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Musashi 5 AKA Board Instructions
Features
• Combination board – works in both the Viking and Excalibur, with
Humphrey or MAC solenoids
• Based on the Musashi 5 software
• Includes 5 fire modes: uncapped semi-auto, adjustable semi-auto, PSP
ramping, PSP burst, and NXL full-automatic
• Continuously monitors the trigger switch through the entire firing cycle
• Adjustable ABS programming prevents first shot drop-off
• AMB (anti-mechanical bounce) and CPF (cycle percentage filter)
algorithms help to eliminate mechanical and switch bounce
• Power efficient software lengthens battery life
• Programming mode allows changes to debounce, dwell, loader delay,
AMB, ABS dwell, fire mode, fire mode max rate of fire, eye mode,
Viking bolt delay, cycle percentage filter, ramp start, board mode,
Excalibur solenoid delay, Excalibur watch delay, Excalibur bolt close
delay, and Excalibur eyes off rate of fire
• All settings are stored in non-volatile memory so they are not lost when
battery is disconnected
• One-touch startup enables the marker to fire instantly
• Three eye modes: delayed, forced with force shot, and test with LED
rate of fire indicator
• Low battery indicator software
Installation
Installation of the M5 AKA board is relatively easy, but care must be taken so as
not to pinch or damage the wiring.
1. Remove the front and rear grip frame screws with a 1/8” Allen (hex)
wrench.
2. Gently pull the grip frame away from the body, being careful not to
jerk any wires.
3. Unscrew the two nylon mounting screws that hold the stock board in
place and gently lift the board out of the grip frame.
4. Remove one plug at a time from the stock board and transfer it to the
matching socket on the M5 AKA board. Every socket is labeled on the
M5 AKA board, but it is easier if you transfer each plug over, one at a
time. One edge socket (labeled “sol 2”) is unused if installing in a
Viking.
5. Carefully place the M5 AKA board into the grip frame, making sure
that all the wires are tucked out of the way and do not get pinched.
6. Secure the M5 AKA board using the two nylon screws.
7. Test to make sure everything works by turning the marker on.
8. Carefully put the grip frame back onto the main body of the Viking or
Excalibur. As you do this, make sure none of the eye or solenoid wires
are pinched between the body halves. The wires must be contained
within the body cavity where they will not be damaged.
9. Secure the grip frame to the marker body, using the front and rear
frame screws.
LED Indicator
The multi-color LED that shines out the data port shows which mode of operation
the marker is currently in:
Rapid Blinking Red At startup this indicates an exhausted battery
Rapid Blinking Yellow At startup this indicates a low battery
Rapid Blinking Green At startup this indicates a good battery
Solid Blue Ball in breech, ready to fire
Slow Blinking Blue Breech empty (marker will still fire if in
Excalibur mode)
Slow Blinking Yellow Eye malfunction; clean eyes or make sure the
gun is being fired with paint and air
Slow Blinking Red Eyes disabled
If using a Viking, the rate of fire is limited to 20
balls per second in fire mode 1; otherwise
capped at fire mode max rate of fire for fire
modes 2 – 5
If using an Excalibur, the rate of fire is limited to
the Excalibur eyes off rate of fire setting.
Sliding the power switch to the “on” position turns the marker on. The battery
indicator will show the current power level of your battery with a flickering red,
yellow, or green LED. It will then show a solid or blinking blue LED, depending
on the presence of an object in the breech. Every time the marker is turned on, the
eyes are enabled.
Eye Operation & Logic
Power Operation
The eyes are enabled when the marker is first turned on. The eyes can be toggled
on and off by holding down the trigger for 3 seconds.
If used, the eye system cycles the marker as fast as possible. During each shot the
eyes watch for the bolt to return, ending the current firing cycle and starting
another as quickly as the pneumatics allow. If the eye system is continually
blocked (e.g. putting your finger in front of the eyes) and is unable to see the bolt
return after every shot, the max rate of fire will be reduced to about 12 balls per
second to prevent further chopping, and the LED will slowly blink yellow to
indicate an eye malfunction. The only way to show the true speed of the M5 AKA
board is to fire the marker with paint and air.
To determine if the eyes are working correctly, insert an object into the breech.
Check to see if the LED changes from blinking blue to solid blue and then back to
blinking blue once the object is removed.
