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This is a frequently asked questions page for readers upgrading their marker from mechanical to electronic. Although different markers work different ways, the same general information applies to all.

General Questions:

Q: What is the difference between an electronic marker and an electropneumatic one?
A: Electronic markers have sears and drive springs, electropneumatics have a piston instead (no sear). Many mechanical markers can be converted to electronic with the installation of an electronic grip frame, which replaces the trigger and sear with a new trigger, sear, and a solenoid valve to move the sear.

Q: What is a [pressure] regulator?
A: This is a device that will reduce the pressure of the air going into the marker. This pressure is called input pressure. The regulator is placed somewhere between the marker and the tank. Most regulators are placed in the foregrip position, and also serve as such.

Q: What is input pressure?
A: All air that enters the marker exists at some pressure. Input pressure is simply the pressure that air exists at when it enters the gun. With unregulated CO2, this is around 800-psi (depending on atmospheric pressure, elevation, temperature, etc). All HPA tanks are regulated down to some useable amount, usually either 800 or 400-psi. Every marker is designed to function only at a specific range of input pressures. For instance, most Smart Parts markers function between 150-200 psi; stock Autocockers function around 550-psi; stock Tippmann, Piranha, and Spyders function between 750-850 psi. A regulator is used to drop the tank pressure down to whatever is necessary if the marker requires it.

Q: What is the difference between operating and pneumatics pressure?
A: Operating pressure is the pressure that is used to fire the paintball down the barrel. The marker's input pressure is often the same as its operating pressure. Pneumatics pressure, on the other hand, is the pressure leading into the marker's solenoid or solenoids (this is because most solenoids can only withstand about 200-psi before they start to leak). Pneumatics pressure is lower than operating pressure. For instance, your marker may have an operating pressure of 300-psi, with a pneumatics pressure of 90-psi.

Q: What is an LPR?
A: This stands for low pressure regulator, and is a special regulator which regulates pressure down to sub-100 psi levels. Some markers that use soleniods require the use on an LPR, others do not. For instance, your marker may have a regulator that allows it to operate at 400-psi, then it has an LPR that lets the soleniod operate at 80-psi. Some markers have built-in LPRs.

Q: What is a trigger microswitch?
A: This is a small component of the marker's on-board electronic circuit that all electronic or electropneumatic markers utilize. Basically, when this switch is compressed, the marker will tell the solenoid to fire the gun. Mechanical microswitches are actually pretty complex, and have many small intricate parts (this means; do not disassemble your microswitch unless you know what the hell you're doing).

Q: What is tank output pressure?
A: All HPA tanks have regulators on them to drop the pressure of the tank to useable levels. Most tanks are made as either high or low pressure, which will regulate down to either 800 or 400-psi respectively. Some other tanks are adjustable, however they are much more expensive. The importance of this is that tanks with lower output pressures then their operating pressure will not function on that marker. For instance, if you have two tanks, one with an 800-psi output and the other with an output of 500-psi, and you have a marker that operates at 800-psi, your high pressure tank will funciton on it but the low pressure one will not.

Q: What is the difference between primary and secondary regs?
A: The primary regulator is the first regulator between the tank and the gun, the secondary regulator is the second between them, and so on (however the vast majority of markers use at most two regs). If you have an HPA tank, it most likely will already have a regulator on it...this would be the marker's primary reg. If you then have another regulator on your gun that drops the pressure further, it would be the secondary reg. LPR's are generally not considered to be trituary regs, so don't bother calling them that.

Q: What is an ACE?
A: This stands for anti-chop eye; this is a special system that involves a small sensor to be placed in the wall(s) of the chamber to detect when a paintball loads. If the eyes have not yet detected the paintball in the chamber, they will not allow the marker to fire. This eliminates the chopping of paintballs in the chamber caused by the closing of the bolt through them.

Solenoid Questions:

Q: What is a solenoid?
A: In simplest terms, a solenoid is an electromagnet. An electromagnet is a magnet that excerts its attractive (or repulsive) forces against another magnet when supplied with a current of electricity (lamen). Said electrical current is supplied by a battery, carried within the marker somewhere. The solenoid on a paintball gun is a small piston that directs airflow to different parts of the marker when it is activated. It is the physical connection between the electronics and the pneumatics.

Q: What does a solenoid do for electronic markers?
A: In electronic markers, the solenoid actuates the sear behind the trigger to release the hammer. The hammer is blown back using excess air from the valve, where it will again become seated on the sear. The marker is now ready to fire again.

