Officially a new Cobra User!

[215less]

Well it's official. I made the plunge and bought a Cobra. I'm writing this cause i honestly want to say thank you to the many users here and Dave. His videos over the years have really helped and explaining/breaking it down for even newbies to understand (we were all there once). I ask you all who use a Cobra, how long was the learning curve or is it that type of devise that you can pick up rather quickly???

I thank you all while (im currently deployed for work), for your advise and really enjoy watching all your shows (most shot with a Cobra in hand).


THANKS YA!!!!!!!!

[BeerGuyEd]

Congrats on getting your Cobra. I upgraded to Cobra right before the 4th and I was able to use it without any issues. I know the system can do a lot more than what I was asking out of it but with Show Creator it all went very easy.

[Birdman]

Same here. I got my Cobra this past winter and had no problem using it to script shows. Cobra has plenty of detailed videos to watch covering all of the basics and then some. If you have any questions you will likely find the answer in one of their videos or other documentation. The user guides are also recommended reading. I suggest doing some practice runs to make sure you have the basics down. If you're scripting always dry run your script. I love scripting because you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Congrats on the Cobra...you will not be disappointed!

[esgrillo]

my learning curve has been 9 yrs so far lol. All kidding aside, the system has tremendous flexibility and grows with you. It seams like each year I manage to devise some additional contraption to work in conjunction with the cobra.

[PyroManiacs]

Nice homie! Lets put that thing to use soon.

[215less]

Nice homie! Lets put that thing to use soon.

No doubt!.

[215less]

Same here. I got my Cobra this past winter and had no problem using it to script shows. Cobra has plenty of detailed videos to watch covering all of the basics and then some. If you have any questions you will likely find the answer in one of their videos or other documentation. The user guides are also recommended reading. I suggest doing some practice runs to make sure you have the basics down. If you're scripting always dry run your script. I love scripting because you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Congrats on the Cobra...you will not be disappointed!

I am excited to see how the script creator program works along with all the common features to the program. This is my first firing system, before was the road flare lighting lol.

[Birdman]

I am excited to see how the script creator program works along with all the common features to the program. This is my first firing system, before was the road flare lighting lol.

I scripted very small shows without using Cobra Show Creator (CSC). The csv template you can download from the Cobra website is pretty basic and easy enough to understand . It's really just a list a of times, channels and cue's to fire. If your scripting larger shows, and especially a pyromusical, you will want to use CSC. It's pretty basic too and makes the guesswork of timing everything very easy. It's not as "feature rich" as I would like but it serves the purpose and for the licensing cost well worth it. It will even run on a slower PC so you don't need a top of the line computer.

The biggest pain, at first, is getting all of the fireworks you want to script entered into "my fireworks" so they can be added to your show. You can pull that information from wikifireworks but I wouldn't trust it. Most of the stuff entered on there is either incomplete or not totally accurate, so edits are usually needed once you add a firework from there. I prefer to just add them myself using the bulk add option (import the information from a csv file) or just enter them one at a time manually. The more you use it/add the less time you will spend entering your product because it will already be in there. But product can change from time to time so you may want to review things to ensure it is still accurate.

It is also lacking any real visual aids to help you visualize how the show you will look so your still reliant on youtube videos and your own imagination to visualize what the show will actually look like. Although I suspect this is one reason why CSC will run on most any computer. You can add a youtube link to the "my fireworks" information and have it start from any point in the video so you don't have watch all of the fancy intro's and fluff in the videos. That is certainly a time saver if you use videos to help plan your show. Downside there is it only supports youtube videos at this time.

The timeline CSC displays also helps you identify what is firing when during your script. However that timeline is only as accurate as the information you have entered into "my fireworks". As we say in the IT industry, sh*t in/sh*t out or SISO (i.e. if you enter incorrect information in your going to get incorrect information out of it). One tip I can give you is that if you're scripting a PM, make sure your audio track is as long or longer than the show your scripting. It doesn't appear you can extend the soundtrack once it's saved to your show. For example, if you expect your finale will still be firing after the music has stopped you can still add events to the script but the timeline in CSC will only display what is firing up until the end of the soundtrack. I haven't found a way to edit the soundtrack once it's saved to a show your working on, other than starting from scratch with a new soundtrack. Let me know if anyone knows a better way. This is not an issue if your last firework is done by the end of the soundtrack.

