Ultimate Resource Thread
 

So i had some extra time, so i decided to make this post for everyone, whos asking what is a good "________" or some vs. threads Most of this i did not write, i found from other sources. I compiled this because there have been alot of newer posters who tend to have some of these questions. I tried to stay away from what stuff is already posted on Otters Site...

This may take a few posts.
INDEX:
Part ONE: Ultimate Upgrade List
Part Two: What should i upgrade first?
Part Three: Zomg What does this part do?
Part Four: How Do I Start A Team?/How Do I Get Sponsors?
Part Five: Anodization?
Part Six: Why am I Chopping?
Part Seven: Graphs, Charts, and Other Visual Aids.

Part ONE:
Ultimate Upgrade List

There is no specific part you "should" get next. It is all dependent on what you want your gun to do. If you want more accuracy, a good barrel that matches the paint you plan on using is a great choice. If you are looking for a greater range for your gun, do not listen to anyone that tells you a barrel will improve range. 280fps is always 280fps, the only way of increasing range is by lobbing shots. If consistancy is the name of the game, sometimes the best upgrade is a HPA system. Shot to shot, you will notice an increase in accuracy and grouping and you wont have velocity spikes during rapid fire, anymore. I have never heard of anyone that regreted getting a HPA system. It you want to fire faster, a new switch and trigger are a great way to go, or if that isn't enough, get a new board, like the t-board. It is all up to you. Many of the upgrades I have listed, and many of those that you will find, need supporting upgrades to work optimaly. Just have fun, and upgrade based on what your style is.


Good links:

http://www.ottersccustoms.com/upgrade.html
www.zdspb.com
www.pbreview.com
-Parts-

THIS IS JUST A LIST. RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BUY: SOME OF THESE ARE NOT THE BEST UPGRADES.

Bolts
-32* (aluminum, venturi)
-ACI (aluminum, venturi)
-APM Tigershark (nylatron) $15
-AKA Lightning (aluminum) $53
-Bad Habitz (delrin)
-Bandit (delrin) $45
-Bob Long Cyclone (aluminum, venturi)
-Catagory 5 (delrin)
-Check It Products Full Force Delrin 10-32, Icepick $30
-Eaglelox's Polarbear ($45)
-Eaglelox's Sunbear ($30)
-Evil (delrin) $35
-Jam (CenterFlag) anti-chop (delrin) $50
-Kapp $33 (delrin)
-Kingman ACS bolt (delrin or aluminum) $30-40
-New Designz EQ (delrin) $36
-Off the Break Blind anti-chop (delrin) $30
-Orange $50-60
-Spudnuk'l (nylatron) $25-$30
-Superfly (shorty, quick strip, long, side, top) (derlin and aluminum)$35-$40
-Modified stock (polished,cupped,removed venturi)

Cup Seals
-NW Black Magic Cup Seal $6
-LAPCO cup seal $5
-Kapp cup seal $.50

Feednecks/Vertical Elbows
More info about feednecks!
-ACI (Phat) (slip-on) $17
-ANS (holes/no holes) $20
-Check it Products Slip on (slip-on) $13
-Check it Products Clamping (slip-on) $25
-Check it Products Spyder to Impulse feed adapter $15
-Check it Products Spyder to Impulse and low rise clamping neck (holes) $35
-Chipley Custom Machine (slip-on) $35
-Custom Products (holes/no holes) $20
-Evil Smokestack (slip-on) $23
-Hybrid (holes/no holes) $20
-Kapp (slip on)
-Kingman Java (slip-on) $20
-LAPCO (holes/no holes/slip-on)$30
-NW Paintball Products (slip-on) $30
-New Designz Low Rise (holes/no holes) $33
-Q-Lock Neck $40
-Trinity Painball Bad Habitz (slip-on) $25
-Vaporworks (holes/no holes) $28
-War Machine Paintball (slip on) $25
-crappy plastic one $4

Low Pressure Chambers/Volumizers
-32* Rocket $17
-ACI $17
-Kapp
-New Designz $22
-Shocktech $15
-System X $13
-Twisted $25

Regulators

Value - Stock Autococker Reg, WGP Ergo Reg
Mid End - Bob Long Topedo Reg, PMI THOR reg
High End - CP Reg, AKA Sidewinder Reg, AKA 2Liter Reg, Palmers Stabalizer