Programming
The tournament lock must be disabled in order to change settings on the board. By
default the tournament lock is disabled. To toggle the tournament lock:
1. Turn the marker off.
2. Ground the left two pins of the programming connector together with a
conductive object (see arrow in picture below).
3. Turn the marker on.
4. The LED will continuously flash red or green to indicate the status of
the tournament lock (red is lock ON, green is lock OFF).
To change settings you must enter programming mode. While the marker and the
tournament lock are off, pull and hold the trigger and turn the marker on. This will
initiate the programming mode, showing a rainbow sequence, and then stop on
solid green. Pulling and releasing the trigger quickly will toggle between the
different programming modes:
Green Debounce
Purple Dwell
Yellow Loader delay
Blue AMB (anti-mechanical bounce)
Red ABS dwell
White Fire mode
Teal Fire mode max rate of fire
Flickering Green Eye mode
Flickering Purple Viking bolt delay
Flickering Yellow CPF (cycle percentage filter)
Flickering Blue Ramp start
Flickering Red Board mode
Flickering White Excalibur solenoid delay
Flickering Teal Excalibur watch delay
Alt Green/Blue Excalibur bolt close delay
Alt Red/Blue Excalibur eyes off rate of fire
When the LED is lit for the desired setting, press and hold the trigger until the
LED goes out. When you release the trigger, the LED will blink to show the
current setting. For example, if the current setting for debounce is 5, the LED will
blink green 5 times. Once the LED stops blinking, you have 2 seconds to begin
entering the new setting.
To enter the new setting, pull the trigger the desired number of times. For example,
to set the debounce to 2, you must pull the trigger 2 times. Every time you pull the
trigger the LED will light. After all settings have been changed, turn the marker
off, using the power button.
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Programming Example
If you want to set the dwell to 20, you should:
1. Make sure the marker is powered off and the tournament lock is
disabled.
2. Pull the trigger and turn on the marker.
3. The LED goes through a rainbow sequence then shows green. This is
the debounce mode.
4. Quickly pull and release the trigger 1 time to switch to the dwell mode.
The LED will show purple.
5. Pull and HOLD the trigger until the LED turns off.
6. Release the trigger. The LED will blink out the current setting.
7. When the LED stops blinking, enter the new setting by pulling the
trigger 20 times.
8. Wait until the LED turns back on, indicating programming has been
completed.
9. Turn the marker off.
Program Reset
A program reset can be used to default all settings by holding down the trigger for
10 seconds while in programming mode. The LED will cycle through all the
colors to indicate the reset has completed. Beware this will also default the board
mode to Viking if you happen to be using an Excalibur.
Settings
Debounce – The M5 AKA board features an interrupt based debounce algorithm
that effectively “scans” the trigger over 2 million times per second. It runs this
completely independent of code execution on the microcontroller so your trigger
pulls are always registered. The debounce setting is in increments of ½
milliseconds. Users should be aware that low debounce settings may cause the
marker to read switch bounce as additional pulls, falsely generating shots or near
full-automatic fire. The setting ranges from 1 to 50 and is defaulted at 10 (5 ms).
Dwell – The amount of time the solenoid is energized each time the marker is
fired. The default is 10 ms. The range is 1 to 30 ms. Too low of a dwell may lead
to inconsistency or drop off, or may not even fire the marker. Too high of a dwell
can cause bad air efficiency. Recommended values:
Marker Humphrey Solenoid MAC Solenoid
Viking 10 ms 17 ms
Excalibur 6 ms 10 ms
Loader Delay – Adds a slight delay after the eye has seen a ball and the bolt is
closed. If not using force fed loaders, it may be necessary to increase this setting to
prevent chopping. A setting of 1 means no loader delay, which is the fastest. The
d
efault is 2 and may be set from 1 to 25.
AMB – Allows the user to adjust the anti-mechanical bounce feature. Mechanical
bounce occurs due to the kick generated during each shot and can cause the marker
to “run away,” firing even after the trigger has been released. AMB helps stop
markers from going full auto when the trigger is pulled very slowly. The default is
2 and may be set from 1 to 5 (1 being off). AMB is only used in fire modes 1 and 2
(semi-automatic unlimited and capped).
ABS dwell – Amount of dwell time added for an ABS (anti-bolt stick) shot. The
range is from 1 to 10 additional milliseconds of dwell. The default is 1, which is
off. ABS programming helps to eliminate first shot drop-off. First shot drop-off
occurs when the lube and o-rings settle or “stick” inside the marker after it has
been sitting. The next shot fired will be lower in velocity because the bolt has to
break free. ABS will slightly increase the dwell to compensate if the marker is left
sitting for 15 seconds.
