longi
03-30-2008, 02:50 PM
I got my first Automag in 1995 and was thrilled with it. It was the second gun i'd owned, the first being a Tippman Pro/am i bought in 1993. Since then, my Mag has evolved in many different ways and looks and has given me almost as much pleasure as my beloved Randy Rhoads signature Les Paul guitar! I've built 2 pneumag frames, i have a G-force frame on order, and i'm always running new tests on my Pneumag to gleen extra performance from it. And i'm doing pretty well. Recently though i've started to become somewhat frustrated, not with my Automag per se, but with recent events that seem to be conspiring against my enjoyment of my Retro valve to the point of me taking a (slightly) backwards step and re-commisioning my Classic valve for use.
One hopper and two pots! Let me explain. Since the exploding Stako bottle thing and someone who thought it would be a great idea to try fill his 3000 psi tank on a 4500 psi fill rig, que large bang!!! 3000 psi fills on all sites in the UK is now pretty much mandatory. So one hopper and two pots is all i get out of a 3000 psi fill. Great... :(
Recently i decided to buy an adjustable regulator to maximize the performance of my Retro valve. At the same time as i decide this, Centerflag go for a Burton and close. As do Nitro Duck. In fact, tried at least 10 manufacturers of adjustable regs and countless internet sites and many many phone calls to paintball shops/suppliers only to be told no one makes them any more. I since managed to get hold of a used Centerflag Dynaflow reg and two parts kits for it. And yes i know with a 3000 psi fill and a reg adjusted to around 900 psi, i'm going to be getting less than a hopper and two pots! :(
A month or so ago i read a thread in which TK said there would be no new AGD products. Fair enough, i already new this anyway so it was no suprise. I'm still tinkering around with my Pneumag so i'm not really bothered by this...Until now. Not because i'm a goodies whore, and not because there's anything wrong with my Retro valve, because there's not. It's just that for the first time my Retro valve feels like it's living on borrowed time. Why? Because adjustable regulators are not being made anymore. Sure it works adequately with a preset regulator, but i don't want an "Adequate" marker when the Reactive valve was designed to be a beast! 4500 psi fills on sites are not availalbe in the UK now, and from what i can tell neither are they all too available in the U.S.
A hopper and two pots...Remember that!
The silver lining for me in this, is that i tried my Classic valve in my Pneumag for the first time yesterday, just to see how it compares with to the Retro valve setup. Well i can tell it compares very favourably indeed, so much so that i'm looking at using the Classic valve as my mainstay setup in my Pneumag. The rate of fire is comparable with the "Off the shelf" components, only the trigger pull weight is different. The efficiency though is off the scale! It digs far deeper into the tank. At a rough guess i'd say i'll get around a hopper an five pots from a 3000 psi fill.
A hopper and five pots!!!
No contest then? Only i want to use my Retro valve. There's just something about the Reactive valve that draws itself to me.
No cake, no eatey!!
With the way paintball has evolved in the last 12 months starting with reduction of 4500psi fill down to 3000 psi fills, now would be a good time to release an updated version of the Reactive valve, not a cosmetic revision like the X-valve but a complete overhaul I know TK likes high pressure valves, but a new valve with a similar operating pressure to the Classic valve say 600-650 psi. A new valve that although it has a lower operating pressure, it is optimised for use with the preset regulators that are available today. By which i mean, it works like it would if you were using an adjustable regulator set to around 1000 psi in conjunction with an RT family valve. A valve that is designed so that a walkable trigger with no short stroking is a reality, rather like some people found when they added too many shims to their ULT/ X-valve combinations, though not a hit and miss affair. A valve that could also have a bouncy non tourny legal trigger if you wanted it to! A valve that also digs deep into the air tank.
You could say to me, "Why don't you just buy another brand paintball Marker?"
