Uber Upgrades & FAQ: Please Read!

UPGRADING YOUR MARKER:  COMPLETE FAQ.

 

 

 

I am writing this to help the people so they won’t have to post as many questions, although there is nothing wrong with that. It will help keep the forum fast though. This FAQ will cover effective barrel length, the best ways to store paint, what upgrades you may want to consider, types of air lines, etc.

 

1-      BARREL LENGTH- For the most part, the length of your barrel does not affect accuracy. A paintball needs about 7.5-8 inches of barrel to stabilize, and to be truthful, after that, you are using more of your air source (co2, n2, or HPA). So, the longer the barrel, the A- more air you use and B- the more you have to turn up your velocity. This should help to eliminate questions asking “How long should I order my barrel?” Although, once again, I will say there is nothing wrong with asking questions, after you search. I will list some decent barrels for decent prices. (Note-I know I am not naming all of the barrels.)

 

J+J Ceramic

Stiff!

All American

Tear Drop

Progressive

Abrades

Quit Riot

Nite Stik

Stealth

Big Shot

Boom Stick

Freak Kit

Freak Junior

Evil Pipe

Flat line - A-5

Flat line - 98 Custom

 

BARRELS YOU WILL WANT TO STAY AWAY FROM

 

GTA Sniper Barrel

Thunder Pig Barrels

 

2-      CARING FOR YOUR PAINT-

A-Open package and rotate the bags. The paintballs are extremely close packed in the box. This may lead to a ball break. That is bad…

 

B-Keep them in a relatively warm place, with low humidity.

C-Keep rotating the bags

 

D-DO NOT FREEZE YOUR PAINT (doing so will ruin your barrel and is dangerous to others)

 

E-Follow all other instructions on your box of paint.

 

3- Types of Air Hoses- Steel braided lines, Macro lines, and Micro lines.

 

 

               STEEL BRAIDED LINES- These are what you stock model 98, model 98 custom, A-5, Pro-Carbine and most other guns that aren’t upgraded come with. Not all guns come with steel braided. Some higher end guns come stock with macro line, described later. These hoses are made of steel, and look like a girls braided hair, hence the name. These are more durable, but come in sizes, and you cannot adjust the size. So if you buy a drop forward, regulator, or expansion chamber, you may need a new hose. These are pretty flexible, but cannot be bent too much, or at too much of an angle. These also only come in one color, silver.

 

              MACRO LINE HOSES- These are what some higher end guns come with. These are small, thick, heavy duty plastic air hoses that can be flexed quite easily. You can buy a kit with 3 feet of hose (3 colors) and 2 fittings (one 90* elbow, one straight fitting, or two 90* fittings.) for 10 dollars at www.countypaintball.com . I have found that they have the best deals for macro line. These types of line come in three colors (usually red, black, and blue) and are made by several companies. They can be cut to any length needed, and each color hose comes in one foot sections. Some people dislike them, saying that they are not strong. This is both true and false. Macro line is not as strong as Steel Braided hoses, but is more flexible and can be cut to any size. Macro line is still pretty durable though, so do not think it is “weak”.

 

           MICRO LINE HOSES- These hoses are pretty rare to find these days. If you do find some, I suggest against buying it. They are just like Macro Line, but they are a lot smaller in diameter, thus restricting airflow. If you are still interested in this, you may want to look for some on www.ebay.com . I have not found them anywhere else.

 

 

4-      POTENTIAL UPGRADES-

 

R/T-Response Trigger- This is illegal at some tournaments but not all. This uses excess air from your marker to blow the trigger back into the ready position. This is still semi-auto, but many people think it is fully auto. It isn’t.

 

Drop Forward- These are used to disperse the weight out better on your gun. It brings you ASA (Air Source Adapter-Where you screw in your air tank) forward and down. These are also used a lot in speedball so you can tuck in closer to the bunkers.

 

Regulator (for HPA and N2—some work with co2)-These can set down the air going into the gun to make your gun more gas efficient.

 

Expansion Chamber- This is only for co2. It gives the co2 more time to expand into a gas-helps keep liquid co2 out of the gun.

 

Electric Hopper- A electric hopper spins a paddle for whenever you shoot to prevent chopping balls and having clog ups in your standard hopper. Good investment if you have the R/T.

 

Double Trigger- Some people prefer these over a single trigger. Its pretty self explanatory. Two slots for your fingers instead of one.

 

New Grips- Some people find the stock grips to be irritating. Most aftermarket grips are softer and are more comfortable.

 

New Barrel- The stock barrel on gun is most likely not very accurate, and not very good all around. See the section on barrels above.

 

Stocks/Remote lines – Woods ball players like these over speed ball players. The stock lets you rest the gun on your shoulder, and the remote line is a coiled hose that attaches to your ASA and co2 tank, letting you wear your co2 tank in a pocket. Remotes can work like expansion chambers too.

 

Scope- Scopes aren’t very good in paintball. Paintballs aren’t very accurate anyway. Scopes also give you tunnel vision, which will probably result in you getting flanked

 

Red Dot Site- These are better then scopes because they won’t give you tunnel vision and is easier to use then a scope. They have a red dot inside the site and you jut line that up with the target and the aimer on the site.

 

RVA (Rear Velocity adjuster) - If you buy this, it will allow you to increase or decrease your velocity with out having to use allen wrenches. It allows you to adjust velocity with your fingers. (NOTE-THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH A REAR COCKING SYSTEM)

 

Rear Cocking System – This allows you to cock your gun from the end. Some people prefer these over side cocking markers. Usually, a metal plate and screws will be provided to cover the hole where the side cocking knob used to be. (NOTE- WILL NOT WORK WITH ROCKET COCK OR RVA)

 

Rocket Cock- This is used to cover up the side cocking system, and has a ring on a pin that attaches to the side cocking knob. So it covers the side cocking hole but you still cock from the side. This is for looks, but some say it quiets the gun quit a bit. I do not know, I don’t have one. It also helps keep debris and paint/paint shells out of your marker.

