iii. Cyclone Upgrades
1. Lighting Rod
I’m not exactly sure what this does so if someone will chime in and do a quick write up about it that would be awesome! Thanks
-Marmaduke
2. JCS/Vortex Ratchet
There are currently two companies producing alternative, aftermarket ratchets for the Cyclone that will increase performance and allow your cyclone to shoot up to 20+ BPS. These ratchets are aluminum so they never need to be replaced. One of these is a must if you plan on shooting above 17bps using a WAS or APE board.
a. Vortex Mods (Courtesy of General Lee)
Modifying the Vortex Mod
It's really very easy, just follow the instructions that come with the vortex except for the section were you install the piston rod to the ratchet... here's my mod for that part...
Use a 3/32nd drill bit "or smaller" to increase the hole size on the piston rod. Only take off enough to make the pin hole a few thousandths larger
on the piston rod ONLY leave the Ratchet alone ... do this with your fingers NOT A DRILL this makes the piston rod to ratchet completely loose... without any drag at all .... you DON'T want ANY friction here.
Drag on the cyclone is very bad since it works with very little air anyway, any friction on these two parts will just make the Cyclone useless. I use White Lithium Grease on the moving internal parts... not the piston rod seal cup, it gets regular marker oil.. there are others that are better I'm sure, but since I clean my gun completely and quite often, I clean out the Cyclone and re grease it often too.
Final assembly instructions
when installing the sprockets to the axle... use a SMALL drop of Blue Locktite on the mounting screw. and only the screw that comes
with the Vortex Mod, the stock screw
will strip the threads.
insert the sprockets correctly, "they do go in wrong"...then when screwing them down (with Locktite)
STOP as
soon as the screw hits bottom this will prevent over tightening the sprockets against the bottom of the cyclone causing drag/friction.
Next ...
The bottom cap
4 screws
only tighten them enough to hold the cap in place,
DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN them either, they will cause drag on the ratchet to internal bottom of cyclone if over tightened.
I forgot to mention...
when attaching the piston rod to the ratchet ...
after drilling / reaming out, the piston rod with the drill bit "by hand"... insert the pin between the ratchet and the piston rod only enough to connect the two.
DO NOT let the pin stick through the bottom of the ratchet were it will drag on the bottom of the cyclone housing...
If all is done correctly and loosely with no drag/ friction.
your Cyclone will last a long time, shoot 20+BPS and never chop paint, except for cheap paint that cant take high speeds... most paint is cheap
Not to mention, you should always cut atleast 1 spring turn from the spring inside of the ratchet when installing the Vortex. (from Dirty_Durnal)
3. QEV Kit
You can know order a QEV (Quick Exhaust Valve) kit from Palmer that bleeds extra air from the gas line of the cyclone allowing it to feed faster. It’s about $15(USD) and replaces your stock hose and fittings. It will add and extra 3-5 possible bps that you can get out of your cyclone.
4. LP Hoses
You can the hoses usually reserved for if you were to run you’re A-5 on low pressure and install them onto your cyclone. It will let more air get to your Cyclone which will allow it to feed faster.
iv. Regulators/Expansion Chambers
Regulators (get this) regulate the air pressure that goes into your marker (no joke!). They also keep it much more consistent keeping your FPS more consistent. An Expansion Chamber is supposed to allow any liquid CO2 to turn into gas before entering your valve. Theoretically, this will cut down on velocity spikes.
1. Why NOT to buy an Expansion Chamber
Quote:
| Originally Posted by Palmer's Pursuit Shop Personally, I do not advocate the use of an expansion chamber at all. I prefer to use a tank that is filled to about 10-15% less than stated capacity. A slightly larger gaseous area will be had by the use of a remote setup, but the actual effectiveness of it is ambiguous, at best. This is another concept that is very difficult to explain but it boils down to the fact that CO2 requires a certain amount of pressurized gas as a "cap" to keep the liquid in a stable state. All an expansion chamber can really do is provide enough room to compensate for what is needed. The best way that I know to explain the relationship of pressure and volume/capacity is show the static pressures of a tank that contains different amounts of liquid CO2. This example is for a 20 oz. tank at 72 degrees F. ( the numbers shown are approximates but close enough to demonstrate the diminishing pressure curve as it relates to the fill state of the tank)
amount of liquid CO2 in a 20oz tank pressure 21 oz 1150 psi+ 20 oz 950 psi 19 oz 875 psi 17 oz 825 psi 15 oz 815 psi 12 oz 810 psi 6 oz 805 psi 2 oz 800 psiNote the diminishing pressure variance as the actual volume in the tank is reduced. There is one thing about CO2 that is very consistent and that is change. However, the changes are very consistent and very predictable. The trick to the effective use of CO2 is to be aware of what is going on and to operate within the nature of things.
