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for all who use solid works regularly HELP please
by AHood
I have solid work 2004. I am pretty familiar with how to use it but one thing has been plaiging me that i can figure out. so when ever i draw a line I am unable to change the angle of the line. you know when the scetch parameter box shows up after you click the first endpoint only the length option is highlighted and when i click on the angle option i can not get it to change. the up down arrows dont work and putting in a new number doesnt work it just goes back to the original angle of the line from when you selceted the second endpoint. these are free floating lines with only one end connected to other points. it would seem to me you should be able to drad out a line in any orientation then select the length and the angle but to no avail. there has to be something simlple going on here. Im going crazy if i want to rotate a line i currently have to use the rotate entity function which is getting old. thanks in adavance to any one who can help.
after clicking the smart dimensions tool, ctrl+ click on the two lines you want to make the angle for. Make sure the line you want to move doesnt have a relation that will keep the line from moving like horizontal or perpindicular.
I used that once upon a time...LONG shot, something like 125-135 feet across a little valley/gully, made my target yelp. It was an interesting moment, but not incredibly practical for everyday play since you had to radically change your grip on the gun and there's no such thing as a fast follow-up when you do it. Try it on a Cocker and you'll probably hurt yourself when it recocks.
learn how to hit people with the first few shots, and you wont need a ramping board.
Heck, look down. See those 2 things that stick out past your knees? They are called feet. they can be move in secession quickly to move you and your equipment from point a to point b. With practice, this dramatically helps your game.
This isn't the place to be asking how to cheat either..
NXL gun rules allow ramping, adding shots, heck even full automatic.
BUT.
Only a select few play in the NXL. Plus, if you do play in the NXL, every team has a manufacturer or custom software programmer that does all the boards/chips for you.
If you need to find an NXL chip or board, then you obviously aren't playing the NXL, and therefore don't need one.
I see sooo many people that bring that up but that league is pretty small and unique. Small enough that I bet many here could assemble a list of every player in the league with a bit of work. If your name isn't on that small and VERY exclusive list, then no ramping board for you.
can i smash you in the face with a shovel instead?
by paul
i'm sick of hearing about ramping boards and other miscellaneous cheating drivel. paintball is so disgusting these days with the assholes that play and their rampant cheating. they've totally forgot about having fun.
i'm about to give up totally and sell all my gear thanks to jerks like you. the best local woodsball field moved even further away and is now all speedball fields. barf
The greed of very few people is crushing paintball.
I love speedball style play, just as much as I love woods ball style playing. And no, paintball isn't paintball; there is a vast differance. That would be like saying CTF is the same as VIP.
If anybody's using an electro. Granted, I've customized some Full automatic guns, but a Fully stocked VM-EXC that uses No Batteries or electronics, AND can be capped by a Ref at whatever they see fit, Is Much different.
I think Speedball and Proball is going to kill paintball. And not in a way that will give it back to Recreational players: It'll exclude them, and drive every field to just build and maintain speedball fields.
speedball is the new way to play, you hear about all the bad but you dont hear about the fun. speedball and professional paintball is drawing more people in then woodsball ever did, rec ballers love it, go to a field some time and watch.
being derogatory and critical of the new fields and ways of play isn't going to help, i doubt you ever gave speed ball a try. Just because you are scared of change doesn't mean the rest of the world is.
And I've had some really Fun games, But they seem to only occur at the end of the Day, when the only people left on the field are the Tippmann people. Yanno, The proballers having shot all their paint and such.
Moreover, I absolutly love playing Small, 2V2/3V3 speedball games, Especially with rentals or pumps. Changes it into a Much more attractive game. This whole business of shooting lanes and bunkering is BS. Funny story bout that...
We went to Camp paintball one day in the summer, and the first game we played was Speedball on their Barrels Field. This guy with a silver A4 runs up and Bunkers my brother Virgil, right in the back of the head, and he Barely gets off the field. Next game, we're playing woods, and I surrender him, get shot out, and leave to the sidelines, and notice, The guy's Still in... So, I tell the ref, And the Ref gets involved. The Guy with the angel protests; saying I didn't shoot him, so he should still be in.
Ok, seriously now Ryan. Without a good explanation, you're banned from Team PPIG
by Hans
First off...
Is this the Ryan English, brother of Jon, that was in the pits with us for the last 4 Skyball events? You always seemed energetic and well meaning.
I am very serious, and I had warned you once already. You're not playing on team PPIG again at any even I'm organizing. I'll make sure your brother is made aware of it as well.
Second off...
I know you're a smart guy, work on your grammar a bit. Especially focus in the areas of punctuation and spelling. Nobody is perfect, and a few mistakes are fine. However, 2 very poorly spelled words, 1 missing capitalization and 3 missing punctuations in a 10 word long subject?
Cheaters hurt everybody, so it really is a bit of everybodies business.
I've always been a big proponent of naming names, I just never expected it anywhere on my roster.
Is i know gonna be the death of the sport. The leagues that hold big events and that want equal and fair rules for all are not excactly doing the best of jobs. I've been thinking and i do think that big leagues should get a company to manufacture a board that can be put into any gun that has a capped rate of fire (such as 25 bps) and require all players that are rostered to have these boards installed into there markers. This should come at no cost to the players and it would make cheating next to impossible. I mean these events have big sponsors so why don't they get one of these sponsors to make these boards to broaden the horizan of the sport.
P.S. If anybodys wishing to over shoot anytime soon i'd just like to let you know that i now have diminished hearing in my left ear due to a ramping board.
I've had the whole side of my face bruised once, despite wearing a hardshell facemask. Twice I've gotten mild concussions. I've seen masks ripped off peoples heads by overshooting, and a ref knocked unconscious for a good 15 minutes.
Anybody who says that higher rates of fire isn't a safety issue really needs to pay attention better.
If he was only planning on building a gun that would be shot at him, and ONLY at him, then I would agree, it's not my concern. If he wants to get shot by a gun with a ramping board, well, it's dumb, but it's his choice.
The problem is the point of the ramping chips are to make the choice for OTHER people, like me, who might play against him in a tourney.
First make shur that your backblock is adjusted correctly....biggest problem that I have seen as of late.
Second adjust the sear lug height. I like it so that it drops the hammer about half way threw the sear noid travel length....little more batteries, but more reliable.
After that set the gun on factory settings (slow, medium, or fast according to your gun set up)
If it's shooting fine in classic, and you are using the eye, then double check the sensitivity settings Also check to make sure the eye is working at all, but from the sound of it, it just needs to be tweaked for the paint shells effect on the reflective eye.
Since it works well in classic, most likely the eye is set too high for the paint you are using. In classic, the bolt stays back until the trigger is released, THEN if the eye doesn't detect a ball, it will hold the bolt open to prevent a chop. This leads to a longer bolt open time, since you are not releasing the trigger as quickly as the board could control the bolt.
In semi, the eye controls the entire cycle, with the trigger only starting it, so if the eye is detecting paint before it settles into the breach, you can get chops.
The hornet is no more. I have the body...It's in pretty crappy shape. He sold everything else, and bought a timmy. His site's still up:
www.carbineshornet.com/
And that should have all the stats:
T1
Evil or Shocktech timmy bolt
Eclipse QEV
Palmer Micro Rock LPR
Zenitram LPR Adapter
Scenario Dreams T1 T-Board (has eyes, remembers settings, but no LCD) (prototype, should be out soon)
Zenitram triggers, ACP T1 Slasher (prototype)
Custom grip panels by Zaps Mad House
And he modded almost everything:
-drilled out body port
-drilled valve
-lightened hammer
-modded springs
However, regardless of how old it is, it should still have right hand threads on the valve stem.
You will need a fatty strap wrench, or a pipe vise and the rubber boot from a 6" repair coupling to hold the tank, and an adjustable wrench (a la crescent wrench) that will open up big enough to get on the flats of the valve (if it doesn't have flats, you have two options - tiny strap wrench, or pipe wrench. The pipe wrench is guaranteed to mess up the outside of the valve some though, so I'd try the strap wrench first.)
First, make sure the damned thing is empty. Next, take everything off of the valve that you can, this includes: burst disks, On/Off parts, and anything else that protrudes (and therefore can be broken off). Then, clamp that bad boy in the pipe vise (by the bottle), after slipping it inside the repair boot (to keep the fiber wrap from getting moshed), and twist out the valve with the adjustable wrench. If you have to use the big strap wrench to hold the bottle, you'll need to employ an accomplice to hold the tank while you turn out the valve.
If its been loctited, it could take considerable force to dislodge it.
Be careful, and if you break anything/yourself, its not my fault.
If in doubt, take it to a real airsmith. (If they don't have the right tools, they aren't a real airsmith.)
I would recommend getting two larger sized strap wrenches. Available at Harbor freight for a good price. The valve has a hex that can hold a wrench. I never like putting tanks in a vise. I've fought plenty of tanks. They are RH threads so righty tighty, lefty loosey. Good luck.
...if you can with a maxflow. I place the reg or pin valve flats in my vice, so the bottle is sticking up vertically. Then use a strap wrench to loosen or tighten it back down.
You should use a strap torque wrench for tightening though.
I'm a very cheap person (not to mention short of money) but want a nice gun, and something to tinker with. so, what would be the cheapest way to do a spyder timmy conversion? or simply a very fast sear tripper?
cant spend much, but may try to take this the long haul...
1 Change the valve so it vents gas to the bolt only like a cocker.
2 Get a lp adjustable regulator like a cocker.
3 get a 1" travel 1/2 boar ram and some quick exhaust valves (needs to fit inside the lower tube)
4 get a good solenoid valve Rat's nest list some good ones
5 if your spider is not electric then you will need to get a board to drive the valve.
6 you'll need to make or modify the hammer to attach to the ram.
7 you will need a nitrogen tank DO NOT RUN solenoid valves on CO2!
The reg needs to be tapped into the gas cell forward of the valve. The low pressure line will run to the solenoid valve. The solenoid valve sends gas to move the ram back and forth. The ram moves the modified hammer and bolt just like it moved when it was a spyder. The trigger gets connected to a micro switch that connected to the board that drives the solenoid valve. If the spyder is already electric then remove the existing sear tripping solenoid and connect the new air solenoid in its place. Depending on the valve polarity may be a factor. Depending on which board you get /use and where you buy the reg, ram and valve this project could be done for under $200. Have fun, read all the specs on your parts, take your time and be safe. If you complete this remember to post pics.
Now for the disclaimer. I'm not responsible for any damage or injury that you may incur as a result of you trying any of this. Proceed at your own risk. Pneumatic systems can cause injury, damage or death if misused. Do not use this w/ CO2 most valves are not made for CO2; they can be damaged and may fail. If you trash your marker trying this, again don't blame me. Tinker at your own risk.
Read everything you can on the subject. Draw up a plan on the parts you will make or modify. Drafting the marker first can help eliminate problems. Asses all the risk, take you time, and test everything.
Make certain it's a vert feed spyder, add eyes, high performance internals (Or just a Delron bolt) Morlock, 25G microswitch, Custom Carved Delrin trigger (Dremel+Cuttingboard) Possibly with roller in the center (Macroline around a piece of 1/8" steel inserted into slot in trigger) Mix Well, And Serve with Halo B and Spyder Thread J&J Ceramic.
for someone with as little experience in this as i have (in machining/actual parts modification).
I may do this, but with no income source, i might just buy an espyder, and eventually buy a Tboard and delron bolt.
I'd get a ACP Slasher, but there are a lot of options. I just heard of a magnet-trigger (yeah, you can do the mod yourself, but ready to use is cool) called the snapdragon from Sun Dragon:
If you use mostly stock parts, you don't need to buy much (ie, only buy the ram, ram sleeve, solenoid, and a few other things) Most of the Spyder parts (vertical adapter, ESP frame) can be used (you could get an LPR adapter from Zenitram (for the one kit, same as Spyder LPC threads) and a stock cocker LPR) then all you need is a reg, really.
Well there three ways you can go about how you want to do the mod. 1.you could by a odossy 03 marker that under 200.00 mark right now that has the updated t1 type board with eyes.Or you could by a raw spyder body and put on a zip kit witch is the t-1 clone.the people that make t-board for spyders now have one for the t-1 kits and dragons.the cheapest way is to pick up one of those three a spyder clones and use the body and top cocking bolt and put a ipi frame on it with the t-board.you would just need to have your body drilled for the eyes.other spyder clones will work but you may have to dremmel out a hole on the grip frame for the charging port for the t-board.