 

HPA (High Pressure Air) or N2 (Nitrogen) - These are interchangeable as far as paintball is concerned. You can fill most tanks with either or. HPA/n2 is more consistent then C02, so you will get better shots and you won’t get velocity spikes. You also won’t have to worry about having liquid C02 in the gun. These come in three common types- Fiber Wrapped, Aluminum, and Steel. Those are in order of the lightest to the heaviest. You will want to buy a tank cover for most Fiber wrapped tanks because they scratch easily. How many shots will you get? You multiply the CI (Cubic Inches) by these numbers…

10xCI= Number of shots for a 3000 PSI tank

15xCI= Number of shots for a 4500 PSI tank

20xCI= Number of shots for a 5000 PSI tank

 

Foe more information on HPa/n2 systems, please check the MILKMANS sticky.

 

There are many more upgrades, but that is all that I can think of right now…and I’m tired… I know I didn’t list all the barrels either, but I will add on to both at a later time.

 

Accuracy

 

Accuracy depends on several things, and length of the barrel doesn’t effect accuracy. Here are some things that effect accuracy

·        Good, fresh, non deformed paint

·        Paintballs without paint spill on them

·        Clean paintballs

·        Velocity not too high-280 FPS is good

·        Clean barrel

·        No spurs in barrel

·        Good Paint To Barrel Bore match

 

Paintball sizes- http://www.ottersccustoms.com/paintc.html

 

Barrel Sizes- http://www.ottersccustoms.com/barrelc.html

 

Remember, have fun and be safe!

HPA/Low Pressure/Regulator Info

This post was composed by Myself, with some help from KRL15, for those who need a little guidance on the subject. This post was not meant to be read all the way through. Just for those who need a little bit of info on a certain aspect that has been gone over in this post. The broad topics are printed in a bigger font, bolded, underlined, and italicized. The subtopics are printed in bold.

HPA

Compressed Air/Nitrogen
These terms are all used interchangeably; the only real difference in them is the fact that Compressed air is simply what we are breathing right now (78.1% Nitrogen,19.8% Oxygen, and 2.1% Other Gasses), and Nitrogen is 100% Nitrogen gas.

HPA and Nitrogen are stored in a tank, under pressure, as a gas. HPA and Nitrogen are both very stable. The pressure of HPA and Nitrogen in a tank, will change a little bit with temperature. It will not change pressure as radically as a gas that is liquefied, like CO2.

CO2 is stored in a tank, under pressure, as both a liquid and a gas, simultaneously. about 34% of the VOLUME of a full CO2 tank will be filled with liquid. The remaining 66% of the interior volume, will be filled with saturated gas.

The pressure of CO2 will change drastically with a change in the temperature of the CO2. Further, if straight liquid CO2 is ingested into the gun, potentially dangerous velocity spikes can occur. The pressure of CO2 at 70 degrees (F) will be about 853 PSI.

Why would I consider buying Nitrogen?
Most all serious paintballers will make the switch in there career. Nitrogen is a much more pure gas, as stated above, it is much of what we breathe unlike Co2, which is Carbon Dioxide. Many electronic and mechanical guns require the use of Nitrogen. You will not have any more nasty velocity spikes that can injure other players, which can happen with unregulated Co2.

What are all these measurements for?
The first measurement you will see is the “ci”, or cubic inches of the tank, which is the actual size/internal volume in cubic inches of the tank. This measurement can be anywhere from 47ci to 114ci. The second measurement is pressure. Pressure is expressed as “PSI”, which stands for Pounds per Square Inch. Tanks can be rated to be filled up to 3000psi, 4500psi, or 5000psi.

How many shots can I expect?
The most common way of measuring shots per tank is taking the C.I., or Cubic Inch specification, and multiplying it by 10 for 3000psi rated tanks, 15 for 4500psi rated tanks, and 17 for 5000psi rated tanks. For example; you could expect 680 shots from a 68ci 3000psi tanks. 68ci x 10 = 680 shots.

Steel or Fiber Wrapped?
A Nitrogen tank can be made from one of two materials. A steel tank will be much more durable, and could potentially last longer, while also being much heavier than a fiber wrapped tank. Fiber wrapped tanks are not quite as durable, unless a tank cover is used, which is most definitely recommended with this material. A fiber wrapped tank is much lighter than a steel tank.

Hydro Testing?
A Nitrogen tank must have a hydro re test every 3 years or every 5 years. This period is from the date on the tank. Depending on which Nitrogen tank that you choose, you will need to know if your tank needs to be tested every 3 years, or every 5 years.

Your proshop will not fill a tank if it is past due for a hydro test. If you are buying a used tank, make sure you find out when the tank was last hydrostatically tested, and whether it needs to be tested every 3 or 5 years.

Fiber wrapped tanks have a MAXIMUM life span of 15 years from the date of the original Hydro Test. Any tank, of any type, that fails a Hydro Test, will be destroyed by the company that performs the Hydro Test.

Many fiber tanks will need to be Hydro'd every 3 years. Some of the newer fiber tanks can go 5 years between Hydros.

Steel tanks have NO MAXIMUM life span. So long as a steel tank passes Hydro, it can still be used. Steel tanks must be Hydro'd every 5 years.

