Remote Control Author: Mister.44 Client: Paintball Magazine Publish Date: December 1999 NOTE: This is the original copy submitted and does not reflect any editorial changes. © 2000 Steve Novak

I spend a lot of time on line. Too much, one might say. But I enjoy chatting with several people that I have met at tournaments and big games over the years. I also love to help people out with gun problems and recommendations. As I scan chat rooms and message boards, time and again you start to see the same questions over and over. Many times these questions deal with "going remote". What is a remote? Can I put a remote on this gun? What’s a slide check? It all seems so simple to me that I often forget that when I was a new player I too had no idea what these things were. So you think that you might go remote? Do you have no idea what a remote is, but want to try it? Maybe you have a remote, but are not happy with your set up. Well, grab your note pads and your crescent wrenches as we look at going remote!

Getting a Remote

Lets first look first at why one would want to use a remote. A remote’s main purpose is to take the air tank off your gun and put it on your back. This does two things. It allows you to make your gun lighter and makes it more maneuverable. For people with large tanks, especially 114cui N2 tanks, it dramatically lessens the load. For CO2 users it gives the added bonus of helping prevent liquid from entering your gun.

What do you need to go remote? Well there are several components of a remote, some are required, and some are just handy to have. These include a harness, on/off tank adapter, remote hose, quick disconnect, slide check, Pro-Connect, ASA adapter, and stocks. Lets look at the construction of a remote from one end to the other.

Harness
A harness is required to hold the air tank on your back. It can be as small as something just to hold your tank, or large enough to hold your tank and 1000rnds of paint. When selecting a remote harness you need to look at three things, size of air tank, amount of paint needed, and construction of the harness.

Most modern harnesses out there currently provide a pouch for an air tank as large as a 114cui N2 tank. However, there are still some made that will only go up to a 20oz CO2 tank. If all you need is a pouch large enough for a 20oz tank, great, but keep in mind that if you ever upgrade to N2, you will have to upgrade your harness too.

Harness configurations usually come in an X +1 configuration. The X is for any number of pouches for paint, and the 1 is for the tank. A 6 + 1, for example, will hold six tubes of paint plus a tank. Like tank pouches, paint pouches come in two sizes. One is for 100rnd tubes, and one is for 140rnd tubes. So a 4 + 1 with 140rnd tubes will hold 560rnds of paint, and a 6 + 1 with 100rnd tubes will hold 600rnds of paint. When selecting a harness, you need to look at your paint consumption. How many rounds do you go through in a game or two? Do you play tournaments or plan to in the near future and may want to buy with the anticipation of larger paint consumption in the future? Keep in mind, the more paint on your back, the more encumbered you will be. At the same time, the less you will have to head back to the clubhouse to reload.

Finally you need to look at the construction of the harness. A harness can run as little as $20 and venture in to near the $100 range. Some are obviously of higher quality materials. Others have nice features, like snug fitting belts. Others are able to be custom configured and you can use custom patterns. Redz, Unique, APP, Renegade, and Indian Springs, as well as others, all make harnesses of various configurations and a wide selection of prices.

One quick note and that is tubes. There are various makers of tubes, including Indian Springs, Viewloader, and APP. It is important to include the price of tubes into the total cost of your harness. Tubes generally run $5-$10 apiece, depending on size and features.

Tank On/Off
This is needed for CO2 tanks and some N2 regs like the PMS Microreg and PMI Crossfire. It is a unit that screws onto the threads of the tank, and has a pin depressor that you screw down and turn on the air tank. They are made by various companies and all work pretty much the same.

One note, many N2 regs that don’t have CO2 screw threads (Raptors, Mini-Regs, etc) can have your hose attached directly to the reg. It can be turned on and off by the on/off on the N2 reg, or a slide check set up on it. (More on slide checks in a bit.)

Hoses
This is the most obvious part of the remote. Its job is to basically run the air from the tank to the gun. There are three main types of hoses, steel braided, plastic, and coiled.

The steel braided is the type that I prefer. They are constructed with a plastic hose with a protective steel braided wire around it. It is very sturdy and reliable. If the hose were to fail, the steel braid protects the user by keeping the hose intact. Its one down fall is that it is not as flexible as coiled remotes, and can be awkward at times.

Plastic hoses are basically a steel braided hose with out the steel braid. Like the steel braided hose, it is sturdy and reliable, but it is also less flexible than the coiled remote. Plastic hoses can fail, and it is important to check your hose for weak spots. If you find swelling in a region, disconnect the hose from the air source and destroy it immediately.

