A strobe pot is essentially just a strobe star composition in a thin paper cup with a fuse sticking out of the top. This project documents a cheap way to make these that is quick and very easy. Be careful though, you do not want water to come into contact with formulae that contain Mg and ammonium perchlorate. Treat your Mg with potassium dichromate before attempting this.
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A cup to mix the composition in is required for this project. I use a Red Bull can with the top cut off, this way I can bend it to pour the composition into the tubes. Be careful that there is no liquid in the can, this will react with the chemicals in the formula. | |||
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A wooden dowel or similar device (Which should be thrown away after manufacture) is also required for this project. I use little skewers, but a thicker dowel would work better. | |||
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Coin Tubes are a neat cheap container for strobe pots. I buy a bag of them for a buck at the dollar store and cut each one into three pieces. | |||
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A short piece of Visco fuse is what I use to ignite these strobe pots, but they ignite easily so whatever method used will probably work. | |||
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Nitrocellulose lacquer is the usual binder for strobe stars. Anyone know of any strobe formulas that use a cheaper binder? Let me know. | |||
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A tray to set the tubes on while you are pouring the compo in them is required. Something will be needed that won't be dissolved by the solvent used. | |||
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First thing to do is mix all the chems in the composition used and screen them together. | |||
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Cut the coin tubes into three sections. Any size is fine, but I find that 1/3 the length of a coin tube is fine. | |||
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Pour the mix into the cup (I am using a glass one so you can see the inside). Pour the solvent (I am using 10% NC in acetone) on top of the powder in the cup. | |||
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Mix it up until the mixture is completely homogenous. The compo may separate near the top, continue to re-stir if this happens. | |||
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Set all of the tubes up in the tray and pour the composition in them until they are full. This is where the Red Bull can comes in handy because it can be bent to aid in pouring the slurry into a smaller container. | |||
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Pop a fuse in the top and let 'em dry. That's all there is to it! The finished strobes will look like this. | |||
