Shooting at Trouble
Gack happens, and when it does it’s usually on the field. Here are some possible problems that come up, and how to keep yourself in the game.
Mystery Stoppage: Your electro won’t fire? Check the air supply first; on-off knobs sometimes loosen up and turn off. Check that your hopper is on and feeding balls. Sometimes a deformed ball will jam in the feedtube and stop the flow. Finally turn off the eye. If the ball detent fails, balls will slip by and the eye will register no ball. Also if there is gack in the eye it will not reset. Both these issues will stop the marker cold until you turn the eyes off.
The Cruel Ball Chop: A bad chop will stick a bolt forward and lock up the marker. Only the Force can help. The fastest way is to remove the barrel and shove your battle swab or stick squeegee up the front end and apply The Force. Don’t be shy. You won’t break the marker.
Hopper Stop: If it’s not spinning, you can shake most hoppers and get some slow but steady flow. It’s easier with a less full hopper, so dump a few. Also don’t overload a hopper since that can also jam things up. If the shake isn’t feeding, it’s because the agitator fin is blocking the hole. Dump some balls until you can get your finger in there and manually move the fins to open the feedneck. Don’t hesitate. Better to lose a few balls so you can stay in the game.
Rip Drives are there for a reason, and that’s to back up the one hopper that won’t act as a gravity feed when it goes down. No Rip? Then you have to pop the hopper off and hand feed. Use a pod as your source rather than your hopper; it’s easier to handle. Drill the hand feed because it’s not at all graceful unless you know how to do it already. Dirty eyes on hoppers don’t stop the game, but can kill your batteries faster.
Any hard hit to the hopper can crack a ball or three inside. If your hopper flies off and hits hard, you can figure on some breakage. If you can afford it, dump the hopper immediately, into a bandana if you have that luxury. If you don’t dump immediately and you have a few broken balls, they will contaminate the hopper, and if it gets into the feedneck you’re pretty much screwed. Carry a battle swab and a paper towel or two and you can clean anything.
Air Problems: The most painful problems on a field are air-related. Remote hoses break, and when they do you have to be quick to stop the airflow. Once stopped, you can try and go on. You may end up with a vertically mounted 114ci but you’ll be playing ball!
If you tear an O-ring while troubleshooting, remove the O-ring and place it directly in the ASA. If the inside diameter is not damaged, this will make a good seal in most ASAs. If for some odd reason you don’t have a dental pick handy, put your index finger and thumb on the edge of the O-ring and pinch. This will give you a chance to pull it off the bottle.
If your burst disk blows, you’re SOL. But in a Rec ball game you can usually borrow a marker or air bottle from an eliminated player. Don’t necessarily expect delivery, though. In a tourney, you’re still a force to be reckoned with, but your mates should know you’re gunless. A team code for Marker Down is pretty standard.
No tip you ever find in a magazine is worth beans unless you practice it first. Some you can do at home; others you have to do on field. Not even an Ultimate Paintballer can just take a tip and make it happen without trying it out first. Take care of your marker and it will be there for you when you need it in your quest to be an Ultimate Paintballer.