...And you thought I forgot about the tried and true first electronic paintball gun ever! Of course not.
Below are some links to tech pages I've compiled about the oldest Shockers. The information written there was put in place long before I re-wrote the Shocker Sport pages in 2007, so chances are a lot of the info here will appear disorganized and possibly even incorrect for the times. Take the info here with a grain of salt!
I don't have a huge amount of information on these guns due to the simple fact that such few poeple have heard of, let alone own one. Check these links:
Introduction/History
Technical Information
PVI Shocker Maintenance
Trigger Adjustment
Electronics Installation
pneuVentures Shocker manual in .zip file format (3.2-MB)
That's it guys. If there's demand for it, I'll think about rewriting the articles to help modernize them. Otherwise they'll stay as they are.
Introduction:
Your Shocker is a well-engineered, highly precise electropneumatic device. It has been engineering with few moving parts to give you many years of pleasure with relatively easy maintenance. At the time of its release in 1995, the Shocker was the first electronic and electropneumatic paintball marker ever conceived. It features an adept dump-chamber design and functions on dual solenoids to allow the bolt movement and firing sequences to operate independently from one-another. Some additional characteristics of the original pneuVentures Shocker are listed below.
• pneuVentures Shocker 200 Max Flow low pressure regulator
• 16" Smart parts All American barrel.
• Hammer-less design; produces extremely quiet shots.
• Patented dump-chamber design; maximum ROF of approximately 9-bps before velocity dropoff.
• Electronically-controlled closed bolt action (dual solenoids).
• Design employs no external moving parts.
• Two off/armed switches disable electrical power to the firing sequence.
• Available in right feed bodies only.
• Efficiency in the range of 650-850 shots to a 68/4500 HPA tank.
• Accepts Autococker-threaded barrels (usually).
• Simplistic design makes maintenance very easy to perform.
• Powered by four AA batteries contained in a compartment within the marker body.
• Stock trigger adjustable firing point.
• Optional remote triggering device can be used instead of the conventional trigger. This remote capability is a standard feature (but the trigger device is an accessory). When the remote trigger is enabled, the manual trigger is disabled (both cannot be used at the same time).
• Dovetail siterail.
• Marker operates at 150-200 psi.
• The Shocker is capable of operating on CO2, compressed air, and most commercially available gases. The marker will also perform well in both hot and cold weather extremes.
History:
The invention of the Shocker was a joint mission between engineers of both Smart Parts and pneuVentures. It was the first electropneumatic marker ever manufacture red. The company pVI is no longer around, however at the time they were heavily involved with devices that relied on air and air pressure, hence their name. They made pneumatic devices for NASA and various branches of the military, for instance. And their portfolio of inventions was very large; they knew what they were doing and were quite successful. It seems appropriate that a design such as is seen in the Shocker was invented by them. It uses nothing but air pressure to complete its operation, with the exception of one spring which closes the valve after firing (basically). The low pressure regulator that comes on these markers was invented by PVI however SP bought the claims to both it and the marker itself later on.
This was the situation back then: Smart Parts had exclusive rights to sell PVI's Shocker, so it was often assumed that SP made it. SP has similar contracts with Rase clothing (whom they used to own) and Besales Quality Autococker Parts and Evolution accessories. Anyways, the patent toward this marker claimed not only the specific dump-chamber design, but theoretically other dump-chamber designs as well, and also patented the use of dual solenoid control. One other dual solenoid marker has since been designed (AKALMP Excalibur), however it is no longer made as per the agreement between AKALMP and SP in 2004. In 1997, PVI and SP began to disagree on some things so SP threatened to discontinue their merchandising contract with them, on the grounds that PVI couldn't make it without them. pneuVentures decided to call the bluff and dissolved the contract in August 1997. Sometime later Smart parts bought out the company and they went out of business.
At the time, both SP and pVI were working on their own second-generation Shocker marker. The SP version is called the Shocker Sport and was used from 1998-2002. The pneuVentures version was called the Cyber9000 (aka Warrior) but was never put into production. The Cyber9000 was essentially the same as the previous Shocker, except it functioned off a 9v battery. The SP Shocker Sport, however, was largely redesigned and was substantially lighter as well as faster and more efficient, using better electronics, and better solenoids as well. Smart Parts owned the patent claims to the original Shocker and regulator and further expanded the patent to include all markers with an electronic switch on the ground that they were the first to let this type of device to see the market (which was true).
Nowadays, both the original PVI Shocker and the SP Shocker Sport have been completely discontinued and replaced by a completely new version, known as the Shocker SFT. This marker is a completely different design and doesn't share any functionality with the original Shockers, however due to marketing it was given the same name. Original PVI Shockers can still be sighted around fields and collections, as some 3,000 of them were produced. Most of them that I have personally seen were on the walls of proshops or other old marker collectors, however every once in a while they can be seen on the field.
If you wish to learn more, move on to the technical information page.
This is a Shocker promotional picture that was used to advertize the marker.