Nothing against Ford products today, but I grew up essentially on the grounds of Ford Motor Company. I went to K-8 at a private school in Dearborn actually ON Ford property, and Dearborn High School just down the street from there. My parents house is barely a mile from the Henry Ford mansion as well. Ford's accomplishments in the field of industrialization should be shadowed by the humanitarian horrors he was responcible for. Did you know Hitler had an autographed picture of Ford on his desk? Ford didnt allow blacks or Jews to work for him, and he even printed an anti-semetic newspaper out of the River Rouge plant......
ford and gm both produced vehicles for Nazi germany
i heard that ford actually tried to sue the USA gov't for one of their german factories being bombed during the war
Don't know the exact stats, but in the early 30's, there were more Nazi's in America than in Germany. Anti semitism was quite rampant in western europe and north america. Crystal Nacht was mostly ignored by the would be allies. I think even Charles Limburgh was against going to war against the Nazis.
...first in the board room, then on the track... and both times it failed! they had to enlist the support of Lola to build the chasis and Carrol Shelby to build the engine for its GT-40. the "classic" American sports car racer was built by an English chasis maker and some guy in his garage. Ford just stuck their badge on it... yuck!
Kind of an off the wall question but a friend of mine asked if this was possible, but he wants me to make a pump out of a spyder. Several things are already in the works on the project but I have one thing that Im hung up on, how do you stop the blowback on the hammer/bolt? differant springs, lower oper, pressure? but if you do any of those things will you still be able to get enough air to propel the ball at field speeds. Manually cocking the gun and using the drive spring to move the hammer are simple obviously but I need to stop the valve from pushing back with enough force to recock the hammer. Any ideas
i'm pretty sure there's another gun out there that uses a valve of similar dimensions, but doesn't have a blowback port, but i'm not sure what gun it was from...
Shouldn't you be able to replace the valve pin/cupseal with one that's not milled down, and have that stop blowback? From what I gather, the blowback is achieved by milling flats onto the valve stem, allowing the air to push back on the hammer. Without those flats, you shouldn't have any significant air coming out and pushing back on the hammer.
I'm not positive on this part, but if you have an extra cocker valve stem, try dropping that in and see if it a.) fits into the Spyder valve and b.) seals and moves properly. If it does, you can just use that as a replacement. I'm not positive if this will work as I don't have a blowback in front of me to test it on.
Hey I have a morlock board and I want to buy a set or two of breakbeam eyes. I'm about ready to put a mouser order in. I know the emitter (which I really need because I stepped on and ruined the one that came with it) is a 3mm IR emitter but I don't know if that's all I need to know.
If anyone knows what kind of eyes I need I'd really appreciate the info. TAG is not open on the weekends and I don't think they'd tell me anyway, though they'd sell me some, they're funny like that.
Look for megawatt ratings for the emitters. I have good experience using 12-mW eyes, and some others as well with higher power ratings that i bought locally.
The one I often use in installs is mouser part# 512-F5E1, which is a can-shaped 5-mm emitter made by fairchild.
Fairchild also makes a ton of detectors as well, which can be found on the sme page of the mouser catalog...though I don't know whih will work and which won't.
Also, they can only do 1.7 volts, so don't buy diodes less than that.
um, if you have emitters that put out megawatts of power, i want one, and the men in black suits should be knocking on your door shortly. tis milliwatts my friend...
Well, get 1 thing fixed and I hit another wall. Damn mother nature hates me.
Ok, who has has experience with Microline 90* fittings?
I am still modding my marker and im setting up for microline. On the 90* Fitting I am wanting to cut it down so I can still use a 12g in my marker without removeing the bottomline fittings.
So I started to drimmel the threads on the fitting to cut it down. All seemed to be going well, but when I got it down to the correct size the "swivel" part of the 90* would slide out of the threaded part.
What keeps the swivel part in the threaded part?
I checked the pieces that I cut off and I dont see anything that could have keeped the piece in there.
I already have to get another piece, since I dont think this one would be "safe" to use underpresure.
It is ever possible to cut these down (the length of the threading is what im cutting off (maybe about 3-4 thread)?
the swivel thingy was most likely flared until you sawed it off.
If you cut threads from from a tapered fitting (1/8 npt) you might get it to screw in if the start tread is not damaged. Use a thread file to straighten it or grind the end on a belt sander.
I can get the fitting to screw into the bottomline with no problems, but the part that goes 90* just slides off now when I pull on it.
What I didnt understand is what is holding that swivel part in the fitting (threaded area)?? There are no parts to it that seem to me that could hold that in.
So what I need to understand is there something that holds that 90* fitting together inside the threaded area, so when I cut the threads shorter it "breaks" that holding ability>?
The elbow part that swivels extends through the threaded part and is flared out like a rivet to hold it to the threaded part. When you cut it back, you damaged the swedge that held the two halves together. If you want the 90* swivel fitting to sit more flush to the marker; I would recommend re-tapping the marker w/a 1/8npt tap so the fitting can be run in deeper. Or don't use a swivel 90, use a fixed 90 and cut back the threads as needed.
Well I bought a few new ones and some straight microlines and a standard 90 elbow, and I just went with a standard 90* elbow with a stright line.
Since none of them have fittings inside of them (swivel parts), I can cut down the threads with no problem.
I got it together, but got air leak problems at another point, but since im using blud lock tight on the main parts I should be fine (area leaking does not have locktight, only tape)
My knee has been injured for nearly a year now and I'm about to lose my EMO insurance benefits so I figured I should get it checked over ASAP.
First MRI I went for they started prepping my left knee.....it's my right knee that's injured. So I corrected that and spent my 45min inside the loud PVC drain-looking thing. They gave me a CD to look at so I came home and checked it out. The scans were no more than a quarter inch above my injury; great. So I went back yesterday, free of charge, and finally got the MRI scan. What I though was a bone fragment appears to be much more serious. Make your own conclusion, if you know what they might do to fix this let me know.
Maybe you could explain what's wrong with the picture for those of us who aren't doctors... I look at the pic and I can pretty much tell it is a knee, but that's about it.
Maybe you could explain what's wrong with the picture for those of us who aren't doctors... I look at the pic and I can pretty much tell it is a knee, but that's about it.
I'm no doctor either, and I haven't talked to my doctor since these were taken...
by
To the very trained eye you would have noticed that my growth plates are still in and I'm 18 now. He called that Os-Good Slaters disease. Any way, I received what I currently believe to be a shattered tibia well over a year ago while playing paintball in the fall. The leaves covered the ground and I jumped to dodge some paintballs and landed on that knee for what should have been a really nice slide. The little tree stump no more than 2 " in diameter hidden under the leaves turned it into a much-less-than-graceful fall and tumble into the bunker where I nearly cried like little school girl. Did I mention I weight 280lbs and can jump pretty high, plus I only landed on that one knee. I got up and finished the game then took a break for a little while. No one believed I was hurt and I thought I must be fine since nothing swelled up or anything. About a week later when I could stand touching it again I could move what I believed to be a bone fragment around. Now every time I kneel down or put any pressure on that spot it swells up the size of a kiwi just below my knee.
The real kicker to all of this is that I had just been offered a good deal on some brand new knee pads. The ones that I had were raveling away so I didn't wear them and I thought I would just get some Dye pads...I picked up the ones he had after I limped back to the field house. Oddly enough, I remember that I won that game.....any one who says paintball isn't an addiction is a darn liar.
Though I'm sure I managled the spelling of it, it's when the spot (sometimes called a tibial tubersocity) on your tibial crest, a raised thingy on the wieghtbearing bone (tibia) becomes inflammed when doing stressful things like running, working out, playing paintball, etc. It's pretty common in young men with 170+ pounds of meat on them. No big deal, I have it myself. But from the looks of the MRI, you have some other stuff going on. Maybe a hairline fracture? Your 18, it's still possible for your ephipseal plates to still not be filled in with bone matter....I generally deal with Xrays, not MRI's for the record. Though I do plan to specialize in them eventually.
In my case, it came from growing too fast in too short a time. I have large calcium deposits below both knee caps. They haven't caused me much trouble lately, but back in high school they were quite painfull in gym class. My teacher said "One of my best basketball players has that, it doesn't slow him down." I wanted to punch him in the face.
Looks like your break involves the growth plate, which is not good especially given the significant displacement. On your new MRIs the menisci are better-visualized, looks like you may have some multi-compartmental meniscal damage as well.
The two slices you gave aren't so good for examining your ligaments, although with an injury as serious as yours I wouldn't be surprised to see some ACL/PCL damage on other slices. Some Rosenberg X-ray films of your knees would also be helpful. If your Doc ordered an MRI without first doing X-rays, I'd be pissed at him, since a 15min X-ray probably could have diagnosed your biggest problem.
I guess I have a small fear of doctors and anyone who wants to change my physical being. Past experiences have been EXTREMELY horrid.
He did do an X-Ray and said I was fine. I had to make him feel the floating particle in my knee before he agreed to do an MRI. He also X-Rayed my ankle a few years ago and said I had just sprained it. I had shattered a few tarcels and only had it proven after going to the ER first [x-rays], then to the doctor I'm talking about (who my mother works for)[new x-rays], but finally pointed out the fractures myself.
I have tons of MRI scans so if you wouldn't mind telling me how to differentiate what you need and examining them for me I would MUCH appreciate it. Feel free to e-mail me. I will even create a website for you to view them at so you don't even waste any of your computer space.
Thanks for the information everyone,
-Siress
P.S. I hope this can't get any worse, the way I see it is that currently it only hinders my paintball playing (and thats only when I'm not wearing knee pads). So if it stays how it is without getting any worse then I think I can live with it. Thanks again, guys.
I spent alot of time looking at knee Xrays after I suffered a Tibia plateu fracture. If it is a cracked/shattered Fibia at the knee junction, it's going to take awhile to heal, especially if they have to do surgery. I spent the first six months with a walker and then a year with a cane. It was NOT fun.
Its bad they can't do anything for me at the time because its too small to take the time to heal. but that same type of thing showed up on my fathers mri and its a calcium spur. This would be bad news because it now pushes against the nerves in his neck so he can't barely move at most times.
I already showed this - but hey - its an oldy but goody.
by Mister.44
No, its not a melted candle the size of a summer sausage. Its a mass of neurofiberous tumors that goes all the way down my left leg on my sciatic nerve. Yay!
I built a steel crucible as per their article. I used it to melt down some scrap aluminum in a large dental kiln. The crucible melted and when I opened the door about a 2lbs of molten steel and aluminum flowed out. The metal splashed backwards and started a Small fire. If it would have splashed forward I would not be here. Last time I used that kiln. Lign the base of your kiln with some casting sand just incase the crusible leaks, it makes clean up simpler.
If you've got a direct flame, you're basically forcing very hot oxygen across the metal - just what's needed for burning. Even if you'd be able to melt the metal and drip it into a mold, you'd still have a whole lot of impurities and a very poor casting. That's why you skim off the dross/slag from the metal crucible right before pouring the metal.
The other problem is alloy - unless it was a cast material in the first place, like old wheels, pistons, gas grill bodies, etc, it probably wouldn't cast very well any way. The metallurgy isn't right. Extrusion Alloys are particularly bad IIRC...
Just by some silicone carbide bricks to make a mold and kiln (forgive my spelling). Then disconnect or remove the fan and tape the vent shut (masking tape should work). Then just toss metal in the mold, set the timer, and let it cook.You will have to play with the timer until you know how long to set the it. It may sound absurd, but this is out of Popular Mechanics.
One of the reasons you use silicone bricks is to keep the "light show" in the kiln. This helps heat up the metal even more and protects the microwave from the electrical arcs coming from the metal you're melting. I was thinking about trying this with titanium alloy and sell the bricks(they throw away the Ti locking pieces when jet engines are overhauled), but after checking a website I got out of PM I found out that I would be aleast 400*F short:(
We use a commerical ceramic lined microwave furnace where I work. Inside the ceramic insulation there is a fiber/cement like liner that glows red hot when nuked. Not sure on the wattage but the thing runs at 1200°F. We've never put metal in it.