The ONLY c02 Friendly Regs

Stock Cocker Reg/WGP Ergo Reg
AKA Sidewinder Reg
Bob Long Torpedo Reg
Palmers Stabalizer Reg

Spring and Shim kits
-32* (3 main springs, 3 valve springs for compact body, 3 for full) $8
-Check it Products (6 main springs) $14
-NW (4 main springs) $10
-NW (6 main springs) $12
-Maddmann (3 main, either 1 or 3 valve, 1 trigger return, 1 sear spring) $10
-Shocktech (4 main springs)
-Shocktech Shim Kit (6 shims, 10 fps intervals) $20

Strikers
-Apocalypse Customs Paintball Magnum Striker 16g (n/a)
-Check it Products Low Pressure Striker (n/a)
-Dark Horizons Titanium striker (with e-frame mod? with ottersc mod?) 36g $40
-Eaglelox's Night striker 37g $30 (http://www.insanepainsports.com/)
-Eaglelox's Night stiker XL 26g $45
-modified stock striker (polished, cupped?) 65g

Trigger Frames
*Mech
-Dye double or single trigger .45
(Benchmark double trigger .45)
(Bob Long double trigger .45)
-Trinity Paintball Bad Habitz $50
-Stock (trigger jobs...)

*Electro
(-Centerflag Hyperframe)
(-Dragun M92)
(-Kingman Sprint $60)
(-Kingman ESP (dip switches)
(-Kingman ESP IPI 3.0)
-Kingman ESP CAMD $90
-Kingman Rocking Trigger Frame $120 (empty), $230 (with board, etc.)
-Pathogen frame $40 (looks like a Centerflag clone?)
(-Boo-Yaah ELCD)
(-Mako Storm)

Mech Triggers
-Kingman $17
-K&K ring trigger $20

ESP Boards (http://www.ottersccustoms.com/eye-board.html)
(-IS Board (break beam) $70 http://www.terminalerr.com/)
-T-Board (break or bounce) $60 http://www.scenariodreams.com/
-T-chip upgrade $20
-Ramping chip?
-XSF Advantage Spyder Kit $124 http://www.xsfadvantage.com/

ESP Triggers
-Apocalypse Customs Paintball Slasher $22.50
-Apocalypse Customs Paintball Thrasher $22.50
-Apocalypse Customs Paintball Lexblade $20
-Bad Habitz $23
-Check it Products Sweet Spot $15
-Jet City Specialities dual trigger, $30
-Jet City Specialiteis blade trigger, $30
-Shocktech blade trigger $22
-Sun Dragon $25
-Stock (sanded, polished, cut?)

ESP grips
-APP Stikeez $16
-Custom Paintballs Pewter grips, $60 http://www.custompaintballs.com/Grips.html -Dye Stickies $23
-Zap's Mad House http://www.zapsmadhouse.com/

Valves
-32* Turbo/Magnaport $25
-AKA Tornado $
-Evil $25
-Extreme Rage Omega $35
-New Designz High flow valve/pin $23
-Maddman Rocket $30
-Taso Turbo
-Modified stock (drilled, sanded valve pin)
-Bandit Bolts

Most of these things are common around the Buy/Sell/Trade Section, I can upgrade the list and add more stuff if anyone wants me to edit this post....

Re: Ultimate Resource Thread
 

Part Two:
What should I upgrade first?

Props to my man Tim for editing this.

Upgrading a Spyder is a very simple process, but can be confusing at first. Here are some suggestions of upgrades and why. I have also put these upgrades in order of importance. There might be a couple that others might suggest first, but these are again in my opinion of importance. I would also like to say that you should never upgrade or spend too much on you Spyder if it will prevent you from playing. That is first of all the reasons why you upgrade: to play.

1) The Barrel. Most stock Spyder barrels are never the best option when looking at barrels. Barrels are usually the first upgrade to be made by most Spyder owners. A few commonly recommended barrels are the J&J Ceramic barrel, any Smart Parts, any CP, or DYE barrels. All of these barrels are excellent choices. Most ballers on a budget go with the J&J ceramic barrel or a CP. If you are not on a budget you can go with either of the four different branded barrels. It has been my experience that all barrels perform about the same, only main difference being that the J&J is cheaper, that the DYE and SP barrels come in other colors than black, and the micro honing is affected by their price (i.e. the more expensive the barrel, the more time spent on it).

