Your detonation Sites

[totenkov]

So were do you guys set off your stuff?

I am planning a small "bang" for Halloween hehe, MUSHROOM CLOUD!:D But I am a bit nervous on were to do it. The charge is 300 grams of ETN mixed with 100 grams of AN with a 1 gram AP/SA/HMTD cap. The normal place I set off small charges and conduct tests is in the woods near my house. However I would rather set off the charge on the field at the school near me.

This presents a slight problem. When I say near me I mean about a 5 minute walk through a neighborhood and then through some woods. I will have my best friend with me (who I would trust my life with) and I have a spare last block that day :). I intend to have the charge ready (or at least ready to be filled) after school and make the cap within hours of firing it. Wait till about 10:00-11:00 (no I won't set it off when the kiddies are on recess :D) and already have the caps and charge brought down and hidden so all I have to take down is the detonator. detonate the charge and run.

I live in a populated area, my problem isn't people being hurt, just can I expect a follow up from the cops? After all, there will be a good sized crater and a big bang that most certainly many people will hear. I guess after its been successfully detonated, roll up the wire, stuff it in my pack and book it into the safety of the woods.

I am in quite a residential area. I have never brought attention to myself having to do with explosives and no one knows who I am, I just don't want to jeprodise the hobby that has been my love for the last 5 years.


Any ideas or warnings?

[nbk2000]

Why not set it on a timer and take off? Come back in a week and examine the crater after any cops would have come and gone.

[cyf531]

I do most of my larger detonations in the middle of the nevada desert, here is a recent one of 1kg of peroxide watergel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNoUcOJak0
Turns out peroxide watergel is a pretty weak explosive and a waste of Al :(

[fiknet]

300g of pure ETN + 100g of AN :eek:

That will sound like a freakin' artillery shell has landed in your neighborhood.

My advice is set it off at a later time (I find 2 or 3:00 AM works best for my area ) and also run like Jesse Owens within seconds of the blast and get the hell out of there.

[ChippedHammer]

Why not set it on a timer and take off? Come back in a week and examine the crater after any cops would have come and gone.


I don't like timers for the simple fact that when you set it and get the hell out of there that gives people time to walk over and find it, and either get themselves killed or call the police.
Where as if you are setting it off while you are physically present you can make sure nobody is around.

[Charles Owlen Picket]

A very deep well or even a deep hole in the earth preserves safety, diminishes sound, and allows the preservation of any testing materials (also evidence however). A hole can be very safe.

Sound travels best in arid conditions; rain diminishes sound to a greater degree. Sound travels in canyons and areas where there are building or mountains. It may even be amplified.

Forests diminish sound IF the forest is dense with heavy trees. But the terrain has more impact than the trees will. The action of the energetic material on an object; actually doing work, like breaking soil or a stone does take up some of the reflected sound. The detonation under water yield the least report, soil the next, and within a hole the next provided the top of the hole has a method to seal it and the blast act upon it. Like a cover of heavy steel - weighted down.

[festergrump]

Honestly, Totenkov? I'd leave school property well enough alone. Doing anything illegal there is sure to get you in a whole deeper dimension of trouble should you get caught. Explosives + school property = terrorism in the eyes of todays world.

It's not like you stand to gain any additional pleasure by detonating something there, but you will probably gain alot more attention, so why risk additional trouble if it can be avoided? Just doesn't make sense to me.

Also, I disagree with leaving the device set on a timer. Someone wanders too close to the blast zone and it could escalate into something alot more heinous than the prank you'd planned.

[totenkov]

The timer isn't all that practical for this situation because we want to be there when it goes off. maybe I should make the charge smaller. There is a small beach near me (slightly further than the school) that maybe a viable option.

Fester is right. Setting it off at the school is pretty foolish. The beach or in some woods somewhere I guess is the best spot to do it. Damn I am envious of people who live in the country!

[High Density]

The beach will be the perfect place for the blast, You can easily dig a hole near the water, Place the charge in, Shovel some sand over it, Walk away and push the button.

After the blast the flood washes the evidence away.

My detonation site is a good bunch of water 2,5 kilometer’s from nearby houses.
Underwater detonation is my favorite, Because it reduces sound to zero over that range.
(Size does matter in this case)

And you can see huge water jets from it.

