Tippmann A-5

Overview, cleaning & maintenance, performance upgrades
Jamie Innes
08/04/05

The A-5 as you know, is Tippmann's latest marker (Albeit already about 3 years old). It's one of the most customisable markers out there right now, with many mods available to suit it for bushball or speedball. While Tippmann's are generally considered "tough" and "idiot proof", there are a few things you ought to know to get the best performance out of this marker (and to avoid potential pitfalls), should you choose to own one.

OVERVIEW

The overall look of the A-5, that being the metal recievers, is designed with similarity to the H&K MP5K submachinegun (Used by anti-terrorist/urban combat groups around the world). However the design isn't stricly identical because the A-5 has been designed with some very important features that are more important than "how it looks".

The stock barrel, and aftermarket straight barrels are held in by an adaptor, which locks 90 degrees into the front of the recievers. When you install a flatline barrel, the flatline comes with this adaptor built-on, so you aren't "screwing" it on.

The most notable improvement over the Tippmann 98 custom, in my opinion, is the 4 pushpins and no-tool field strippability. Technically you do actually need one allen key to field strip it though, because field stripping means removing 4 pushpins, unscrewing the velocity screw, removing the backplate, and then removing the bolt/powertube. This exposes the inside of the recievers and allows you to clean/oil them without taking the recievers apart. Also the steel braided hose/or expansion chamber/regulator (if you fit one) can easily be removed without tools, because the "tombstone" pulls right out of the recievers.

Next comes the cyclone and hopper. The marker uses blowback gas to rotate the cyclone ratchet. One attraction to owning an A-5 is the fact you don't need to buy a hopper for it. The hopper is gravity fed, but the 5-ball cyclone (Hence the name A-5) feeds balls directly into the breach, unlike conventional motorised hoppers that feed from inside the hopper, down the feedneck. The cyclone and hopper is one thing that tends to dissuade people from using this marker for speedball. They both "stick out the side" of the marker and will catch the odd ball, especially the flat front of the hopper. They also make it almost impossible to "sight down" the outside of the marker rather than the inside, or overtop of the barrel.

Lastly there's the trigger grip, it's held in place by two pushpins, so it comes off very easily. The trigger grip recievers can be unscrewed, and the response trigger piston (upgrade) can be installed, or any aftermarket double trigger.

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

Unlike the 98 custom, the A-5 isn't prone to getting dirt and debris inside the recievers, because the cocking rod is located at the front (not rear) of the marker, and the inside of the marker isn't exposed. That said, there are still some basic thngs you need to do to maintain your A-5. If you fail to do these things, your marker will still shoot for a long time, but eventually you'll end up with the marker decocking/jamming, and other nasties such as broken internal o-rings.

Exterior cleaning is fairly straightforward. Wipe away paint and dirt, use a wet sponge/towel etc. While doing exterior cleaning, it helps to put a couple of drops of oil on the cocking rod. You don't need to go overboard however, because all you're really doing is just lessening the wear and tear of the rod, which is made of plastic (and there's a spring inside). usually the most annoying exterior cleaning is when you get a hit on the cyclone, and bits of paint and shell get deep into the cracks.

Interior cleaning means field stripping. You can either field strip the marker, or totally disassemble it. Total disassembly is generally overkill. The interiors of the A-5 are so simple that a field strip is all you need to do. Here's the simple step by step guide on how to strip... (NOTE: It' a good diea to do this overtop of a white towel laid flat)

1. Make sure marker is not pressurised with gas
2. Use allen key to totally remove velocity screw (Don't lose it!!!)
3. Remove at least the 2 rearmost pushpins
4. Remove the backplate (It has a sling swivel on it). The backplate can be tricky to pull off first time around, but it does come straight out.
5. Beware, the bolt spring and spring-pin will often come flying out, so exercise extreme care if doing this on-field.
6. Remove tombstone
7. Bolt/Powertube should slight right out. It's 2 pieces linked by a metal linkage arm.

Now you have access to the internals and the bolt. Occasionally the bolt will get paint on it if you get a break (not a chop) early in the barrel. You can feel free to run water through the body, and over the bolt, but try to get both of these as dry as you can before reassembly. When putting bolt back in, Smother some oil over the bolt (especially around the bolt o-rings) and perhaps inside the recievers. Put bolt back in, return the spring & pin, then backplate, and don't forget to put the velocity screw back in! (Essential!).

Don't worry about using too much oil, if you do, the marker will simply expell the excess oil upon being repressurized,. the oil will come out by the trigger, barrel, cyclone, and sometimes along the top of the marker where the sight mounts are. Don't worry, this is perfectly normal, and excess gun oil is easily wiped away.

