simple question

[stiltbeast]

I purchased an fc-4 at the Las vegas haunt show, and John uploaded a flame effect into it for me. Can I wire in extension cord ends so I can just plug the lamps in and not have to wire the lights in directly?
   thanks,
     Allen Hopps
  Mythical monster museum
   huntmonsters.com

as a P.S. Im a sculptor and mold maker, Ive always been on the other side of things and am real excited about making my monsters come to life, Im sure to be lurking around the boards all I can to soak up knowledge.

[JonnyMac]

Sure; pick up four 2-wire extension cords from your local hardware store and cut them such that you can wire the sockets (female) to the output connectors, and one of the now-sitting-about plugs to the power inputs.  Double check all your connections, especially as the wire used in extension cords is very fine -- you don't want any loose "hairs" going from terminal to terminal.

[stiltbeast]

Thank you very much for the prompt response, is there a basic manual or anything I could read about the fc-4 or even the prop one?

[livinlowe]

Here is the documentation for the FC4-

http://www.efx-tek.com/downloads/fc-4_docs.pdf

Be careful how you mount your board, as I had a AP-8 that I "burned up" because I didn't have it mounted properly (its bottom touched my prop-1, and somehow burned up the sx chip on the ap8)

[JonnyMac]

There is also a section here in our forums called the Library, and in it is a sub-section called Documentation -- all our product documentation can be found there:

http://www.efx-tek.com/php/smf/index.php?board=15.0

[stiltbeast]

Ok, tonight I plan on wiring up the female ends to my fc-4, is it to much to ask for one of those spiffy diagrams that Ive seen on other threads?
thanks,
   Allen

[JonnyMac]

It will take time -- I'm not so good at diagrams as I am code.  Please refer to the FC-4 documentation for a simple wiring guide that should be all you need.

[stiltbeast]

 you were right, the product sheet was all I needed, hooked up and ready for action. Would it be ok to hot glue around where the wires hook up to ensure that they dont go anywhere? it seems like a good and bad idea at the same time.
Allen

[JonnyMac]

I wouldn't do it -- you own the board so you can decide for yourself.  What I suggest is tinning the wires before putting them into the terminal blocks.

[stiltbeast]

    Is tinning the wires dipping them in solder? this board is a dedicated flame effect generator. It wont be used for anything else.
thanks,
Allen

[JonnyMac]

Yes, but you don't have to dip them, you can simply heat the wires with an appropriate iron and then touch solder to them so that they become solid.  This helps prevent "strays" from shorting, and allows you to tighten the terminals a bit more.