as comprehensive as yours anywhere on the net.

I am the same, some detailed how-to Information would make your site Incredible, keep up the good work

[Pepsi]

Sad to see CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS go under... (another one)
Seems like anyone who tries to give it a go gets Screwed by Bureacratic bulls**t,
No wonder most of Ausie inventions and Medical reasearch teams go off-shore.
Pardon the old Pun, "BUT WAKE UP AUSTRALIA!"

We have Gas on the NW Shelf, Oil in the Timor sea ,Gas and oil in Bass Straight,
BUT ALL THE DIPSTICKS ARE IN CANBERRA!

Pepsi

[jamesy]

Hey Pepsi

Looks like the same thing may have happened to him as it did to me. And yes, it is really sad. However the regulations have been like this for a long time now and I can't see this hobby ever being legalised.

Like I said before... it's a hobby you must do in secret and anonymously.

Jamesy

[Pepsi]

Hey Pepsi

Looks like the same thing may have happened to him as it did to me. And yes, it is really sad. However the regulations have been like this for a long time now and I can't see this hobby ever being legalised.

Like I said before... it's a hobby you must do in secret and anonymously.

Jamesy

Ya not wrong Jamsey....
P

[alany]

I'm glad you guys like my site.

You can make derived works and even lift sections verbatim for your pyrowiki project as long as you credit the site, just as Wikipedia does. I've been watching the pyrowiki thing with great interest - its been something I've wanted to do myself for a long time. However right now I just don't have the time to contribute.

I don't think that vanilla Wikipedia software is the way to go though. I think it would be much easier to have an "object database" for specific things (especially compositions and chemicals). Attributes would be defined for different things with strong typing and therefore could be easily reused by software agents - I've been chipping away at this problem myself, with a chemical database that includes thermodynamic properties for use in my Composition Calculator. One of these days I'll export my private DBs that I have in development on my site, but there is much work to be done before I am happy enough with them to make them public. What you see on the public site is only a small fraction of the database I am slowy accumulating as I have the time.

I recently wrote an IRC bot to export the DEV instance of my composition database to the irc.chat4all.org#pyrotechnics channel. It generated some interest, especially exposing an editing interface on the web, I guess this is basically what pyrowiki is trying to achieve? One of my main reasons for not offering it publically at the moment is copyright concerns, something I must discuss with Mike Swisher at some point. Also, I am pretty sure that it would be leached in hours, and I've put a crap-load of work into building it. I've also not quite worked out how to seperate out my material from that sourced from the usual texts, and that sourced by contribution if I allow wiki-style editing - I may just version all entities in the database, but that would mean a significant redesign.

[jamesy]

Firstly, a huge thanks Alan for allowing Pyrowiki to reference some of your great work.

As you know Alan I to am a computer programmer and have found it a little difficult and very daunting on how to deliver such a wealth of pyrotechnic information - especially relating to chemicals and compositions. I don't claim to be an expert in any sense of the word and really have only been involved in this hobby for 7 or so months (although my wife thinks I'm obsessed haha). Even now I am stumped on how I am going to effectively present the huge number of varying compositions on Pyrowiki (I like your idea? good thinking). At the end of the day it may not be used for that, however my intention is to facilitate areas in how to make, where to get, why?s, techniques, safety etc. I mean you only need to read through these forums to see the wealth of very good information in here. There are so many experienced people that really know what they are doing. Unfortunately there are some sites out there that do not offer the proper way of doing things, and that does not mean that is the author?s intention or fault. It basically just means they lack experience. However, if that author was to add it to pyrowiki, then people in these forums like you and I can correct the article. That way the original author and the next buggar to read it is getting taught the right way...

Personally the best thing I like about wiki sofware is you don't have to know html and you don't have to build individual pages therefore making it easy for novice users to contribute (hence the huge success of wikipedia). I do this all day in my job and I get tired of doing it. Anyway, my point is, if all the great pyro minds get together and contribute their knowledge to one central place, the benefits are huge for everyone.

If it does not take off then that?s fine. I am having a ball building it. My neighbours are happy, there are not so many fireworks going off late at night

[m0sul]

Ok guys seriously someone from Aus who has a few spare $$ please grab this! If I wasnt $1k in debt right now I would be one of the first to bid! Even though I already have access to plenty of "real" visco working in a fireworks shop this thing would be great!

http://cgi.ebay.com/.....AMEWA:IT&rd=1

Any takers? For those of you who havent had visco trust me its a dream to work with compared to home made black match and a lot less mess! (none infact) Could we have aussie visco maker/supplier?

[littlejohny]

That would be nice! I think I even have the money to buy it, but the shipping would be a killer.

[Mumbles]

There is a new addition that says he'll be selling the plans for about 20 pounds. Perhaps that would be a more worthwhile investment for those of you in foreign countries.

[Pepsi]

There is a new addition that says he'll be selling the plans for about 20 pounds. Perhaps that would be a more worthwhile investment for those of you in foreign countries.

"Sellling the plans" Gawd, ... It is all on the Net. Just try Good'ole "google"

Save ya pennies

Regards
Pepsi..

[maximusg]

It's not impossible to get good fuse in Australia. You just gota know where to look. I have hundreds of feet of Visco, Falling Leaf, Flying fish etc....

Although putting in the effort to make a machine could be very worthwhile in the long run.

On another note. Does anyone know of a good source for some nice thick tubes for Mortars... I have been doing a few small shells lately and would like to move on to the larger ones. The old glad wrap rolls wont suffice for bigger shells

[alany]

Visco is pretty easy, but where did you get the flying fish?

[littlejohny]

On another note. Does anyone know of a good source for some nice thick tubes for Mortars... I have been doing a few small shells lately and would like to move on to the larger ones. The old glad wrap rolls wont suffice for bigger shells

How much Does the shipping cost on Pyro planet

Try looking in Fabric and clothes stores that sell rolls of fabric.

I got a very good 3 inch ID tube from bunnings, It's about 5 feet in height, 3 inches ID "exactly" wall thickness is 1 cm they seem like very good mortar tubes to me, I can't remember exactly but sand paper was rolled around them just like you would find shade cloth for example, there's another idea. Next time I'm there I'll have another look.

I also have 5 respectable 2 inch mortar tubes, about 18 inches high with wall thickness of 6-7 mm, these you won't find I got them from a friend who moulds plastic tanks. If you pay the postage I might be able to send you one for free. Because, I am not at all ready to begin shells 2 and 3 inch in size, I'll master 20mm and 1 1/4inch can shells first.

Edited by littlejohny, 11 May 2006 - 05:01 AM.