Why should i? What other marker other than the Cocker is as modifiable and as tweekable as the Automag? Electro markers are simply too unreliable to warrant me parting with my money. Mech it is. All the way, the only way. My Mag always works no matter what i throw at it. I will never change my brand of marker, it has stood me in good, nay great stead over the years. I only wish 4500 psi fills were still available, and adjustable regs were still being made, and all would be good....
Maybe i'm asking too much, maybe i've been spoilt , maybe i just think too much....
Ho hum...
One hopper and two pots! Let me explain. Since the exploding Stako bottle thing and someone who thought it would be a great idea to try fill his 3000 psi tank on a 4500 psi fill rig, que large bang!!! 3000 psi fills on all sites in the UK is now pretty much mandatory. So one hopper and two pots is all i get out of a 3000 psi fill. Great... :(
Recently i decided to buy an adjustable regulator to maximize the performance of my Retro valve. At the same time as i decide this, Centerflag go for a Burton and close. As do Nitro Duck. In fact, tried at least 10 manufacturers of adjustable regs and countless internet sites and many many phone calls to paintball shops/suppliers only to be told no one makes them any more. I since managed to get hold of a used Centerflag Dynaflow reg and two parts kits for it. And yes i know with a 3000 psi fill and a reg adjusted to around 900 psi, i'm going to be getting less than a hopper and two pots! :(
A month or so ago i read a thread in which TK said there would be no new AGD products. Fair enough, i already new this anyway so it was no suprise. I'm still tinkering around with my Pneumag so i'm not really bothered by this...Until now. Not because i'm a goodies whore, and not because there's anything wrong with my Retro valve, because there's not. It's just that for the first time my Retro valve feels like it's living on borrowed time. Why? Because adjustable regulators are not being made anymore. Sure it works adequately with a preset regulator, but i don't want an "Adequate" marker when the Reactive valve was designed to be a beast! 4500 psi fills on sites are not availalbe in the UK now, and from what i can tell neither are they all too available in the U.S.
A hopper and two pots...Remember that!
The silver lining for me in this, is that i tried my Classic valve in my Pneumag for the first time yesterday, just to see how it compares with to the Retro valve setup. Well i can tell it compares very favourably indeed, so much so that i'm looking at using the Classic valve as my mainstay setup in my Pneumag. The rate of fire is comparable with the "Off the shelf" components, only the trigger pull weight is different. The efficiency though is off the scale! It digs far deeper into the tank. At a rough guess i'd say i'll get around a hopper an five pots from a 3000 psi fill.
A hopper and five pots!!!
No contest then? Only i want to use my Retro valve. There's just something about the Reactive valve that draws itself to me.
No cake, no eatey!!
With the way paintball has evolved in the last 12 months starting with reduction of 4500psi fill down to 3000 psi fills, now would be a good time to release an updated version of the Reactive valve, not a cosmetic revision like the X-valve but a complete overhaul I know TK likes high pressure valves, but a new valve with a similar operating pressure to the Classic valve say 600-650 psi. A new valve that although it has a lower operating pressure, it is optimised for use with the preset regulators that are available today. By which i mean, it works like it would if you were using an adjustable regulator set to around 1000 psi in conjunction with an RT family valve. A valve that is designed so that a walkable trigger with no short stroking is a reality, rather like some people found when they added too many shims to their ULT/ X-valve combinations, though not a hit and miss affair. A valve that could also have a bouncy non tourny legal trigger if you wanted it to! A valve that also digs deep into the air tank.
You could say to me, "Why don't you just buy another brand paintball Marker?"
Why should i? What other marker other than the Cocker is as modifiable and as tweekable as the Automag? Electro markers are simply too unreliable to warrant me parting with my money. Mech it is. All the way, the only way. My Mag always works no matter what i throw at it. I will never change my brand of marker, it has stood me in good, nay great stead over the years. I only wish 4500 psi fills were still available, and adjustable regs were still being made, and all would be good....
Maybe i'm asking too much, maybe i've been spoilt , maybe i just think too much....
Ho hum...