Sandridge and AAA Paintball Force Five
and Force Five Tiny Tornado:
History and General Info:
Chances are that if you are reading this manual, you have come to be in possession of what is commonly referred to as a “Sandridge F5” Autococker-style paintball maker. Chances also are, that you have no clue how it actually works or, god forbid, should it go down you don’t know how to bring it back to life. Well, much like many of the other custom marker manufacturers out there, the F-5 series has no real manual, merely one poorly written and, unfortunately, archived set of instructions from KC paintball. The only other option to that particular set is this refined set which includes up-to-date pictures of the Tiny Tornado (TF-5) version of the marker as well as full body/pneumatic close ups of the original Force Five (F-5).
F-5 Series frames were ultimately made and sold by two different companies. Originally, you needed to send your marker to Sandridge itself to be converted over to a Force Five. Later on, the owner of the company sold the name and rights to AAA Paintball who produced the frames in the latter years under the Sandridge name. The one advantage to the custom work done to modify the markers to F5’s is that most of the jobs were done using commercially available parts that are not paintball specific. This means that unlike the E-Blade or RACE frame series of Autococker frames, the F-5 series can still be repaired by finding a few parts from industrial suppliers online, or even running out to the local Radioshack. The downside is that not only is the front block a bit unsightly due to the two MAC valves mounted to the LPR by a harness, but that each marker may be slightly different in rather minute ways. This was never a large operation, and the complicated process of converting Angel LED and LCD frames to fit the needed electronic components and have them fit a WGP marker kept it from ever being so. What this means for you, as the owner of one of these magnificent monuments to paintball ingenuity, is that you hold in your hands one of the more rare and interesting markers of modern paintball. The very first electronically operated Autococker series which spawned no less than 4 separate attempts at imitation and allowed the Autococker to make the transition from mechanical high-end to electronic super-gun in it’s heyday.
As with any other great step forward, the F-5 series underwent at least one major revision. There are two separate F-5 conversions, the original Force Five and then the later “Tiny Tornado” version. They can be distinguished by simply looking at the grip frame. If the frame has a box (either black or colored) below it, then it is an original Force Five. That box houses the battery as well as the electronic circuitry that operates the marker’s timing. The grip-frame will also most likely be an older Angel LED style frame. If you have a Tiny Tornado, there will be no box at the bottom of the grip frame and the frame will be an Angel LCD style grip frame. Some early Force Fives also lacked the photo-electric eye and simply ran off of the Hall-effect sensor located on the ram. All versions use two MAC valves mounted parallel to the LPR and have two Hall-effect sensors at each end of the ram.
Setup and Care:
Overview:
The F-5 is a self timing Autococker, the rate of fire is adjusted according to the data from both the infrared eye located on the right side of the marker and the information given the board by the hall-effect sensors that are clamped to the exterior of the ram. Essentially, the marker will fire as fast as you can fully cycle and feed it. The eye is a reflective infrared sensor, so if you have issues with the eye, you may want to try with another type of paint due to the fact that certain colors and finishes on rounds can often fool the eye. This is NOT a break beam eye, so it will not perform as well. The combination of the reflective eye and the hall-effect sensors on the ram however, more than compensate for the small decrease in reliability that a reflective sensor provides.
In regards to the eye, should it become damaged or clogged with paint during a game, the marker will automatically revert to a 10bps cap, allowing you to continue firing without having to worry about switching the eye off. Should the eye clear during the shooting, the board will then automatically return you to the previous state, either 12.25bps (an old tournament cap number) or unlimited. Should the eye malfunction and tell the board that there is a ball in the chamber when it is only partially in, the hall-effect sensors on the front of the marker will notice the slight resistance caused by the pinched ball and re-cycle the bolt to allow the ball to drop properly without the risk of chopping it. The automatic ROF coding and use of hall-effect sensors mean that this marker is still one of the most intelligent systems ever produced, even by today’s standards.
F-5 Setup:
Step One: Installing the Kit:
Installation of an F5 series kit on your Autococker should only be performed by a competent airsmith with a wide array of tools at his/her disposal. It will require drilling and tapping of the body as well as precise aligning of the frame and sear with the body and hammer. It should not be attempted at home unless you are a competent machinist, or you have a lot of extra bodies lying around that you can afford to lose.