A standard hydro testing is $35 from Hydro Testers

How much will I pay for a Nitrogen tank?
The prices on Nitrogen tanks are a little more expensive than what you will pay for a Co2 tank. Unless you are buying a used Nitrogen tank, you will be paying anywhere from $80-$600. The $400-$600 range is probably out of most recreational players league, this being Angel A.I.R. and the Max-Flo systems. To get your Nitrogen tank filled, it is usually $1 every 1000psi. For example; it would cost $3 to get a 68ci 3000psi tank filled. The cubic inch of the tank is not taken into consideration with the cost of filling a tank. So an 114ci 3000psi tank would only cost $3 to fill also, in most cases.

Does a tank come with a regulator?
Yes, almost all tanks will come with a regulator. This is the part that actually screws into your Air Source Adapter, and contains the gauge and fill nipple. These regulators can be preset to a high pressure output of 800-900psi, a low pressure output of 350-450psi, or they can even be an adjustable output regulator.

What are some good brands of Nitrogen systems?
Some of the good brands which are in the mid price ranges are Crossfire, Centerflag, and WorrGas. Unless you are daring, you will want to stay away from new companies, they usually have some bugs to work out. Make sure the brand of tank you are getting comes with a good quality regulator on top. I have heard many negative remarks about the ACI and PMI tank regulators.

Low Pressure

What is low pressure?
A low operating pressure is considered anywhere from 50-400psi. On any gun, running at a lower pressure could mean more shots per tank, less recoil, and better consistency over the chrono.

Why go low pressure?
Low pressure can have numerous benefits such as: more shots per tank, less ball chopping, less recoil, better consistency, and of course the bragging rights of knowing your gun has a low operating pressure and can achieve all of these things.

Can my 98 Custom be a low pressure marker?
Yes it can. With the purchase of Tippmann’s Comp-Air kit, a quality regulator, and a Nitrogen tank, your 98 Custom can run at 350 psi or lower.

What about using the RT with the Low Pressure kit?
The RT and Low Pressure kit will work very nicely together. Just use the RT kit's power tube, and the LP kit's valve. If you do have any problems with the RT not resetting, you may need a larger external RT hose. However, owners of newer 98 Customs should have no problems.

What does the Tippmann Comp Air kit accomplish?
The Tippmann Comp Air kit gives you a lighter rear drive spring, lighter rear bolt, high flow valve, low pressure chamber, and a vertical adapter with t-fitting. With all of these things installed on your 98 Custom along with a regulator, your 98 Custom is capable of operating at 350psi or lower.

Can my Tippmann A-5 be a low pressure marker?
Tippmann claims that it will have a Comp-Air kit out for the A-5 soon. Until then, the lowest pressure that an A-5 can run at, is about 600-700 PSI, without starving the cyclone feed.

Regulators

What does a Regulator do?
A regulator regulates the air flow to your marker. A regulator will take the high pressure gas that is in the tank, and will step it down to a lower pressure, so that it can be safely used in a marker.

Most regulators are adjustable, meaning you can control the operating pressure, in psi, of your marker. Most regulators are meant to be used with Nitrogen. Some regulators can be used with Co2. One regulator that works well with CO2 is the Palmer Stabilizer. The Stabilizer works equally well with Nitrogen and Co2.

What are all the holes for?
A regulator can have up to three different holes. The first hole or port, usually located on one side of the regulator, can be for the airline coming into the regulator. The second hole or port, usually located on the reverse side from the first hole or port, can be used as an outgoing airline (in a female regulator setup) or a port for a gauge. And the third hole or port, usually located on the bottom of the regulator, can be that of an allen wrench adjustment to tweak the operating pressure of the regulator.

Do I need a gauge?
If you want to know approximately what output pressure your regulator is set at, all the time, then having a gauge on your reg is for you. If you really don’t care what pressure you’re at, just as long as it works, then you really don’t need a gauge. Micro gauges, which you will most commonly find on regulators, aren’t as accurate as bigger gauges. Remember that any gauge is most accurate at its mid point. If you are planning on running at 300psi, buy a 600psi gauge.

Some specs on some commonly known quality regulators.

MacDev 03 Gladiator - The Gladiator is a very consistent, very high flow regulator. It is adjustable from 0-700psi and can be used with Nitrogen or Co2. Although this is a very nice regulator, it is also very high maintenance. Any piece of debris that gets into the reg could cause velocity spikes or drop off. You must keep this regulator very clean. They cost about $80 and can be found at MacDev

AKALMP Sidewinder - The Sidewinder already has a great companies name behind of it. Who else to buy a regulator from then AKALMP, the low pressure experts? The Sidewinder is very unique, it has a swiveling end cap that allows the regulator to be setup in many different configurations. It also comes in 3 different sizes to meet your needs. This regulator is designed for low pressure operation. They cost about $95 and can be found at AKALMP

Bob Long Torpedo – The Bob Long Torpedo is a very known regulator. It is low maintenance, very consistent, and easy on the wallet. If Bob Long puts his name behind it, then you can be sure its worth the money you put out. This is the cheapest regulator mentioned here for about $55, and it can be found at Shop4Paintball.com

Palmer Stabilizer – The Stabilizer is a great regulator for Co2 or Nitrogen, and here’s why (copied from Palmers FAQ page): “The major benefit of the Stabilizer over the UniReg is that the Stabilizer will maintain consistency just about twice as well as the UniReg can. This is due to the design and dimensioning of the unit. Through any regulator there is a certain amount of inverse pressure variation in the output pressure that results from the variation in supply pressure. (as the supply pressure to the regulator goes up or down, the output pressure will go up or down, exactly opposite, and in a ratio that is proportional to the valve and diaphragm (or plunger) dimensions. (i.e. as the supply pressure goes down, the regulated pressure will go up slightly and vice-versa) In the case of a UniReg, that ratio of change is approx. 35:1; meaning that for every 35 psi of supply pressure change, the output pressure will vary approx. 1 psi. The Stabilizer will only vary about 1/2 as much. In other words, the Stabilizer is rated as a 70:1 regulator, in that it takes a 70 psi change in supply pressure to yield a 1 psi change in output pressure.” The Stabilizer is also adjustable from 0-900psi. This regulator will cost anywhere from $65-$95, depending on which setup of the Stabilizer you choose, and it can be found at Palmer-Pursuit

Other quality regs are the Air America brand regulators, such as the Vigilante. Although I don’t have any personal experience with this brand, a lot of people have told me many positive things about them.

