These are some quick thoughts I'd like to express in relation to the Tadao board for the Ion. If you don't already know, it includes several additional adjustments that have been unseen previously. Some of this is specifically geared toward the Tadao's special adjustments, other parts apply to all boards. Read at your own risk.
Original Tadao manual
Reproduced manual from ZDSPB
Total dwell time:
Bolts that are sealed (Lightning bolts, Shocktech bolt, Warrior bolt, Redz bolt) provide almost no velocity deviation from using higher dwell settings. This is because the fire chamber is emptied and the ball only needs a certain amount of energy to be released at your velocity. With an unsealed bolt, if you go above that energy amount by releasing more air (longer dwell) the ball will have already been accellerated and the additional air will simply be wasted. However with sealed bolts, the chamber will be empty and no additional air will be wasted at longer dwell times.
Please note that Lucky fire chamber still requires dwell to be set to an exact amount or the bolt will be pushed open and some air will be lost, with the Tadao board.
Pulse Theory:
The solenoid pulse setting (aka. activation dwell time) controls the initial signal that opens the solenoid. After this short amount of time the power sent to the solenoid can be lowered and the solenoid will still remain in the "firing" position. This is carried out by pulsing the solenoid signal, which is also adjustable. All Ion boards do this (respectable ones anyway) but it's not adjustable on any other boards.
Activation time diagram - These graphs show how the Tadao's dwell activation time setting effects the solenoid signal. The total dwell time is the same regardless of the activation dwell time.
Solenoid pulse setting diagram - These graphs show visually the different pulse frequencies that the Tadao board provides. The first graph is for a board designed for any other paintball gun, it doesn't pulse the setting at all (it is full "on" for the whole time).
This is what I've tested: Dwell pulse settings v. velocity, using Ion with QEV or without QEV, sealed bolt or non-sealed bolt. I took an average of five shots at various pressure/dwell/pulse settings. I have drawn these conclusions based on the experimental data.
Pulse Dwell Time, aka Activation Dwell Time:
The activation dwell time controls the initidal release of air more than anything else. Because of this, when not using a QEV, all the pressure is vented through the solenoid and the difference in velocity through different pulse settings is easier to see. Longer activation times will forcefully hold the solenoid open longer which will allow slightly more air to vent, and a slightly lower total dwell time can be used. However, more battery power will be consumed wither longer settings.
If this is set too low, the solenoid won't be able to fully open and the bolt won't cycle correctly, or the bolt might not even cycle at all. This may appear to be inconsistent if the setting is set just too barely too short.
- When the battery is low, increasing this time may help compensate the difference in power that the solenoid will use.
Regarding no QEV installed, a longer activation time will make a noticaeble difference in velocity when the dwell is low, but not so much when dwell is high. This is due to the venting air being vented more quick during the restricting dwell time that is used to release the dump chamber. At higher dwell settings, the dump chamber is fully vented so the pulse setting becomes less relevant (there is a theoretical difference but it is small and depends on many other, very small factors).
Dwell Percentage, aka Solenoid Pulse Setting:
The solenoid pulse setting influences the force that holds the soleniod armature open, which influences the venting of the bolt (this is what determines the dwell time that is needed for your marker). A more thick dwell pulse setting (higher) will keep the soleniod open with greater force, which may lead to better efficiency and better consistency. however mroe battery power is consumed at these settings. When the setting is lower, you may see some consistency or possibly efficiency problems, depending on the solenoid you're using. Please note that not every Ion solenoid is identical and some have a slightly longer coil (as much as 2-3 feet difference in coil length, in some cases). If there is less coil then you may need a higher pulse setting. Coils with more length can get by with a lower pulse setting.
Markers using a QEV will see less difference in velocity at different pulse settings, due to the QEV valve allowing the air to vent in less than half the time, so the solenoid becomes less of a "vent" and more like the activation mechanism to start the vent elsewhere....so the pulse is less relevant. The amount of air that is vented through the solenoid itself is much, much smaller than a marker with a QEV.
A higher pulse setting won't effect velocity as much with higher pressures. When lower pressures are used there is generally more of a difference in velocity. This is due to the amount of force that pushes against the solenoid armature while the solenoid is energized/firing. If there is less pressure in the gun then you might be able to get by with a lower pulse setting, since less force will be needed to hold the solenoid open.
A more thick dwell pulse setting can lead to slightly lower total dwell times if the marker doesn't have a QEV installed. The dwell time is dependant on how long the bolt takes to vent, so when the solenoid is the main factor in this (as in, when there is no QEV installed) the pulse setting will make more of a pronounced effect. The tadao setting of 71% pulsed seems to be the bottom of the velocity peak for a marker using a QEV. Above that there is little to no velocity difference. Also note that some velocity readings (being higher or lower depending on the pulse setting) may not be apparent at all. This depends on many other factors as well and will vary from marker to marker more than anything else.
Anyways, that's all for now. In a few days when I'm done graphing the data, I will post the info about velocity plateaus and pulse settings. (that's the hard stuff)
Tadao settings theory
Linear Mode