Lastly we come to cyclone maintenance. The bad news is that the cyclone ratchet does actually wear out over time, but it's supposedly good for a long time depending on how much use it's had. I have put at least 12,000 rounds through mine and it's still in perfect working order. The good news is you don't actually need to do anything to maintain the cyclone. For a while, owners were oiling the cyclone ratchet, until an alert was posting (on the A5OG) saying that oiling the ratchet actually makes it yellow, brittle, and prone to breaking sooner rather than later. However not all oils are created equal, so whether you oil the cyclone, is really up to you.

NOTE: Early cyclones had problems with chopping paint. Check the underside of your cyclone, if there's a capital "A" there, you have the updated model, if not, contact Tippmann and they will replace it for you.

Cleaning The Flatline:

Cleaning straight barrels is easy, you can simply unscrew it. But the flatline is a tad trickier. Simply put... you can use any standard squeegee, but some are better suited at the task than others. If you use a pull through/jerk squeegee, you need to remove the hopper and feed the squeegee through the cyclone, this can be tricky.

The best solution is a fleecy battle swab. Just shove it down the barrel and soak up the paint. SOme of the paintball shell will still be near the breach, but it's a good on-field way to clean the barrel. Beware- "straight shot" squeegees aren't recommended as they are reported to decrease the life expentancy of the sandblasting inside the flatty.

WHile at home, unscrew the flatty and run hot water through it, also use one of your squeegees to clean the inside of it. Then air-dry it before next use.

PERFORMANCE UPGRADES

Triggers:

We'll start with firepower, as this relates directly to NZ firarms law. Currently, you cannot have a firearm that shoots more than 1 ball per trigger pull (unless you have a restricted weapons endorsement on your firearms licence). The only "possible" exception to this is the PPS double barrelled paintball markers, however that is a grey area within the law. 1-shot per pull means that burst mode, response modes, full auto etc are restricted.

GTA Response Trigger:

Uses gas to push a piston which resets the trigger to it's original position, this allows faster firing, often referred to as "trigger bounce" or "sweetspotting". This trigger *IS NOT* full auto, multimode & burst capable, *IS NOT* electronic, and It *DOES NOT* fire by itself without actual pressure from the operator. I say this because many many players repeatedly make incorrect assumptions about this trigger due to sheer ignorance. Be advised also that the 98 Custom response trigger operates in the same fashion as the A-5 model.

GTA E-Grip:

Not-allowed in NZ unless you have a restricted weapons endorsement as it makes your marker auto & burst capable. It's an electronic grip that requires a battery and uses a solenoid to discharge the marker. Fire modes include semi, 3-shot, reponse, full auto, turbo mode. The E-grip trigger can be lightened to a hair by adding the JCS A-5 blade trigger (For e-grip only)

Hoppers:

There's a few aftermarket hopper options for the A-5. The 30 round micro cap, sold by Opsgear, is simply a virus hopper/pod lid which fits over your cyclone. Milsim players use it as it simulated the 30 round capacity of a rifle magazine. There's also the 230 round hopper with flat sides, allowing better placement of sights. Lastly there's the recently released Ricochet R5 hopper, which is basically a gravity fed Ricochet for the A-5. The Hopper is considered a performance upgrade because different sized and shaped hoppers can help avoid or deflect incoming balls.

Flatline Barrel:

Adds extra range. Creates backspin which induces the magnus effect on the paintball. Thus the paintball travels further, and on a flat trajectory while still tavelling at or slightly below 300fps. There are many myths and misconceptions regarding the flatline, all of which are worthy of it's own article.

Regulators and Expansion chambers:

These can be easily screwed into the tombstone ASA fitting. This also allows you to run your tank vertical if you so choose. There are too many to mention, however one popular model with the A-5 is the palmer stabiliser, since it can be used with CO2 or HPA. However, it takes a few thousand shots to "break in". Also see "Low Pressure System"

Low Pressure System:

For HPA users with a low pressure tank, this changes the operating pressure of the A-5 down to 300-400psi. By changing the configuration of the valve and rear bolt, this kit obtains better air efficiency, less recoil, and better shot to shot consistency. A secondary regulator is also required for this system.

Powertubes:

There are 3 powertubes currently available for the A-5, the stock model (Plastic), JCS Red Hot Powertube (Aluminium), and the DOP Proseal (Aluminium). Each have thier own pros and cons, and effect variables such as operating pressure and velocity consistency. Generally you won't be needing a new powertube unless you're stock model breaks or you are keen to spend money on an internal upgrade with fairly minimal effects on performance. (A performance test was done by an A5OG member and velocity and pressure fluctuations were considerably minimal).