Hope this helps.

MILKMAN

What upgrade for what Pos you play in speedball and woodsball. Speedball first. Remember $$$ you can spend differs.
Front man: You want small stuff. You usually don't want a huge Eggy 2 hopper. Try getting something small like a Halo TSA. Also, get a confortable drop forward. They bring your tank down and up for better counterweight and smaller gun. Just keep it small since you'll be hunkered down alot. Keep a small barrel 7" - 9".

Mid Man: Doesn't really matter what hopper. Just make sure what you got is lite. You really need to move when you're mid. Also, remember pods... not alot just enough. 2 or 3. 12" barrel is preferable.

Back man: Get a direct feed hopper so you're sure you always have a ball chambered no matter what. Also, carry alot of pods. Have a pretty good sized barrel like 14". Have plenty of air.

Tape Man: Same as mid.

Woodsball.

You want a flatline. You don't want to carry ALOT of paint, it just depends on how much you shoot. You want to be able to move around and be small when need be.

I hope this helps (and doesn't get deleted)

Hey, you guys might wanna have one uber mod thread for the A-5 and one for the m98... just an idea. Y'all can delete this if you don't like it or don't think it belongs here.

My experience with other guns has given me some vision for creating the Ultimate A-5 Speedball Trigger Job … So this post documents the creation of it.

The first thing I noticed in playing around with all the triggers in “higher end” electro guns was all the grubscrews. There are ways to set nearly every aspect of the trigger in most of these guns. I looked at my A-5 egrip and I thought, “Where are MY grubscrews?   How can I adjust MY trigger?” Well, without resorting to serious modification, you really can’t. But there is a way to modify you’re A-5/E-grip. It simply involves performing the Ultimate A-5 Speedball Trigger Job .

What You Need:
-a tiny grubscrew, about as small as you can find
-a longer grubscrew that is just about as skinny as the tiny one
-a power drill
-a few springs to try out
-your E-grip

Okay, for those of you going, “uh… what the heck is a grubscrew….?” Here is what I’m talking about:



They are sitting on a towel, so if you compare their size to the size of the towel threads, you can imagine how small these ones are. They have solid bottoms and a hole in the top. The hole fits those really small hex wrenches.

First, a little back ground on how the E-Grip works.



As you can hopefully see, when the trigger is pulled, the switch is released. This activates a solenoid which propels a rod into the sear, tripping it and causing the hammer to fly forward into the valve, etc… Basically all we are really concerned about here is the switch release, because we can’t really control much of anything else.

The key point of understanding here is that the switch is released, not depressed as in most electro gun. The switch is actually “activated” while the trigger is at rest. The act of releasing the switch is what fires up the ‘noid. This creates a problem. As an example, the easiest and quickest way to speed up a timmy or matrix is to take the spring OUT of the gun and rely on the switch to provide the trigger return force. We don’t have that option here. The switch force is actually working with the trigger. Thus, you can abandon any thought of removing the trigger spring, you’re gonna need it at the very least to balance out the switch pressure.

Here are a couple more pictures to hopefully clear this up:







Setting The Activation Point

To have a nice trigger, you need to have a really short pull and you need a reliable method of creating it. The goal is typically a mouse click. Go ahead and click on your mouse. How far down did you have to push? A millimeter maybe? Well, I’ve gotten my A-5 to release the switch after about that must of a pull by literally shaving off and replacing part of the trigger. Now, there are other ways to do this. Evan Aris has a trigger job that is supposed to do this. I have no idea what he does. Pimpazz of these forums will do a trigger job for you. I have guessed at how he does it a couple times and both guesses have been wrong, so I have no idea what he does either. That said, I did it in the following way and found it to be exactly what I was looking for. The cost was under a dollar (for the grubscrew) and the activation is now adjustable to anywhere within the first few millimeters of the trigger pull.

First, I shaved off the little nub on the trigger that depresses the microswitch while the trigger is at rest. Then, I drilled a little hole where the nub used to be. Finally, I screwed in a grubscrew and, using the hex hole, adjusted the activation point to where I wanted it to be. Since the trigger is high-grade plastic, I did not have to tap the hole for threads. I did have to apply a little elbow grease to get the grubscrew in there, but it made its own threads once I got it going a little bit. Make sure, when you drill the hole, to use a bit slightly smaller than the grubscrew you will be using.

Here’s how it looks compared to a stock single trigger. You can see where the nub was cut off (a dremel would be great here, but I don’t have one… yet):





Setting The Trigger Stop

There are many ways to do this. Many of which can be found here. A member named bgredjeep provided excellent instructions for this as well in that thread. But, since it is part of the Ultimate A-5 Speedball Trigger Job , I will mention it here as well. Again, you use a grubscrew, though this time a longer skinny one, and screw it into the place where the trigger return spring goes. They make one that is the perfect length to be able to create the perfect stop point with a properly adjusted activation point. You want to find a spring that fits around the grubscrew loosely and make sure it’s very low tension—you really don’t need much.