Step Two: Setting the Back Block:
With the kit fully installed, set the back block of the marker just as you would want it with a standard mechanical or electronically fired Autococker. You want the back block to just barely come in contact with the body of the marker. If you have it set too far forward on the end of the pump arm, it will slam into the body putting stress on the ram and arm. If you have it set too far back, it will prevent the bolt from sealing properly, allowing blowback to occur up the ball stack and will place the majority of the forces acting on the system on the ram again. A properly positioned back block should come to rest on the body, but still have enough room for you to slide a slip of paper between the two. The best way to achieve the proper alignment is to thread the back block onto the pump arm with the ram in it’s forward most position. Once the block makes full contact with the body, back it off 1 turn.
Step Three: Setting Cocking Rod Length:
Again, as with a mechanical or standard electronically fired Autococker, you need to ensure that the cocking rod is set to the proper length. Failure to do so means longer travel or short-strokes which are both very undesirable. To set the proper cocking rod length, draw the back block rearward. When the hammer catches the sear you will hear a light “click” and the cocking rod will no longer try to fall forward. If the bolt has cleared the feed neck at this point, you screw the cocking knob down on the rod until it reaches the point where the hammer is caught on the sear with the back block back. If the bolt HAS NOT cleared the feed neck, you will need to set the cocking knob further back to ensure the rounds drop freely into the breech. When you have finished adjusting the knob on the rod, remember to use the set screw to lock it back in place.
Step Four: Set the ram’s hall-effect sensors:
I could now go into a bit of a science lesson on the Hall-effect and it’s use in the marker, but I will save you that bit of drudgery and simply point out that the sensors at the front and back of the ram can tell, through the use of a magnetic field, when the ram is far enough back, or far enough forward to complete the cocking cycle. It is at this point where the F-5 kit starts to play a role in the actual timing of the Autococker. Following these instructions will help you re-set the sensors if they come loose, need to be replaced, or must be removed for cleaning or major work.
With the sensors on the ram, unplug the eye wire from the board. Inside the box on the F-5 (or in the grip in the TF-5) you will find the main circuit board. On the board you will see two prongs. One is labeled J1 and the other is labeled J2. If you have an older Sandridge, one of the prongs may have been soldered. You will need to remove the solder (using a hot soldering iron) to perform the hall-effect timing. There should be either a small shunt, plug, or wire on the J1 prong. Move this plug/shunt/wire onto the prong labeled J2. The J2 prong(s) are used to time the hall-effect sensors only. When you place the jumper/wire/plug/shunt onto J2, a small LED light should come on. This light will only come on with the ram in the forward-most or rearward-most position. If the light does NOT come on, you must move the appropriate sensor to a point on the ram where it does come on. Obviously the rear-most sensor on the ram should be moved if the light does not come on when the back block is in the rear-most position and vice-versa for the front sensor. When the sensors are adjusted, re-tighten their retaining straps and move the plug/shunt/wire back over to the J1 prong. Failure to move the wire back over to J1 will make the marker fire in the 10bps “trouble” mode.
Step Five: Setting the hammer lug:
As with an Eclipse Blade, you need to ensure proper hammer-lug depth to guarantee proper operation of the Sandridge F-5. To set the lug, remove the bolt, place a 1/8” allen key through the lug-hole in the top of the marker and manipulate the key and hammer until it seats on the lug. Adjust the lug by turning clockwise or counterclockwise until it catches on the sear and doesn’t slide off when forward pressure is applied to the hammer. At this point, lower the lug slightly more by giving the allen key ¼ turn clockwise to ensure that it does not slip during high rates of fire. Older instructions will suggest using a rounded hammer lug, however, the F-5 is a pneumatically operated sear-tripper and like other Autococker sear-trippers, a flat-headed lug will prevent misfires and reduce wear on the sear.
Step Six: Setting the trigger’s firing point:
The final step in the set-up of the F-5 is to set the firing point of the trigger. Like most electronically actuated trigger, the F-5 series uses a micro-switch to send the on/off (fire/don’t fire) signal to the board. Setting the firing point is as simple as adjusting the two trigger position set-screws that are accessible when you have the grip frame separate from the receiver. The set-screws control the amount of travel in either direction (forward and rearward). Set the trigger so that the pull is short, but not so short that the micro-switch is unable to disengage. Also note that running the trigger group using the micro-switch as a spring is unwise as it will wear out quickly. If your trigger return spring is missing, it can be replaced with a pin spring cut down and stretched out to the appropriate tension.