[nbk2000]

If your site isn't a school playground, a timer is fine.

How likely is it that someone will come across your device in the woods at 2AM?

If it's that likely to happen, you need to drive further out. ;)

[Hinckleyforpresident]

I dunno nbk...... The idea of the device exploding no matter what at a set time terrifies me. Just imagine repercussions of a device killing or maiming a odd hiker or camper. It would really really suck, what with all the police investigating it. Also (if you got away with the mistake), you could never use the area again.

That's why I always am present at my dets. Just in case some dumbass hiker goes "Hey, whats that? Guess I'll find out by picking it up!".

I'd rather keep the chances of disaster to the absolute minimum.

[nbk2000]

You should be practicing forensically-sterile assembly techniques anyways.

That way, even if some hiker trips over your device at 2AM in the morning, you don't have to worry about it, as you won't be on the scene, and you've left nothing traceable to you either. :)

What's better? You getting caught with a live (or exploded) device, or not?

[Zer4tul]

You should be practicing forensically-sterile assembly techniques anyways.

That way, even if some hiker trips over your device at 2AM in the morning, you don't have to worry about it, as you won't be on the scene, and you've left nothing traceable to you either. :)

What's better? You getting caught with a live (or exploded) device, or not?

Does this thread qualify as traceable? :rolleyes:

[nbk2000]

Not if you disappear without a trace. :)

Seriously, if a person is involved in some highly illegal activities, they shouldn't be talking about it on the internet.

[mike16]

Fiknet is right, maybe you don't realise how loud 300g of ETN will be?

The largest charge I've set off is 35ml (50g) of pure NG in a bottle, and that was loud, it must have been heard at least 2 miles away.

But it is still nice to set of charges at halloween and fireworks night, small bang, small pop, distant crackle...(you press your button)...boom. :)

[Vitalis]

Halloween may not be such a good idea for detonating explosives, with all the kids roaming about. The 4th of July (in the U.S.) and New Years eve may be better.

The cops may just dismiss it as a mortar fireworks charge going off.

Of course if you are going large scale, they will be able to tell the difference, but if it is in a remote location and the detonation is complete, they may not be able to find it.

Of course you leave no forensic evidence when you set off your charges?

[gillagin780]

However, if your explosive killed someone you would have to live with the guilt that you killed someone forever and, the hell of paranoia comes with murder.

You proubly won't kill someone though. I would feel pretty safe detonating on sight if there are woods. Whatever you do it sounds like a great experiance.

[hatal]

However, if your explosive killed someone you would have to live with the guilt that you killed someone forever and, the hell of paranoia comes with murder.


"Crime and Punishment" style. :rolleyes:

I don't thinks so...

[totenkov]

I think I am going to make the charge smaller. PVC with two endcaps I am going to keep, however after seeing the stability of this new batch of ETN I am going to mix it with AN, just to make it a bit safer maybe a 2:1 ETN:AN does this sound good? I am pretty sure 1 gram of AP should still set it off just fine.

[Vitalis]

It will be private property with all sorts of signs posted, so they enter at their own risk...

[Hinckleyforpresident]

I'm also doing a large ETN right soon. I have 100 grams of ETN/NG/NM ready. And hopefully I can make another 100 or so before tomorrow afternoon, which is when I do it.

I just found a new location, it's over 1.3 miles from any houses, roads, etc.:D.

[totenkov]

Dilute Sulphuric can be stored in plastic, however I wouldn't leave it in there for any extensive period of time. Most plastics are eaten by H2SO4.

Regarding your 20-75 gram AP/AN charge, you bet your ass its going to be loud. I would recommend doing it farther from your house and have somewhere you can escape to if someone comes snooping around. I do my dets on a field near my house and have dense woods I can hide in if necessary.

[Alexires]

Reticman - Make sure you have your carrying container (filled with sand mind you) to carry your charge in, in case it goes off.

Personally, I wouldn't use anything of yours as a target, that is just asking for evidence and stuff.

I would either do it in the pond at night (drown whatever is left maybe) or in the hole. But that close to houses, I would do it at night, definitely.