I'm about to peel the powdercoat off one of my 98's, and I'm wondering if I'll need to put something on it after all the paint is peeled off. I want to leave the cast aluminum look on there after I'm done.
If it will rust, what would I put on it to prevent it? I'm pretty sure a clearcoat would work, but I'm looking for something a little more durable.
I saw some old SL-68 II bodies that were anodized. It didn't really look great but it didn't destroy the bodies in the process (always a good thing!). M98 bodies though are probably a lower quality mix of materials. Lots of 'filler' and not a lot of aluminum.
"The Tippmann Model 98 body is a heavily alloyed aluminum, with large percentages of (probably) tin, zinc and magnesium..."
"Oh, and the anno is the same thing- the non-aluminum parts tend to be dissolved in the anodizing electrolyte bath, so the aluminum tends to crumble away. Zinc and magnesium both will be corroded away by the chemical/electrical action."
The Tippmann A-5 body is a heavily alloyed aluminum, with large percentages of (probably) tin, zinc and magnesium.
This sort of alloy is usually called "pot metal"- it's easily cast, has decent strength, takes detail from the molds well (remember the term "die cast" for things like Hot Wheels cars- the molds are steel dies and have a lot more detail than, say, sand-casting) and it's dirt-cheap.
The "cheap" part comes from the fact it doesn't have to be a high-quality alloy. If one body has 10% less tin then the next, or the end of the run has 5% more zinc than the start of the pour, it's no biggie. What strength it has will be barely affected, and there'll be little cosmetic effect. They literally make it out of scrap- cheap, ungraded mishmash remelted aluminum scrap, casting dross from higher-grade smelting processes, etc.
However, due to the odd and iffy alloy, it can't be annoed or welded. If you try and weld it, the various alloy fractions will try and melt at vastly different temperatures. The tin will melt at about 500 degrees, the Zinc at barely 800. The aluminum won't melt 'til 1,200 plus.
So what happens is the lowest-point material melts first, and the not-yet-melted stuff crumbles away and fractionalizes (tries to seperate.)
So, short answer to the question, no, it ain't gonna happen. Use glue or a mechanical attachment. (Screws, etc.)
Oh, and the anno is the same thing- the non-aluminum parts tend to be dissolved in the anodizing electrolyte bath, so the aluminum tends to crumble away. Zinc and magnesium both will be corroded away by the chemical/electrical action.
I have stripped and repainted both 98C & A5 tippmanns and I have not seen any difrence in the die cast material AKA "potmetal" which is mostly zink + whatever scrap is available at the time.
I strip the bodies with a brass wire brush & heavy duty air grinder.
Spray on on coat of primer, two coats of paint (black , OD green, grey, or camo)& finish with two coats of poyurethane. Holds up almost as good as Powder Coat.
I was under the impression the A5 had a plastic body?
(I looked at a very early one, and thought it was plastic or nylon when I handled it.)
Of course, it was a very quick look over and seveal years ago.
Were they originally plastic, and switched to metal?
Or was I mistaken in my original analysis?
Hi. Are the old inline tippmanns built similarly to the new ones as far as internals go? The two in comparison are the Tippmann f/a and the new A-5.
I would like to know if there is a way for me to rig up select fire (or just plain old full automatic) on my A-5.
I keep forgetting where the site is with schematics for all the paintball guns, or I would have started there.
Is it anything like HK where I could just swap out grip/trigger frames?
Thank you.
Best way to get select fire/FA on an A-5 is to switch to their E-Grip.
You could make it pseudo-FA with a sweet-spotted reactive trigger.
The Factory F/A had parts that slowed down the action of the marker, to a rate that the balls could be fed at. The A-5 cycles too fast for this as well (even with the air-powered feed) and it would be very difficult to adapt the parts.
Yea it uses more air but it's fast, easy to use and you don't have to worry about what mode your in or whether you remembered to change the battery. Just squeeze and go.
I have not been able to go out and play paintball for over a year now.
Money has been something of an issue, but time has had more to do with it-
I've gone from one deadline to another on freelance projects now for so long that I finally have to face up to the fact that my life is not likely to improve in this regard.
The other big issue thats become apparent to me is that the arthritis that runs in my family is beginning to manifest in me-
I'm about to hit 41, and my leg joints just don't respond well to running anymore at all.
My shoulder joints are also having issues, and its gotten bad enough that I can no longer ignore the problems.
So now here is my problem.
I have a small collection of markers-
This includes my Ultipro, a mirage, my tippmann 98 custom, a sidekick semi, several assorted pumps and most of the parts to assemble a phantom. (WITH a red aluminum pump grip.)
I'm trying to decide whether to sell off most or all of the collection, since I just won't be able to play much or at all unless the weather is warm enough, and the field doesn't require much running or squatting that would just kill my joints.
I could use the cash-
But I'm reluctant to dispose of the markers I spent so long collecting.
Any opinions would be appreciated-
I just can't seem to make up my mind what I want to do about this.
for the older players who feel that they can't run with the young'uns (although you probably still could), and rent a field for a day and play some pump games on a smaller speedball field with a lot of stand-ups...or something.
The thing is, too a point, exercise will probably make your legs feel better...
I am currently not allowed to play due to a sever concussion.(bicycle accident) It has been over a year since I last played or rode. I feel like a caged beast. My body feels the hard abuse I have given it from an active life style.(bad hips, knees,one blown out shoulder,bad tail bone) I had to purge out most of my upper end guns last year at this time due to the fact I was unable to work,currently still can't. I now only own one semi and a bunch of pump guns. The only valuable guns I own are a SI Bushmaster, my nickeled OO7, and my TAG. This all I will need to have fun again when allowed.
One suggestion I can give you is you need to schedule time for your self and stick to it. Stress kills, if you don't take the time to relive and relax it will catch up with you in the most horrible way. You will also find it easer to work more evenly when you do take the time to relive you self of the stress.
When I did play I do not run, there really is no need to if you use the angles and good movement.(around here they call it the old school stroll) Let the younger ones run, do not let them dictate you pace. In most cases you will be the deciding factor in many a game.
Don't sell the collection... You'll regret it when you do....
by
Many of us are in the same boat... They don't call me Walker for no reason....
For whatever reason we are not as agile or quick as we used to be.
There is no need to keep up with the younger people in this game. Accuracy, steadiness, and the ability to recognize and make the right moves, at the right time, make us sought after players in the scenario and woodsball fields, and even on the speedball field. We make good back players....
At 49 my work keeps me so busy that I rarely get a chance to get away, maybe 3-4 times a year. I plan my vacation to attend long, organized, scenario type events that give me plenty of time to play with a variety of equipment, and in the woods speed is not an essential. Twenty four hour games are great.....
I know one old guy that takes a small folding chair with him, picks a covered spot along a trail, and lays an ambush. He denies the opponents access along the flanks. Another young guy who is infirm and unable to move quickly, and limps quite badly. But get him into the cover with his pump and the opposing players have a real hard time getting past him, or even finding him. When they bypass his position they are forced into the open, and he can move in behind them.
I'll add one thing... Unless you need the cash... then..
by
part with those you know you can replace farther down the road, and that don't hold a sentimental value.
If you must sell those with sentimental value, sell them to someone you know will keep them, and who would sell them back to you at a later date, if you wanted them.
I bought an old gun in 1999 when the original owner got out of paintball. He surfaced again this year and was looking for the current owner. Upshot was, I sold it back to him with the caveat that if he needed to sell again, send it back to me. It didn't have the same sentimental value for me, that it obviously did for him.....
You did a good act with selling that guy back his marker, An act like that pays for itself in other ways. Anyway just giving ya a pat on the back for doing a good deed.
The new meds that are out there?
I used Viox till the recall and it did so so.
I now use Celebrex and let me tell you what a differnce.
It not only takes care of the arthritis but my lower back pain etc.
I wish I would have found this a long time ago.
I know some arthritis is beyond these meds but hopefully you will be able to find one for you.
Also I really havent run for years in a game.
I seem to do a lot better hanging back a bit letting the game develop then sneaking down a line or even just walking down the middle bunkering folks with my pump.
Hang in there even if you just play once a year it is worth it.
Skelaxin so far has to be the best non-narco for backpain I've used. I have Tylenol 3, percocet and all other heavier stuff for my bad days, but Skelaxin is awesome.
Still trying to play at 49 myself. Everything tries to get in the way (weather, work, wife, wife). I had enough markers, masks and gear for ten players and couldn't get anyone to play on a friends land(for free!)
Sometimes I wonder what the heck I am doing.
I sold all my stuff once before in 91 and didn't play again untill 2002.
I do regret that. Missed a lot of good days I wasted on working overtime for nothing.
As a general rule, the value that you sell the markers for will always be less than what you have to spend to replace them down the line.
In my college days I got into a bar fight and ended up having to pay a guys emergency room bill and being a poor student I had to sell my stuff.
That left me in the situation of if I WANTED to play I'd have to borrow equipment or rent it and once you've had your own equipment it sucks to go back to that.
Then when I got to the point of buying new equipment to replace what I had, I had to spend much more than I sold it for.
Even if you HAVE to sell off most of it. Keep at least one set of equipment so you can play if you have the opportunity, because if you don't have any equipment, then you probably won't EVERY play again.
Keep your gear and play at your own pace. I've blown out my knee twice had it rebuilt. Folded my ankle 90 deg sideways. I spent allot of time not playing. Still have my first Sheridan of over 14 years now although it is severely modified. I've sold a few markers to pay bills and I do regret it. I play when I can and normally with a PGP or P68sc. Nothing is more fun than taking down some Rambo want-a-be and his $1400 marker w/ my pgp. Don't give the game up just play it your way, no matter what.
It has an article on a (more or less) handbuilt bike with a bunch of trick features. It reminds me of the Britten from a decade ago, but this one, I think, is even cooler.
Check out the magazine on the stands- I haven't biked in years, but I picked up this mag just to have the article.
Basically, it's a GP racebike, with a 15-degree, twin-crank, counterrotating inline-4. Yeah, I had to read that again, too.
Mounting the 4-cylinder inline is nothing new, but not often used since the crank's rotary inertia causes interesting gyroscopic effects while turning. Simply put, the effect enhances turning one direction, and resists it in the other. Using what is basically two inline-twins that counterrotate, the gyroscopic effects are effectively cancelled.
An inline has the benefit of being considerably thinner than a transverse 4. The article notes the bike is thinner than even a 250 GT bike- the engine area is actually thinner than its own swingarm width.
The rest of the bike is equally trick: The front forks are not standard fork/dampners- the fork legs are actually linear bearings, reducing stiction to near-zero. The actual dampner (shock absorber) is mounted inside the steering head.
In addition, the lower fork legs are aerofoil shaped, and have a replaceable module for the front axle mount. Just by swapping in the little inserts, the trail (position of the axle pivot in relation to the steering head centerline) can be moved by up to half an inch. Which makes for significant changes in handling and steering feel, depending on the track.
Most of the transmission can be accessed by dropping a sort of oil pan. Rather than a "cassette" like most modern GP bikes have (a side plate where several of the transmission gears and shafts come out, in order to make fast gearing changes) the whole bottom half falls out, making for similarly fast gear changes.
Also, the trans drives a spur gear, which in turn drives the chain sprocket, which is mounted concentrically to the rear swingarm pivot (which is hollow and cool itself.)
That keeps the chain tension constant throughout the swingarm travel, reducing wear and HP loss (from a too-tight chain) plus it helps reduce engine torque effects on the suspension (nailing the throttle doesn't try to "wrap up" the swingarm quite as much.)
Throw in a bunch of other little bits (the frame is carbon fiber, the rear suspension has two adjustable springs and a seperate, almost hidden shock absorber, the fact it has two clutches [a 'wet' one and a 'dry' one] and so on) and it all makes for one kickass chunk of hardware.
If you have a minute near a newsstand, give it a look. I love that kind of free-thinking innovation.
I still drool over the britten. Nothing about that bike is done wrong. The biggest problems with them were electronics issues But for a very small time company, stuff like that happens. Motor Cyclist did a special on him and his legacy last month. His stuff was described as having flashes of brillance followed by a fizzle. for instance his bikes appearance at the battle of the twins. The bike was so superior that the rider was toying with the secocnd place driver. Untill a connector failed.
