I've been a mag-owner and user for the last several years. My primary setup is a Tac-One with level 10 and ULT. The hopper I use is the Empire Reloader B (not the B2). This winter, I was at a scenario game and was having terrible paint breakage in the breach of my marker. I was rather confused about the problem since the level 10 was nicely tuned and bounced off my finger rather gently. The event paint was quite brittle and it was cold outside, but I was breaking paint during single-shots at the chrony. Under this condition, the paint should already be in the breach and shouldn't be capable of being chopped.
I didn't figure it out until some time later -- the level 10 was still tuned just fine, but the Reloader B was delivering a high-pressure "kick" to the paintballs for just an instant every time it activated. When the motor has wound the spring all the way on the Reloader B, it delivers this high-pressure kick directly to the paintball in the breach of the marker. With fragile paint, this can break the ball in the breach of the gun before the bolt even hits it. To demonstrate this yourself, turn on your reloader B without paint, set the pressure to level 2 or 3 (with decent batteries), block the impeller (rotating plastic in the hopper) with your finger, and firmly tap the back of the hopper near the LED with the other hand to advance the hopper. After doing this several times, the spring will be fully wound and you should feel a strong kick every time you advance it after this. This kick only last for a moment, and then the motor continues to drive for a bit longer with a lower force, but with a fragile paintball, the damage has already been done.
In my day job, I'm an embedded system designer, so I decided to rewrite the firmware for the microcontroller on my Reloader B from scratch. In my firmware, I eliminated the "kick" and made it load with a more consistent force. I also added all of the features that I want in a hopper (see below).
To perform the update, the existing board is used, one extra wire and resistor is soldered on, and the new firmware is loaded into the microcontroller. My firmware delivers many of the features of a new upgrade board while using the existing board. A quick comparison with the new Reloader B2 also indicates that it includes most of the features of the new B2 without requiring an expensive $79 board upgrade.
So to the point -- I'm curious to see if any other Reloader B users out there may be interested in buying this upgrade to get most of the functionality of a new B2 at less than half the cost of a B2 upgrade board. If so, please respond to this thread so that I can gauge the level of interest. The way I'm considering working this is:
1) You paypal me $30 + return S/H of $7.00 (checks may be accepted too)
2) You disassemble your Reloader B, remove the circuit board, and mail it to me. (Note: I will not be responsible for shipping damage - pack it well)
3) I modify it by soldering on the neccesary wire.
4) I reprogram it with my new firmware
5) I mail it back to you
6) You reassemble your hopper and enjoy the new features
I'm not taking orders yet, but would like to know how many people are seriously interested. I may work a special deal for the first couple of people to respond. Possibly something like only charging shipping and handling so that a few people can try it and report back to everyone that it is legitimate and does what I say it does.
SYNERGY Firmware -- THE NEW FEATURES:
--------------------------------------------------------------
1) User-selectable force-feed pressure (6 settings).
Choose the level of pressure that the hopper exerts on the paintballs to suit your current circumstances. If the paint you are using has a fragile shell and it's cold outside, select a light force to prevent the hopper from breaking paint in the breach of your gun. If the paint has a harder shell and you plan to be really hammering it out, select a higher level of force.
2) Consistent force-feed pressure.
The firmware tracks the battery's voltage level and adjusts the motor drive to maintain a relatively consistent level of force -- even as the battery voltage drops. This feature is very important as it allows you to set the level of force you want once. The hopper then attempts to maintain that level without further user intervention. This feature is a must-have when you are in the field all day, such as at scenario games.
3) User-selectable sound activation intensity (6 settings).
Choose the intensity of sound required to activate the loader. This allows you to customize the hopper to respond to the sound of your marker and not the sounds of battle around you. Battery life is extended by preventing the hopper from attempting to load paint when it detects sounds other than your marker firing. It also insures that the hopper can be configured to be used with "quiet" guns.
4) Battery-saving idle mode.
The firmware uses several techniques to reduce the amount of battery power used between shots. This extends battery life, and is particularly useful for scenario players who may be in the field all day.
5) Battery strength indicator.
During the power-up sequence, the hopper reports the strength of the batteries. It indicates if they are fresh, partially discharged, or depleted (i.e. should be changed immediately).
6) Manual motor activation.
The hopper motor can be manually activated by momentarily pressing the pushbutton.
7) Hopper LED "heartbeat".
The LED flashes briefly once every 5 seconds so that you can tell the hopper is powered on. This feature may be deactivated for night play.
8) "Night mode".
You can select this mode to disable the LED heartbeat. It is particularly useful for night play during scenario games when any light may give away your position.
