Hello from Tennessee

[jguinn]

Good afternoon all,
As long as I can remember, I have been a fireworks enthusiast. Now post-divorce, I find myself in a great stage in life to take things -- starting with my knowledge -- to the next level. Years ago, I purchased one of the cheap eBay firing systems, then went to the Firefly, and just recently found this forum while researching whether I should go with Cobra, Firelinx, or FireTek. This will be purely a hobby for me, and I'm excited to get the DVDs on order for review. Overall goal is to educate myself, challenge myself creatively, and build displays for friends and family that are first and foremost safe -- but also very enjoyable! Appreciate any advice you might have for a beginner (who does have some peripheral knowledge of production technology like SMPTE, LTC, and DMX).

Thanks all and happy to be here,
Jason

[PFTKev]

Hello Jason! I am also in TN and am returning to Pyrotalk from a long hiatus (So Long I had to re-register). I've been doing family fireworks shows since I have been old enough to light a firework. In around 2007 I discovered wholesale fireworks and really upped my game. In around 2017 I purchased a cobra firing system and have been a true believer ever since. I'm in Portland, TN, but I work in Nashville. My passion for fireworks has outlived my fireworks suppliers (Perks, China Nites (I think they're closed as the number is no longer working), so I'm currently shopping for the best place to find fireworks in TN. I'd be happy to share any experiences with using the cobra system. I have been using the 18r2 with an 18s and three 18S Quick Plug Slats. I connect everything with 50 ft cables so I end up with a left, right, and center station with about 100ft span across. You need to shunt any quickplugs that you're not populating, but that's pretty easy to handle. Welcome and hello from TN!

[jguinn]

Thanks so much for the welcome! And certainly appreciate the info on the Cobra firing system. I ended up going Firelinx (placed order yesterday) and will be sure to give you some feedback on it when it arrives.

Have you ordered from any of the sites that sponsor Pyrotalk? After I receive my Firelinx, I plan to get the CE certificate and give one of those guys a try. I'm waaaay up in the northeast corner (Johnson City) but frequently pass through Chattanooga when visiting my girlfriend's family in Birmingham. Would be nice to find a supplier somewhere along that route.

Thanks again for the welcome and great info!

[jknepp1954]

welcome to pyro talk. hope to meet you some day. maybe consider joining a club?
I belong to a club call CAROLINA PYROS. They have 2 club shoots a yr - next one in in Oct. sometime - connect with them for a FULL PYRO EXPERIENCE

[Firelinx]

Welcome to Firelinx Nation! If you have any question, please don't hesitate to contact our team, we are more than happy to help!

[jguinn]

welcome to pyro talk. hope to meet you some day. maybe consider joining a club?
I belong to a club call CAROLINA PYROS. They have 2 club shoots a yr - next one in in Oct. sometime - connect with them for a FULL PYRO EXPERIENCE

Thanks so much for the referral to Carolina Pyros - joined that group last night. And would definitely like to meet up in person someday, too. Will continue looking for other regional clubs to join, too. Thanks again!

[jguinn]

Welcome to Firelinx Nation! If you have any question, please don't hesitate to contact our team, we are more than happy to help!

Fantastic! Looking forward to my UPS delivery tomorrow. Appreciate the outreach and fast order fulfillment. I've used the Firefly system in the past, but knew I needed and wanted to migrate up to a truly professional-grade firing system. Very excited to work with SMPTE timecode in this system! (I've used LTC somewhat extensively at church to synchronize cues between our audio, video, and lighting systems - not entirely unfamiliar territory - now time to add pyrotechnics to the cues!)