2) The Hopper. When talking about hoppers it is always a best to be not partial, I will try. It is recommended that a person get a good electronic hopper, as this will allow you to have a somewhat steady flow of balls in your Spyder and therefore avoiding chops. Here are a list of hoppers in no particular order.The eVLution & eVLution II, the Revolution, Halos, Reloaders, the Fasta, and the Apache. There is much debate on what hopper is the best. My suggestion is try them out, see what you like and see what you can afford. I will say that it is good to invest in a good hopper because it is one of the few things that you actually put on another marker. It should also be noted that there are various upgrades that can be done to the hoppers themselves, I suggest looking in the Hopper forum on PBN if interested in more information.

3) The Switch and Trigger. I have put these two together because they help achieve the same goal, getting the max out of your stock board. The switch is the little nub/box that is located right behind the trigger. When the switch is pressed by the trigger, the switch releases the sear and the sear releases the hammer which allows for a shot to be fired. The stock switches on Spyders are 250g switches. This means that it takes a weight of 250g to activate the switch. This may seem like a small amount of weight but it can mean the difference of how many balls per second you can shoot. These switches come in many other weights. The most commonly uses switches are the 50g and 25g lever switches. Personally, the 25g switch has a lot of bounce on occasion if you pick out the normal style. The lever action style reduces this a lot, but some mechanical bounce still might occur. It really comes down to personal preference. The switches can be found pre-soldered at www.scenariodreams.com, www.xcustoms.com, and from drefish99 on this forum. These switches are also available at your local Radio Shack, but those require soldering. As for triggers, there has been a recent surge in triggers available for Spyders. Here is a list of manufacturers of some awesome triggers (be sure to check with each of them to see if they are compatible with your marker): any ACP, Check It Products Sweet Spot, Sundragon magnetic, and Shocktech.

4)The grips. This isn't really a performance upgrade but more of a comfort upgrade. Some don't see the point in upgrading this particular part of the marker... However, "a comfortable hand is a well shooting hand." You can decide that for yourself. On many Spyders the grips that come stock on the electronic trigger frame are usually flimsy and do very little to protect the electronics. I personally would definitely recommend getting new grips. In my opinion, the best grips in both feel and looks are the DYE Stickie grips. These grips come in various colors, but more importantly allow you to get a firm grip on to your marker. They're much like the hogue grips used on modern day firearms, and the more you sweat, the more they stick to your hands. This upgrade -- again -- will not improve your guns performance, and is only for comfort and protection of your electronics.

5) Compressed air. Most people when starting to play will use C02 as their air source. Compressed air is just that, air. Air is recommended over CO2 for many reasons. First of all, air is more consistent than C02. C02 is most of the time a liquid and needs time and space to expand into its gas form. More consistency in air means less chops and a more constant speed in your marker, which contributes to accuracy since the shots will be placed generally the same distance away from you. Compressed air will also allow you to play during cold weather, whereas C02 usually freezes up and will not function properly. C02 can also cause damage to your markers internals and o-rings because of the coldness of the gas. Air is clean, constant and reliable. I will say that compressed air tanks are not cheap, and have seen some start at $40 and climb up from there. They're pricier, but well worth it. Again, this is one of the few items that can be put on another marker later on.

6) Feed necks. Feednecks that usually come on Spyders straight-out suck (with the exception of the VS neck, those are pretty good from my experience). Spyders usually come with a plastic elbow that has clamp on both sides: one side to clamp to your marker and the other end clamps on your hopper. This usually results in having your hopper a good 5" above your marker. Although this all preference, most people prefer to have the hopper be as low as possible. This will allow the player to get a better shot without getting shot in the hopper themselves. Just like triggers, there has been a sudden surge of companies making feednecks for Spyders. There are also various methods that a feedneck can use to keep a loader on. There are twist-lock feed necks, cam-lock feednecks, hex-lock feed necks, and adapters. There are various others that I can't remember now. Companies that make good aftermarket feednecks are New Designs, Trinity paintball, Lapco, Hybrid, Check It Products and Phat performance. Be sure to ask which one would fit your marker; there are two styles: feedneck with ears with no holes and feednecks with holes in ears. Just ask them nicely, and I'm sure they will be happy to answer your every question.

7) The Bolt. The bolt is basically what propels the ball from your marker and into your opponents' face mask. There are many bolts available. Most are made of a delrin or other plastic type materials. If upgrading from the stock aluminum bolt, it is recommended to go with a delrin, teflon, nylatron, or other plastic type material bolt. This will prevent scratching in the chamber and most likely is lighter, therfore increasing your cyclic time. There are also other types of bolts that help in preventing chops. One of which is the Kingman ACS bolt and the other being the JAM bolt. Out of these two most people recommend the JAM as the Kingman requires some breaking in of the internal spring. This is done by compressing and decompressing the spring a high number of times (200-500 is usually the number I find).

