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. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Avast! Blimey! This alone is a distinct advantage over somethin' like t' Pratt Hobbies GoBox, me hearties, which only unplugs from t' pad cable. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, shiver me timbers, which is a great feature that could help avoid burnin' your fingers in case t' relay fuses, and thar be a loud audible buzzer t' indicate continuity when the continuity button is pushed. Ya scallywag! 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. Well, blow me down! A push on t' continuity button sounds t' buzzer, me bucko, indicatin' good continuity. Ya scallywag! You release the continuity button and a press o' t' launch button triggers t' relay, ya bilge rat, which makes t' launch LED light up and t' igniter itself burns. Avast! 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, me hearties, shiver me timbers, 7 amp-hour Power-Sonic gel cell that I got used from t' Cleveland Freecyclin' group. Arrr! Ahoy! I was hopin' t' use t' multimeter to test it first, as I wasn't sure just how used it was.

T' first test be with t' old stand by, me hearties, an Estes igniter. Aye aye! It be attached to t' alligator clips and t' box plugged in. Well, matey, blow me down! A touch o' t' continuity gave me good tone. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I then released t' continuity button and hit t' bright red launch button. Blimey! There be a satisfyin' "click" o' t' relay, me hearties, t' LED lit, 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. Begad! Since I pack me rockets with dog barf, it makes good use o' t' stuff that comes with Wal-Mart engines! Blimey! Hit t' button with t' nichrome attached and it glowed the entire length o' wire betwixt t' clips immediately. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Test two went very well.

A Luna Tech Pyropak electric match be then tested. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! 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. Aye aye! Happily, matey, t' continuity tested good without settin' the e-match off. Ya scallywag! Hittin' t' launch button make it go with a sweet, me hearties, me bucko, satisfyin' POP! Another big check mark here.

I followed that with an AeroTech FirstFire Jr. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! that be one o' a number I got a while back from Andy Woerner. I've only used this in motors, so I didn't know what t' expect havin' never fired one outside a motor. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, me bucko, matey, 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. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! 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, arrr, which ignited perfectly after bein' attached t' t' alligator clips with a Copperhead clip adapter. 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, so t' next round was cluster ignition. Arrr! First be a set o' three Estes igniters. On a side note, if you haven't used DMB's cluster cables yet, ya bilge rat, 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. Anyway, pressin' t' launch button resulted in no discernable delay over a single igniter, matey, so t' Blaster XL be holdin' up well and t' battery I be usin' must be equally up t' t' task. Well, blow me down! 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. Even then, arrr, 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, matey, which resulted in near instantaneous burn on all three. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Line 'em up and burn 'em all thank-you-very-much. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, 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. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I wanted t' flashbulbs t' see if the controller was flashbulb safe but that will have t' wait for another day... Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Ahoy! Compared t' other launch controllers, arrr, ya bilge rat, it's only a about five dollars more than t' Electron Beam, me bucko, which is incapable o' launchin' a cluster. T' Estes "E" controller, ya bilge rat, which actually costs more, still can't do a cluster. Arrr! Begad! 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. Aye aye! With its 12 volt capability and 50 foot pad cable, me hearties, ya bilge rat, matey, it's perfect for anythin' from model rockets through mid power flying.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5