I highly recommend you have Microsoft Excel or something similar like Open Office Calc, which is free, to view and/or edit the csv files Cobra uses. If your not familiar, csv files (comma separated values) are essentially the same as a spreadsheet. They just store the data in a "raw" format but you view and edit them just like a spreadsheet. If your not familiar with spreadsheets or csv files there's plenty of youtube video tutorials you can watch. You only need to know the VERY basics about them to use them with your Cobra.

As with most things Cobra, there are plenty of video tutorials to help you get started with CSC. Again, for the licensing cost it's worth it, if not a must have. They are always working on improving it so it should only get better.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Congrats 215less!! You're going to be very happy with your new baby. I know I was. I've had mine now for 4 years and I'm ashamed to say it's still infinitely more intelligent than I am! That's a good thing because it recognizes dimwits like me are using it, and it makes it simple for us.

I started out with four 18M's and did a scripted show. The script didn't work because I had the damn remote on the wrong channel. So I wound up manually firing every cue off the 18R2 that year.

The next year everything worked fine, but I was upset because there was no music. So I added 8 more 18M's and an Audiobox the following year and did my first pyro-musical. The music didn't start right away because I forgot to turn up the volume on the speakers. But they show shot fine.

Last year I did another pyro-musical and the show was awesome. Especially the finale.

This year the show shot exactly as I scripted it, but we had a rain shower right before shoot time and I had some wet cakes.

So what's my point? For me at least, the point is, no show is going to be perfect. Something's always going to come along and eff things up to some degree. But on average, the Cobra system will do what you tell it to do. So my advice to you would be to get familiar with the Cobra Show Creator software and practice writing scripts, uploading them, and firing shows. Hook up some dummy talons or initiators and run through continuity checks on different channels so you get used to doing that and getting back to the channel you selected to fire the show! If you can do all that in your sleep, you're going to be just fine. Then one day maybe you'll join me in my pursuit of shooting shows like Ed shoots. :p

[215less]

Congrats 215less!! You're going to be very happy with your new baby. I know I was. I've had mine now for 4 years and I'm ashamed to say it's still infinitely more intelligent than I am! That's a good thing because it recognizes dimwits like me are using it, and it makes it simple for us.

I started out with four 18M's and did a scripted show. The script didn't work because I had the damn remote on the wrong channel. So I wound up manually firing every cue off the 18R2 that year.

The next year everything worked fine, but I was upset because there was no music. So I added 8 more 18M's and an Audiobox the following year and did my first pyro-musical. The music didn't start right away because I forgot to turn up the volume on the speakers. But they show shot fine.

Last year I did another pyro-musical and the show was awesome. Especially the finale.

This year the show shot exactly as I scripted it, but we had a rain shower right before shoot time and I had some wet cakes.

So what's my point? For me at least, the point is, no show is going to be perfect. Something's always going to come along and eff things up to some degree. But on average, the Cobra system will do what you tell it to do. So my advice to you would be to get familiar with the Cobra Show Creator software and practice writing scripts, uploading them, and firing shows. Hook up some dummy talons or initiators and run through continuity checks on different channels so you get used to doing that and getting back to the channel you selected to fire the show! If you can do all that in your sleep, you're going to be just fine. Then one day maybe you'll join me in my pursuit of shooting shows like Ed shoots. :p

Hey thanks Rick. Ive looked up to you know on here for awhile, all real sage advise. Im just going to get familiar with the system before i shoot any shows with it. That and i only got 1 18m with slats so not quite big enough yet but a work bonus is coming after this deployment so possibly 3 to 6 more 18's will be coming my way.

[FWGuy]

215less...congrats on the new system!!! Grew up in SE PA (West Chester) ;). Seriously considering the same system as well.

[215less]

215less...congrats on the new system!!! Grew up in SE PA (West Chester) ;). Seriously considering the same system as well.

Thanks and small world.. I grew up and still work in West Goshen Twp... HAHA

[215less]

So I got my single 18m and remote but then a few days after I ordered it. A friend asked if I was interested in his system For a deal of a lifetime lol. I finally got home from my deployment and come home to this. I think Im at a good starting point.

[Big Worm]

That's an excellent starting point! Way to go, looking forward to your shows.

[Birdman]

Very good starting point. Wish I had a friend like that!