Here is what mine looked like:




And here is a completed Ultimate A-5 Speedball Trigger Job :




Honestly, this trigger job puts the A-5 trigger pull right on par with that of my Matrixes. Crisp, short and consistent. Now if we can just do something about that kick...

Edit: pics resized upon by request of a mod. If they're too small you can go here to see them.

Edited by Investorguy

Removine and Re-Locating the E-Bolt Battery:

Here is a very easy diagram on how to do this mod.

All you need is:

1. Solder Gun.

2. Solder.

3. Extra Wire.

4. 30 Minutes.

5. Depends on how and were you mount it.

6. Maybe an LED Light.

Here is a diagram on how to do it:

So you wanna paint your marker....

 

Materials:
1.Steel Wool (optional)
2. Primer
3. Spray Paint
4. Clear Coat
5. Dermal (optional)
6. Tape (optional)

 

1. Field Strip your marker, take everything out so you
just have your receiver halves.

 

2. Use either a dermal or steel wool to strip off all the
paint off your marker (yes the stock tippmann black
or silver paint) be sure to get UNDER the marker and
the BACK of the marker (these are spots I almost
missed)

 

3. Wipe down your marker with a Wet Cloth to make
sure you get all the debris off of it, and to see if you
missed any spot where some paint might still be.

 

4. Tape off your internals so no paint will get on the
inside, cover all the holes and everything (this step is
optional)

 

5. Spray about 3-4 LIGHT coats of primer. Let dry. Go
back and see if you missed a spot and to be sure
both receivers are completely covered with the
primer.

 

6. Spray the spray paint on the marker, about 3-4
coats and let dry. Just like doing the primer but
colored. Make sure you got every where on the
marker. Make sure the coats are Light and smooth
on both receiver halves… let dry

 

7. Now, Spray both receivers halves with some clear
coat, make sure you cover the entire marker. Make
the coats light and quick. This should make your
marker look a little “shiny” and “smooth”… let dry

 

8. If your internals were taped off then they should
look fine on the inside. If they don’t or you didn’t tape
them off then get out your steel wool (EXTRA fine
steel wool) or dermal and polish up your internals or
just polish it up so the paint, primer or clear coat is
gone.

 

9. Put your newly painted marker together

 

10. Show off

 Pictures:



Another way to paint your maker is to use
Auto-motive paint. Get some sand paper and sand
down the paint on your tippmann (the stock
tippmann paint) just a little bit. Spray 3-4 coats of
primer on, then the paint and then the clear coat. The
process is the same just you didn’t sand off all the
stock tippmann paint. The paint will be much
“thicker” and it may be a little harder to install your
screws because of the thicker paint. Etc. Also it
tends to be “Mushy” and not as durable as the other
paintjob but it still turns out great!

 

Of coarse the paint is going to chip and scratch etc.
But just get some nail polish to touch up scratches,
cheap, your wife/girlfriend has plenty of them and
comes in a variety of colors.

 

Good Luck,

Ultimate Trooper

 

Disclaimer:
I am NOT responsible for you screwing up your
marker. These are steps and the exact way I painted
my marker. You are at fault for your own actions. PM
me for more detailed instructions..

 

Hopefully I will have pictures with a more
detailed step-by-step instructions too.

Edited by ultimatetrooper

Paintball Grenades

 

 

Paintball grenades are used most often in scenario games, and are also used often in recreational woods ball games. Although, not all fields allow the use of paint grenades, so before you go to the field with a box of grenades to play, check with the field owner to see if you can use them. They can be extremely useful when there is a large bunker with several people in it, that your paintballs cannot penetrate. Although, many people use grenades in situations like this, but do not do something correct, causing your 5 dollar grenade not to explode. Several things can be blamed for this.

 

1. You did not shake well before using. That is the number one problem. Not shaking the grenade usually results in it not exploding, but sometimes it may explode without shaking if you throw it very high.

 

2. Did not throw correctly. Many people throw their paintball grenades similar to a baseball just with a little arch. You need to lob it with a lot of arch.

 

3. You forgot t take a part off the grenade. I’ve seen people forget to take the pin out. Some people take the mesh off of the tube. Those people usually get better results.

 

Types Of Grenades

 

• Tippmann Squad busters. Too bad they aren’t as reliable as other Tippmann products.

 

• Bouncing Betty’s. Usually work without a hitch.

 

• Meteor Shower Grenades. What I think are the best on the market. Sometimes they are too sensitive and can go off in your pocket while crawling. With these, you can set them up as a trip mine, or you can throw like a normal grenade.

 

• Banana Grenades. I have never used any of these, but on my local field, I have seen them used and they are quite reliable.

Fine, I’ll admit it from the start. This is just another flatline post. And you are probably just another forumer looking for just another bit of info you probably have heard somewhere else before. I’m attempting to put everything I know, others know, and what you are looking to know (you clicked on the thread) into one place. That being said, take a gander!

 

What is the flatline?- The flatline is a curved barrel designed to add a large amount of range to your Tippmann 98, 98c, or A-5. It nearly doubles the range of an ordinary straight barrel. It has been proven to be the farthest shooting barrel on the market. With the flatline, you can aim straight at a target and not have to lob the paintballs to get it there. Nothing compares to the feeling you get when your opponent is lobbing paintballs which are landing harmlessly at your feet then you take one shot, a straight line, and nail him- flatlined!

 

How does it work?- The flatline barrel is curved upwards and has a rather rough interior. When the paintball is fired, it travels upwards, instead of straight, and falls victim to centrifugal force. The paintball starts to spin backwards inside the barrel and leaves the barrel in a straight line. The backspin creates high pressure above the paintball and low pressure below it, like an airplane wing. If the paintball was not subject to the forces of gravity, it would actually rise. The lift on the paintball counteracts the force of gravity and thus is travels on a flat line for a much longer distance. The paintball starts to lose backspin and begins to drop at around 200 feet but it will travel for almost 100 yards.