9) Automatic power-down.
If the hopper doesn't detect a shot or isn't manually advanced for 2 hours, it automatically powers-down. This saves the batteries in the event that the user forgets to manually power-down the hopper.
Thanks,
bit-wizard
I didn't figure it out until some time later -- the level 10 was still tuned just fine, but the Reloader B was delivering a high-pressure "kick" to the paintballs for just an instant every time it activated. When the motor has wound the spring all the way on the Reloader B, it delivers this high-pressure kick directly to the paintball in the breach of the marker. With fragile paint, this can break the ball in the breach of the gun before the bolt even hits it. To demonstrate this yourself, turn on your reloader B without paint, set the pressure to level 2 or 3 (with decent batteries), block the impeller (rotating plastic in the hopper) with your finger, and firmly tap the back of the hopper near the LED with the other hand to advance the hopper. After doing this several times, the spring will be fully wound and you should feel a strong kick every time you advance it after this. This kick only last for a moment, and then the motor continues to drive for a bit longer with a lower force, but with a fragile paintball, the damage has already been done.
In my day job, I'm an embedded system designer, so I decided to rewrite the firmware for the microcontroller on my Reloader B from scratch. In my firmware, I eliminated the "kick" and made it load with a more consistent force. I also added all of the features that I want in a hopper (see below).
To perform the update, the existing board is used, one extra wire and resistor is soldered on, and the new firmware is loaded into the microcontroller. My firmware delivers many of the features of a new upgrade board while using the existing board. A quick comparison with the new Reloader B2 also indicates that it includes most of the features of the new B2 without requiring an expensive $79 board upgrade.
So to the point -- I'm curious to see if any other Reloader B users out there may be interested in buying this upgrade to get most of the functionality of a new B2 at less than half the cost of a B2 upgrade board. If so, please respond to this thread so that I can gauge the level of interest. The way I'm considering working this is:
1) You paypal me $30 + return S/H of $7.00 (checks may be accepted too)
2) You disassemble your Reloader B, remove the circuit board, and mail it to me. (Note: I will not be responsible for shipping damage - pack it well)
3) I modify it by soldering on the neccesary wire.
4) I reprogram it with my new firmware
5) I mail it back to you
6) You reassemble your hopper and enjoy the new features
I'm not taking orders yet, but would like to know how many people are seriously interested. I may work a special deal for the first couple of people to respond. Possibly something like only charging shipping and handling so that a few people can try it and report back to everyone that it is legitimate and does what I say it does.
SYNERGY Firmware -- THE NEW FEATURES:
--------------------------------------------------------------
1) User-selectable force-feed pressure (6 settings).
Choose the level of pressure that the hopper exerts on the paintballs to suit your current circumstances. If the paint you are using has a fragile shell and it's cold outside, select a light force to prevent the hopper from breaking paint in the breach of your gun. If the paint has a harder shell and you plan to be really hammering it out, select a higher level of force.
2) Consistent force-feed pressure.
The firmware tracks the battery's voltage level and adjusts the motor drive to maintain a relatively consistent level of force -- even as the battery voltage drops. This feature is very important as it allows you to set the level of force you want once. The hopper then attempts to maintain that level without further user intervention. This feature is a must-have when you are in the field all day, such as at scenario games.
3) User-selectable sound activation intensity (6 settings).
Choose the intensity of sound required to activate the loader. This allows you to customize the hopper to respond to the sound of your marker and not the sounds of battle around you. Battery life is extended by preventing the hopper from attempting to load paint when it detects sounds other than your marker firing. It also insures that the hopper can be configured to be used with "quiet" guns.
4) Battery-saving idle mode.
The firmware uses several techniques to reduce the amount of battery power used between shots. This extends battery life, and is particularly useful for scenario players who may be in the field all day.
5) Battery strength indicator.
During the power-up sequence, the hopper reports the strength of the batteries. It indicates if they are fresh, partially discharged, or depleted (i.e. should be changed immediately).
6) Manual motor activation.
The hopper motor can be manually activated by momentarily pressing the pushbutton.
7) Hopper LED "heartbeat".
The LED flashes briefly once every 5 seconds so that you can tell the hopper is powered on. This feature may be deactivated for night play.
8) "Night mode".
You can select this mode to disable the LED heartbeat. It is particularly useful for night play during scenario games when any light may give away your position.
9) Automatic power-down.
If the hopper doesn't detect a shot or isn't manually advanced for 2 hours, it automatically powers-down. This saves the batteries in the event that the user forgets to manually power-down the hopper.
Thanks,
bit-wizard
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