Chapter 3
PAINTBALL TECHNOLOGY AND HOW THINGS WORK
This section is going to provide a VERY basic overview of the general concepts engineered into important pieces of paintball technology. It’s not going to turn you into an overnight airsmith (also known as a gun tech – paintball terminology for marker and other technicians servicing paintball gear), but it will give you a little insight and hopefully keep you from making costly mistakes with equipment.
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HOW MARKERS WORK
All paintball markers operate on the same basic principles: a paintball is introduced into the breech and the action of the marker causes the paintball to be pushed into the barrel, while at nearly the same time a valve is opened, introducing pressurized gas into the barrel behind the paintball, which fires the ball. Action of the marker then returns the mechanisms to the pre-fire state, so that everything can start all over again.
In general, all paintball markers have the same components, regardless of whether they are pump-action, semi-auto or electronic in nature.
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HOW ELECTRONIC MARKERS WORK
The mechanics of most electronic markers are the same as non-electronic markers, with the mechanical sear/valve mechanisms replaced with a micro switch and a solenoid or solenoid valve. These are electronic devices that function much like electro-magnets; when power is introduced to a coil, it becomes energized and creates a magnetic field. This magnetic field is used to open or close a valve and/or trip a sear. The complicated portions of electronic markers are the circuit board and associated programming. Basically, there’s a mini computer sitting inside the grip of each electronic marker. Like a computer, the integrated circuits can be programmed to do just about anything you can imagine (Ipods integrated into paintball markers are probably not all that far off in our future…)
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The remainder of this chapter explains various key components of paintball markers, air tanks and loaders - the bits of paintball technology that most often need servicing and repair. As explained at the beginning of the chapter, this knowledge will not turn you into an overnight paintball marker engineer. On the other hand, it should help you perform basic diagnostics - or at the very least help you and your child understand what is written in the product manuals.
Perhaps most importantly of all, this chapter covers two essential and often over-looked aspects of the game: safety is just as important when working on gear at home as it is on the paintball field and - the more you know about the product, the better off you’ll be both in making buying decisions and in saving money when it comes to repairs and maintenance.
