One of the things that was on my list to pick up at World Cup is one of Gangstar Paintball’s Gangstar upgrade chip for my Vlocity loader. What is interesting about the paintball market, is that there are hundreds of companies devoted to upgrading and updating every marker ever made, yet there are only a few companies who devote their time and resources to upgrading your loader. Gangstar Paintball does just this for the Viewloader Vlocity.

These chips are a simple, drop-in replacement for the stock Vlocity chip that will increase the loaders battery life, speed, and adjustability. We here at Gangstar have been hard at work trying to make an easier, more user friendly interface with more settings then ever before seen. In just a matter of seconds, you can swap out the stock Vlocity chip for ours, and increase the speed, and efficiency of your hopper, and in turn, your gun.

Despite rave reviews and major teams using the new Vlocity, it seems that players needs weren’t met in the terms of compatibility, programming, load modes, and battery life. One of the main problems I hear is lack of battery life. This is due to the nature of the Vlocity. The loader is designed to put constant tension on the ball stack in order to maximize loader speed and reduce delay time. This is what makes you go through nine volts faster than a fat person with a box of donuts.

The Gangstar upgrade chip gives players what they were asking for. The features list is quite extensive and impressive for it’s small price. The chip has:

• Improved Battery Life
• Gangstar Mode
• Gangstar Spin Technology
• Easy To Use Programming Mode
• Three (3) Feeding Modes(Zero-Force Mode, Semi-Force Mode, Full-Force Mode)
• Five (5) Breakout Mode Settings (Off, On – No Delay, On – After 5 Shots are Fired, On – After 10 Shots are Fired, On – After 15 Shots are Fired)
• Ten (10) Speed Settings – 1 Being The Lowest, 10 The Highest
• Ten (10) Tension Settings – 1 Being The Lowest, 10 The Highest
• Automatic Sleep Mode After 10 Minutes of Idle Time To Conserve Battery Life
• Improved Stack Tension and Anti-Jam Logic

Installation of the Gangstar chip is slightly more difficult than simply opening up the shell. Once exposed, you are required to remove the feed tray in order to gain access to the circuit board. From there it is as simple as swapping out the chips (making sure to align the new Gangstar chip correctly).

Programming the Gangstar chip is as simple as most boards for markers. Holding the button down while turning the loader on will put you into the main menu. From there, follow the manual’s instructions on what button combinations and light colors to follow to acquire the settings that you want. Some other interesting features are that the button when pressed once will reverse the loader motor and unjam, and when held down will feed despite the eye’s readings.

I was thoroughly happy with the chip after yesterday’s field testing. While I didn’t shoot through the seven cases that Alex Lundqvist has advertised being able to obtain in zero tension mode, I shot fully through two cases with a pair of Boost Hopper’s 250mah Rechargeable 9volts and saw no problems whatsoever continuing through more. I did have one or two jams, but a quick press of the button reversed the motor and unjammed the somewhat lo-end paint I was using.

The Gangstar Upgrade Chip is available today from Gangstar Paintball’s online store for $34.95.

Pros

• Lot’s of customization, feed modes, and settings
• Unjam features
• Lifetime Warranty
• Enhances battery life
• Works in Vlocity, Vlocity Jr, and XSV Vlocity

Cons

• Installation is a bit tricky. This is Viewloader’s problem however.

Final Rating
5 out of 5

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Paintball markers are getting fast. Actually, fast is underrating the raw speed that new markers have. Gone are the days of when 10bps was “high-performance”. Guess what? If you aren’t shooting 20bps minimum nowadays, then your will get no eRespect from your online friends.

The Halo loader is the tried and true force feed loader for the paintball industry. While there are others that have entered the market, the Halo is the standard comparison for force feed performance.

Halo’s are great. They have good battery life, aren’t prone to jams or malfunctions, and aren’t terribly hard to perform maintenance on. I’ve owned mine for two and a half years and I haven’t had any severe problems with it. However, with markers nowadays having the ability to shoot at higher rates of fire, you may find that the Halo has trouble keeping up when firing over 17bps. Don’t fret and don’t go out and buy something new. Enter the Victory Board.

The Victory (also known as the V35), is a drop in replacement circuit board developed by Odyssey. The notable features for the upgrade is first, the ability fo 35bps capable feed. Yes…nearly double that of stock. However, this isn’t the only option. The board allows a selection of six feed rates in order to match with your marker. These are:

• 17bps
• 21bps
• 24bps
• 28bps
• 32bps
• 35bps

Installation of the V35 would be rated somewhere in the medium range. You have to separate the Halo’s shell and unplug the stock board from the wiring harness. Using a bit of force, you remove the circuit board from the shell. From there, simply reinstall in reverse order the new V35.

After installation, the performance increase in the Halo was severely noticeable. The V35 definitely kicks everything up a few notches, as drop tests finishes significantly faster using modified settings. 35bps feed drains 150 paintballs in a little over 4 seconds. The only downside to the V35 is that with higher speeds, the Halo tends to draw the batteries faster than normal. This is expected though, as the higher speeds naturally are going to require more power.

The Odyssey Halo V35 Victory Board is available from Punisher’s Paintball online store today for $29.99.

Pros

• Speed adjustability
• Higher feed rates
• Relatively cheap upgrade

Cons

• Batteries drain faster
• Doesn’t have as many features as other upgrade boards on the market

Final Rating
4 out of 5

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In competitive paintball every second counts. Every second that passes by is the potential second that could cost you the match. Some of those crucial seconds can now be reclaimed by the highly popular loader accessory called the “Speed Feed”.

The Speed Feed is something that surprised me greatly. It’s concept is so simple and minute, yet its effect on game play is astronomically positive. The product is designed to replace your OEM loader cover by snapping into place on the retaining ring around your loader’s opening. When installed, the fingers are designed to be one way only. This allows for paintballs to be dumped in, but are held firmly from coming out. It’s make of a real durable plastic also, so you won’t have to worry about being delicate with it on the field. Now let’s break down the steps and show where and how the Speed Feed will improve your game play:

1. Loader empties.
2. Remove pod from harness
3. Open lid on loader
4. Open pod
5. Empty paintballs into loader making sure not to miss opening and hit lid
6. Close lid

Now, let’s look at this concept with the Speed Feed installed

1. Loader empties
2. Remove pod from harness
3. Open pod
4. Empty paintballs into loader

Right there we have removed two steps from the equation of reloading. While it may not seem much, those two steps could be the seconds that make the difference in whether you get shot out because you were to busy fumbling with the lid on your loader.

Installation on the Speed Feed was somewhat simple. In order for you to install in its proper place, you must first separate the body into two pieces (as if you were going to clean it. From there, simply remove the retaining screws for the loader lid and reassemble the loader. After reassembly, position the Speed Feed over the loader opening and snap appropriately into place (making sure all of the fingers are inside of the loader).

Field testing the Speed Feed was extremely different than other products, as the performance gains of it are how well the player can take advantage of its properties in order to enhance his/her own game play. The flow of loading was somewhat shaky for the first couple of matches, as I had to find my appropriate rhythm for the loading process. After the learning curve was over, I found the Speed Feed much more comfortable and natural to use, as it allowed for a more fluid motion of reloading.

The Speed Feeds are available today for $17.95 at Speed Feed’s online store. They come in options for a variety of popular loaders.

Pros

• Solid construction provides for extended durability
• Low cost
• Improves game play
• Easy installation
• Lifetime warranty

Cons

• None

Final Rating
5 out of 5

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