Re-Cap:
So long as there are no malfunctions in the actual circuit board or in the eye, following the preceding steps will properly time the marker and having it singing on the field. If you do encounter board issues, you can replace the stock board with the Mini-Morrlock board available from Kennesaw Mountain Paintball at The boarduses a single LED light much like the stock F-5 board. It does require soldering to use, however.
Care and Storage:
Always leave the marker de-cocked as leaving it in the cocked position puts undue stress on the drive spring and sear. Remember to pull the bolt and clean it after ever day of play. I suggest using Sl33k lube from DYE or a similar product to keep oil from working into the system and potentially damaging the MAC valves. Also, remember to remove the eye cover and clean the eye if you have chopped any paint or feel that the eye may have become dirty during play. If you take a shot to the front pneumatics and feel the need to clean the area around the MAC valves, you can remove them by removing the two black screws on the lateral clamp-support that fits over your LPR. Slide the bracket forward and the MAC valves should slide free. Remember to make sure you don’t pinch any hoses when replacing the MAC valves. Remember to not move the hall-effect sensors on the ram unless you feel like re-timing the system all over again. The battery should be good for about 20,000 shots (an amazing number these days) according to the old instructions given by KC Paintball.
And remember: NEVER ALLOW OIL TO ENTER THE MAC VALVES!!!!!
It will slow down their operation. Do not oil your reg, your ASA, etc. Use Shocker/DM lube if you must, but never oil.
Troubleshooting:
Diagnosis and Repair:
Bolt travels rearward, but the marker does not cock:
There are three possible causes. The primary is that the LPR is turned down too low. When this happens, it keeps the pneumatic ram in the grip frame from having enough pressure to raise the sear in time to catch the hammer. Should this occur, one simply needs to turn their LPR up until the MAC valves begin to bleed-off. When they begin to bleed off, simply turn the LPR down until they quit and give it ¼ turn extra to ensure that you don’t get a pressure surge that will cause issues with the MAC valve.
The second possibility is that the sear is worn down and the lug needs to be adjusted further downward to ensure that it will catch on the sear. Seeing as how the system of firing is electronic and self timing, this will not cause any issues like it would with a mechanical Autococker that would require further timing of the marker. Generally, if the lug/sear is the issue, another quarter turn down on the lug will fix the issue. Should the sear become extremely worn, it will need to be replaced.
The final possibility is that the cocking rod has come loose. Check it, tighten as necessary.
Marker fires erratically:
Again, there are three major culprits. First, if you notice that the ram is “chattering” or vibrating, your marker will only fire a few shots, pause, then fire again, you get a buzzing noise from the front solenoid rather than sharp clicks, or the back block will only open ¼ of the way and then retracts; you are seeing the visible signs of a low battery. Simply replace the battery and all of these symptoms should go away.
The second possibility of erratic firing is that the eye has been knocked out of place, is dirty, or damaged to the point it is no longer operating properly. You can detach the eye wire and run on the hall-effect sensors alone, especially if you are using a fast hopper. However, you should clean, reset, or replace the eye as soon as possible to continue enjoying trouble-free shooting.
The Third possibility is that the hall-effect sensors on the ram have worked their way loose. If you have marked their position on your ram, you may attempt to put them back in place and tighten them for a quick fix. You should, however, re-run the timing sequence on the board again to ensure proper alignment. If you run the timing sequence on the board, but are unable to get a reading from the sensors, you may have a bad wire or bad sensor which will need to be replaced for the marker to operate properly.
Marker fires quickly, but not as fast as normal:
If this is the case, make sure to open up the grip (TF-5) or Box (F-5) and check to make sure that the harness is on the proper prong and not the timing sequence prong.
The other possibility is that the cocking rod needs lengthened just a little bit. The timing sequence on an F-5 series marker is extremely close due to the action of the eye and hall-effect sensors. Backing the cocking-knob out just a hair (1 turn) may be all that is needed to give the hall-effect sensors more room to judge when the ram is fully extended or retracted giving you a faster signal and thus, faster firing rate.