Tech index -> Ion -> Frequently asked questions
These are some of the questions pretaining to the Ion that I hear asked most often. If you wish to know more detail about one or more of the topics, consult their seperate section of my site.
Please note that this is not a FAQ for electronic markers. If you are unfamiliar with terms used when describing electronic markers (dwell, input pressure, LPR, etc), then read my Electronic Markers FAQ.
General Questions:
Q: Why should I get the Ion instead of the Shocker or Nerve, or Impulse?
A: The Ion is specifically designed to be high performance at low cost. Although you will receive improved speed, consistency, efficiency, and other characteristics with a Nerve or Shocker (or other marker), the idea is that you can get perfectly adequate performance from the Ion without having to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on the marker. Alternately, you can also buy the base Ion then upgrade it's components one after another for improved performance over time. The Ion makes a fantastic choice for backup marker as a result of the low pricetag.
Q: What are the interchangeable body kits?
Q: What is the Ion's exoskeleton?
A: The covering for the internals of the body is refered to as the exoskeleton; it is held on by screws and can be quickly and easily removed if you want to swap it out for another. You can purchase separate body exoskeletons and use them on your Ion whenever you wish. There are multiple colors and patterns available, as well as some aluminum exoskeletons for more money. New polymer exoskeletons cost approx. $30 each whereas the aftermarket aluminum ones are $100+.
Q: Is the Ion made of plastic?
A: No. The outer exoskeleton of the body is composed of a high-durability composite polymer. The internals of the marker are made from aluminum and are only covered by the polymer exoskeleton for cosmetic purposes. What this means is the marker is made from strong aluminum covered by a tough polymer exoskeleton to allow for various looks and patterns. The gun is no more likely to break upon impact than any other paintball marker out there.
We don't like to use the term "plastic" becuase it makes people think of Tupperware (or something), whereas the Ion exoskeleton is composed of a much, much stronger material. Remember, some of the strongest materials ever made are plastic polymers. All other parts of the marker are aluminum as well, including the internals, frame, trigger, etc. The only part that isn't metal is the stock trigger, which can be upgraded if you wish to spend the money.
Pictures of the Ion make the aluminum frame and other parts appear to look plastic, however this is becuase of the special aluminum finish on the parts (powdercoat).
Q: Does the base/stock Ion come with a vertical regulator?
A: Yes, the vertical regulator will drop the pressure from your tank to the levels required by the marker.
Q: Where is the cheapest place to buy an Ion?
A: Most stores will list the Ion's price the same as all the others. Smart Parts (as well as every other manufacturer) imposes a minimum advertized price (MAP price) for all their products. This is to prevent stores from undercutting eachother and makes it so one store can't sell the gun for less than all the others. Because of it, you won't be able to find a store selling the marker less than all the others unless they are doing it illegally.
Q: How does the Ion work? Are there any other markers like it?
A: The Ion uses an open bolt electropneumatic blowforward design similar to that of the Automag, Freestyle, Mayhem, and others. In brief, the bolt is blown forward during firing, at which point air passages in the bolt become open and air is released down the barrel to fire the paintball. The bolt is pushed back and held there by pressure from the solenoid when idle.
Electronics:
Q: What is Vision? Does the Ion come stock with Vision?
A: Vision is the name of Smart Parts' electronic anti-chop eye system used in their markers (Impulse, Shocker, Nerve). This system prevents the marker from firing when there isn't a ball correctly loaded in the chamber. Vision is currently standard on all SP markers.
Q: I heard the Vision system in Impulses and Shockers isn't as good as some other guns out there. Is the Ion different?
A: Yes, the Ion uses a transmissive (aka. beam-break) anti-chop eye system instead of the reflective eyes used in the Shocker and Impulse. Beam-break eyes are generally more reliable and easier to work with than reflectives.
Q: Does the marker come with Vision for the MSRP price of $200?
A: Yes.
Q: What fire modes come on the stock Ion?
A: The Ion's stock board is equipped with semiautomartic, rebound (ROF ramping), three-shot burst, and fully-automatic. Three-shot burst and fully-automatic available in the US only.
Q: How do I adjust the modes?
A: To adjust the fire mode (as well as dwell and recharge rate) you have to activate the board's programming mode via a small button under the grips. Read about it on the website's Adjusting & Maintaining section.
Q: My field doesn't allow firing modes. Is there a semiauto lock on the board?
A: Yes, the fire mode cannot be altered without opening the marker's grips. This serves as an adequate tournament lock.
Q: What is the stock Ion's maximum rate of fire set to? Is there a way to adjust it?
A: The stock board will only fire the marker 17-bps in semiauto or rebound. Fully-automatic and three-shot burst are capped at 10-bps. You can adjust the ROF to slower values than 17-bps however nothing faster. Aftermarket boards increase the rate of fire past this amount.
Tech Questions:
Q: What is the operating pressure of the Ion?
A: 140-200 psi.
Q: Can I put a new solenoid in the Ion so it can cycle faster?
Q: Is the stock solenoid capped at 17-bps?
Q: If I buy a new board without a new solenoid, will I be able to shoot faster than 17-bps?