 

Cheapest place to buy one (that I know of)- http://www.edgepaintball.cjb.net/  where you can get it for $104. Of course, you can always get them much cheaper off ebay, but this site was recommended by another forumer as a good, trustworthy place to buy from

 

Length- 14 inches for the 98c, 9 inches for the A-5 version

 

Bore size- .692- large bore

 

Recommended velocity- the flatline can handle as low as 240 fps, but not much higher than 290. I’d recommend shooting between 260-280 fps for best results.

 

Recommended paint size- small bore paint works best, even though it’s a large bore barrel.

 

Recommended paint to use (taken from personal experience/others’ experiences)- The following “chart” does not necessarily include all types of paint, just the ones I figured were most common and/or that I picked at random without any idea if anyone actually uses them or not. So here’s the chart “key”- works very well, works fine, could go either way, not recommended, don’t let me catch you using this

 

32 degrees team color

Adrenaline

Brass Eagle Afterburner

Diablo Blaze

              Dusk

              Hellfire

              Inferno

              Midnight

Direct Hit

DraXxus Artic Inferno

              Midnight

Great American

JT Elite

     J-Ball

     Maxim

     Predator

Kingman Java Classic

                              Supreme

Nelson Anarchy

              Challenger

              Hot Spot

              Nel-Splat

Nitro Duck

Paintball Inc. Proball

              Proball Platinum

Paintball Junkies

PMI Advantage

              Black Maxx

              Evil

              Invader

              Mercury

              Premium

RPS All Star

              Attitude

              Big Ball

              El Tigre

              EuroFlite

              Evil

              Flash

              Invader

              Marballizer

              Polar Ice

              Premium Gold

              Slamball

              SuperSwirl

Tippmann Werks

Viewloader

Xtreem Aftermath

              Legends

              Pointblank

              Steel

Zap Advantage

              Performance Plus

              Primer

              Pro Series

              Pro European

              Select

              Sport

 

 

Installing the flatline- The first step to enjoying the flatline is installing it. Just screw it in like a normal barrel, right? Wrong. The flatline is anything but ordinary and that fact is shown best when you attempt to install it. Here are the verbatim instructions off the Tippmann website.

The A-5 instruction are located here- http://www.tippmann.com/support/manual/a5flatlinemanual.pdf

 

Basically what it’s saying is this- Loosen the three bolts, slide in the barrel adapter and oil the inside. Then slide in the barrel ( I put the barrel in first, then the shroud) and make sure it’s aligned straight. Now tighten the pinch bolt on the barrel adapter. The hard part in the installation is actually putting the barrel in straight. If you look on the top and back part of the muzzle break, you will notice a notch in the barrel a few mm across. Look down the front of the barrel and line that up with the crack on the marker where the two receiver halves meet. It should be at the 12 o’clock position. Now tighten the pinch bolt. I recommend going out to a safe area and firing 3 shots at something harmless (like a tree or cardboard target). If the shot grouping is not dead on from about 40 yards, loosen your pinch bolt and turn the barrel accordingly. I recommend scratching in your own mark, either on tape or on the barrel itself, once the barrel is installed correctly because the notch on the muzzle break is not necessarily where the center needs to be. Some people tend to hold the marker naturally at a certain angle. Align the flatline to shoot straight from this position, not up-and-down with the marker. 

             The plastic shroud is not needed for the performance of the barrel, but it does protect it. It helps keep dirt and mud out of the barrel adapter and it protects from the bumps and bruises a barrel would acquire during use.

 

How to clean the flatline- The most important step on your way to enjoying the flatline is installing it. The second is cleaning it. Think of the flatline as a high performance car. You want to treat it right so it’ll treat you right. The best way to prevent a ball break is to make sure the barrel is free of debris. Fill up a bathtub about a foot deep with warm water. Put everything- the flatline, the shroud, the adapter- into the water. Pour in a little soap, it doesn’t matter what kind, and let it soak for about 30 minutes. When you take it out of the water, dry off the shroud and barrel adapter. Take your squeegee and run it through the barrel about 4-5 times to get any last debris out. Let them sit inside (not outside in the sun, as it can weaken objects after an extended period of time) to dry.  

 

The cotton ball method- This is intended as a “quick fix” and should not be your main cleaning after a ball break. Take a baggie and fill it with about a dozen cotton balls. Then fill it with alcohol (not Sam Adams) so that it covers the cotton balls. Take it with you during play and when you get a ball break, unhinge the elbow, place an alcohol-soaked cotton ball in the chamber, and fire it out. When you fire it, aim to hit someone because the cotton ball will be covered in paint. Do this about 2-3 times. The alcohol will break down the paint and the cotton ball will carry it out. Like I said, this is only a temporary solution. A good cleaning after the day is over is a good idea.                         

 

"The balls curve up when the leave the barrel"- Nope. Not true, or atleast in the noticable sense. The upwards lift created by the backspin cancels out the downwards pull from gravity, allowing the paintballs to go further. It does rise a tiny bit, but a matter of millimeters. In general, they leave the barrel in a straight line and don't start going down until the upwards lift starts to slow (the spin slows) and no longer cancels out gravity. This was one of those myths that is based on fact but expanded to a bigger deal than it really is.

 

“The flatline doesn’t shoot as fast as other barrels”- The following will eliminate much reading- 280 fps is always going to be 280fps. If you’re too thick headed to understand that, how about an explanation?  The illusion the balls are traveling slower is just that- an illusion. Your eyes aren’t used to seeing a paintball travel for that far in such a straight line. Your mind assumes it’s traveling the standard distance but you see that it’s in the air longer. You thus conclude that it’s traveling slower. It is true that over distance the paintball loses speed, as with any barrel, but that’s something you sacrifice when you get the longer range. You just have to decide if it’s worth it to you.

