Digital firing systems

[stuartc]

I was wondering what people tend to use for "digital" firing of stage pyro and what people's views on different systems are?

 

I'm aware of a few systems (seemingly all American) such as Pyrodigital, Pyromate and the Surefire system from Le Maitre USA. Most of these look targeted mostly to fireworks, but that isn't a huge problem due to the similarities.

 

I'm basically looking for something I can use for airbursts and rapid/timed effects (so some type of chase function), but SMPTE timed firing would be good too, as would expandability. As they all cost many thousands (unless someone knows of some cheaper systems), I want to be sure I'm getting the right thing, before I part with the cash :blink:

 

Mark Le Maitre did make some nice sounds about developments of mid-range systems by Le Maitre at PLASA, so I'm hoping he will give some more details... :o

 

Side question: Are such systems hirable anywhere so I can try some out?

 

Note: I'm not interested in any DIY systems. I want something from a reputable source.

[scjb]

Don't forget there's also FireOne (American company, with their FireLite controller) and Galaxis (German company, who make an RF-based system), along with a couple of Italian systems. There will also be another RF-based (which can also be used wired) system coming onto the market from America, probably first half of next year which will be very price competitive. Most of them support SMPTE or FSK timecode either natively or as a bolt-on upgrade. In fact, the Surefire is the only one I don't recall having it. In addition, Surefire doesn't have two-way communications between the desk and the slaves.

 

You are correct in saying that nearly all the systems out there are designed around the needs of the outdoor display market. Whilst Pyrodigital and FireOne are both used successfully on indoor-pyro gigs, the compromises are evident. Galaxis has only recently come on the market. It's currently in use on Robbie Williams, and the guys are very impressed with it so far (but make sure you can read German!). Have a google for the existing discussions on RF-based pyro, both in BR and the web. Most of the problems with RF at the moment surround pyro not going off when it should, which is why good comms between desk and slaves is so important.

 

For pro touring, Pyrojunkies use a bespoke digital firing system made by Heritage Events. Not the cheapest system in the world, but very (read VERY) tour-proof! In addition, it's the only desk I know where you can isolate a single channel in a chase on a hardware switch. Great for when someone is slightly out of position... you can kill a channel or group of channels and not lose the entire sequence. I understand Le Maitre have invested heavily in Pyrodigital and I believe Mark is their programming guru. If you want to chat about Galaxis, contact Nick at Manic Ltd. He's been out with the snipers on Robbie and has lots of experience with the system. Me? I own FireOne. Once silly season is out of the way, if you want to have a chat about the specific pros and cons of FireOne I'll be pleased to chat on pm.

 

The next few weeks is not a good time to be looking to hire pro desks in the UK! Once the season is out of the way, you might want to give the usual suspects a call and enquire about hiring or popping along to have a look-see. From an operating point I use FireOne and Heritage regularly, Pyromate and Pyrodigital infrequently, and have had a good nose at Galaxis. My next system WILL be RF, but I'm going to leave it a few months... I think it will be worth the wait!

[Lincoln]

Here you go...

 

Click Here

 

Has everything you are looking for and a whole lot more.

 

A pick and mix of hard-wired and radio - all from the same box.

 

Lincoln

[Jivemaster]

The caveats for firing pyro, and firing fireworks are similar but different. With pyro you have safety zones in terms of metres for seconds as the action moves on the stage. With fireworks there should be an exclusion zone of tens or hundreds of metres for several hours. Even digital latency is a problem on stage as the action can move between button push and Fx fire. Also the risks are different -surprise a nomex clad fx tech and you have a mark on an overall. surprise a major name star and you have a prospect of a Major claim.

 

take care when crossing technology from fireworks to pyro.

[scjb]

Jive, would be interested to know which systems you had noticed latency on.

[zonino]

the surefire is a very nice system (although not quite as resistant to power surges as one might hope as I found out last week!) it gets used with timecode here, we fire airbursts, gerbs, smokepots, flashpots, flashtrays,

 

the surefire controller comes at about $1400 USD (at least thats what I got told to put on my manifest!) and you need the other modules as well,

[tcomet]

The Le Maitre PyroLogic is a great system for indoor pyro where you have small numbers of effects scattered about in many different areas of a stage. We have both the 4 and 5 pin output module configurations but I prefer the 5 as that gives me 4 hits in any one place. Usually more than enough. If I need more I run in another cable and output and I have 8,12,16 addresses... Great for airbursts too as I truss mount one of the smaller 16 channel mods and plug in my RJ11 harness. The only slight problem there is I then need AC power up in the truss. No biggy! I can also send cues to the Le Maitre wireless mods and even wired and wireless mods at once.

 

The controller is a good, cheap solution as programable digital controllers go. It is super easy to program chases and multi hit cues. Things start to get a little more complicated when you want a fully 'automatic' show. For this you actually use MIDI. It is a little confusing at first. What you have to do is take a PPS-100 midi event generator (ebay) and 'record' the midi notes that represent the FIRE commands in your show. This recorded file will sync off an external SMPTE signal (CD, video, whatever) and send out a certain MIDI note that represents FIRE. Whatever you have recorded in the PyroLogic will fire when this cue comes in. The one real benefit this system has that I have not seen on any other digital controller is the ability to auto fire some cues and manual fire some cues in a show. We do this all the time. Say I have atight sequence I want to fire on an empty set as an intro I do that AUTO. Then a performer comes in wearing a wireless pack. I always fire performer cues manual. Then the finale is all up top so I let auto take over for that aspect. Nice!

 

We even use these units outside and they have proven remarbably tollerant. I have gone from -20C outdoors in Toronto to +40C on an outdoor stage in Sydney Australia. One mod even got left in the rain all day and functioned fine once dried out (not recomended).

 

Anyway. Blah, blah, blah... gear. Yum!