The new american GP bike has me excited. But I sort feel motogp is a dead class. Lots of exotic machines, just like f1, but little of it relates to real cars, or bikes in this case. They are getting closer now that they run four strokes.
On simmilar subjects.. My roomie and I drug our bikes into the basement. It's finally to cold to work on them outside, and the lack of lighting sucks. We installed 300w of overhead lighting, and... wow, it's bright.
Yes, you can move a 460lb bike down a staircase, without serious rigging eqiupment. Just a rope, and two and a half men. (I was the "half") Bikes have a low enough CG to stand on a staircase with just the front brake held. That amused, and amazed me, seeing I was directly in front of a machine more than twice my weight.
And.. The results...
h*tp://www.zodnetworks.com/~nerobro/Nerobro/basementx.jpg Put 1-4 in the X and you'll see the rest of the pictures.
Hello,
Can anyone precisely measure for me, on an advanceconcept backblock (commonly found on ebay):
the total height (from bottom to top at the front, which is taller)
the height from the top of the boltbore to the top of the block, still at the front
I'm just hopeing that the computors at the chrono will helpwhen they come out. They run through programing to check if ramping or velocity adjustments or so on and so forth are present in the programming.
Going through the programming? That's really not feasible unless the board manufacturers specifically comply. Several reasons:
1) There are 3 major (and several minor) families of microcontrollers - PIC, 8051, and AVR - readily available for these purposes. Each of them has a completely different programming protocol, completely different programming language, and often - especially with 8051's - there are a great many subsets with further differentiated protocols.
2) Many of these chips are not in-system programmable. They're OTP chips which are programmed before mounting on the boards, and even if the board is ISP capable, if the board doesn't have provisions for it, it still can't be read.
3) No producer in their right mind is going to leave a chip unlocked; a competitor could then easily download and make use of the firmware on the chip. Not going to happen. Thus, even if it is ISP, and the board is set up for it, it STILL can't be read
4) Even if you could get through all of those hurdles and always read the code on the chip, there's still no feasible way to determine if a fimware is in compliance. If I were to give 10 different programmers the same task, chances are they'd give me back 10 completley different programs which accomplished the task identically, but in completely different ways. Current marker operating systems are getting very complex, and as the complexity increases, the possibilities for code structure increase exponentially.
Perhaps if there were 1 tourney legal control board, and 1 tourney legal firmware for it, this would be feasible. But that would completely stifle the electronic innovations in the market. Perhaps they need to be stifled, many of them have been fairly negative... But many have been pretty exciting, too. A chop in a modern eye-enabled electro is a rare thing, regardless of your loader and/or ROF ... Never could've happened without the electronic innovations.
I've just finished my degree in computer science and i think if i wanted to i could write a program that could cheat and if i gave someone the source code for it they couldn't work out how i did it even if i told them i was cheating. There are just so many tricks you can pull in code , especially in assembler. And the larger the code for the board gets the easier it is hide stuff. There is just no feasible way to stop board cheating other than having tourny supplied boards ,designed by a independant programmer. Even then i think you could still cheat , thru external ways to the board, such as making the trigger reactive etc,hiding a small clock generator between the microswitch and the board etc.
There are just too many ways to cheat. Tourney supplied boards would eliminate a lot of the cheating but it won't eliminate all. The only way i see to eliminate marker cheating is to have tourney supplied markers. There are just too many ways to cheat. Of course this all assuming you need to be that tricky to get past the refs, and you can't just straight bribe them with cash.
Paintball Junkies reaches settlement with JT USA
By JT USA
Dec 17, 2004, 21:25
On December 13, 2004, a settlement has been reached in the case of JT USA v. Paintball Junkies in which JT had alleged that Paintball Junkies was unlawfully copying the design of certain JT products. In the settlement, Paintball Junkies agreed to stop making and distributing various products, including: PJ’s Pro No-Zip Pants, PJ Pro Tank Covers, PJ Pro Slider Shorts, PJ Elbow Guards and PJ Knee Pads. Paintball Junkies also agreed to not make any product or make any misrepresentations which would likely cause confusion in the marketplace between Paintball Junkies products and JT's products.
Lynn Scott, President of Brass Eagle, parent company of JT USA, said: “This result affirms our faith in our position that copying of our products constitutes an illegal activity, whether patented or not. JT USA plans to continue defending our intellectual property, trademark and tradedress rights.”
Paintball Junkies agreed to pay a royalty to JT USA on sales of PJ's remaining inventory of certain products. In addition, Paintball Junkies agreed to a Court Order to pay a specified sum of money, representing JT's damages, court costs, attorney’s fees and interest.
well, we can now plainly see why Smart Parts never sued VL and JT...
by
...even though they were selling electos (sear trippers, but electros none the less). The SP lawers are nothing compared to the K2 family lawers backed by cubic dollars (to steal a quote I saw from another poster).
that actually was granted a week before the first "broad" shocker patent, was probably another reason not to sue. Last thing they need is BE calling the patent examiner (as he approved both patents) to testify and have their patent declared null and void as being too broad a definition (and BE had the money to do that even before the K2 buyout).
Man, the wierd things you find when you get a used gun (AT-85)
by
Recently traded a modified A-5 for an AT-85. Got the thing home and it wouldn't cycle. Stripped the thing down and after much tinkering found that a part called the cog pull was flipped over. Not an easy thing to do since it's a part that really shouldn't be removed from the gun, you have to tap a spring clip out to remove it, and you have to unscrew two very small screws out of the things and screw them in the other side just to be able to pit it in flipped over. How and why this one little part got put in upside down is one heck of a mystery to me. Plus the LPR piston o-ring was blown (I think the kid was using un-regulated CO2 in the thing).
So is there anything else to look out for with these things?
Kind of suprised these things aren't more common around me, since I'm about 40 minutes from ATS which is in Minneapolis. Next week I'm going to see if I can pay them a visit. Be nice to get a little factory hands on training, and the few extra parts I need.
Brass Eagle LLC and WGP LLC (Worr Game Products) jointly announce that they were awarded a judgment on December 13, 2004 by the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville, Arkansas against National Paintball Supply Inc., Psychoballistics, Inc., 32 Degrees and Empire Paintball. The judgment includes a permanent injunction, ordering defendants to immediately cease distributing Lightning markers, Lightning Deluxe markers, the Empire Reloader and the 32 Degrees Round Loader. The judgment covered two separate areas: tradedress and patent infringement involving Worr Game’s popular Autococker model paintball marker, and affirmed Worr Game’s exclusive right to the trademarks Autococker and Cocker. Second, the judgment affirmed Viewloaders’ exclusive right to the outward appearance of its popular Viewloader brand paintball loaders.
Bud Orr, President of Worr Game and Lynn Scott, President of Brass Eagle, jointly stated: “We are determined to protect our proprietary patent, tradedress and trademark rights, in Worr Game and ViewLoader Products. Worr Games has a registered trademark in the name Autococker and Cocker, as well as patent and tradedress rights. ViewLoader has similar intellectual property rights which we intend to defend. After several attempts to amicably settle this dispute with no acceptable response, we chose the only option left available. Litigation and the accompanying cost is not what we would have preferred, but under the circumstances we felt we had no other choice.”
In addition to a permanent injunction, the judgment provides for money damages, treble damages, punitive damages and attorney’s fees and costs, with the exact amount to be determined at a later hearing.
Couldn't have happened to a more deserving hack business (psycho ballistics)
by timberwolf
They were the ones to knock off my Chaos chip several years ago and sell it under a different name for half the price. Even copied my instruction sheet word for word. Screw em.
It would seem to me that it would make more sense to pursue ER's loader because it has greater market saturation through places like Dick's sporting goods. Extreme Rage is a PMI company, isn't it?
Also, why not go after ALL the companies making knock-off VL-200s? Everyone from PMI to Indian Springs and back has offered a non-motorized plastic loader that would seem to violate VL's "trade-dress" on the VL-200 patent. If Decemeber is the month for lawsuits why not go ahead and harvest the crop?
What are the benefits of X-rings? What are the down sides? What considerations should I take into account for using them? Do they work well for dynamic seals or only static or...?
In a custom designed/built ram (from scratch). They allow for a "looser" squeeze while still sealing statically and dynamically. Leads to less friction, smoother operation and possibly faster cycle times. I have mine lubed with Lubriplate DS-ES grease and they work great
I use them in all my guns, in fact. I have found that it is unfortunately not given that they will always lead to a performance increase, however they certainly don't do any worse either.
It depends on where you buy the rings from. Some places make you order them using the inside diameter in inches...others just use the AS standard (12/70, 16/70, etc).
But for all intensive purposes, yes same sizes as the stock rings.
A word of caution though...you might not want to install a quad-ring on the end of the bolt guide...it may be chipped away at by the porting in the bolt. if you use a NDZ Stinger v2 or v3, then don't even bother trying to put a quad ring on the end of the guide...it will be sliced to pieces like nothing before.
it s could be fun, but brass eagle pump gun have the tendency to break easily, like when you pump your marker and the pump is no more attached to the bolt, we srcap 4 talon like that.
BE have always been peices of crap since they been makeing plastic markers. I like the integrated hopper and the double 12 gram so i think a nice pump sniper will be up for a project on this one.
I own one of those and BE couldn't possibly do it any worse...
by DeeEight
as the BE plastic at least is better than the stuff on the old UZIs (mine's got some serious cracking issues being held together with electrical tape).
I was out in the great frozen tundra looking for a paintball target and there you were....
by Izzy
my question now is "Why were you bent over a big rock?"
Just pulling your...uuuuhhh...tail Doc. Someone sent me a slideshow of animals sleeping in some of the cutest positions and there you were slumped over a rock.
... I've got an extra National Defense Service medal around here somewhere... (got issued a second one instead of the star I was supposed to get) Now if I can find it... I just might mail it in... assuming I can find it.
I have a diagram of the switch or something similar used by PTP and Deadlywind with a travel of .062" & .750" body, but I've lost the related info. I think I may be able to use it in my ongoing Mayhem electro-to-pneumatic conversion although I don't know if it will have enough flow.
Does anyone have a part # and a retailer (online or Canadian, pref.) that will sell to the general public?
Also, I guess I should be thinking about posting pics. Ideas for a good host?
I meant no offence. I did think it was the valve you guys were probably using. But cudos to you for developing your own where the market couldn't fill your needs. You certainly led me in the right direction, though. My diagram is of the SMAV-3 sub micro switch. Max pressure here is 100% which leaves me with no room for error, so I will probably end up with MAV-2 or 3. Cheaper than I thought, so maybe a few to try out.
Any chance you could flip me one of yours? (just kidding...mostly )
By my round calculations 0.005 ends up being around 0.125 mm. Are you using a piloted valve setup? Although your valve/switch is designed to run on mags , so maybe you don't need a huge amount of travel and have enough flow.
where oh where does one get the thin (0.04" thickness and thinner) o-rings? Those ones used on such things as around the outside of lvl10 carriers, some barrels, etc?
And what numbering system do they use? neither of the Standard or Metric O-ring numbering systems even allow for such size. :-/
I am looking for the cross sectional thickness of a #001 or #002 oring, but with IDs (or OD's) of larger rings.
Looking at the list, notice that AS568A Dash #001 size oring has a CS (cross section) of 0.040". From there they go up, with most Dash 0xx sizes having 0.070" CS.
According to the standard specs, the leading "0" in the Dash number means a nominal 1/16" CS. So, to get a CS of 1/32" (the nominal CS I am after), what is the AS568A number? I have a feeling there is a different, or no, spec for this "odd" size???
I loved the Teflon o-rings from days long past, wish I could get them as easy as I used to could have. If these last as long as the solid Teflon o-rings then I need to order some of them.
I've ordered from these guys once before. They had a 4 day turnaround if i remember correctly (Although i paid almost as much for shipping as I did for the o-rings)
They have 1mm Metric o-rings from 1-25mm diameter
I picked up some of 1mm*20mm for a project.
Hope that's close enough to help.
-Mike
(They will also custom make you o-rings, if they don't carry it. Not sure how many you need to request for that)
Looks like 1mm CS thickness is what I am after (0.039"). If they do have those in a decent selection (1 to 25mm is perfect, I assume in ~1mm steps?), I think this might solve my problem! thanks.
I called O-rings USA, and they do not have them in stock, but could order them.
