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| The TA9 transmitter |
| Arctic Rangers use four types of igniting devices, two of which are electrical and two of which are non-electrical. In addition to this you use det cord. |
| Det cord: | Det cord is short for "detonating cord", in Swedish known as pentyl stubin. It is basically a thin plastic cord filled with PETN (a type of fast burning explosives), and is used to connect individual charges with each other and with the igniting devices. To make an efficient and fail-safe system you normally make a ring of det cord, sometimes referred to in English as a daisy chain (ring ledning in Swedish). From this ring you attach smaller sections of det cord, and at the end of these you either place a blasting cap (that you insert into the back of a mine) or make a knot (that you build into plastic explosives). On the main ring you place blasting caps (either electrical or non-elctrical) that are attached to igniting devices. |
| TA9 system: | This is a remote igniting device, consisting of a transmitter and several receivers. The receivers are battery powered and are connected to an electrical blasting cap that is placed directly in plastic explosives, connected to a mine, or connected to a main ring of det cord. Each receiver has a wire antenna, that can be attached alongside a tree or placed on the ground. The receivers are also totally water tight. The transmitter (see picture at top) is battery powered and looks basically like a radio with several buttons and a display window. It is programmable, which allows you to decide to active a single receiver, several at once, or be able to switch between receivers. It has a range of up to 2 km. It is mainly used to ignite anti-vehicle mines from long distances. |
| TA8 system: | This older system is a wire-based igniting device. It consists of a small battery powered igniting device connected to a large reel of wire.You drag the wire out to the intended target, and attach an electrical blasting cap that you embed into the explosives or attach to a main ring of det cord. It is mainly used to destroy static structures when you have plenty of time, such as road culverts. |
| Powder fuse: | This is your basic powder fuse that you light with a match (a bit like in the wild west). At one end of the fuse you attach a blasting cap that you embed into plastic explosives or attach to det cord. It is mainly used as a backup system along with the TA8, so that you first ignite a long fuse before pulling back from the target. When in cover, you ignite using the TA8, and if this fails you just have to wait a few minutes for the powder fuse. It is also used to make "Ranger charges", which are basically a package (1 kg) of plastic explosives into which you place a short powder fuse. You can quickly place these on various targets, light the fuse, and get the hell out of there. |
| Percussion ignitor: |
This is called slagtändare in Swedish, and is a small metall box that you attach beside a mine placed on a tree. It consists of a spring, a safety ring holding the spring in place, and a blasting cap connected to det cord. The det cord is then connected to a mine. You attach a wire to the safety ring, and either pull it by hand when a suitable target shows up, or rig it as a tripwire. When the safety ring is pulled out, the spring hits and ignites the blasting cap, which ignites the det cord, which in turn ignites the mine (it's not as complicated as it may sound). |
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