Coiled remotes are also made of plastic, but in a coiled "Slinky" pattern. The main advantage is that they are very flexible and tend to be the least awkward. The one draw back, especially with cheaper made hoses, is that they have a higher fail rate. I have seen several hoses fail (especially when they first came out). A majority of them happened when the ends came apart, causing it to flail wildly. When buying a coiled hose, look for one that is of sturdy construction. Usually, large diameter hoses are better. Fortunately, coiled hoses are more reliable than they were a few years ago, but care should be taken, and your hose looked over for weak spots before you use it.

Quick Disconnect
While not absolutely required, a quick disconnect if very useful. It allows you to unhook your hose from your gun. The gun must have the air turned off and the air in the hose shot out first. But after that you can take of your gun and set it down between games. A quick disconnect consists of two parts a male and a female end. The male part is commonly referred to as a "nipple". Quick disconnects are used to connect the hose to the ASA of the gun, or possible directly to a regulator or expansion chamber.

Slide Check
Also called a bleed valve, the slide check allows you to cut off the air source to the gun, yet have your hose remained pressurized. Generally, people set it up with the hose, slide check, quick disconnect, and finally gun. When you want to take the gun off the hose, you slide the slide check, which takes the air out of the gun, but leaves it on in the hose. This wastes less gas than unscrewing your tank and shooting the air out of your hose. One nifty device made by several companies is a slide check/quick disconnect combo. These devises incorporate both the slide check and quick disconnect in one unit.

Pro-Connect.
A Pro-Connect is a neat little gadget that replaces the slide check and quick disconnect with one unit. A simple press of the button on the side, and the Pro-Connect pops apart, with the air out of the gun, and air still in the hose. Simply popping them back together puts air back into the gun. Both Air American and Paintball Mania Supplies make units of this type. One quick note is that these devises have been known to starve (or not provide enough airflow to the gun to make it shoot consistently) certain types of guns, especially low pressure guns.

ASA Adapter
ASA stands for Air Source Adapter. The ASA Adapter allows you to connect the end of a quick disconnect or Pro-Connect to the part of your gun where the CO2 normally screws in. Again, while made my more than one company, they all function the same way.

Stocks
While many people play remote with no stock – just having the hose coming straight off the gun, many others use a stock. A stock will allow you to shoulder your gun, giving you better aim. At the same time it will also help balance out your gun by adding a little weight to the back.

Often times the stock will screw into the ASA on the gun and have the remote connect to the stock. This is called a Gas through Stock, or GTS. Others stocks screw into the grip frame, and you must connect the remote directly to the expansion chamber or regulator of the gun.

Stocks come in several sizes and designs, but all function about the same. Some have telescoping stocks while others are fixed. Some are GTS while others are not. They also vary wildly in price. Finding a stock you find comfortable on your gun is the most important part in choosing a stock.

Construction

Ok, now that you have picked out all the parts of your remote, lets put it together! For most users this is the general set up: On/Off adapter, hose, slide check, quick disconnect, stock (or ASA adapter), gun. Of coarse you may add or remove parts as your set up or budget allows.

When putting parts together you may need to use elbows. Elbows are units that screw into parts like stocks and angle the connecting part at 90 or 45 degrees. Elbows are pretty cheap, and come in brass and nickel plate.

When connecting parts together, you will want to use Teflon tape or Locktite. Teflon tape is white tape (also called plumber tape) that wraps around the threads of parts to give it an airtight seal. You can find it at Wal-Mart or any hardware store. When using Teflon tape, use only one or two wraps around the male treads. If you use too much, or get sloppy with it, Teflon tape has a habit of clogging filters, regulators, and expansion chambers of guns.

Locktite is a liquid that will seal and lock threads together. Locktite will not only keep your connections together, but give an air tight seal. Blue Locktite should be used because it is temporary. If red Locktite is used, you may never get the parts apart, as it is used for permanent applications.

Once you have your parts picked out, and them securely put together, you should be ready to go! If you do happen to have a leak, try to re-tape or reseal that connection. It is also important to note that both slide checks and quick disconnect have orings that can get lost or go bad. It is important to find out the size of these and have extras on hand.

Final Notes

With your new remote, you are sure to become the paintball god you always knew you were. OK, maybe not. But it should provide you with better comfort and maneuverability. There are a few down sides to remotes that you should be aware of.

First of all, there are more connections and orings you are adding to your set up that could leak or fail. While this is not a major factor if you practice proper maintenance, it is something that you should remember. Remotes also can become entangled in weeds or trees. This is especially true for coiled remotes. Be careful not to move forward in heavy brush, only to find your hose 10-ft behind you caught on a tree.

However, all in all, remotes are very useful and widely used. From rec to tourney play, many people enjoy a the use of a remote. It also adds one more safety feature. With a slide check you can disconnect your air source and prevent accidental firings. (NOTE: this should NOT replace the most important safety device: a good fitting barrel plug.) Hopefully if you are thinking about getting a remote, this article will get you started hunting for one that will fit your needs.

Play Safe and Have Fun!