Otherwise, you might need to go somewhere else..... or not do it at all.... especially if you have a reputation for blowing things up.

[Rbick]

I can tell you from experience that that is far too close. I use to set off 50g charges fairly close to my house, which is quite secluded from anyone else. I had the cops show up at my front door because a neighbor who lives a good 3 kilometers away reported having heard explosions. And she is an elderly citizen who is hard of hearing! I managed to convince them it was fireworks and showed them my pyrotechnics license. Just think that 50g is about the same amount of explosive in your ordinary hand grenade (I think...).

Your best bet is to bury it or do underwater dets, if not find a new blasting site. And don't blast too often, people will begin to get suspicious, especially if you have a bad reputation. :p

[Alexires]

One of the better thing about living in a urban environment. While there is (much) more risk, a lot of people around mean that the pigs don't automatically think it is you.

If you don't look the part, people will assume it is someone else. Then again, that is probably the ONLY good thing about living in the city. Everything else sucks.

[sobreroHWE]

When living in the deepest trenches of Mudville, and having my car stolen, I had the occasion to contact the pigs to tell them (not like it's their job to care/prevent that type of shit) Anyway, I was on hold with 911 for 7 minutes before I got an operator.:eek:(not the only time either) After that day I was more than willing to test my luck with "loud noises", since 7 minutes is plenty of time to get away, or kill the person on the phone and hang up......I digress.

More grams of AP than I can recall were set off by "my friend" in our apartments tennis courts/patio, no swine, ever. One 35g charge in particular made me certain the badge bandits were on the way, yet......no phone call, no pigs at the door, nothing. I watched "my friend" turn a cinder block into dust with a "small" charge of EGDN(maybe 40g-50g), the pieces broke some fools car window and set his alarm off.:p NO COPS the entire night.:D
(I should point out the EGDN charge was set off in a field maybe 130yd away from the lot/car. Regardless, all of the noises sounded like, or louder than, gun fire with no response."

[Hinckleyforpresident]

I love being a medium drive from east-buttfuck rural north America. This weekend I shall be setting off 500g ETN/NG/NM :D, and if all goes well I'll catch a deer (so much food) with it too! It will be done from 500 feet away via a radio detonator. I will be behind something, waiting for a deer to show up (I'll bait the charge) to click the button.

My detsite is 2 miles from any road, house, driveway, etc. The downside is that it's a hour and a half walk through the woods.

[totenkov]

HAHAHA :D! You remind me of a thing my friend and I did for many weekends that gave hours of hysterical laughter! 9g of ETN, 7 charges and 7 caps. These make pretty big bangs, and if your near by, can cause some serious damage as well.

being electronically detonated we had control down to the last second on when the charge went off. Where we live there are tons of crows, these little annoyances were always stealing your food, or just pissing you off. PAYBACK TIME~!

we hid the charge under some leaves and sprinkled bread all around the charge. Wait till the crow comes and then BAM (dusts off hands :D)! All gone. At least 5 crows must have fallen victim before we had to go!

We got the idea from a YouTube video were some guy covers himself in a blanket, his friends cover the blanket with sand and then piece of bread, when the seagulls come,he jumps up and grabs them :)

[LibertyOrDeath]

Now, now, totenkov...leave those poor birds alone. :)

Alas, I have yet to find a good detonation site in my area. I have set off a small charge or two in my backyard, even though homes in my neighborhood are less than 50 meters apart. (My latest was 2 g of ETN, which was surprisingly loud.) That may seem foolish, but my neighbors like me and are pretty laid-back, and the occasional loud noise around here is treated with about as much urgency as a car alarm in a mall parking lot during peak shopping hours. I don't press my luck, but I can get away with this sort of thing once in a blue moon. No one really knows where the sound came from, anyway. For all they know, it was some kids playing with M-80s.

I'm still at the point where I'm more interested in learning about explosive syntheses and properties than setting off huge charges. Thus, much of my work can be done right in my basement. Most of my test charges are much less than 1 gram, and my basement is completely underground, but I may try to rig up some sort of sound-absorption system so I can test somewhat larger charges without having the neighbors think that someone's shooting guns next door.

