This page explains some of the major features of the Draxxus Pulse hopper.
General Operation:
Pulses are designed to run in one of two operational modes:
· Unsynchronized "pulse" mode (red LED) - This is the stock mode for the hopper. This mode function by applying forward pressure on the ballstack aporoximately two times per second. The Pulse' controller detects the presence of tension on the ballstack (when the paintballs aren't moving), so when the marker fires a shot the tension is dropped and the motor advances the ballstack.
· Synchronized RF mode (green LED) - This mode requires the use of the RF transmitter in your marker. The hopper feeds one round at a time by receiving an RF signal from the marker's circuit board. The motor will run a "test pulse" every four seconds to make sure paint is loaded into the raceway/feedneck.
Located on the bottom of the hopper is a small blue switch which is used to instantly reverse the motor direction. This is used to unclear jams in the middle of gameplay if needed. Using hte reversal switch will put the hopper into the unsynchronized/red mode. It will return to synchronized/green mode after a few successful shots are fired (assuming the marker is working properly).
Pulse Electronics:
There are two circuit boards inside the hopper, a large mainboard located at the back (where the LED and powerswitch are located), and a smaller daughterboard located in the bottom of the drive section.
The mainboard uses three separate connectors which attach to the rear of the board. The left and right connector leads to the daughterboard whereas the middle connector attaches to the pre-installed RF receiver.
The second picture above shows how the connectors attach to the mainboard. Please observe the color arrangement and note that the gold "boxes" on the connectors face up (if they face down, the hopper will short out and not function). Also note that two of the connectors are unused, as shown.
The daughterboard is located in the front-right of the drive section. This small circuit board attaches to the mainboard and the battery connector at the front of the drive section. It uses four total connectors: one four-point and three two-point. All of the connectors are polarized so you can only plug them in one way. The side with the connectors faces up; the side without the connectors faces down.
The four-point connector (red/orange/brown/black) leads to the mainboard, along with the yellow/black connector. The black/red hooks to the battery pack jack at the front of the drive section. Lastly, the white/brown connector leads to the blue reversal switch on the bottom of the hopper, and from there to the motor.
RF Intellifeed:
All Pulse hoppers have the capability to run a wireless (radio signal) intellifeed from the marker board to the hopper board. This is described on its own separate page:
Pulse RF transmitter tech
Electronics Adjustment:
The stock electronics have two parameters that can be adjusted. Each are controlled using a small potentiometer (or pot for short) which is a small dial on the surface of the circuit board.
· Maximum feedrate: This is adjusted using the pot dial on the daughterboard. Clockwide rotation will increase the feedrate whereas counterclockwise rotation will decrease it.
· Pulse intensity: This is adjusted using the pot dial on the front of the mainboard. This adjustment controls the "on" time for the motor when testing the ballstack for tension. Rotating the pot clockwise will set the board for a longer on time; rotating the pot counterclockwise will set the board for a shorter on time. A longer on time is optimal however if you're using brittle-shelled paint then you may wish to decrease the setting to avoid breaking paint inside the raceway/feedneck.
The pot has a "dead zone" where it won't accept any setting. This is approximately between the 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock positions. The pot should be adjusted while the board is on so you can instantly test the pulse intensity. If the pot is set to a position within the dead zone, the motor won't pulse at all, instead it'll run continuously. If this happens you need to back the pot out of the dead zone to a position where it'll pulse like normal.