Chrono rules debate with Bill Mills...
Okay, before the thread was closed we were having a good debate about chrono rules. I'd like to continue it. I've copied Bill Mill's and my posts on the subject. I know others had good input also, but this was enough work! 
Please repost your contributions. 
Please repost your contributions.
No, he required something that is required.
The proceedure for chronographing an RT valve paintgun with chronographs in common use today requires holding the sear back with the trigger then releasing fast and firing. This proceedure was defined by Airgun Designs and is accepted by major tournament series (NPPL, PSP, IAO, Pan Am, etc.)
This method is required to get a reading of the maximum velocity at which the gun will fire.
Since Frankie "Bag-o-donuts" was the chrono judge on the Shocktech field, and he knows the proceedure, he was requiring it.
If you do not use this method, the gun will chronograph at a velocity that is lower than the velocity it achieves while rapid firing. The alternative is using a chronograph that can measure the velocity of individual shots in a string. Due to cost and complexity, these are not in common use at most paintball tournaments (NXL is now using one) which is the reason AGD developed the hold and pull proceedure for the RT equipped 'mags.
To remove the trigger rod makes this method of chronographing impossible, and leaves a situation where a gun that chronos under 300 fps will shoot at over 300 fps during actual game play.
The problem arose because the gun was modified by the user from its original factory design (a part was removed.)
I have discussed the trigger legalities of the E-Mag with Bill Cookston, the Ultimate Judge for the PSP, IAO (and previously NPPL) and he's had no problem with the E-Mag trigger, as long as it was not adjusted down to the point where it became a runaway trigger in E, manual, or hybrid mode. As it ships stock, unless fed abnormally high pressure, the E-Mag is a legal gun. The problems arise when players tweak the trigger trying to get it close to the edge of what is legal. Sometimes they go past that edge. It seems silly to me that when someone takes a working, tourney legal gun, and then tweaks it to where it either no longer works (in the case with a lot of 'cocker tweaking that gives the gun a reputation of needing lots of work) or is no longer tourney legal, that they then turn around and blame the manufacturer and or tournament referees for the situation.
As for Meph's statement that a comparison of AGD to other companies who did have factory techs at the event by someone who didn't pony up the cash to pay for AGD to make an appearance... Why would paying for AGD to make an appearance come into play? The other paintgun manufacturers who did have techs on site didn't require players to pay a couple thousand dollars extra for their techs to be there.
As to where AGD does send techs, that's their business, IMHO. It doesn't make sense to send factory techs to an event where very few of their customers are. I don't expect them to show up at my local field where there are only a handfull of 'mags. Why should they go through the expense of sending a crew to service a similar number of guns anywhere else? IMHO, the dynamics of their market are changing, and there are probably more effective ways (both in terms of increased sales for AGD, and better support for their customers) than sending techs to every paintball tournament in the US.
See you on the field,
-Bill Mills
The proceedure for chronographing an RT valve paintgun with chronographs in common use today requires holding the sear back with the trigger then releasing fast and firing. This proceedure was defined by Airgun Designs and is accepted by major tournament series (NPPL, PSP, IAO, Pan Am, etc.)
This method is required to get a reading of the maximum velocity at which the gun will fire.
Since Frankie "Bag-o-donuts" was the chrono judge on the Shocktech field, and he knows the proceedure, he was requiring it.
If you do not use this method, the gun will chronograph at a velocity that is lower than the velocity it achieves while rapid firing. The alternative is using a chronograph that can measure the velocity of individual shots in a string. Due to cost and complexity, these are not in common use at most paintball tournaments (NXL is now using one) which is the reason AGD developed the hold and pull proceedure for the RT equipped 'mags.
To remove the trigger rod makes this method of chronographing impossible, and leaves a situation where a gun that chronos under 300 fps will shoot at over 300 fps during actual game play.
The problem arose because the gun was modified by the user from its original factory design (a part was removed.)
I have discussed the trigger legalities of the E-Mag with Bill Cookston, the Ultimate Judge for the PSP, IAO (and previously NPPL) and he's had no problem with the E-Mag trigger, as long as it was not adjusted down to the point where it became a runaway trigger in E, manual, or hybrid mode. As it ships stock, unless fed abnormally high pressure, the E-Mag is a legal gun. The problems arise when players tweak the trigger trying to get it close to the edge of what is legal. Sometimes they go past that edge. It seems silly to me that when someone takes a working, tourney legal gun, and then tweaks it to where it either no longer works (in the case with a lot of 'cocker tweaking that gives the gun a reputation of needing lots of work) or is no longer tourney legal, that they then turn around and blame the manufacturer and or tournament referees for the situation.
As for Meph's statement that a comparison of AGD to other companies who did have factory techs at the event by someone who didn't pony up the cash to pay for AGD to make an appearance... Why would paying for AGD to make an appearance come into play? The other paintgun manufacturers who did have techs on site didn't require players to pay a couple thousand dollars extra for their techs to be there.
As to where AGD does send techs, that's their business, IMHO. It doesn't make sense to send factory techs to an event where very few of their customers are. I don't expect them to show up at my local field where there are only a handfull of 'mags. Why should they go through the expense of sending a crew to service a similar number of guns anywhere else? IMHO, the dynamics of their market are changing, and there are probably more effective ways (both in terms of increased sales for AGD, and better support for their customers) than sending techs to every paintball tournament in the US.
See you on the field,
-Bill Mills
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