Should we get them a room?
Josh Coray
J4 Paintball
Lead Design
www.j4paintball.com
The problem is, when you get rid of the valve you get rid of what makes a 'mag a 'mag.
I will say this - at Living Legends this weekend, BigEvil bought an RT Classic (a rather early serial numbered one too) in pretty rough shape at the swap meet. After 2-3 bursts of air & oil through the gun, it sealed up and fired. The problem with the 'mag is also its greatest asset - longevity. These things are built right from the get go. Tom told us that over the entire time that he was with AGD and building guns, they put out 100k (across all of their product lines). That's a lot of guns out there somewhere, many of whom just need air/oil and will probably work again.
I agree about the valve being what makes a mag a mag, but I don't see anything particularly special about how it's built. There's just a lot of steel and no solenoid in there. There are plenty of early era markers that just need a couple drops of oil and are good to go.
At any rate if people are married to the mag valve, with the steel and that specific form factor for the sake of modularity and reverse compatibility, it does seem like a developmental/modernization non starter.
Last edited by PBSteve; 05-22-2017 at 02:23 PM.
Ever so many citizens of this republic think they ought to believe that the Universe is a monarchy, and therefore they are always at odds with the republic. -Alan Watts
I work for the company building the Paragon
A replacement valve and frame that fits existing bodies would probably be embraced. A bolt on modern upgrade like the eblade was for the autococker platform... just maybe less exposed wiring.
Wasn't there a mq valve prototype installed on a ule body & mag rail?
I had no idea Nummech was in my neighborhood... tours available?
Last edited by Fred; 05-23-2017 at 03:18 PM.
Having seen (since 89) but never owned an automag (excepting my FN303), I would say that the valve is the key thing about the Automag but, not specifically it's operation but rather as a foundation to which Automag-compatible components (grips, frames etc) can connect to. But, all of this brings up a similar experience of my own. My Woodstalker Ion started life as a plain Jane, out of the box Ion. Here's how it looks today (sporting a Deadlywind body I might add):
The stock components include the grip frame (which I would've replaced if anyone offered a single finger trigger design), the firecan (which could've been replaced for cosmetic reasons) and the breach (which I have an autococker threaded version for). Everything else on that gun came from the aftermarket:
AKA 2L LPR
Virtue eyes, board, switch and solenoid
Orange Nano bolt with the Extreme upgrade (separates the tail and bolt into two separate pieces and, spring loads the tail section).
The body and tail cap are Deadlywind but, were never meant to go together (I had to cut the body short to make it happen).
I have a spare Deadlywind Hollowpoint that I switch back to.
I can argue that it's not really an Ion but rather, Ion-compatible. One of the changes I wanted to make to it would've been to swap out the electronics for a Lucky Paintball MAC33 solenoid and board system. Two of the changes I could make to it would be to make it either a purely pneumatic or, even closed-bolt. Either of those would certainly make it something other than an Ion.
Back on point, what makes an Intimidator different than an Ego? A Geo compared to a DM or Clone?
Trying to find the definitive answer is not easy. But high pressure, high RoF capabilities, mechanical anti-chop, compact design, and the flexibility of being an electro, pump and mechanical with but a few minor changes.
I just saw the valve Mike Quinn was working on with the integrated MQ was posted on one of the pb forums.
Last edited by going_home; 05-24-2017 at 03:11 PM.
endeavor to persevere.......