An Expansion chamber can over expand the CO2 and reduce the saturation of liquid within the gas. So when you fire the ball, the gas has less potential energy when released. Therefore you must use more volume of gas with an expansion chamber. Another problem with expansion chamber is that once they fill up with liquid it's no longer an expansion chamber. Once Co2 is regulated under 600 psi it can no longer remain a liquid. Most remotes have a small hole, so they don't expand the gas too much. |
2. Palmer’s Stabilizer
The most popular regulator for the A-5, and IMHO, the best reg on the market, the Stabilizer is omni-gas ready. It eats liquid CO2 for breakfast and performs great on HPA. Easy to adjust and clean, the Stabilizer will help you fire at higher rates of fire with little or no shoot down and it makes CO2 behave. It is truly worth the price tag of around $110 associated with it. There are many ways to mount the stabilizer with the most popular being vertical. You use a Male Stabilizer to do this and screw it into the tombstone and then connect it to your bottomline. Some people choose to buy a female stabilizer instead and mount it so it replaces the stock bottomlone ASA. Others choose to mount a Female Stabilizer on an offset mount behind the cyclone and then run their marker off of a remote. Yet others use an Inline Stabilizer and run it through a stock or mag kit. A gauge can be added to the Stabilizer to show you the output pressure. If you plan on only using CO2, a dual regged (two regulators) set-up may be beneficial. If you are going to use HPA/LPA though, it can cause problems w/your recharge rate. Two regs are the max you want on a marker.
Male Stabilizer Set-Up: 
Female Set-Up: 
Dual Regulator (Male & Female Set-Up): 
h. Accessories
Accessories are things that you can add to your marker, but they don’t change the performance of your marker. An example would be a flood light, red dot sight, or a mounting rail. These are usually bought from a manufacturer. The
Underground Mod Shop offers some great services on custom work for adding rails or making custom shrouds for your Flatline, etc.
IV. Conclusion You’ve read what all the contributors to this thread and I have to offer. Once again, I am not responsible for any damage you may cause to yourself or your marker by doing anything in this thread. I can not guarantee the accuracy of everything so if you feel something needs to be changed, let me know or e-mail me. Thanks to everyone who has helped me with this and to all the Management on the A5OG and UMS for making the best paintball forums on the web. You guys kick serious ***! V. Other I’m reserving this area for anything that I feel that won’t fit anywhere else.a. Useful Websites
These are some great forums or paintball websites that I suggest checking out. Feel free to contact me if you want your site added to this list.VI. Games to Play Try out these great game types next time you’re out playing. Elimination - Eliminate everyone on the other team.
Center Flag - Capture the centrally located flag, take it to opponent’s base or arena gate.
Double Flag - Capture oppoonent’s flag, return it to flag station before they do the same to you.
Multi-Flag - Odd number of flags, say 7, capture randomly placed flags, return them to centrally located flag station, first team to place 4 flags wins. Players can carry no more than one flag at a time.
Alien - One guy is Alien, head start to hide. All others human with human ID (head flags). Alien shoots human => Human leaves game, removes head flag, re-enters as alien. Alien shot is out for good. Game ends when all remaining players are either alien or human.
Scalps - Each player has a “scalp” in his pocket, every man for himself. Shot player drops scalp and exits, shooter gets scalp (or tries to). Dead players regenerate. Game ends when one player has all scalps or, with time limit, has most scalps.
Escort - Air Force One is forced down, Secret Service must escort orange vest wearing President across field to safe house. Terrorists try to take him out. Good guys win by eliminating all terrorists or getting Prez to safe house. Terrorists win by shooting Prez. Prez has marker/can shoot.