A: The stock solenoid on the Ion is not limited to 17-bps. The solenoid used in the Ion was specifically designed by Smart Parts for use in the Ion, and can cycle just as fast, if not faster, than most other "regular" solenoids used in other guns. Becuase of this, there is no reason to upgrade the solenoid. There are also no other solenoids that will physically fit in the marker, so it's completely irrevelant.
The stock Ion is capped at 17-bps purely by the electronics. It's simply programmed to fire no faster than 17-bps. It has nothing to do with the design of any part of the marker.
The stock bolt will cycle 20-21 bps without a QEV, or 25-bps and faster with one installed. Adding a new solenoid makes no difference.
Q: Will my gun shoot faster with an aftermarket bolt?
A: No, this is a massively common misconception but is NOT TRUE. The bolt speed is determined solely by the venting of the air holding it open. The bolt's weight has no practical bearing on ow fast it moves inside an Ion.
Q: What is the best dwell setting to use?
A: There is no such thing as the "perfect" dwell setting (if there were then it wouldn't be adjustable). Every marker operates a little differently and every marker requires a bit of tuning to get performing well. Unless you feel the need to tinker with the marker to fine-tune it, you should just use to the stock settings. The stock setting of 52 will work good using the stock bolt without a QEV. With a QEV installed you can lower it down to around 10 or higher, but again this requires fine-tuning and not everybody wants to bother with that.
Q: Where can I find a diagram of the o-ring sizes and locations?
A: Diagrams can be found on the Bolt Maintenance pages of this website.
Q: What HPA tank output pressure can I use?
A: If you're using a preset tank, it's generally best to use an HP output tank. This will work on most other markers and won't pose any problems to the Ion's regulator or firing assembly.
You don't have to worry about tank output pressure if you're using CO2.
Upgrades:
Q: Are there any upgrades for the Ion?
A: Yes, just about every part of the marker can be upgraded. Various performance upgrades are described on this site under their respective page. Check any of the various online stores for additional upgrades that are available.
Q: Does the Ion work with CO2 and HPA, or just HPA?
A: The Ion, like other SP markers, can function off both compressed air or CO2. Compressed air is recommended however not required. If you use CO2, anti-siphon CO2 is required. Most proshops carry anti-siphon tubes available for purchase if you need to upgrade your CO2 tank.
Q: What barrel threading does the Ion use?
Q: What kind of barrel comes with the stock Ion?
A: The Ion comes with a new Smart Parts one-piece barrel and accepts all other Impulse-threaded aftermarket barrels. The threading is the same as the Impulse, Nerve, SP8, Epiphany, and Shocker NXT as well.
Q: What are the threads on the vertical feed tube?
A: The vertical feed is threaded for the Impulse, Nerve, Shocker, Omen, Bushmaster, and "new-style" Piranhas. There are many aftermarket tubes available.
Q: The Shocker and Nerve share a lot of parts. Does the Ion also share some of these parts?
A: No, there are virtually no Shocker/Nerve parts that can be used on the Ion (besides for generic upgrades like grips, barrels, feednecks, etc). The Ion uses its own electronics, solenoid, frame, trigger, vertical adapter, firing assembly, and most other parts.
Q: What barrel shoots best?
A: None of them. Just about any aftermarket barrel will perform the same. Some have more or less amounts of porting, varying bore sizes, or other characteristics but it doens't make that much difference.
Q: What types of regulators can be used on the Shocker?
A: Most aftermarket regulators that will work on other electropneumatics will function on the Nerve, so long as they can regulate to a low enough pressure and be able to keep up with the necessary recharge rates. The following is a short list of several of the regulators which can keep up (there are more, threse are just some examples): Smart Parts Max-Flo, AKALMP regs, MacDev Gladiator, Dye Hyper2, Palmers Stab, Air America reg, CP reg, Bob Long Torpedo, Evolve Pi, and others.
Q: What is the optimal barrel length?
A: For low-pressure markers such as this, 14-16 inches is optimal in terms of air efficiency. Longer or shorter barrels will be easier or more difficult to move with, aim with, fire more quiet or loud, and efect the efficiency as well.
Q: Can I upgrade the circuit board in the stock Ion?
A: You first need to figure out why you want to upgrade the board. The stock electronics have firing modes, anti-chop eyes, and will allow you to shoot 17-bps...which is faster than the vast majority of people can shoot.
Aftermarket boards will make settings adjustment easier, allow you to use firing modes to shoot faster than the stock 17-bps, but other than that won't perform very differently. There are several boards available at the moment, and more are planned for future release (check the Mainboard electronics section of this website for a list of the available boards).
Q: Why don't you (Ydna) install Predator boards in the Ion anymore?
A: The amount of work that was required to retrofit the multi-purpose Predator boards into the Ion was quite complex. Considering the difficulty, I should have charged more for the install than I was. When it came time that I had to increase the price due to the popularity, I decided to discontinue the install instead, becuase it simply wasn't worth the price.
Q: What hopper should I buy?
A: This is also a matter of personal preference. I suggest you try different styles of hoppers and see how they compare. The Vision system in the marker will prevent you from chopping, so you can feel free to use slightly slower hoppers and shoot 12-13 bps, instead of spending much more and shooting 17-bps.