Re: Ultimate Resource Thread
 

Part Three:
zomg what does this part do?



Part: Feedneck
Purpose: Hold the hopper
Location: On top of the body near the barrel. Sometimes at a powerfeed angle, about 45*
Modifications: Hole drilled into the side for blowback relief
Upgrade result: Lower, clamping feednecks

Part: Barrel
Purpose: Guide paint accurately
Location: Top tube, in front of everything else
Modifications: None
Upgrade result: More accurate, lighter, quieter

Part: Body
Purpose: Hold gun together
Location: Right in the middle, where everything is connected
Modifications: Milling
Upgrade result: Higher tolerances, milling

Part: Bolt
Purpose: Propel the paint using the air traveling through it
Location: Inside the top tube of the body
Modifications: Curved inner lip, venturi removal
Upgrade result: Lower operating pressure, less wear, less chops

Part: Frame
Purpose: Release the striker, allowing a shot
Location: Under the body, behind the v/a
Modifications: Board, switch, grips, trigger, shimming the solenoid, polishing the sear
Upgrade result: Higher BPS, lighter trigger pull, comfort

Part: Striker
Purpose: Hit the valve pin, allowing a cycle
Location: Inside the body, in the lower tube, between the valve and the velocity adjuster
Modifications: Cupped face, mill unnecessary meat, polishing
Upgrade result: Less kick, lower operating pressure

Part: Cup seal
Purpose: Seal the valve, ending the cycle
Location: On the valve pin, in the body in the bottom tube, near the valve
Modifications: None
Upgrade result: Never needs to be replaced

Part: Valve
Purpose: Distribute air through the marker, to the striker, bolt, and cup seal areas
Location: In the bottom tube, in between the v/a and the striker
Modifications: Drilling bigger hole
Upgrade result: Lower operating pressure

Part: Regulator/expansion chamber
Purpose: Regulate air/let co2 to expand
Location: Underneath the v/a
Modifications: None
Upgrade result: Lower operating pressure, consistency, nicer feel, no liquid co2

Part: Valve pin
Purpose: Guide the cup seal, get hit by the striker
Location: On cup seal, inside valve, lower tube, and body
Modifications: Mill down unneeded parts
Upgrade result: Lower operating pressure

Part: Main spring
Purpose: Launch the striker
Location: In the bottom tube, partially in the striker and velocity adjuster
Modifications: None
Upgrade result: Lower pressure, adjustable dwell

Part: Valve spring
Purpose: Push on the cup seal and valve pin, insuring no cycles happen until the striker hits the valve pin
Location: In the bottom tube, partially in the v/a, on the cup seal
Modifications: None
Upgrade result: Lower pressure, adjustable dwell

Part: Vertical Adapter
Purpose: Connects the reg/x chamber to the valve area, holds lpc in, stores air, holds valve spring
Location: In between the lpc, reg, and valve
Modifications: Drilling flow holes to a bigger diameter
Upgrade result: Lower operating pressure, 15* more ergonomic

Part: Low pressure chamber
Purpose: Store extra air
Location: On the v/a, towards the front of the gun
Modifications: None
Upgrade result: Faster cycling

Part: Detent
Purpose: Keep paint from rolling out of the barrel, stop double feeds
Location: On the side of the body, near the feedneck
Modifications: Dual detents
Upgrade result: No double feeding

Re: Ultimate Resource Thread
 

Part Four:
How Do I Start A Team?/How Do I Get Sponsors?



Starting a team is a great way to have fun in the sport, as well as to learn the sport, and meet new people. To start, i have a few steps:

STEP 1: Organize 5 to 15 paintballers you know and trust. Everyone should have his or her own equipment.

STEP 2: Play together and talk about organizing a team. Do you all have similar motivations and expectations?

STEP 3: Decide on a captain and a name for your team. The captain should be the most organized player, and a good leader, not necessarily the best player.

STEP 4: Find a 'Home Field' to practice at. Here could be your first potential sponsor, and you should get to know the people.

STEP 5: Play in local Tourneys, get your name out, as well as have fun. But with all this fun your having, id suggest to win a few games, because you never know whos watching!

