Brief:
T' Hot Shot igniters are low current igniters. Begad! Ahoy! Used on t' ground for black powder clusters or any other black powder applications. Blimey! Begad! It has 12" leads that will reliably ignite clusters o' black powder motors usin' t' output o' your launch control. Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' entire Hot Shot has been redesigned. They now have smaller lead wire and a smaller head. Begad! This means they will easily fit into t' 13mm, arrr, 18mm, and 24mm black powder motors.

Construction:
T' Hot Shot consists o' a small, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, highly flammable "match head" at t' end o' 12" yellow coated double lead wires. Well, blow me down! T' assist in preventin' wirin' mistakes when preparin' for your model rocket's launch, ya bilge rat, thar be a thin red line that runs t' length along one side o' t' lead wires.

When preparin' t' install these, you'll need an X-Acto knife, matey, some good quality maskin' tape and even t' Estes regular igniter plugs (black for t' 24mm, red or pink for t' 18mm) that can be used t' secure t' Hot Shot in t' nozzle. For all o' me testing, I've used t' black Estes plug for t' D12s and just a short piece o' maskin' tape t' hold them t' t' 18mm motors. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' regular Estes plugs for t' 18mm seems t' fit too tight, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, matey, but I guess one could make them fit with some work. Ya scallywag! I used t' Estes 18mm plugs only once in me most recent (and final) test launch o' me Saturn IV/Astrocam at JSC on May 21, arrr, 2005.

Finishing:
Before installin' in t' motor, use t' X-Acto knife (or any other very sharp knife) t' carefully split t' end o' t' lead wire and split it long enough so that t' appropriate wires can be twisted together without any pulling. Avast, me proud beauty! Then splice off about 1/4" off o' each end o' t' lead wires t' expose t' bare wire. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! Insert t' lead wire match head first into t' nozzle o' t' motor all t' way until it stops, then use either t' piece o' maskin' tape or appropriate Estes plastic plug t' securely hold t' lead wire in place so that it doesn't move. Ya scallywag! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! Once all o' t' required motors o' your cluster is wired, carefully twist t' bare wires together, matey, with t' all yellow lead in one bundle, arrr, and t' thin red line lead in another bundle. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! You might have t' use needle nose pliers t' do t' job, but I've done well just usin' me fingers. Begad! Avast! Blimey! Because o' t' nice long length o' t' lead wires, you'll have plenty o' room t' work with once your model rocket is positioned on t' launch pad t' attach t' micro-clips. Blimey! Blimey! T' real beauty o' usin' Hot Shots is it totally eliminates t' need t' use cluster clip whips when launchin' clustered model rockets, me bucko, me bucko, thereby reducin' t' chance o' one or more motors misfiring.

Flight:
T' Hot Shot can be easily used on 13mm, 18mm, me hearties, and 24mm black powder motors. Since 2004, I've launched a total o' 14 clustered flights usin' t' Estes Solar Igniters (all o' me clustered flights in 2004) and QuickBurst Hot Shots (in 2005). See me flight logs below o' all me clustered flights and then you can draw your own conclusions on what be t' best way t' go for launchin' clustered models is.

Recovery:
For 2004, when I used only Estes Solar Igniters 21 ignited successfully out o' 23 motors used for a 91.3% success rate. Begad! Ahoy! Those two failures were costly however... Arrr! My prized Centuri 1/45 scaled Apollo Little Joe - II could have met a more disastrous result and t' one failure o' me Proton/Saturn - IV Cineroc totally destroyed me rocket and payload.

In contrast, I've flown more clustered flights already in 2005 with 24 motors used and 24 ignited successfully usin' QuickBurst's Hot Shots. Ya scallywag! 100% success. Begad! T' Hot Shot may cost a little more, me hearties, matey, but if you want reliability they're t' way t' go. Wished I had used them for me Cineroc flight attempt o' June 12, me bucko, 2004. Ahoy! I'd very likely still have me Cineroc today.

Summary:
What more can I add? David Bachelder o' QuickBurst has always stood for quality products and dependable service. Havin' already used his NOVA Launch Controller and 18" Rocket Rack and experienced his brand o' service, arrr, he's always thar on top o' things when you need him. Avast! I was honored and delighted that he'd ask me personally t' test t' new Hot Shot and post t' results here at EMRR.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Editor's Note: There is more information on Quick Burst Hot Shots here