Safety
"My
primary concern is always safety. I want to
know when there's any charge in the firing capacitors,
and I want to know when it's safe. Just to be
sure, I want active indicators on both conditions.
Then I want to know things are OK. When I've
got a wire running out to the modules, I have
some level of confidence it'll work. With no
wire, I get a little concerned."
Provide
a red ARMED LED indicator visible from 200 yards,
and a similar green indicator when safe. With
all this new technology -- being able to roam
wirelessly with the Command Module, high voltage
firing from little batteries, etc., sometimes
you just feel the need for some feedback to
make sure everything's working. When the system
arms and the power capacitors are charged, a
large red LED network visible from 200 yards
away lights up to give you that warm, fuzzy
feeling. It's comforting to see a sea of little
red eyes staring back at you from the field.
When the firing module has finished its cue
list, it automatically shunts and discharges
the capacitors and safes the firing controls,
changing the indicator to green when completely
safe. It sends a message to the Command Module
as well.
"It's
my guilty little secret that I jumper off the
dead man switch on my panel right after the
fire inspector leaves. It's just too much trouble
to deal with. That said, I always feel a little
guilty ignoring the safety regs - I'm usually
very safety conscious. I want an easier way
to run an automatic system and still be safe."
The
Firelinx Command Module has a built-in Operator
Presence Device (OPD) or "dead man"
switch. This is an Infrared (IR) beam that crosses
the handles you see in the Command Module. If
your hand is in one of the handles, the OPD
is satisfied. This allows ease of use and safety
at the same time. If you drop, throw, or otherwise
lose your grip, the OPD activates to shut down
the show. In addition, for purists, the Firelinx
hand control or pickle switch also can be used as
a standard grip OPD, or any switch can be built
or used from an older system that has a phone
jack connection.
"I've
heard rumors of near-accidents that happen when
capacitors are charged. What are you doing to
prevent this?
Safety
is our primary concern. A great deal has been
learned from previous systems, and we've done
everything possible to incorporate new technologies
that specifically address every known problem.
In our studies we determined that when capacitors
are charged it results in a condition we call
SPF - Single Point Failure. This means that
if one component or control signal fails, charge
can be released to the E-match. We use several
mechanisms to prevent an SPF condition until
the system is armed and ready to fire. In older
charge pumps (the circuit that increases the
battery voltage to firing voltage) and in systems
that charge the capacitors directly from the
power line, some charge on the capacitors is
always present. Firelinx uses a technology called
a SEPIC charge pump which prevents any current
from leaking to the capacitors until the system
is armed and the charge pump is turned on. Even
then, two separate enable signals are required
to enable the control over the intelligent switches
that provide the current to the E-match; so
now, three simultaneous errors are required
before the system can fail. During continuity
test the capacitors again are not charged, but
a separate power supply at less than 1mA (1/1000
of an Ampere) is used to test the circuit.
"Frankly,
I'm worried about shutting down the show if
there's a problem. With my switch panel I know
if I'm not pushing buttons nothing is happening.
With my automatic system, at least I have a
cable--I know I can yank it out and run. If
I'm firing an automatic sequence and all these
modules are on their own, what do I do? And
what happens if I drop the Command Module off
the side of the barge? Do I have to run out
and yank the cables off each module?
Wireless does provide a unique set of requirements
for safety, but Firelinx has you covered. In
addition to all of the Disable functionality
that allows you to shut down any part of the
show at any time, Firelinx provides not one
but two Operator Presence Device (OPD) or "dead
man" safety features to cover all wireless
eventualities. First, if the traditional OPD
switch or the Abort key is pressed, the Command
Module immediately shuts down all modules. But
that does assume that the Command Module is
functioning. So there's a second signal called
a Heartbeat that is constantly being transmitted
from the Command Module. If the CM is disabled,
dropped overboard, or run over by a truck, the
heartbeat signal stops and all firing modules,
automatically sensing the lack of positive control,
cease firing. As an added benefit of Distributed
Processing, if you were to drop the CM overboard
(Murphy was an optimist), it would only take
a minute to run some firing wire out to the
first firing module, put it in Manual Mode,
and take over control -- firing the rest of
the show manually.
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