Eventually I'll find a good place somewhere out in bumfuck to try the big stuff. Damn, I wish I lived on a farm or something. :(

[totenkov]

Liberty you sound exactly like me. I get more enjoyment from making the explosive than actually setting it off. I am more interesting in the synthesis of energetic materials than just making big explosions. There is a large stand of woods behind my house were I often set off charges. In fact I just got in from setting off 15 grams of ETN, I was doing some tests on the effectiveness of these new caps I have been testing.

Did I ready you correctly that you may be thinking of setting off charges in your basement?! If you are I don't think that is a good idea at all!!

[LibertyOrDeath]

Did I ready you correctly that you may be thinking of setting off charges in your basement?! If you are I don't think that is a good idea at all!!It's not as bad as it sounds. For one thing, my basement isn't "finished" -- it's more like a garage or warehouse down there. I've already set off stuff in my basement hundreds of times, but rarely anything larger than a couple hundred milligrams, and usually just a few tens of milligrams. Even these are very loud, but they don't do any damage to anything. (I do have a few small craters in my concrete floor from hammer tests, though. :o) The main problem is the mess created from having aluminum foil turned into glitter by the detonations and sprayed all over the place. I have to do a lot of vacuuming.

Anyway, I'll eventually find a suitable place for the big stuff. :)

[Charles Owlen Picket]

I do live in a very rural area and one just can't press their luck with things like making seriously loud noise. It's not the neighbors; it's the "others". With concepts like "water", "sand", and "depth" one can develop the type of sound suppressor for experiments that will work - up to a point.

Some of the better ones I've seen:

A guy digs a hole on his property (say 5 feet and about a foot in diameter) lines the hole with a heavy steel support of similar dimensions and has the soil contact the walls in a very tight fit. He places a manhole cover (or whatever) as a weight over the top of the hole. A detonation the size of two #8 commercials don't make anymore noise than a loud cough.

A guy gets a 55 gal drum and places in a closed car-port, fills it with water. Maintains several very heavy steel enclosures made from welding .5" plate and simply dumps the experiment in the steel boxes; into the water in the drum. NO SOUND at all. A very large slosh of water from two #8 commercial caps taped together.

Fellow lives in a area close to "sand" (river / beach); maintained a secluded area with about 15 tons of sand and digs holes with simple hand tools in same. At the 4-5 ft level, items placed with a cover of sand make little to no sound. Buried depth assumes great importance but the sand itself, if moist is a better suppressor than when dry.

[Ratman2050]

I live in a slightly rural area. It's in a township away from the actual town, I've got about 10-15 houses in the area and my neighbors are very, well, paranoid/suspicious/gay. For ex. a bbgun pellet ricochet onto her window and she went through the entire neighborhood to find out.

One good thing is I live on a golf course, so there is a lot of empty space, however, it is open so someone could see me. But behind the golf course is a large forest, and there is a hunting/gun club and everyday you hear gunshots so I could pull it off fairly easily. I haven't done charges larger than 10g but will try about 30g-50g with my HMTD and maybe 20g with ETN.

[UnderConstruction]

I've already set off stuff in my basement hundreds of times, but rarely anything larger than a couple hundred milligrams, and usually just a few tens of milligrams

I usually know better than to preach to the IFCM (International Confederation of Choral Music), but I hope you balance the chem. explosion first...

[Charles Owlen Picket]

There is generally a standard to this beginning with safety. Understand what you are doing and study the thing in both the context of what energy will be released and what will happen when it's released. With that finished to your satisfaction (that you know the result will be physically safe), you begin the next phase... Contain the sound, heat (general energy), debris.

You could think of a large firecracker......If you had such a thing to test, it will have a fuse (is it long enough?) and it will yield a certain degree of energy (what would absorb both the sound and paper tubing?).....You have a large area of soft sand -By moistening that sand it allows for the diminishment of both heat and burning material. By digging out a 4 foot hole and using an encasement with electrical initiation; you solve these issues.

The result of this thinking in terms of testing was the sand bomb test, IMO. As that test allowed for repeated comparison of the amount of sand displaced in a safe, contained unit. Making a sand bomb test unit is not difficult at all. But you must maintain a peek weigh level of material to test. I think that's actually a good example, now that I've written it out (and finished a cup of coffee).