Stealth Modded Hoppers

Got mine in the mail today - a big surprise considering it was shipped out Saturday.  Hell, it was faster than something I had in state shipped to me via priority last week.

Anyways, I figured I'd put this up for you guys.  I applied it and have my hopper ready to go, ready for my friend to play with this weekend (since he is the one with the A5, not me).  We have a big senario on Saturday, and after playing I'll post up his review and my review of how it held up.  For now, we have my initial thoughts.  I apologize in advance for some poor pictures.

Horray! Stock A-5 hopper I had laying around:


Poof, taken apart:


Cleaning it up really good with soap and water so the adhesive sticks well:


Taking a look at the whole kit and seeing how it fits in before applying:


First two large pieces in:


First side done:


Second done:


Again, hopper.  Unsuspecting to those who don't know:


I found very little wrong with the actual installation.  As you may see, the first side I put together had some pretty large gaps, but none that should be big enough to allow the arc of a ball to enter so functionality wasn't compromised here.  Once I got a hang of how to apply them best and where to put them for ideal placement, the second side came out much better with smaller gaps and a cleaner look.  The only way I could really see anything here improving is making a numbered diagram and putting numbers on the back of the pieces for ease of application, but the average user should have no problem figuring out what goes where.  I didn't.

After all was said and done, I did a little bit of home testing.  First, I checked the new capacity of it, and measured it out to be about 175 balls.  A little reduced, but nothing serious.  It really doesn't matter all too much - it still holds more than a pod.

Second, I checked how well the sound-deadening worked by putting about 40 balls in and shaking it around.  The sound is greatly reduced (and when I say greatly, I do mean it).  The only time I could ever hear a ball is when one hit either the lid or the collar area with no foam (the part that actually goes into the Cyclone.  Because it will be in the Cyclone feed when playing, you probably won't hear the balls hitting against it as prevalently as I did just shaking it around).  You could also hear the balls hitting the uncovered areas where the screws actually screw into the hopper.  It wasn't too obvious, but it was still there.  Both the lid and these areas could be fixed with more foam - a circle to cover the lid (it could be an option, as some will probably still want to have semi-visibility through their lid) and maybe some small pieces to cover the screw area.

I'm pretty sure that covers everything I wanted to say.  Overall, it seems like a solidly functioning and easy to apply kit.  We'll get the full review this weekend as well as how the kit held up after a day of hard playing.

Hey there ctchofday. I do have one final opening for the A5, but someone's already contacted me about it, so their participation is pending. If it falls through I'll let you know and you can step up. Do understand however, that I want an honest review about this item to be posted here for others to read and for me to make improvements to my idea if need be. That's my fee. I'll let you know what happens man.

Edited by techietaichi - 06 June 2008 at 2:01am

That really hasn't been on my mind. First I want to see what people have to say about it. I have to get opinions before I get coin. Right now, I'm just having fun experimenting. Btw, what's your guys take on sound proofing the lid as well? I think I'm headed that way.

techietaichi wrote: Hey there ctchofday. I do have one final opening for the A5, but someone's already contacted me about it, so their participation is pending. If it falls through I'll let you know and you can step up. Do understand however, that I want an honest review about this item to be posted here for others to read and for me to make improvements to my idea if need be. That's my fee. I'll let you know what happens man.

cool thanks

techietaichi wrote: That really hasn't been on my mind. First I want to see what people have to say about it. I have to get opinions before I get coin. Right now, I'm just having fun experimenting. Btw, what's your guys take on sound proofing the lid as well? I think I'm headed that way.

As I did, yesterday my friend also noted the lacking of padding on the lid.  He said whatever gains were made were sort of negated by having an unpadded lid.

Anyways, I'll be sure to get on the review today and try to get his by the end of the week.  He isn't the easiest person in the world to contact.

techie, your pieces are a lot cleaner than borgs. what kind of material are you using?? size, and cost?? and where did you pick it up at??

Edited by im_new - 10 June 2008 at 3:52pm

Got mine in the mail yesterday, plan on doing lots of testing over the weekend. Just to get the full picture I plan on using the normal hopper filled at different levels, full, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 to see the effect on the regular hopper, then trying it with the Stealth version. Also testing it at different running speeds, jumping, etc. I'd do this now but this [very bad word] heat wave is a killer.

My I guess you'd call it "control" testing is going to be sunday morning, with sunday afternoon being testing during actual woods gaming. Can't wait to see the in-game effect.

hey were you gunna do a gravity feed set?? if so do you need pepole to test it?? if so im in.

ok so no gravity feed??