Spyder Eframe 9V Conversion?

[Toestr]

Is this possible with like a capacitor swap or something? I also remember reading something about putting a penny behind the armature on the solenoid and/or filing it down. What's that about?

[Trbo323]

Typically you can run them on 9v, the batteries just don't last as long

Every once in a while, and with the early electras now getting long in tooth, you will come across one that needs a 9.6 in order to trip the solenoid. Just that little extra juice helps

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[Tarsun2]

9v batteries arnt actually 9v... its usually a bit more. a high quality 9v battery should actually be fine as they are up there in that 9.5 to 9.6 range, but it will get expensive real quick.

as for the penny, im not sure. maybe to shorten the clapper travel and make it "quicker"(?) idk.

as for changing out some components to make it run a lower voltage, that would be a tall order. id imagine youd have to go through the entire circuit and reverse engineer the whole thing.

you can always try a different brand board...

[Trbo323]

Wonder if a azodin blitz board would fit in? Those are 9v from the factory

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[flyweightnate]

I just got some inexpensive NiCad batteries from Harbor Freight, and they work great. I charge them once a year, whether I need to or not... about as often as I play.

I feel like someone was selling the bigger capacitors for the frames. It was a little guy, like Airsoldier or Ydna. The penny trick and shortening the armature were opposite ideas - the one was to shorten the distance of had to move, while the other was to increase the distance in hopes of picking up speed.

[Seajay]

The cheap 9v start at 9v or a little higher but don't last, and will quickly drop to 7v or lower. Just keep in mind the boards were built around 9.6v NiMH batteries, which typically hold a consistent charge and output, then drop to 0.
Regular batteries will drop off over time, which is bad for the board since it wasn't designed for lower power batteries. The lower power the more draw is taken from the battery meaning more wear and heat on the board.

The Powerex 9.6v battery on Amazon is ~$12. I bought mine 8+years ago and it still works fine.

Edit: Mistake made, they are not LI they are MiNH. Everything else regarding voltage curve is true.

[Brokeass_baller]

Mine all came with NiMH, not Li.

[Seajay]

Thanks for the correction.

[Brokeass_baller]

It's all good, man.

[Trbo323]

Just keep in mind the boards were built around 9.6v lithium batteries.

No they weren't. Li-ions I'm not even sure were in consumer hands when these boards were designed. Also the voltages are all wrong. Li-ions are 3.7v per cell so you design based on a multiple of that.

Ni-cad batteries are 1.2v per cell so if you stack 8 of them together you end up with 9.6v

This is also why you have to be careful when looking to replace. There are no 9.6v li-ions that don't have something like a voltage regulator which makes the form factor too large to fit in a normal 9v battery slot.

If you get a 2 cell li-po that's marketed as a "9v rechargable" it's actually putting out 7.4v

If it's a 3 cell version you have 11.1v

Stuff like my vanguard Creed for instance was designed around li-ions which is why the board requires and the battery puts out, 3.7v

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[Seajay]

Oops you are right, had to look again. The "Spyder" battery is NiMH 9.6v. Not Lithium-Ion. Same goes for the Powerex 9.6v. I misspoke.

[scottieb]

You'll want a true 9.6v battery for the stock Spyder boards. As already stated, the lower voltages put out by 9v alkaline batteries will eventually ruin the board. So much so that if you read Kingman's warranty statement in the owner's manual, it explicitly states that using 9v batteries will void the warranty.

[lhamilton1807]

Glad I found this discussion. I’ve been t-shooting a Rodeo with a rocking trigger frame and cannot for the life of me get it to trip the sear, even on a 9.6v battery. My other swing e-markers work just fine.

We’ve tried:

1. 9.6v NiMH batteries
2. 9v alkaline
3. 9v (8.4v) NiMH
4. Different spring combinations front & back
5. lubed and new o-rings throughout

Essentially we either get a sear that won’t trip OR velocity that maxes out at ~220fps

The capacitor looks fine, and the clapper noid isn’t corroded or anything. The board lights up and seems to be happy. Anyone have an idea about what the issue might be?

[Cdn_Cuda]

Looks like the current Spyder Fenix electro-Spyder uses a standard 9v. Can its frame or board work?

[lhamilton1807]

I’m sure the frame would work, but just doing a board swap would be a bit of a project. The old Spyders just have one button and LEDs that show through the grip scale. The 2012 Fenix I have has two buttons and a display on the back of the grip.

[lhamilton1807]

But a the idea of a board swap isn’t a bad one… there’s no difference in connectors between an old Imagine (left, big LED indicators) that I have and my friend’s RT Rodeo (right, lighted firing options LED board)

Edit: the noid is fine - swapping these boards got the gun to cycle with the heavy spring, so there’s something wrong with the capacitor or board on his rodeo.

[Brokeass_baller]

It could very easily be the cap. I do electrical work, and I replace non-exploded caps all the time. If you have a meter, you can probably check the capacitance.

[lhamilton1807]

That’s what we figured would be the next step. I don’t have a fancy tester, but a cap can’t be that much, and I know I can solder it for him. If that doesn’t work, I’m sure we can find a donor or replacement gun somewhere.

[Psycho91]

Sounds like a board issue, another thing you can do on these old spyders is drill the transfer hole out to 5/16 I believe it is like they do the old Timmy's and probably get a little jump in velocity

[Psycho91]

Swap to a mech frame problem solved 😂

[lhamilton1807]

lol yeah that’s an option. Fixing this for a friend and I think he’d have words for me if I brought his RT Spyder back to him with a mech frame 😝

[Psycho91]

I was just being funny, I totally understand mowing players down with a marker they find inferior, spyders have always been funny with batteries that's why iv always stayed away from the electric ones, I mean you made a marker that won't work off regular 9v when everything else around it does,sounds like kingman tbh

[lhamilton1807]

Yep, I hear ya. I’m not a fan of old e-Spyders - preferred the Piranha line. I just got a newer Fenix in the mail and it works on a 9v and is a great shooter, smoother and quieter than the older ones. No fancy milling so it’s like they made it a sleeper by accident 🤣