So, I decide to call American seal again and ask them again.. since I now know that 1mm in different sized DO exist. They happen to have a lot of them, and in stock!! I fought Houston rush hour traffic friday around 4:30, spent 2 hrs on the road (yes, 1hr to go 3 or 4 miles), and bought almost 2000 orings (50/ea 1mm thickness, sizes from 2mm - 20mm in 0.5 mm steps).
I then had to go out and buy another storage bin to put them all in.
Thanks for having TWB updated perfectly on time for us guys on the east coast. I really appreciate it, makes these grueling hours and dismal working conditions late at night a lot better.
"Here's to my last day in High School," as I raise a glass of sparkling white grape juice.
I have about 10 chargers and I can't remember what one to use for my Spyder imagine (Im going to sell it) The batt says 17mh for 17 hours. I have a 20 mh 11 volt. Is that the stock one or should I keep looking?
Thanks
Rob
only without his redeeming qualities. My personal initial distatste for them come from shoddy products, nasty and useless customer service and their dirty dealings both on and off the field. In recent times, they have used broad patents that should never have been issued to drive comapnies out of the market and force payments from other companies without the means to fight a drawn out legal battle and that the majority of the designs they used were developed by others who were then taken out of the picture by SP's dealings.
and of course, at one time the All A's had one of the worst reps in paintball, though by todays standards they are just one of the gang.
Yas, I have a certain distate for this company, and is the only PB company I will NEVER deal with, and i have turned down the oppertunity to be sponsored by them twice.
Other than using a false patent to extort companies and force markers out of production?
by Hans
My reason for such dislike of them is how they used a dubious patent, that they didn't have the full authority to use, to go around throwing lawsuits at anybody they considered competition.
They used the courts to force AKA and AGD to stop all production of their electronic markers.
They wrangled "Licensing and royalties" from the majority of manufacturers.
They have repeatedly stolen other peoples concepts, then enforced patents on those concepts.
Oh, and their stuff is made of crappy quality aluminum.
My gripe with them goes back to the early 90's, too. I blame them for the 2-piece barrel. Their claims of rifling with spiral porting were annoying... and it got worse when they claimed they'd scientifically proven that their spiral rifling made for better range and accuracy. Their hype-marketing continues to this day.
On top of all their product that falls short of the claims (in this universe, anyway), I've had no luck getting decent customer service out of them. Ignored e-mails, ignorant and rude people on phone calls, it's just no way to run a company. I can say honestly that if I mirrored them at my company, I'd be out of business in short order. There's plenty of competition in my line of work, just like in theirs.
So, why do people continue to have such loyalty to a company that commits every business sin there is?
I picked up a Freak kit and when the back and front ended up siezing together the first time they were put together only thing they could tell me is "Hmmmm Guess you did something wrong".
Ends up the front was milled way out of speck and needed about .010 turned off of it so it wouldnt bind against the ID of the back.
PUNKS!
Goat
There are those that feel that, while their actions were morally reprehensible, since it was involved in a business, they should be excused. There are also those who truly believe that the Gardners' patents were deserved. However, the more intelligent crowd tends to gather on this board, and among those, SP supporters are fairly rare. To those of you who are intelligent and support SP, don't take this as a slight against you, it is not intended to be; only a statement of your statistical rarity.
I do love my shocker . The old one at that. I hate what they are doing to other companies, but i think they still make pretty good products. Their products get a bad rap because of what the company is doing to the other guys.
that don't blatantly "hate" Smart Parts, but you'll find few that speak up on this board because most here are anti-SP.
But I'll speak up. My PERSONAL opinion about them is pretty pleased. While I see and understand why most people have issues with them, I'm rather ambivalent. What the Gardners are attempting to do is really no different than what a lot of companies have tried to do. I've never had an issue with any SP products I've owned, and everytime I've needed customer service, I found them to be polite and speedy. But then, that's just my experience.
I've also had the pleasure of having them as a sponsor. And because of their generosity, I was able to go and play paintball in places I never would have been able to afford otherwise. (Aruba and France). Is my opinion skewed because I used to play for them? :: shrug ::. Perhaps...but it was two years ago and I no longer benefit from them at this point.
All sorts of companies have tried to create a monopoly in their respective fields. This one has gained a lot of attention within the paintball world because it directly affects paintball players.
Yes, SP is a bully. Yes, their marketing is hype. Yes, their business practices are less than ethical. But at least they are doing this "The American Way" and presenting their case in a court of law. no doubt there will be other judges that will see SP's claims as frivolous, and they'll get laughed out of court. Still better than SP sending various goons around to break legs in a "convincing" manner, to keep people out of the market. Are Smart Parts "Nazi's"? I can't see the correlation between a large company that spends a ton of money to try and corner a market and a group of hate mongors that sent millions of people to gas ovens. But again, that's just me.
One thing nobody tends to address is that even if SP is awarded these patents, it's not going to be the death of paintball. Plus, it may force paintball to become more creative in figuring out "The Next Big Thing". Maybe it will be the death of the electro. Is that bad? Or maybe someone will invent (and hopefully immediately patent) a whole new concept of the biggest/baddest/fastest/prettiest marker.
So I will take a stand and say that I do like Smart Parts and Smart Parts products. It's my personal opinion and I'm not demanding anyone else feel this way. I love my Max-Flo tank, and I've only had positive experiences with my Freak Kit.
One of the other things you'll find is that most people's "hatred" of Smart Parts is such that they refuse to even acknowledge the things Smart Parts HAS done for the industry. I don't know of any other Team owners that pay for their players medical bills. And no matter if you do or don't like their approach, they have worked very hard to get this sport in front of the general public as a recognized sport. Are their methods good yet? not quite...but at the same time, they're the first to try, and they don't have a script to go off of.
So I guess what I really want to say is...make up your own mind from your own experiences. Don't puruse a few message boards and start spouting off that you hate Smart parts because of something you read, or because some guy has a really cool flash of Smart Parts and a swastika. Use their product. try their customer service. If everything wonks, then by all means add your 2 cents to the drama. Just don't let others make up your mind for you.
I use Smart Parts gear and I like it. I've never had a problem with Smart Parts. There. I said it. Flame away.
Thank you for that little artical. I'm planning on buying a Smart Parts Impulse, and whenever i see a SP bashing artical, it really doesn't say a whole lot about the equipment (Max-flo, freak kit, etc) I have heard only good things about the Impulse, Shoker, etc. I dont think they're legal situation affects me as much as it should, but i'm planning on buying from them anyway. And if i like it, I'll probably become a fan and get other Smart Parts things. i dont know. any more input would be cool.
Well you will be able to find any number of people bashing the products as well, for various reasons. But what it really comes down to is that the stock Impulse really isn't too good of a gun. It's cheap and can be upgraded into a performer but only after spending a few hundred in parts to replace the stock ones.
See, the difference here is that you were able to put your arguement forth in a clear and understandable manner. We may disagree with our feelings regarding the company, but I have total respect for your stance and viewpoint.
Personally, I don't think that SP will be the death of paintball even if they won every case. It may have an effect, but the sport will continue. I just don't fit in with the game anymore, except in rare occurances.
The sport went one way, I went another... oh well.
The opinion of the company and the cause for said opinion will vary from forum to forum, dramatically. Head to PBNation and you will find a large number of kids who hate Smart Parts becuase it's the cool thing to do. perhaps they heard they're going to prevent the game from growing...whatever that means. But boy oh boy, is it ever cool to hate.
I like hans' response. It really shows the intelligence of people on this forum. They disagree but don't attach any negative connotations to their statements, especially when they're not needed.
I love them in that they do make a nice product. They manufacture it all in the US. They definitely treat their teams extremely well. I can't say I'm familiar with their customer service, but I haven't heard any bad things.
I hate their business practices however. There is no need to drive smaller companies out of business. Sure, charge a reasonable fee (reasonable depends on the size of the company, volume of sales, and price of the marker) for your intellectual property, but make it affordable for them. Also, I use the term intellectual property loosely, because that is a large debate in itself. I hate the fact that I don't trust them having any sort of power within the industry.
I have a maxflow (I've had it for 6 years now) and freak kit since it first came out. I have no complaints about them whatsoever. However, I tend to steer away from buying any more of their products because I feel my money will go towards a company that is doing detrimental things to an industry that I love, and hope to one day work in.
I dont think Doc likes Smart Parts very much because i sent him an email a while back about them and he never replied. :-\ If he reads this or if anyone know's his opinion, please voice it for future reffrence for me and other readers.
As I have said, officially and in public, several times, I have little against their products.
I'm a firm supporter of the Max Flow system, although that support is sort of "grandfathered", since at the time, the only good HPA systems on the market included the AA Raptor (no shutoff valve, no mounting rail, single-stage reg with mediocre flow rates, etc) and the Paintball Mania systems (again, no mounting rail, odd tank sizes, no shutoff, etc.)
Nowadays there are equivalent or better systems- the AGD Flatline is very good (although I'm no fan of the mounting system) and in my opinion the DynaFlow is one of the best available (built in standard dovetail rail, built-in and effective pushbutton on-off with degas, very good flow rates, nicely adjustable, consistent, etc.)
I'm still a fan of the Max, but less so due to things like SP's refusal to use a standard/common mounting rail. And the new-generation inline Max (the cigar-shaped one for the '03-up Shockers) has a few quirks and is surprisingly heavy.
Their barrel system is decent, but only just. Others, like the Equation, do the same job better. They don't, however, yet have the Freaks' huge range of options (tip length, color, back material, insert bores, insert material, tip style, etc.)
The new-generation Shockers are very good guns. The early ones, like the one I had, had their teething problems, but overall, with the later-generation bolts, they're nice guns indeed. Fast, light, reasonably efficient, nice trigger.
On the other hand, I have a great deal of dislike for their corporate policies, their overwrought advertising hype and their ruthless dealings with other companies.
According to rumor, their first "real" product, the All-American "rifled" barrel, was in fact stolen from an early All-American teammember... Fred Moulton, was it? The guy that drew "Sgt. Splatter" and did the T-Shirts.
The original concept for the holes was to make the barrel self-cleaning. The holes gave the broken paint somewhere to go when the next ball "squeegeed" it out. That idea didn't work, but it made it quieter- so for whatever reason the Gardners patented it (no mention of Moulton on the patent, of course) and described it as a way to "stabilize" the ball and make it more accurate, yadda yadda etcetera.
Further (though I didn't know all the details until fairly recently) they basically hired the firm PVI to "invent" an electronic paintball gun for them, claimed it as their own, drove them into bankruptcy, bought the IP and patents, claimed to have invented electronic paintball guns (through some playing fast and loose with the US Patent Office) and started leaning on the "little guys" who, in my opinion were making superior competing products.
The Automag "Magic Box", which I thought was crap from day one- I got an early taste of how their company was run when the clamp that "disguised" the hollow brass plug (the whole secret to the MB) had a sticker on it that said "do not remove or warranty will be voided" or some nonsense.
It should have said Do not remove or you might discover you paid $190 for a pipe nipple and an aluminum clamp with two screws.
Rumor also has it the original "magic box" was the idea of a Brit, who called it the "Black Box".
The '98 World Cup, where the AAs got caught with the first-ever "cheater" boards (Shocker boards that used switch noise to "add" queued shots, so that pulling the trigger at anything above about 5bps gave you a full 11.2BPS) and successfully (due to their influence) argued that since the tiny contacts in the microswitch were what actually fired the circuitry, THAT was the "trigger" according to NPPL rules, and therefore it wasn't "cheating".
And since the rulebook didn't specify what, precisely, was the trigger, they had to let it slide.
Further still is what I keep seeing as corporate cost-cutting. Shocker bodies are made from fairly low-grade and soft 2021 aluminum, and the older 4X4 ones had a badly-designed lower tray with screws that were almost designed to strip out. And when they did, they charged the owner $300 for a new body.
Using Shocker-specific threads, the only reason for which I can see is so they can sell more barrels. Yes, it can be argued, that the Shocker threads are coarser and double-lead, so that barrels can be unscrewed faster than the 'Cocker thread, but it was clear five years ago that the WGP was becoming the de-facto barrel thread standard.
The "faster" bit, however, doesn't explain why they went with yet another different barrel thread for the Impulse. Why, other than to sell more barrels?