Redcoats - No hoppers, reloads in pocket. Must stand abreast, march only in response to direct commands. No using cover, nothing but standing or kneeling to shoot (as commanded). When hit act out death. Straight elimination.
EDIT: The order to "Charge" and bayonet your opponent may be given at any time deemed fit by the commander. Medic - Each team has one medic with white head band. Upon being hit player calls for medic. If live medic touches he’s live. If medic hit he retires, removes medic badge, regenerates. No more regens for that team. Elimination.
Freeze Tag - When hit the player is frozen. If touched by a live teammate he’s thawed. Teammate must be more than 10 feet from frozen player for valid thaw.
Four Corners - Divide into teams with equal number of players (say, 3). Each team starts at a corner of the field. Team versus team. Hit => dead, go to graveyard in center of field. Once 3 dead guys assemble, markers up, move to any corner of field. Once corner touched => new 3 man team.
Bunker Assault - A few guys in a bunker, rest assault. Elimination.
Terminator - One player is the Terminator, who can only be taken out with a goggle hit. Humans are out when hit. Ends when the Terminator or the humans are gone.
Liquid Metal Terminator - One player is the Terminator, who can only be taken out if he takes himself out. Humans are out when hit. Ends when either the Terminator or the humans are gone.
Terrorist Bomb - A bomb is planted with a timer by terrorists, they defend bomb. Game ends when all good guys dead or bomb goes off or bomb defused.
Mercenary Tank - One tank, dedicated operator. Tank starts in center of field, neutral. First live player to touch it claims for his team. Tank raises appropriate flag, fights for that team. If tank knocked out, it lowers flag, waits for another live guy to touch it.
Tank Defend Flag - Center flag.two teams, game won by touching flag. Tank parked next to it, defends flag from both team. No anti-tank munitions.
Jailbreak - Two teams, one jail for each team: When a player gets hit, he calls himself out, and goes to his teams jail. He is not allowed to shoot from the jail, or escape from jail, until he is tagged by one of his teammates. Once he has been tagged, he is not only allowed to shoot, but he had better be shooting, if he wants to get out of the jailhouse alive! This game works well for several reasons: It gives hit players a hope of returning to the game, it also creates quite a bit of action during jailbreak atttempts. It can instantly turn the tides of the game around, if someone can get to the jail and free all of his eliminated teammates. The game ends when the opposite team is totally eliminated, or all in jail.
VII. Playing Safe Outlaw This is a guide to follow when playing outlaw to keep safe. As always, I am not responsible if you get hurt playing paintball. I am not responsible if you get hurt while following these rules. And with that out of the way, we can get started with some good rules to follow.- Designate a leader. This is the only person who can start games, and call masks off.
- After a game is over, no one can take off their masks until the leader checks and makes sure everyone has their safety on and barrel condom on.
- No shooting for any reason unless everyone has their mask on.
- Do not play near roads or where a pedestrian can be hit.
- If you see paint going into an area where it shouldn’t stop shooting. If you’re being shot at and see this, move so it doesn’t happen anymore. If all else fails, call yourself out. A bystander getting hit will ruin it for everyone
- Make sure everyone has their masks on before a game starts, even if they are outside of the playing area. Stray paint may find their eyeballs
- NEVER EVER play w/out chronoing all markers. A handheld chronograph can be purchased for $80(USD). If you divide the cost between everyone, you may only end up paying a couple bucks. A Chronograph is a must as paint traveling faster than 300fps is a serious safety hazard.
VIII. Glossary/Dictionary I have tried to include all the terms here as I can. It’s in alphabetical order. Please contact me to add anything you deem necessary.
a. Paintball Termology
- ASA: Stands for Air Source Adapter. This is what you screw your tank into
- Bottomline: Term used to describe an ASA position at the bottom of the grip frame.
- HPA: High Pressure Air
- LP: Low Pressure
- Marker: Politically correct term for a Paintball Gun. We use a marker to “mark” our opponents
- Opfor: Stands for Opposing Force
- RT: Acronym for Response Trigger