Recent Articles
Too bloody cold!
Jan 18, 2009 General, Personal, Pyrotechnics Leave a comment
All this snow and wold weather just makes it hard to be outside testing. Knowing that I can’t test stuff, makes it hard to make new stuff… It’s a vicious circle! Last batch of BP is dried and tested and I’m well chuffed again. This’ll work great as break. I have to make a mill to get good liftpowder but I can use what I’ve got, just have to use a bit more than the optimal percentage.
I’ve got a few canisters ready for filling, but I have to make some stars and test those. Lacking dextrin as a binder, but hopefully I can make that during the coming week. My starmix has not been tested yet so I don’t know if it’s even usable, but hopefully with some good priming it’ll do the trick. My testing-mortar is ready, and this time I’ll make sure to test it while filming. Great to have some video documentation to see the progress from start to finish.
Snow is the worst part of winter. It can make for some very good photos, but again…too cold to take the camera out (for me). My camera can handle the cold, but I can’t 
.
Finally!!!!!!!!!
Jan 16, 2009 General, Learning, Pyrotechnics, Science Leave a comment
Today I got my first successful launch 
On a downside, I didn’t bother to film it as I didn’t think it would work.
I built a very small shell, maybe a 1″ canister. I didn’t weigh it to measure the liftcharge, so it didn’t go quite as high as I wanted. The spolette I made was waaay to long and the shell actually fell back down before lighting… Booboo. Still was fun though, but I need some real timefuse!!!!!
I’ve never been more chuffed than when the mortar went of, and I saw it lift. The trail from the spolette was just cool. This was something I made myself. Learning… Here I come!
Not working until evening/night tomorrow, so I’ve got a couple hours left of today . Off to make some “pipes” for some slightly bigger canisters.
Not today
Jan 15, 2009 General, Pyrotechnics Leave a comment
Didn’t have a chance to do anything yesterday, as I was a bit tired from a 12 hour shift. All I did manage to do, was update my WordPress to the latest version. This was long overdue.
This morning was a bit on the dozey side, so no work done. Only 7 hours of work today though . I really don’t mind, I love my job 
:D.
I have to make some more BP though, it takes time to dry so best to have it ready
WOW!
Jan 13, 2009 General, Learning, Pyrotechnics, Science Leave a comment
Success!!
NC lacquer alone didn’t do the trick, but mixing in some good starmix meal with the NC was successful. Homemade fuse, dipped in the NC/Starmix solution and let dry a few minutes = USABLE!
Read More..
Oh Yeah!!
Jan 12, 2009 Personal, Pyrotechnics, Science Leave a comment
Finally! Some BP I can actually use 
Read More..
A day off
Jan 12, 2009 General Leave a comment
I’ve had today off from work, and I’ve really enjoyed relaxing. So much so, that I’ve not done much of what I had planned. The charcoal got done yesterday, and today I started grinding it. As I don’t have a mill it’s ground in a machine and then sifted to as fine a mesh as I can get. I used a very fine cloth as the final sift and I actually got what looked like pretty good airfloat. Man is that hard work!
Using the cia method I made a 100g batch and that’s now drying off. Hope its dry tomorrow, and ready for a test. Had planned to make som NC lacquer, but I haven’t gotten out to get the last part I need to make it…
The plan was to test some of my fuse after coating and priming it, but if I can’t get the last part it’ll have to wait. Out to see what I can get a hold of now
What’s going on?
Jan 11, 2009 General, Life, Personal 1 Comment
Haven’t posted in ages, so I guess it’s time to post a simple update..
I have been so busy working as of late, it’s quite remarkable. This means I have little to no time to spend with my (many) hobbies, but I thoroughly enjoy my job so I don’t mind.
One thing I have been able to keep up with is simple pyrotechnics. I’m still in the toddler stage, but it’s fun to see sparks (like you see in fireworks) that you’ve made from scratch.
As I’m writing this, I’m waiting on my last batch of homemade charcoal. I’ve used a few different types of wood trying to get a fast BP. Briquettes are a no-go (but I allready knew that). They’re ok for a BP rich in C for stars, but that’s about it. Used a few “softwoods” as well, but not satisfied by a longshot. The batch on the “stove” now is maple. Looking to be done in about an hour, so it’s ready for testing in the morning.