The original 4X4 requirement of using the expensive and difficult to stock custom-made battery packs. I doubt the circuit board designer was unknowledgeable enough to design a board that needed that specific a voltage, or that the pack gave a significantly or notably longer life than a standard 9V, so I can only see that as a "razor" analogy. IE, give away the handle, make your money on the replaceable part.
How many 4X4 owners out there are still buying those $8 battery packs because they think that's what it has to have?
The list goes on.
The company is successful, no doubt about that. They are a major part of the NXL, they sell jillions of guns, barrels and accessories. They have generous sponsor programs and some great players.
But that business was all but built on shady dealings and questionable practices. The AA barrel made them as a business. As their first product, it came at the perfect time- back then, there were no "custom" or aftermarket barrels. You shot the gun with whatever barrel it came with. Nobody made anything else.
SP, for the first year or two, simply bought up stacks of those same factory barrels. They called up Sheridan and bought racks of stock VM barrels, they called up Bud and bought stacks of factory, off-the-shelf Sniper/'Cocker barrels, etc. They'd then drill their rows of holes, and resell them at a 250% markup as "air rifled" barrels.
That's what MADE them as a company. That got them the name, the money and the influence to branc into other designs.
And that original barrel design, the idea for the holes itself, was not theirs. It was essentially stolen from an early teammember, who got precisely zero compensation for it, because he had no patent, no proof and no IP on it.
I have a real tough time liking or dealing with a company like that.
Now I will say, I have no idea how things were back in the day with SP in its infancy, with tier barrels and teams and whatnot....however nowadays I would guess a good half of the stuff that goes into guns comes from the teams. The rest comes from people like Dan, Tony, Shadrach, others. Even some from myself. But the people on the teams nowadays that bring new things to the table for SP products are all employees of the factory, and in fact most of them are the master technicians that are responsible for assembly of the respective private label impulses and shockers, and future nerves. If by only a legal standpoint, when these people pump out new things I would assume there just has to be a stipulation in their contract towards the situation (anyone who has been to SP HQ knows of the endless amounts of contracts floating around).
Further, and obviously take it with a grain, they have even incorporated some of my suggestions into things. Of course I'm not talking about new designs for guns or anything even remotely patentable, but I'll be damned if I care who the credit goes to. If I were in the position to be placed on soemthing they patented I suppose I would want to be, however barrel rifling and the slew of shocker/electronics patents account for most of these types of things (generally).
The question is, do you work for them and sign the contract or refuse to sign and not participate? I know I would sign...or should I say have signed...whatever.
Any company that doesn't take sponsored team's input is crazy. Those guys give the product more abuse in a day than the average user does in 6 months.
A great deal of SP sponsored players are employee's of the company, and more than that alot of their players are on salary now too, thus making anything those guys develop SP property, IP-wise. Not a bad concept if you have the money to pay 15-25 players full time.
just my review....
smart parts obviously had a huge part to do with this airing on ESPN 2. I didn't get caught up in the whole anti-SP thing, and i own a freak kit (dont use it tho). While this does for some reason bother me that they are such a large part of both the NXL and the main funding behind many of the projects, i still think its a good thing for paintball in general.
on to the actual show...
the announcers were corny, but if you had never seen paintball before it would have helped, they did a good job i think for being voice-over announcers.
the actual play was difficult to follow, using a HUD type of screen would have made the game a lot more fun and entertaining.
NXL
some of the new rules such as the 15 BPS limit and the bounce/ramp allowance obviously will kill the NXL. the actual playing has gone down dramatically. Anyone can shoot three shots then hold down a trigger. It takes skill to snap shoot and go up the snake with a non-bouncing non-ramping non-full auto gun.
Did you notice when one of the players in the snake (around the middle of the show, dont really remember who or where) jerked back into his bunker to avoid getting shot- in doing so leaving a nice "U" shapped line of paint on the inside of his own bunker...and we're not talking 1 or 2 balls, more like 10-15.
While I guess it's nice that they have limited the ROF, I still think the rules need work. Bounce/ramping/auto and all that are still dangerous.
I still don't think it's a good idea. What if, say, the same player that unintentionally lit up his own bunker tripped and shot a string up into the air? I dont think I saw anyone in the crowd wearing a mask, and those saftey nets are only so high...
FROM fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty's rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
And, tender churl, mak'st waste in niggarding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee.
II.
When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
Thy youth's proud livery, so gaz'd on now,
Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:
Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use,
If thou couldst answer, 'This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse,'
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it
cold.
III.
Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another;
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some
mother,
For where is she so fair whose unear'd womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime;
So thou through windows of thine age shalt see,
Despite of wrinkles, this thy golden time.
But if thou live, remember'd not to be,
Die single, and thine image dies with thee.
IV.
Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend
Upon thyself thy beauty's legacy?
Nature's bequest gives nothing, but doth lend,
And being frank, she lends to those are free:
Than, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse
The bounteous largess given thee to give?
Profitless usurer, why dost thou use
So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live?
For having traffic with thyself alone,
Thou of thyself thy sweet self dost deceive:
Then how, when Nature calls thee to be gone,
What acceptable audit canst thou leave?
Thy unus'd beauty must be tomb'd with thee,
Which used, lives th' executor to be.
V.
Those hours, that with gentle work did frame
The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell,
Will play the tyrants to the very same
And that unfair which fairly doth excel;
For never-resting time leads summer on
To hideous winter, and confounds him there;
Sap check'd-with frost, and lusty leaves quite gone,
Beauty o'ersnow'd and bareness every where:
Then, were not summer's distillation left,
A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass,
Beauty's effect with beauty were bereft,
Nor it, nor no remembrance what it was;
But flowers distill'd, though they with winter
meet,
Leese but their show; their substance still lives
sweet.
VI.
Then let not winter's ragged hand deface
In thee thy summer, ere thou be distill'd:
Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some place
With beauty's treasure, ere it be self-kill'd.
That use is not forbidden usury,
Which happies those that pay the willing loan;
That's for thyself to breed another thee,
Or ten times happier, be it ten for one;
Ten times thyself were happier than thou art,
If ten of thine ten times refigur'd thee;
Then what could death do, if thou shouldst de-
part,
Leaving thee living in posterity?
Be not self-will'd, for thou art much too fair
To be death's conquest and make worms thine
heir.
VII.
Lo! in the orient when the gracious light
Lifts up his burning head, each under eye
Doth homage to his new-appearing sight,
Serving with looks his sacred majesty;
And having climb'd the steep-up heavenly hill,
Resembling strong youth in his middle age,
Yet mortal looks adore his beauty still,
Attending on his golden pilgrimage;
But when from highmost pitch, with weary car,
Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day,
The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted are
From his low tract, and look another way:
So thou, thyself outgoing in thy noon,
Unlook'd on diest, unless thou get a son.
VIII.
Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy:
Why lov'st thou that which thou receiv'st not
gladly,
Or else receiv'st with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering;
Resembling sire and child and happy mother,
Who, all in one, one pleasing note do sing:
Whose speechless song, being many, seeming
one,
Sings this to thee: 'Thou single wilt prove none.'
IX.
Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye
That thou consum'st thyself in single life?
Ah! if thou issueless shalt hap to die,
The world will wail thee, like a makeless wife;
The world will be thy widow, and still weep
That thou no form of thee hast left behind,
When every private widow well may keep
By children's eyes her husband's shape in mind.
Look! what an unthrift in the world doth spend
Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it;
But beauty's waste hath in the world an end,
And kept unus'd, the user so destroys it.
No love toward others in that bosom sits
That on himself such murderous shame com-
mits.
X.
For shame! deny that thou bear'st love to any,
Who for thyself art so unprovident.
Grant, if thou wilt, thou art belov'd of many,
But that thou none lov'st is most evident;
For thou art so possess'd with murderous hate
That 'gainst thyself thou stick'st not to conspire,
Seeking that beauteous roof to ruinate
Which to repair should be thy chief desire.
O! change thy thought, that I may change my
mind:
Shall hate be fairer lodg'd than gentle love?
Be, as thy presence is, gracious and kind,
Or to thyself at least kind-hearted prove:
Make thee another self, for love of me,
That beauty still may live in thine or thee.
XI.
As fast as thou shalt wane, so fast thou grow'st
In one of thine, from that which thou departest;
And that fresh blood which youngly thou be-
stow'st
Thou mayst call thine when thou from youth
convertest.
Herein lives wisdom, beauty and increase;
Without this, folly, age and cold decay:
If all were minded so, the times should cease
And threescore year would make the world away.
Let those whom Nature hath not made for store,
Harsh, featureless and rude, barrenly perish:
Look, whom she best endow'd she gave the more;
Which bounteous gift thou shouldst in bounty
cherish:
She carv'd thee for her seal, and meant thereby
Thou shouldst print more, nor let that copy
die.
XII.
When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls, all silver'd o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make
defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee
hence.
XIII.
O! that you were yourself; but, love, you are
No longer yours than you yourself here live:
Against this coming end you should prepare,
And your sweet semblance to some other give:
So should that beauty which you hold in lease
Find no determination; then you were
Yourself again, after yourself's decease,
When your sweet issue your sweet form should
bear.
Who lets so fair a house fall to decay,
Which husbandry in honour might uphold
Against the stormy gusts of winter's day
And barren rage of death's eternal cold?
O! none but unthrifts. Dear my love, you know
You had a father: let-your son say so.
XIV.
Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck;
And yet methinks I have astronomy,
But not to tell of good or evil luck,
Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality;
Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell,
Pointing to each his thunder, rain, and wind,
Or say with princes if it shall go well,
By oft predict that I in heaven find:
But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,
And, constant stars, in them I read such art
As 'Truth and beauty shall together thrive,
If from thyself to store thou wouldst convert;'
Or else of thee this I prognosticate:
'Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date.'
XV.
When I consider every thing that grows
Holds in perfection but a little moment,
That this huge state presenteth nought but
shows
Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;
When I perceive that men as plants increase,
Cheered and check'd e'en by the self-same sky,
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
And wear their brave state out of memory;
Then the conceit of this inconstant stay
Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,
Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay,
To change your day of youth to sullied night;
And, all in war with Time for love of you,
As he takes from you, I engraft you new.
XVI.
But wherefore do not you a mightier way
Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time?
And fortify yourself in your decay
With means more blessed than my barren rime?
Now stand you on the top of happy hours,
And many maiden gardens, yet unset,
With virtuous wish would bear you living flowers
Much liker than your painted counterfeit:
So should the lines of life that life repair,
Which this, Time's pencil, or my pupil pen,
Neither in inward worth nor outward fair,
Can make you live yourself in eyes of men.
To give away yourself keeps yourself still;
And you must live, drawn by your own sweet
skill.
XVII.
Who will believe my verse in time to come,
If it were fill'd with your most high deserts?
Though yet, heaven knows, it is but as a tomb
Which hides your life and shows not half your
parts.
If I could write the beauty of your eyes
And in fresh numbers number all your graces,
The age to come would say, 'This poet lies;
Such heavenly touches ne'er touch'd earthly
faces.'
So should my papers, yellow'd with their age,
Be scorn'd, like old men of less truth than tongue,
And your true rights be term'd a poet's rage
And stretched metre of an antique song:
But were some child of yours alive that time,
You should live twice,—in it and in my rime.
XVIII.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course un-
trimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his
shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
XIX.
Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,
And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood;
Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleets,
And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,
Fo the wide world and all her fading sweets;
But I forbid thee one most heinous crime:
O! carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow,
Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen;
Him in thy course untainted do allow
For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.
Yet, do thy worst, old Time: despite thy wrong,
My love shall in my verse ever live young.
XX.
A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women's
fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in
rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men's eyes and women's souls
amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick'd thee out for women's
pleasure,
Mine be thy love, and thy love's use their
treasure.
XXI.
So is it not with me as with that Muse
Stirr'd by a painted beauty to his verse,
Who heaven itself for ornament doth use
And every fair with his fair doth rehearse,
Making a couplement of proud compare,
With sun and moon, with earth and sea's rich
gems,
With April's first-born flowers, and all things rare
That heaven's air in this huge rondure hems.
O! let me, true in love, but truly write,
And then believe me, my love is as fair
As any mother's child, though not so bright
As those gold candles fix'd in heaven's air:
Let them say more that like of hear-say well;
I will not praise that purpose not to sell.
XXII.
My glass shall not persuade me I am old,
So long as youth and thou are of one date;
But when in thee time's furrows I behold,
Then look I death my days should expiate.
