The Design

The quickplug system consists of three separate components: The receptacle, which the quickplug plugs into, the Quickplug connector, which comes attached to our igniters, and the Shunt, which is used to close the connection on MJG Initiators.

The Receptacle

COBRA has custom designed a receptacle based on an existing off-the-shelf design to improve functionality, use, and durability.

  • This is the plug on the module that the quickplug equipped igniter physically plugs into.
  • The metal pins on the inside of the receptacle makes contact with the pins in the igniter plug.
  • We added guides on both sides of receptacle, which means the quickplugs can be plugged in from either direction.
  • These guides combined with higher height, will prevent the plug from bending or damaging pins when inserting or removing.
  • We added inner walls to increase friction of inserting, holding and removing quickplugs.
  • The metal pins are stronger and resistant to corrosion.

The Plug

COBRA sells both Clip-On Igniters and MJG Igniters with quickplugs.

  • The plug is an off the shelf part we purchase and pre-install onto both Clip-On Igniters and MJG Initiators.
  • Wires are placed into the plug and we use a special tool that pierces the metal through the insulation into the wire to create a connection.
  • Glue is added to the backside of the igniter for added strain relief.

The Shunt

COBRA custom designed a friction hold, plug-in shunt to short the cue while in transport or if pre-wired in your pyrotechnic effect.

  • MJG igniters come with a pre-installed shunt.
  • We designed this shunt custom for our quickplugs igniters.
  • The shunt is inserted into the quickplug itself and creates a connection
  • They are very easy to remove, they can be pinched and pulled off, or flicked off with the thumb.
  • Because of the shunt connecting both sides of the igniter, it will stop any ESD from accidentally igniting the device.

FAQs

Can I install quickplugs on my own igniters?

Absolutely! Both the tooling used to install these and the connectors themselves are off the shelf parts that can be purchased.

The hand crimping tool consists of two parts, the handle and the specific crimping head for the connectors.

The quickplug connectors can be purchased in two different gauges, 28 AWG (Clip-On Igniters) & 24 AWG (MJG® Firewire Initiators). Be sure to purchase the correct gauge connector for the igniters you plan to use.

How do I wire quickplugs in series or parallel?


Wiring in series or parallel is easily achieved by purchasing either a Quickplug Breakout Board (Series) or Quickplug Series Breakout Board (Parallel), connecting it to your module or slat, and attaching any igniters you wish to fire to it.

Alternatively, if you are in a pinch and need to wire in series or parallel, we suggest cutting the wires coming out of the Quickplug connectors and using the more traditional method of twisting the wires together.

Conversion Kit

Do you already own COBRA equipment and want to upgrade to quickplugs? No problem. COBRA offers an upgrade path to quickplugs for all of our firing modules.

Depending on the equipment you already own, and the way you want to use it, there are different upgrade paths to the module best for your situation.

We have outlined below the different paths you can take depending on the equipment you are looking to convert or use.