A-5 Which E-Grip?

[NecroticSoldier]

Which board should I get if I were to get an E-grip. WAS Version, APE, H.E., or Virtue?

[Corrupted355]

You can get the APE board in both A-5 and X-7 versions. I'm fairly certain that the X-7 version will also fit the A-5 select fire.

Why APE? APE boards are light-years better than WAS boards (at least for Tippmanns). The APE and Virtue boards are going to be about the same quality, but I have a moral issue with Virtue. A few years back, Virtue tried to "load" the ratings here on their products by having their employees fill out reviews. To me, that's the sign of underhanded management, and the reason why you won't seen any ratings of Virtue products here on PBReview.

[NecroticSoldier]

Oh, I see... that's bad. hmmm you heard anything about the H.E. grip? whats the diff between Virtue and APE in terms of functionality?

[Corrupted355]

The HE grip is the A-5 version of the Select Fire frame on the X-7. You can get an APE board for either the standard A-5 E-grip or the A-5 HE E-grip. I don't believe Virtue has an HE version. BTW, HE stands for "Hall Effect", which is the type of activation it uses. Basically, instead of a microswitch, it uses magnetic sensors. If you've ever shot an Invert Mini, it's the same kinda thing.

In terms of performance, the Virtue is gonna be a little more "gadgety". It's got two additional firing modes (Millennium and Breakout) that aren't really useful unless you're a hardcore speedballer. It's also supposed to be ready for wireless upgrades when new software comes out. Everything else is prettymuch the same as the APE board. If APE ever comes out with with new software, just send them the board and they'll flash it for the cost of shipping. I did this once. Normally it would have cost a dollar to ship it to them, but they happened to be attending a big game I was at, and they did it right there on the spot.

However, Virtue seems insistent on the idea that Tippmanns have eyes, which of course they don't. They're claiming some special eye logic and a force shot mode for when the eyes are blocked. This is just stupid, seeing (heh...) as how there are no eyes on an A-5.

Another thing I don't like about the Virtue is the auto-shutdown. If you don't pull the trigger for ten minutes, the board will turn off. This sounds great for battery life, but what happens when you're walking through the woods for ten minutes, and you suddenly find yourself under attack. You've got to scramble to turn the gun back on before you can fight back.

APE has a cool trick to combat the on/off issue. The board is wired so that you never actually turn it on or off. If you're not pulling the trigger, it's not using any electricity. I've personally left the battery in my A-5 for months at a time. I put the gun away, come back three months later, pull the trigger and listen to the solenoid click. There's literally no dealing with on or off. And if you're worried about pulling the trigger in the staging area or having your bag accidentally pull the trigger and wear the battery down while it's in storage, all you do is tap the button a few times to change the firing mode. At the end of the list of firing modes, there is a setting that ignores trigger pulls. Essentially, this is "off", but it's really no different than just not pulling the trigger.

[NecroticSoldier]

Ugh, ehh... would it be a pain in the *** to change firing modes? and yeah that sounds nice to have it flashed right on the spot! I thought it was so weird when they said something about eyes... I was like WTF It came with eyes? I wanna get it LOL. Yeah I like the additional modes... But I heard that the virtue turns back on after the first pull of the trigger... yeah I'm most concerned over the way of changing firing modes. Yeah I play to play Woodsball too, I like both personally, I plan to enter speedball Tourneys... and Biggames and such :P So I'm still not quite sure :/ Cause there are the new H.E. Grip shapes and the OLD one with no switch?

[NecroticSoldier]

Both are weather resistant? and does the APE require a Allen Key to turn on?

[Corrupted355]

You have to choose between two types of physical grips: the HE and the traditional. You can get a WAS board (which comes installed from Tippmann) or an APE board in either style, but the Virtue only fits the traditional grip. Here's the difference:

Traditional E-grip:
https://www.pbsports.com/shop/images/P/a5egrip.jpg

HE E-grip:
https://secure.paintballshop.com/images/products/prdimg_2320612_0.jpg

Changing modes with an APE board is simple. If you look at the front of the frame on the traditional grip, you'll see two holes. In the top hole is a button, and in the bottom hole is an LED. To change modes, all you do is tap the button to cycle through the list. For each time you tap the button, the LED will indicate what mode you're in via a pattern of colors and flashes. For example, if you tap the button and the LED lights up five times in quickly in green, it means you're in full auto. The manual explains what all the colors and patterns mean, but it's pretty simple.

I don't have a hall effect grip, but knowing APE, the process is going to be pretty similar. The APE board in my DP G3 has mode selection identical to the one in my A-5.

EDIT:
Both are weather resistant? and does the APE require a Allen Key to turn on?
The Virtue doesn't say anything about being weather resistant, but I've personally been swimming with my A-5. The APE, however, does require an allen key (or small screwdriver, stick, whatever) to push the button. There are ways around this, the most common being to glue a small piece of eraser or similar material to the button so you can reach it without a tool. However, as I said earlier, this isn't needed to turn the board on, only to change modes. The APE board is always on.


RE-EDIT:
I just read that the Virtue board has a "dedicated Pulse adapter / RF port. On an A-5; a gun that you literally CAN'T put any other loader on without heavy modification. Talk about paying for something you're not gonna use.