For all that beauty that doth cover thee
Is but the seemly raiment of my heart,
Which in thy breast doth live, as thine in me:
How can I then, be elder than thou art?
O! therefore, love, be of thyself so wary
As I, not for myself, but for thee will;
Bearing thy heart, which I will keep so chary
As tender nurse her babe from faring ill.
Presume not on thy heart when mine is slain;
Thou gav'st me thine, not to give back again.
XXIII.
As an unperfect actor on the stage,
Who with his fear is put besides his part,
Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,
Whose strength's abundance weakens his own
heart;
So I, for fear of trust, forget to say
The perfect ceremony of love's rite,
And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,
O'ercharg'd with burden of mine own love's
might.
O! let my books be then the eloquence
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,
Who plead for love, and look for recompense,
More than that tongue that more hath more
express'd. O! learn to read what silent love hath writ:
To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.
XXIV.
Mine eye hath play'd the painter and hath stell'd
Thy beauty's form in table of my heart;
My body is the frame wherein 'tis held,
And perspective it is best painter's art.
For through the painter must you see his skill,
To find where your true image pictur'd lies,
Which in my bosom's shop is hanging still,
That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes.
Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have
done:
Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for
me
Are windows to my breast, where-through the
sun
Delights to peep, to gaze therein on thee;
Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art,
They draw but what they see, know not the
heart.
XXV.
Let those who are in favour with their stars
Of public honour and proud titles boast,
Whilst I, whom fortune of such triumph bars,
Unlook'd for joy in that I honour most.
Great princes' favourites their fair leaves spread
But as the marigold at the sun's eye,
And in themselves their pride lies buried,
For at a frown they in their glory die.
The painful warrior famoused for fight,
After a thousand victories once foil'd,
Is from the book of honour razed quite,
And all the rest forgot for which he toil'd:
Then happy I, that love and am belov'd,
Where I may not remove nor be removed.
Saw a lot of Shockers. A Toxic, several Strange and Dynasty...then there was one I can't quite remember ever seeing. I think Eric Dearman of Philly was shooting it, it was white/red fade with what seemed to be some very distinctive milling...is there a new Private Label Shocker, or did someone just send it in to the mill? And does anyone have a picture, in the case my babbleing has made any sense?
Re: nice going but try again on the enity matrix.the last three from brotherhood customs inc.
by Dave
We never touched Aardvark Matrix's, I think a very few of them were made from our bodies. We came in around the same time that they started slowing down their production, so a great deal of their markers were in fact Airtech guns, with alot of work put into them.
oh lordy. guess ill have to step in a bit on this one
by
okey.... yes aardvark made the entity. tell me where you get the info for saying that he didnt.
secondly, the first custom matricies (all 5 of them), (which i kick myself daily for not buying one when i had the chance) which is what got greg in hot water with diablo/airtech in the first place came from off tolerance bodies that he took. they were going to be recycled and he saved them from the scrap heap. he took them home and did a whole lot of fiddling and the customs and tequilas were born
on a side note, the first 5 customs, and 15 original tequila's have no serial numbers. therefore diablo saw no money for them, therefore they got pissed at greg.
and the entity was made by arrdvark cutsom paintball FOR the ironmen exclusively thats why only like 10 of them exist, thats why they have the logo milled into the side of the gun. and not anything aardvark related
how can one add metal to a trigger where the safety goes besides welding?
solder?
most autotriggers i have are stock trigger plates with metal added to the safety area milled flat for the autotrigger arm
one was welded and the other i dont know maybe soldered
cant use too much heat because im putting it on a bearing trigger plate cna the heat will kill the bearings
also whats smoother for set screws
brass or nylon tipped
I guess you can't remove the bearings for welding huh? That's gonna make it kinda tough even with solder since you're still hitting it with a good amount of heat. I've been considering drilling down from the top and driving in a pin to create the flat....gonna give that a try over the Christmas break (that'd be Dec 26th....).
As for your set screw tips.....I think Brass would hold up better and would have less drag at break-over though the stiction caused by contact with nylon would be pretty minimal. I think in a real world application, either will d ojust fine.
Loaned to a friend, came back stuck and a little brown with rust.
Tried to WD40 it up, put it in a vice (toweled, of course), and a thick-handled flathead screwdriver to no avail.
Should I scrap my pgp because of this little problem?
From one Saturday to the next when it was really cold and rained all week the cap rusted in the body, luckily I caught it before it was to difficult to remove.
Try heating the body up (mindful of the solder on the body) in that area then applying WD-40 again. Soaking it in a vat of some sort of penetrating solution might work as well.
If your considering trashing the PGP over this I would be more than happy to take it off your hands for a few bucks!
And a few bucks wouldn't cover shipping
If I get this gas cap off, and find that it leaks or something, I'd let it go for 50 dollars+shipping. I was really hoping to IMP kit the thing, but if it leaks, I'm not sure of the ramifications that would have on the modification.
as it will leach in to the valve and deteriorate the seals. Use some mystery oil if necessary. If you have access to a heat gun, a CO2 tank and remote it can be loosened with thermo dynamics. First get the offending area hot to the touch then quickly flood the area with CO2 to frost it you may here a slight crack it will be the release of the galvanic corrosion. Be mind full to keep the heat at just the spot of the threads. If you do not fell comfortable doing this there are several people who are reputable airsmiths who would glad to do it. (Doc,Big Matt, Punisher, Palmers,and Scarecrow) I may self would do it for you but I am not a business and do not plan on taking good work away for others.
than 12g can produce ............ also be very careful with the torch as it will ruin the finish very easily use the smallest sustainable flame. Do not get too much heat in it or you can melt the solder. (melting point is 300-400 deg)
I put the pgp into a vise again, and shot a little WD into the partially exposed thread. I let it sit a few moments, tapped it with a hammer, and it wouldn't budge. I tapped it again, slid a narrow toothless file's long edge into the groove of the cap, and smacked it with a hammer. Torque is my friend.
It came out very slowly and with much grunting. Now to see if it leaks. If it does, will an IMP kit come with sufficient parts to replace the leaking one?
Thank you for giving me a victory over an inanimate object
Question is, what if you dont have the valve punch? Could you use a spent 12 gram like you could on the the PGP2? If not, where can you locate a valve punch?
"The jury found that the asserted claims of NPF’s U.S. patent number 6,615,814 were valid. Earlier, on November 17, Judge John Shabaz found that the patent was infringed, as a matter of law, by Smart Parts’ Impulse, Shocker and Nerve markers. Following the jury trial, the court granted NPF’s motion for a permanent injunction, preventing Smart Parts from selling any infringing markers from December 9, 2004, forward. This injunction will last for the life of the patent, until October 14, 2019."
So...what? This means that Smart Parts no longer controls the patent?
Wow... And from the text quoted, hitting back HARD...
by
Does WDP have any suits against other companies? I mean, if the imp infringes, so do about 10-15 other markers... If they haven't brought suit against anyone else, it could mean they're only using it as a means of discouragement of further suit from sp... Or they could just be establishing a precedent...
WDP were pretty relaxed about their IP until SP decided to try and run them out of business.
I had a long discussion with John Rice some years back and he said his policy was always 'we would rather beat them with better products in the market place' when asked about IP and competitor products.
I was specifically talking to him about patent infringement too.
You can see why when you realise they have over $2 Million invested in this lawsuit. Often patent lawsuits are just too expensive to be worthwhile.
...worst case scenario. People applaud the fact that SP lost, but now that WDP is in the position to do the same, what happens if they do? Same thing, different company doing it?
Though your post has a reassuring value to me, seeing as how you have a nice bit of insider info.
since I started playing when ALL tournaments, pro and amateur, were in the woods.
But, I understand its harder to sell advertising for a sport when you can't see the athletes. And its easy to sell paint, when the fields are short so everyone is firing from beginning to end.
Still, I DO give credit. WDP has done a lot for the sport. Hyperball IS a legitimate form of paintgall and tournament play.
"WE DONT PLAY!!!!!!"
I was just wondering last week, what was happening with this.
Im glad I stuck with the same gun (2000 LCD) for like 4 years now. I hope that things go the way these posts make it sound. If so, I will have even MORE respect for them (WDP) than I do now. Not that I know any of them personally, but, I dont believe Ive ever heard/read anything "bad" about any of them either.
Manike just giving a brit some ribbing from a aussie. You know when britain sent its convicts over it sent over its best and brightest :p. Can trace both sides of my family back to the first fleet convicts .
That's correct... although I heard rumorw it stood for "We Do Porn"...
by Dr J
I met some of their lawyer squad at my field (they had a private party for some Pure Promotions guys, WDP guys, and their lawyers.)
One of the lawyers made a joke about..."WDP, who dares play... damnit, I don't but I'm gonna do it anyway (old british lawyer guy). So I confirmed that it stands for Who Dares Play, and the told him the rumor about "We Do Porn" and how it was partially supported by their more liberal European use of female skin in advertising. They all laughed and thought it was hillarious and said they might suggest the name change to the owner and something about... "imagine if our field trip was for that instead of paintball."
They've seen you coming a mile away and said heres a sucker lets mislead him and have a laugh
it really is Who dares plays , based on the UK S.A.S motto Who Dares Wins. Manike knows these things being a expatriate brit
Unless WDP magically got all court costs and lawyer fees...
by DeeEight
repaid to them as part of winning the suit (this is why we don't get a lot of frivolous lawsuits in canada, up here, its normal for the LOSERS to pay the winner's costs) then its doubtful they'll have the money to sue anyone else anytime soon.
That doesn't happen in the USA and is one reason there are so many frivolous cases.
In Canada and England we have less frivolous claims and suits because if you lose you pay the other persons costs as well... makes many more people think twice.
This recent loss was over the components of the electronic board which drives the paintball gun, not the larger electropnumatic paintball gun "shocker" patent. Currently SP and WDP have joint ownership of that patent. Wdp won joint ownership of that patent with their previous victory in court, where they purchased the rights to the patent from the guy who did most of the work for Pneuventures.
to be honest, either things improve or they stay pretty much the same. As much as i hate to see anything bad with any paintball company, i would would have to admit i would be very happy to dance on smart parts grave, and my intial distaste for SP stems from long before the IP lawsuits. That said, i won't hold my breath since it would still take a lot more then this lawsuit to shut down SP. I expect pretty much a status quo to remain for a while.
Interestingly enough, it all revolves around a data link, but the patent explicitly lists a "paintball gun" and a "data link", not just electronics on their own.
Hopefully Goldie, Curt, and myself don't have anything to worry about.
What I gather from the patent it revolves around the processor being reprogrammable and having a datalink of some kind. So what if SP just decides to break any datalink to the processor, wouldn't that be a valid way to avoid that patent from their point of view?
Smart Parts will not discontinue production of markers
JURY REACHES VERDICT IN NPF v. SMART PARTS PATENT CASE
A four-day jury trial on NPF's allegations of patent infringement against Smart Parts concluded Thursday, December 9, 2004 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The jury found claim 10 of U.S. Patent No. 6,311,682 (the '682 patent) invalid for obviousness. Claims 21 and 39 of U.S. Patent No. 6,615,814 (the '814 patent) were not found to be invalid for obviousness. All three claims had previously been found to be infringed in a November 17, 2004 Memorandum and Order. Several post-trial issues remain pending and Smart Parts is preserving all of its legal rights.
Damages in the amount of $109,070 were awarded to NPF as a reasonable royalty for Smart Parts' infringement and an injunction prohibiting Smart Parts from future infringement of claims 21 and 39 of the '814 patent was entered following the jury verdict on damages.
_______________
This does NOT affect Smart Parts' ability to market, sell, and distribute its Shocker, Impulse, and Nerve paintball guns and will not detrimentally affect the quality or performance of its markers in any way.
_______________
Smart Parts has already taken all the necessary steps to comply with the terms of the injunction. Smart Parts' dealers and distributors therefore do not need take any action with respect to their continued sales of Smart Parts' products. The injunction does not apply to markers sold by Smart Parts before December 9, 2004.
Any dealer inquiries should be directed to Smart Parts at (724) 539-2660.
AS OF DECEMBER 10TH, 2004
SMART PARTS COMPLIED WITH THE INJUNCTION BY MAKING THE NECESSARY CHANGES TO NERVE, SHOCKER AND IMPULSE MARKERS.