 

“The flatline isn’t accurate”- With the flatline, you have a much greater engagement distance than with any other barrels. The flatline is very accurate at distances that other barrels can reach. It doesn’t compare to a Freak or an All American, but it can hold it’s own. The problem is, people think it should be just as accurate at longer distances. What they don’t think about is that the paintball is subject to the wind, moisture in the air, ect longer. The greater a distance it travels, the more it’s exposed. If there is a 5 mph wind coming from the left, it might blow a paintball shot out of a straight barrel to the right three inches from the aiming point by the time it hits the ground. The same situation would blow a paintball shot from a flatline off target by possibly a foot by the time it hits the ground. The flatline is still very accurate at “normal” ranges, but the farther the paintball travels, the more it’s affected by outside forces and the greater a chance is has of being knocked off target. Properly installing a flatline, as outlined before, will also make a huge difference in how accurate it is.

 

“You can’t shoot fast with a flatline”- It’s a problem of multiplication. The faster you shoot, the more paintballs travel through your barrel. The more paintballs travel through your barrel, the greater the likelihood that one will break. Let’s say Johnny Triggerhappy is shooting at 10 bps for 10 seconds. In that period of time, he’s shot 100 paintballs. Now let’s say the odds are that one in every 100 paintballs breaks (for that to be true, he’d have to be shooting with bad paint, but for simplicity’s sake, let’s say those are the odds). He’d be breaking one paintball every time he did this. It’s not that the flatline breaks balls, it’s that people shoot more and with bad paint. The reason the flatline seems to break so many paintballs is that it tends to be picky with paint, so the odds may worsen for you if you don’t pay attention to which type paintballs you use.

 

“The paintballs don’t break at the longer ranges”- This is false. Take a hammer and hit a paper plate on a stand (or parent). Now tie a rope to the end of the hammer and go hit a paper plate while swinging the hammer by the rope in a counter-clockwise manner. The second time should produce much more damaging results. A spinning paintball not only has the force from going forward, but the force from spinning upwards too. As a general rule of thumb- don’t expect the paintballs to break once they start to drop. But if you can hit the person in a straight line, your chances are good that the paintball will break on them.

 

Curving paintballs- You’ll find that by turning the flatline on its side, you can actually put a slight curve on paintballs. You can curve them around the edges of bunkers or other objects or you can turn the marker upside down and drop them over the top like a knuckle ball. This is due to the spin put on the paintball. When you put the marker on it’s side, the backspin becomes sidespin. You just have to mess around with it to get a feel for how much they curve. It’s hard to accurately predict where they will land when you curve them, but I have developed a pretty good method- I have fashioned a sight made from toothpicks to help me accurately place my shots when I decide to curve them. With the toothpick sight, I simply aimed at a spot 40 yards away and then watched where the paintball hit at 40 yards. I cut a toothpick on the barrel(keep in mind- the marker is on it's side right now)lying perpendicular to the marker when it's straight up, pointing towards where my shot landed. I did this for both sides. Think of the sights for a bow and arrow. That's kind of what it looks like.

 

The A-5 Flatline- The A-5 flatline works and acts the same as the 98c version. The concept behind it, and everything about it- curving balls, being semi-accurate at longer distances, the distance it shoots, ect is the same as the 98 custom version. The only thing that's different is more of the technical info like how to install it and the length.  

 

I hope this post helped. It has taken me about 2 weeks to write this up and gather information. I hope to inform many of the potential flatline users as to what, exactly, the flatline really is. I’ve tried to make my information as accurate as possible, but if you see an error, please feel free to correct me. I’d appreciate it very much.

 

Best of luck,

                     Rhino39

 

 

 

Effective Upgrading

1) When buying upgrades for your gun remember it is your gun, you have to ask yourself what do I want to change, not what the people on the forum want to change. You also need to decide what type of gun do you want,(ex. speedball, woodsball, scenario, etc.), answering this question will be key in buying upgrades.

2) It is mutualy agreed that stock barrels suck, most always the first upgrade to buy is a barrel, many people have varying opinions on this subject. Some popular models are Lapco Bigshot, J&J Ceramic, Flatline, Boomstick, and many more. Barrels also vary in price, they range from $35 to $150. Buget also plays a role in upgrading, however more expensive does not always mean better, I believe that a Bigshot is just as good as a Boomstick though there is quite a price difference.

3) The next upgrade is usualy air, you must decide if you are willing to pay alot for the superior Nitrogen, or if you are content with Co2. Most say nitro is better but all say nitro is more expensive so once again the old pocketbook comes into play. However if you do stick with Co2 you will definiantly want to buy a good expansion chamber, these help to keep your Co2 consistent and they keep liquid out of your gun.

4) After you have air and a barrel, you need to make a choice, what type of play do I want my gun to excel at. If you want a speedball gun you may want a drop forward or a fire power upgrade like an R/T and an electronic hopper. Maybe you want a woodsball gun so you get a scope or a remote line. You can also get upgrades for looks, like fake magazines and suppresors, many players get their guns painted, the posobilities are endless.

5)In my expirience 1/4 of the fun in paintball is upgrading and showing off your gun, however this can be expensive and frustrating. As you upgrade your gun remember that it is your gun and that there is no limit.

 

       -- For Honor

Edited by For Honor

A-5 Trigger Mods

here are a bunch of a-5 mods...

tell me what you think and, if there are any other good ones out there that i have quiet figured out yet..

ill try to get pics soo *done*

New* A-5 mod diagram

evil ----- out

 

here are a bunch of a-5 mods...