STEP 6: Seek Sponsorship, to know more about how to get sponsored, read below.

HOW TO GET SPONSORSHIP

You may think that sponsorship is a thing where someone pays for some of your gear, paint, or whatever. It isnt, unless its from your parents. Sponsorship is a 2 way deal, between your team and whoever is sponsoring you. It is nessessary to make a little 'team resume' or something that shows what you can help, or anything, and what your team has to offer, as well as everything youve played in and the results from the contest. If your sponsor is your field, you will probably have to ref for your sponsorship. It isnt bad...

Other sponsorship deals could be discounts from the store/dealer. It isnt bad, but you will need to pay for the gear, but at a discounted price. Any sponsorship in Paintball is rewarding...so play hard guys!

Re: Ultimate Resource Thread
 

Part Five:
Anodization?



Here is a simple list to get things anno'ed at.
www.125customs.com
www.absolutefinish.com
www.acidrainpb.com
www.acme-paintball.com
www.alphametal.com
www.anolaze.com
www.aplusanodizing.com
www.atmf.com
www.dirtproducts.com
www.eliapaintball.com
www.fbmfactory.com
www.gruntbull.com
www.oddpb.com
www.pbcustomz.com
www.pbwerkz.com
www.pkselective.com
www.precisionpb.com
www.rainman229.com

For those in Canada
black sky anodizing in ontario

What is Anodizing?
It is an electrochemical process performed on aluminum that produces a hard, durable coating. The anodic coating is part of the metal, but has a porous structure which allows secondary infusions, (i.e. organic and inorganic coloring, lubricity aids, etc.).
Type II ano is room temperature anodizing that produces a coating ranging from .0002" to .001" in thickness. A wide range of colors are produced by dyeing after anodizing. This is the most common method of anodizing for paintball guns and parts. White dyes are not available for anodize coatings.
Type III ano is anodizing performed at very low temperatures, and very high current levels. It produces a coating up to .0035" thick, and is sometimes called "Hard Coat". It is a very durable finish, but can only be dyed dark colors. Some AKA products are type III anodized. Not many small anodizers offer this method.

Re: Ultimate Resource Thread
 

Part Six:
Why am I Chopping?



1) Bad paint. You ever get mad because it seems like every time you shoot, the paint breaks in your barrel? Then check your paint. Either the paint is too big for your barrel or the paint is brittle. You can test your paint size by putting it in your barrel and blowing. If you can blow the paint out of the barrel easily, its good paint. You can see if its brittle by dropping a paintball on the ground. If it breaks in one or two bounces, its bad. Try paint that can bounce 4-5 times.

2)The hopper. I sometimes am running around and either I see paint running down the feedneck or I see broken paint in the chamber. If you see paint running down the feed tube, put some type of padding in your hopper or get better paint. If you see breaks in you chamber, you are shooting too fast for your hopper.

3)Other reasons. Sometimes, there are simple reasons for breakage. Many minor problems include high velocity, dirt in the barrel, etc. Just try to find the source of the problem and fix it. Its that simple.

)Bolt Deformity. If a small deformity develops on the face of the bolt, it can break or slice paint. Check it everytime you lube it. If there is noticable sharpness or deformity, take some 1000 grit sand paper to it.

5)Velocity. If your velocity is too high, the ball may not be able to take the force from it. Turn it down, your accuracy is better that way anyways.

6)Blowback. If your bolt doesnt have a front oring or is very snug, you probably are getting some blowback. This will cause the balls to jump up in the feedneck due to air coming around the bolt. This decreases your feedrate and can lead to chops.

7)Eyes are dirty. If your spyder has eyes that are dirty, it will read that there is always a ball loaded. This will let the gun fire whenever. So you are basically shooting as fast as the board will allow you to w/ no help form eyes to prevent chops.

So, If your Marker keeps chopping....
Make sure that you:
1. Get a fast enough loader for your gun
2. Make sure that your barrel bore is bigger than your bore of paint
3. Use good paint.
4. Velocity should be below 300fps for safety anyways.

Re: Ultimate Resource Thread
 

Part Seven:
Graphs, Charts, and Other Visual Aids.



I will continue to post images and charts here to show how well different products do over tests and other information.

Here is a chart testing Regs:
http://haveblue.org/dyno/5jun04dyno.jpg
(i have to resize this, until then it will be just a link)

Here is a chart for Paint bores:
http://www.ottersccustoms.com/paintc.html