BP should be ball milled, but as I haven’t made my mill yet I’m stuck with the precipitation method (also called the CIA method). I’ve seen some pretty fast BP comps made using CIA, so I know it’s possible. Hardest part is to get good airfloat charcoal without the mill, but the grinder I’m using should get it quite fine.
Here’s a video I made of a homemade fuse I “cooked”:
Homemade fuse (on YouTube)
I also made a video tutorial of the fuse. If I get the fast BP I want tomorrow, I’ll make some dummy shells (fireworks with no innards) and hopefully some vids of them.
Hope I can remember and find the time to post more frequently.
Review: HTC Touch Diamond
Jul 13, 2008 Reviews Leave a comment
This isn’t a review of a camera or equipment. This is a review of my newly aquired HTC Touch Diamond PDA phone.
As far a looks go, this thing is amazing. First impression when I opened the package was simply: WOW! Starting to use the device was even more exciting.
The phone looks small and thin on photos, but when you hold it in your hand and use it, it’s still small and thin! I’ve often been disappointed about the size, but this one really held it’s promise.
The screen is 2.8″ and crystal clear! As it is a touch screen, it will get “dirty” but use a cloth meant for glasses to clean it, and that’s easily fixed.
The interface is called TouchFLO 3D and it does work quite well. I’ve read up a bit on this on other sites, and picked up a few places that was really disappointed with this. Personally I find it responds quick and as I want it to. Only once have I had problems, but that was more user error than anything else. Of course I’ve only had mine a few days so it’s limited what I’ve tested, but it looks to be allright.
The camera, which seems to be the big thing, is good. However as my hobby is photography I use a camera when I want to capture something I’d like to keep. My camera-phone is for when I want to capture something funny at a party or something.
I won’t be posting specs and such here, as other sites than mine has done that much better. Here’s a link to a very detailed listing of the HTC Touch Diamond p3700 (HTC Diamond 100).
For now I’ll post my “conclusion” but when I’ve been using it a few weeks I’ll update the page, to give further analysis on the phone.
I’m very satisfied, and feel it’s well worth the money to get this phone. Lately I’ve been getting more and more busy, and have to keep organized. This was a great solution for me, as it speaks with Office on my computer flawlessly. This really helps on the workflow and eases the hazzle of organizing your days.
Changes
Jul 9, 2008 News Leave a comment
I think I’ve managed to change the site to exactly what I want. Wordpress really is a powerful interface. With the help of a template for design, it’s easily made to be exactly what you want.
I’ve now added a few new listings on the front page, as well as made it a static page. Found this to be a better solution as I want to have it as a sort of professional site.
As for the reviews.. I don’t have much equipment yet, and no real budget to upgrade so the things I write will be scarse for now. Hopefully I’ll make up for it in the news-section.
Rambling
Jul 2, 2008 General, Personal Leave a comment
I was going to to write a little bit about the newest dSLRs today, but after a knackerin’ day at work I’ll just ramble on a bit. If you’ve been to my site previously, you’ll notice that there’s now a static frontpage instead of a summary of a recent posts. I’ll probably change it slightly so that it will list the most recent posts from a certain category.
Anyways.. As I’ve written earlier I’m using a Canon EOS 400D. I can’t say it’s not on my mind to get a moderately more “pro” camera, but there’s no budget for such a cost yet. I’m drewling over the wonderful 1Ds MKIII and a 500mm F4 L IS, but unless Canon decides to give away such a package… it’s not for me. I’m really enjoying the 400D and I have A LOT to learn.
I consider myself a dedicated Canon user and I have no plans to change affiliation. There’s always been a competition between the top camera makers and this is good news for us consumers. Frankly the cameras today are so good in quality there’s not much difference in what you choose. If you’re going for a full set, you’ll save a fair bit of money by selecting Canon (as opposed to Nikon), but what really matters to a dedicated photographer is the feel and functionality of the camera he/she is using.
Unless something unforseen happens, I’ll write a good example detailing this in the morning.