 

tell me what you think and, if there are any other good ones out there that i have quiet figured out yet..

ill try to get pics soo

evil ----- out

pen spring mod

things that you need

1. (1) pen spring (you might want more so that you can play with it)
2. (1) A-5

well its basicly what the title is. you get a clicking pen and take out the spring. now take apart the trigger assembly and take off the stock sear spring, and cut the pen spring to the same size as the stock's. if you want the pull to be a bit littler then how it already is. then cut the spring so that it just slides into the spacer and the sear without forcing it in. so the spring just drops in.

this will conclude to a lighter trigger pull

__________________________________________________________

maginet sear mod

things that you need

1. (2) rare maginets
2. (1) A-5

again the title is what the mod is. you bacily take to strong rare earth maginets and flip them so that the reple each other. the sear is steel so the maginet will just stick on the the sear without a problem. the spacer is a bit different. you should get a round rare earth maginet and a square earth maginet. the round one for the spacer and the square one for the sear. the round maginet can be forced into the space between the spacer. the other maginet can just stick to the sear. this is a great mod.

this will conclude to a even lighter pull. (aka walkable)

evil-98 wrote: there is nothing more that i can expanded on it. all you do is put a strong rare maginet on the sear (where the sear spring pushed up on) and one on the trigger spacer (where the sear spring sits) how can i be more specifc??

__________________________________________________________

trigger stop

things that you will need

1. (1) set screw or regular screw
2. (1) regular power drill
3. (?) assorted drill bits
4. (?) taps
5. (1) A-5

ok a trigger stop is a great mod. it means what it is. it stops the trigger, it stops the trigger from going any further then it needs to. when you pull the trigger you only need to pull enought to trip the sear to release the hammer. well on the A-5 the trigger stop is a big mod. it helps alot. all that you have to do is either drill a hole on the trigger guard near the bottom of the trigger (preferably). after you drill the hole then you tap it to a set screw measurement (preferably 8-32 1/4" or 3/8"set screw). or you can tap the RT hole to a regular screw and screw that into it. then drill a hole on the back of the frame so that you adjust it from the back. now for adjusting it. first cock the A-5 then slowly pull the trigger and at the point of fire adjust the set screw forward untill the A-5 Barly fires, then slow adjust backward so that it pulls with eases. adjust to your likings

this will conclude to a shorter pull

_________________________________________________________

sear mod

things that you will need

1. (1) small diameter straw (about the same size of the pin)
2. (1) slightly bigger then the first straw
3. (1) set screw (preferably 8-32 1/4"or 3/8"or 1/2"set screw what ever works)
4. (1) regular power drill
5. (?) assorted drill bits
6. (?) taps
7. (1) A-5

this is a mod that will either make or break (well not phsicaly break). there are two ways of doing this. you can either use straws, or a set screw. with the set screw is adjustible so it is better. but it is a bit harder, you need to drill and tap a hole on the spacer that holds the sear spring to an angle prefectly if you were to put a set screw there and you adjust it forward that it will push the sear upward when you push the sear foward like the hammer does(the set screw is what i mean by break, if you do it wrong there is no way of fixing the spacer unless you replace it). the other way is that you can cut a straw 1/4" long and put the straw with the same diameter on the pin that the sear rests on, then put the slightly bigger one over the smaller one. if you start to double fire then take the bigger one off. this will make the sear higher so that the pull is lighter and more snappie

this will conclude to a lighter and snappier shot

_________________________________________________________

pretravel mod (preferably with the sear mod)

things that you will need

1. (1) set screw (preferably 8-32 1/4"or 3/8" set screw what ever works)
2. (1) regular power drill
3. (?) assorted drill bits
4. (?) taps
5. (1) A-5
6. (optional) vise clamp and drill press)

the pretravel mod is to adjust the prefire of the A-5. this wil make the trigger pull very short preferably done with the sear mod. all that you have do is drill a hole where the trigger return spring so in the trigger or more further so that the trigger return spring can still work right. then tap it to the set screw. screw it all the way so that the set screw is hidden. then assemble it all back together. ok so with the sear mod there is alot of prefire movement. so adjust the screw upward a quarter turn at a time, untill it doesnt fires, then a quarter turn at a time downward so that it fires barly. adjust to your likings.

this will conclude to a shorter pull

_________________________________________________________

maginet return mod

things that you will need

1. (2) rare maginets
2. (?) super glue or some type of adhesive
3. (1) A-5

this is a simple mod that anyone can do. just go and but 2 round rare maginets and force on into the trigger spacer, and another that is reverse polarity. either cut the nub off of the trigger return spring of sand it down, and glue the maginet on. that is it

this will conclude to a longer lasting trigger return

_________________________________________________________

no slop mod

things that you will need

1. (1) sheet of very thin aluinum i.e. like hair line
2. (1) Dremel
3. (?) super glue or some type of adhesive
4. (optional) shear
5. house hold material

this is a pretty nice mod. all that you have to do is take the sheet of aluinum and trace out the trigger plate on to it(preferably smaller then the plate). then cut it out with a shear if possible. after that either drill or sand out the hole for the safety if you need to. then sand the trigger plates down with either 80-60 grit sand paper so that the glue will stick better. then you can glue the aluminum sheets to the out sides of the plate and use the Dremel to sand the inside of the A-5 down a bit so that the trigger assembly fits in with out any movement between the trigger assembly and the inside of the A-5. that is it

this will conlude to a less or no slop trigger

 

more too come!!! PM me for more info, and if you find any that i havent quiet figured out..

evil 

Edited by evil-98