SMART PARTS IS CONTINUING TO SHIP ITS NERVE, SHOCKER AND IMPULSE MARKERS. NO MARKERS SOLD SINCE DECEMBER 10TH INFRINGE.
DEALERS NEED NOT WORRYABOUT PAST OR FUTURE SALES OF ANY SMART PARTS MARKERS.
THE DAMAGES COVER ALL INDIVIDUALS AND DEALERS WHO PURCHASED NERVES, SHOCKERS AND IMPULSES PRIOR TO DECEMBER 10, 2004.
Frankly its a stupid patent since when is adding a datalink to a electronic device a novel invention? To me it seems common sense. Also the smart parts patent was stupid , since when is making a pneumatic device electro-pneumatic novel as well ,i don't see how it could be, its quite common to do in industry.
3 steps to riches in the US
Step 1. Find a pneumatic devices (We'll call it device X) that haven't ever been made electropneumatic
Step 2. Patent a electro-pneumatic version of device X.
Step 3. Wait and Profit.
Step 4. (Optional) If you are a greedy bastard go back to step 1 and repeat.
in canada, a patent has to be for something unique that nobody else of average intelligence in the same industry might think of also. You cannot for example patent the concept of an electronic door lock, but you could patent a specific design of electronic door lock. There are no broad electro-pneumatic paintball gun patents enforceable under canadian patent laws. BE could have a patent on the rainmaker design, WDP on its angel, Dye on the matrix, etc, but they're specific patents to each gun design. You couldn't do what SP does, up here. No ported barrel patents would stand up here as the idea of drilling holes or slots in a gun barrel is OBVIOUS to anyone in the firearms industry for various uses.
We (Aussie aussie oi oi) just got em under recent FTA :(
by Ze
We got seriously stuffed in the recent FTA between australia and america , damn stupid prime minister of ours. So we've now got your copyright laws as well but without fair use provisions. We truly got the raw end of the stick.
its the same rule down here in the states; obviousness gets a claim knocked out.
ALL of the electronic gun patents issued in the states are for specific, unique designs.
SP was granted some very broad claims at a time when the number of paintball related patents was about 0. This is due to a couple of things, not the least of which is the fact that at the time, the field of invention for paintball tech was relatively unknown to the PTO.
Those broad claims are subject to being whittled down - so long as someone has the $ to fight them.
Its not so much the PTO as it is a combination of things.
What about smart parts patent on the shocker , that is still being upheld. please don't spread fud.
The problem is the original patent got revised.. there was a version that didn't have all these silly claims in it and was a nice technical patent , then there is the current version its stupid basically. but its being upheld , they sneaked the patent in.. i reckon there had to be a bit of underhandedness going on at the patent office.
There's one thing that a lot of people are missing or have misunderstood about these lawsuits. None of them were about the validity of the patent, only whether or not somebody's infringing on an existing patent. In a nutshell, the judge/jury is only interested in whether or not company A's product infringes on company B's patent. They don't care whether or not the patent was filed properly, or if the information contained within the patent is accurate.
Invalidating a patent is something that is done by bringing suit against the patent holder. Generic drug companies do this all the time, when a new drug is patented. Problem is, it's probably far cheaper to gain a license than it is to take the issue to court. If anything, Smart Parts would be the only company with an incentive to do this, assuming WDP refuses to license their patent to them and Smart Parts feels that they're missing enough sales to justify the expense.
But invalidating the patent finishes off the lawsuit
by Ze
If one is being sued for infringing on a patent then clearly if the defendant invalidates the patent then they cannot be infringing on a patent that is invalidated. Its just one way of ending the case.
This is why ICD/AKA/AGD were all looking for prior art.
having the money for lawyers to survive the delays and continuances and so forth that SP kept going for, until you get to present the evidence of prior art in front of a jury or judge was the problem, and of the companies sued by SP, only WDP had the money to do it. That's why SP didn't sue BE or Kingman and never were going to either.
tidbit i read about american patent system and prior art.
by Anonymous
Interestingly if something has been examined by the patent examiner before and then ignored it can't be used as prior art to invalidate the patent. so we are basically at the whim of the patent examiners.
I think the problem that provable public prior art that predated the shocker filing date by more than a year was never found. There was plenty of talk about possiblities and stuff within the year but none i know of was found before the cut off date.
Should be interesting to see.
It would be perfect justice if they just stick it to smart parts as hard as they did and let everyone else license for cheap or nothing.
copy of my post from pbnation regarding the new findings
by Dr J
but the real issue is that one neighbor hood bully just got beat by the NEW neighbor hood bully.
Now that WDP is in charge... wait to see what they do next.
Either...
A. Be the "nice guy" of the sport and let others infringe on their pattent and miss an oportunity to make a buck while letting paintball technology grow faster.
or
B. Pick up where Smart Parts left off and have a couple bucks in there pocket for EVERY electro that get's made.
If A is the case... well good for them, and us.
If B is the case... AKA will still be getting beat up, Guns will still cost more (and maybe even more than that), and all you guys with the "SP = Nazi" flash can start changing it to "WDP = the Devil" and start photoshoping devil horns onto the WDP Angels.
Does anyone know how much SP was asking to license it's patent to companies? What happens if WDP takes over this licensing racket? I ask because the numbers I heard would not seem to be so large as to inhibit anyone from working with SP (once the law man said it was their patent) or maybe working with WDP in the future.
I have heard it was like $5 or $10 per unit. If that is the case, I can't see that as an obstacle to new markers. Come on, $5 on a product that sells from $500 - $1,500 is peanuts. I'd hate to pay anyone a licensing fee, but business is business and sometimes you pay a fee to make and sell a product. I would if the fee were that small and I was in the business.
That's how business works. It may not sit well with some of us paintballers (for who this is not a business, but a passion), but a fee that small will not keep companies from entering this business.
If SP is/was charging so high a fee as to keep competitors out, then in the long run, they are as thick as a brick (thanks you Mr. Tull).
Anyone have info on what the actual fees or structure (yearly, per unit, etc.) of those fees involved are/were? With this ruling, will AKA be coming back into the electro scene?
Thanks,
Tony
Part-Time Question Man and Third-Rate Psychic
Out of a 1500 dollar gun paying a small sum is tolerable, but out of a $120 retail gun that sells $90 to the dealer and costs $70 to make paying an extra $xx dollars is A LOT
To Manike, I guess I knew my numbers were off (had to be), but I just hate the answer that there is no one answer. I don't hate you Manike, although your picture with the two Richards did make me a bit green.
EGi, I don't think we are talking about guns that retail for less that $500 or so, unless there are solenoid (pneumatically) controlled markers out there for less than I know.
Well, I guess the answer is what I already guessed, enough to keep the competition out. Sad for us if WDP chooses to continue this (I have hopes the will not, it's reasonable that they won't).
And stupid by SP to have charged unreasonable amounts to begin with. Especially when they didn't really have sound legal standing to do so.
Wow, and here I thought it was just solenoid controlled markers...
by
That is sad, I completely underestimated and misunderstood SP's knuckleheadedness. This brings a whole new dimension to the depths of their greediness, the Gardner brothers.
Again, I say wow.
So that is what was meant when they said that they wrote the patent as board as possible. If you can't invent it, or steal it, just take the money.
Basically the claims of the patent cover a paintball gun operated by a electronic switch to fire. Now is that novel i ask you , i think not. Patent examiners need to be hit with a clue bat everytime they pass a stupid patent.
So SP modified the original patent to be very specific. It was for a dual-noid electro spooler, and nothing else.
But FOR SOME REASON, the patent office allowed them -FIVE- years later to submit a revised version with a much broader claim: Basically it covers any electro (or at least any electro with a solenoid).
Sad, but at least the Judge back in the spring saw through the SP lies.
I don't suppose the judge had the power to rule it too broad?
Seems like the american patent office is about making money (it actually makes money but instead of hiring more qualified examiners the money goes into general coffers).I also think if a patent has one claim proved invalid then the whole patent should be invalid to discourage broad and weak claims.
They were at my school recruiting for engineers to work for them, and they have an accelerated pay scale. Over $100k in less that 5 years. That assumes however you can stand working there that long without killing yourself. They have a very high turnover rate due to the job's insanely boring nature.
Someone from SmartParts goes to jail or gets fined heavily. An order equivalent to a 'cease and desist' has been granted by the court. I was able to goto smartparts.com and place an order for my dream Shocker. I bet if I call SmartParts directly, they'll still ship me one next day.
Since no Shockers are allowed to be sold, teams such as Dynasty receive no cut for their specialize marker. A clause in the contract, drafted by Dynasty's sports agent, allows Dynasty to drop the sponsership in the event that SP cannot product. So given the 3 months until the next season, expect Dynasty to be sporting Indian Creek Bushmasters. Okay, maybe not.
WDP/NPF only targets SmartPart markers and other manufacturers who put Cell Phone\Palm Pilot features in their markers. Intimidators will be free to roam since they come stock with a no frills board. Plus, WDP doesn't want a bad relationship with a distributor (NPS).
Someone on the Guild gets smart and makes an LED only board and sells it to SP so none of the predictions come true.
You know, if WDP does exactly what SP did, I won't consider them "evil"... I've never been much of a fan of them; I feel that their products are a bit overmarketed and overpriced... HOWEVER... I do concede that it was their innovation which won them the patent... not underhanded treatment of a former partner and less-than-legal filings... As such, I must concede that it is their right to enforce, and could not hold it against them if they started doing so...
Though it would make me sad
So I called SP directly, to get the final word...here it is
by
They emailed me this press release when I asked for info:
-------------
Begin Quote
-------------
AS OF DECEMBER 10TH, 2004,
SMART PARTS COMPLIED WITH THE INJUNCTION BY MAKING THE NECESSARY CHANGES TO NERVE, SHOCKER AND IMPULSE MARKERS.
SMART PARTS IS CONTINUING TO SHIP ITS NERVE, SHOCKER AND IMPULSE MARKERS. NO MARKERS SOLD SINCE DECEMBER 10TH INFRINGE.
DEALERS NEED NOT WORRYABOUT PAST OR FUTURE SALES OF ANY SMART PARTS MARKERS.
THE DAMAGES COVER ALL INDIVIDUALS AND DEALERS WHO PURCHASED NERVES, SHOCKERS AND IMPULSES PRIOR TO DECEMBER 10, 2004.
-------------
End Quote
-------------
I also asked if I could buy a 2k4 shocker today, they said there was no problem. The only difference is that the dataport is no longer operational. Perhaps this will be the end.
While I was typing this I recieved a followup email:
-------------
Begin Quote
-------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Smart Parts, Inc.
www.smartparts.com
Friday, December 17, 2004
JURY REACHES VERDICT IN NPF v. SMART PARTS PATENT CASE
A four-day jury trial on NPF's allegations of patent infringement against Smart Parts concluded Thursday, December 9, 2004 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The jury found claim 10 of U.S. Patent No. 6,311,682 (the '682 patent) invalid for obviousness. Claims 21 and 39 of U.S. Patent No. 6,615,814 (the '814 patent) were not found to be invalid for obviousness. All three claims had previously been found to be infringed in a November 17, 2004 Memorandum and Order. Several post-trial issues remain pending and Smart Parts is preserving all of its legal rights.
Damages in the amount of were awarded to NPF as a reasonable royalty for Smart Parts' infringement and an injunction prohibiting Smart Parts from future infringement of claims 21 and 39 of the '814 patent was entered following the jury verdict on damages.
_______________
This does NOT affect Smart Parts' ability to market, sell, and distribute its Shocker, Impulse, and Nerve paintball guns and will not detrimentally affect the quality or performance of its markers in any way.
_______________
Smart Parts has already taken all the necessary steps to comply with the terms of the injunction. Smart Parts' dealers and distributors therefore do not need take any action with respect to their continued sales of Smart Parts' products. The injunction does not apply to markers sold by Smart Parts before December 9, 2004.
Any dealer inquiries should be directed to Smart Parts at (724) 539-2660.
-------------
End Quote
-------------
These are direct copy and pastes from my inbox. So SP is still selling guns just fine, but they no longer have the dataport functionality. Maybe this whole thing is finally over. I hope Manike's right and WDP chooses to side with players over dollars.
Thanks to John Davis at SP for the info...