Q: What does a solenoid do for electropneumatic markers?
A: In electropneumatic markers, the solenoid actuates the movements of some variety of pneumatic piston to fire the marker. The piston may be part of the marker’s valve or it may be connected to the hammer.

Q: What is dwell?
A: Dwell is the amount of time the solenoid remains open, which usually translates to the amount of time the marker takes to fire. This number is usually less than 15 milliseconds.

Q: What is a spool?
A: The spool is the part of the solenoid that actually directs the air flow. It is the main moving part of the solenoid; it is the part with the o-rings around it. This is the equivalent of an Autococker three-way valve's shaft. Don't be confused with the term spool valve design, which generally refeers to a certain type of electropneumatic marker (one which only has one moving part, the bolt).

Q: How does a solenoid work?
A: Most markers use what is refeered to as a four-way solenoid (this is because the solenoid valve has two output ports and two exhaust ports). They are also commonly called five-way (one input, two outputs, and two exhausts) or even three-way (one input and two outputs). All three terms are interchangeable, however, so don't worry about it. If you are familiar with Autocockers you'll recognize the term three-way as the pneumatic valve that recocks the bolt. What these valves do is direct pressurized air to different ends of a pneumatic piston (commonly called the ram with Autocockers). In electronic markers, this pistion is connected to the sear, so it will push it up to fire the marker much like a mechanical trigger would. In electropneumatics, the piston will somehow fire the marker while the soleniod is open, then once it moves closed again it will discontinue the firing process and allow the marker to be recocked. I am being purposley vague here because some designs are different than others.

Q: How exactly do they work?
A: The actual means by which the device functions is extremely complicated, and takes several page lengths to explain. If you really wish to learn how it works then click here.

Q: How can soleniods break? or What happens when they break?
A: The most frequent solenoid malfunction is a leak. This problem is usually cured by disassembling the marker then putting it back together, because what usually happens is the internal seals within the solenoid become mis-aligned. The other main problem that soleniods have is when their spools simply no longer move, or when they don't move easily. This is usually caused by over or under-lubrication of the o-rings around the spool, however there may also be other causes.

Q: What is a blown solenoid?
A: If a solenoid is overpressurized too far, it will be permanently damaged and thus be referred to as "blown". The is the common term for when the solenoid’s pilot (one if it’s three functional sections) becomes damaged by the overpressurization, and will need to be replaced. Very rarely does a solenoid actually blow....just becuase your solenoid may be leaking doesn't mean it's blown.

Questions Asked Prior to Purchase:

Q: What kind of tank can I use with the gun I want? or What tank output pressure can I use with the gun I want?
A: You must use a tank that has a higher output pressure then the marker's operating pressure. So if your marker operates at 200-psi, you want a tank that outputs higher then that. Let it be said, though, that in that instance you would be better off using a tank with an output above 400-psi, because if the pressures are too close you will experiance flow problems. This is somewhat specific to the individual marker, though.

Q: What kind of maintenance can I expect with the marker I want?
A: Although this varies from manufacvturer to manufacturer, most markers require periodic re-lubrications of their primary o-ring groups (either grease or oil, however never both, this also varies between manufacturer). Some markers require next to no maintenance, whereas others suggest you do it before every day of play.

Q: Can I get an anti-chop eye with my marker?
A: Most electroneumatic markers currently have their own specific ball breech sensor system available. Some of them are readily-installable (such as Smart Parts or newer AKALMP markers), however others require modifications to the body (drilling of the holes where the sensors go, such as old Angels or AKALMP markers). So the short answer is yes, any electronic marker can use an anti-chop system, however the longer answer is some will require modifications first (and possibly new circuitry), whereas others only require only the installation of the actual sensor into the pre-drilled position.

Q: What are the advantages to an electronic marker over a mechanical one?
A: The use of the solenoid to move the sear allows for firing modes such as fully-auto or burst shots, so a general increase in fire rate and allow for shorter and lighter trigger pulls while doing it.

Q: What are the advantages to an electropneumatic marker over an electronic one?
A: This will give you increased consistency and reduced recoil in most cases, and far superior fire rates up into the numbers of 50 cycles per second and above. Although no loader could feed this rate, it is nice to have the availability. Some electropneumatic designs are extremely simple in comparison to other marker types, and are highly reliable as a result.

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