Brief:
T' Blaster XL is a compact, arrr, lightweight single box launch controller that comes with a 6 foot removable power cord with heavy duty battery clips and a 50 foot cable with smooth jaw copper alligator clips. Avast! Each cable has its own distinct plug type, so thar's no chance o' pluggin' this device in backwards. T' detachable aspect o' t' controller serve as the safety key, which means that's one less thin' (such as a launch key) t' lose track o' on t' field. Avast, me proud beauty! T' box itself is small enough that it can be unplugged and tucked into your pocket for a trip out t' t' pad just in case a curious child spectator feels compelled t' plug t' box back in while your back is turned. Ahoy! Well, matey, blow me down! This alone is a distinct advantage over somethin' like t' Pratt Hobbies GoBox, me bucko, shiver me timbers, which only unplugs from t' pad cable. Aye aye! There is also an extensive instruction sheet that goes into great detail about how the controller is used and even includes a polarity drawin' o' t' power in socket. This would be indeed handy should yo u want t' make somethin' like a longer power cable or possibly a cigarette light attachment for power.

Construction:
T' box itself has two buttons: one for continuity and t' other t' launch. There is a bright red launch LED that glows when t' relay is closed, which is a great feature that could help avoid burnin' your fingers in case t' relay fuses, me bucko, shiver me timbers, arrr, and thar be a loud audible buzzer t' indicate continuity when the continuity button is pushed. Blimey! T' use t' controller, you want t' make sure that one or both are cables unplugged from t' box then hook up t' igniter before pluggin' t' power and pad cables into t' controller. A push on t' continuity button sounds t' buzzer, matey, indicatin' good continuity. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! You release the continuity button and a press o' t' launch button triggers t' relay, shiver me timbers, which makes t' launch LED light up and t' igniter itself burns. Begad! Arrr! As this control uses LEDs, which are polarity sensitive, t' clearly marked battery clips must be attached t' t' battery correctly or nothin' will actually happen.

Flight:
I used one o' a couple 12 volt, shiver me timbers, 7 amp-hour Power-Sonic gel cell that I got used from t' Cleveland Freecyclin' group. Avast, me proud beauty! I was hopin' t' use t' multimeter to test it first, me hearties, as I wasn't sure just how used it was.

T' first test be with t' old stand by, ya bilge rat, an Estes igniter. Well, blow me down! It be attached to t' alligator clips and t' box plugged in. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! A touch o' t' continuity gave me good tone. Aye aye! Blimey! I then released t' continuity button and hit t' bright red launch button. Ya scallywag! There was a satisfyin' "click" o' t' relay, t' LED lit, me hearties, and pretty much t' igniter instantaneously burnt in half as expected. Test one successful.

Next up was a favorite for me in BP engines: 1.5 inch length o' 36 gauge nichrome wire held in place with a tiny ball o' flameproof wadding. Since I pack me rockets with dog barf, me hearties, me hearties, it makes good use o' t' stuff that comes with Wal-Mart engines! Hit t' button with t' nichrome attached and it glowed the entire length o' wire betwixt t' clips immediately. Arrr! Test two went very well.

A Luna Tech Pyropak electric match was then tested. Avast, me proud beauty! These take very little voltage t' fire as I remember gettin' them t' ignite in t' past with as little as a single AA battery. Begad! Aye aye! Happily, t' continuity tested good without settin' the e-match off. Aye aye! Hittin' t' launch button make it go with a sweet, ya bilge rat, me hearties, satisfyin' POP! Another big check mark here.

I followed that with an AeroTech FirstFire Jr. that was one o' a number I got a while back from Andy Woerner. Avast! Avast! I've only used this in motors, shiver me timbers, so I didn't know what t' expect havin' never fired one outside a motor. Continuity didn't set it off but what a show when I hit t' launch button! Ignition itself took a fraction o' a second longer than t' other igniters so far, but it be still under a second betwixt t' time t' button be pushed and t' conflagration began with sparks and flames and smoke and all manner o' death and destruction occurring. Arrr! Arrr! Remind me t' move t' next one a little further away from my computer t' next time.

I only had one spare AeroTech Copperhead available, ya bilge rat, which ignited perfectly after bein' attached t' t' alligator clips with a Copperhead clip adapter. Well, blow me down! You have got t' wonder why AeroTech makes somethin' out o' plastic that sits in direct path o' rocket exhaust! Hmm...

As Dan included a DMB Rocketry three motor cluster cable with the controller, I couldn't very well let that go t' waste either, ya bilge rat, so t' next round was cluster ignition. Arrr! Arrr! First was a set o' three Estes igniters. Avast, me proud beauty! On a side note, if you haven't used DMB's cluster cables yet, I highly recommend them as it's so much easier t' have individual sets o' clips for each motor rather than twistin' igniter leads together. Ahoy! Anyway, arrr, pressin' t' launch button resulted in no discernable delay over a single igniter, so t' Blaster XL be holdin' up well and t' battery I was usin' must be equally up t' t' task. Ya scallywag! If I had a larger (or several) cluster cables, I would have done larger clusters of igniters t' see how many I could do before thar be a problem with reliability. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Even then, one should note it would be a problem with me power source and nay with t' Blaster XL itself.

I did a three igniter cluster again but with 36 gauge nichrome wire, which resulted in near instantaneous burn on all three. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Line 'em up and burn 'em all thank-you-very-much. Begad! Ahoy! Three Pyropak electric matches went equally as well.

I also tried t' locate a few things like some AG-1 flashbulbs that I know I have somewhere and me multimeter, me bucko, arrr, shiver me timbers, as I wanted t' check t' voltage and amperage of t' battery in case thar were problems with it bein' less than optimal but that ended up nay bein' t' case. Aye aye! I wanted t' flashbulbs t' see if the controller was flashbulb safe but that will have t' wait for another day... Avast! The box with t' flashbulbs also contained a quantity o' old Centuri Sure-Shots, FSI style igniters, and a few other goodies which I will eventually try with this fine device too.

Summary:
I am very pleased with DMB Rocketry's Blaster XL and it is assuredly goin' to be in me hand t' next time I hit t' flyin' field. Compared t' other launch controllers, ya bilge rat, it's only a about five dollars more than t' Electron Beam, which is incapable o' launchin' a cluster. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' Estes "E" controller, me hearties, me bucko, which actually costs more, still can't do a cluster. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' Estes Command Control and AeroTech launch control are both almost twice as much as t' Blaster XL with little more than custom housings t' show for it.

I highly recommend this t' anyone as a logical step up from t' Estes launch controller. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! With its 12 volt capability and 50 foot pad cable, it's perfect for anythin' from model rockets through mid power flying.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5