Fire mode – Included are five different fire modes (default is 1):
1. Semi-automatic, unlimited rate of fire
2. Semi-automatic, adjustable rate of fire
3. PSP ramping, adjustable rate of fire
4. PSP burst, adjustable rate of fire
5. NXL full-automatic, adjustable rate of fire
Setting 1 is normal semi-automatic with an unlimited rate of fire while the eyes are
enabled. When the eyes are turned off, the max rate of fire is set to 20 balls per
second.
Setting 2 is semi-automatic with a capped rate of fire. It limits the maximum balls
per second that can be fired. The cap is set by the Max ROF setting.
Setting 3 is the first PSP fire mode that works as follows:
• The first 3 shots of a string are semi-automatic.
• After the 4
faster than the ramp start setting. For example, if the ramp start setting
th
shot the marker will add shots as long as the user fires
is 5, the user must pull 5 times per second or faster for the software to
add additional shots.
• If the trigger is released, the marker will stop firing immediately.
• If the trigger is not pulled again within 1 second of release, the 3-shot
semi-automatic count starts over.
Setting 4 is the second PSP fire mode that works as follows:
• The first 3 shots of a string are semi-automatic.
• After the 4
th
shot the marker will fire 2 or more shots per pull as long as
the user continually pulls and releases the trigger.
• If the trigger is released, the marker will stop firing immediately.
• If the trigger is not pulled again within 1 second of release, the 3-shot
semi-automatic count starts over.
In normal operation, continually pulling the trigger faster than 5 to 6 pulls per
second will effectively give the user full-automatic at the max rate of fire. If the
user stops shooting then resumes within 1 second, the marker will return to the
max rate of fire. If the user stops shooting for more than 1 second, the next 3 shots
will be semi-automatic. On the 4
th
shot it will resume a faster fire rate.
PSP ramping and PSP burst differ in that PSP ramping requires the user to
maintain the ramp start rate of fire for software assistance, whereas the PSP burst
mode will fire at least 2 shots per pull, regardless of rate of fire. Some players
prefer multiple shots every time they pull the trigger after the initial 3 semiautomatic shots, while others like to shoot 1 ball at a time until they achieve a
certain rate of fire.
Setting 5 is the NXL full-automatic fire mode. It functions similarly to the PSP
fire modes except, after the 3
rd
semi-automatic shot, the user may pull and hold the
trigger for the marker to fire in full-automatic.
Fire mode max rate of fire – The max rate of fire setting applies to the 2nd –
12th fire modes. The max rate of fire is adjustable from 10 to 25 balls per second,
and has an unlimited setting for maxing out the loader system. The default is 7,
which is roughly 13 balls per second. Oscillator inconsistencies from chip to chip
make it impossible to time perfectly, so the only true way to check rate of fire is to
use a Pact Timer or ballistic chronograph. The red radar chronographs commonly
found at fields are NOT reliable.
Setting BPS Setting BPS
1 10.0 12 15.5
2 10.5 13 16.0
3 11.0 14 17.0
4 11.5 15 18.0
5 12.0 16 19.0
6 12.5 17 20.0
7 (default) 13.0 18 21.0
8 13.5 19 22.0
9 14.0 20 23.0
10 14.5 21 24.0
11 15.0 22 Unlimited eyes on, 25.0 bps eyes off
Eye mode – Three eye modes are available:
1. Delayed – The marker fires ½ second after every trigger pull regardless
of a ball being in the breech. This is useful for sound activated loaders
because it makes sure that a shot is fired, even without paint, so the
loader will continue to feed.
2. Forced with force shot – The marker only fires if paint is seen in the
breech or the user pulls and holds the trigger for ½ second, thus
initiating a force shot. This is the default eye mode.
3. Test – This mode is specifically for seeing how fast the user can fire the
marker. The eyes work in such a way as to prevent firing if they are
blocked. This mode is only for dry firing. The LED is used to show
the fastest achieved rate of fire:
Red Less than 10 bps
Yellow Between 10 and 15 bps
Green Between 15 and 20 bps
Blue Between 20 and 25 bps
Purple Between 25 and 30 bps
Teal Between 30 and 35 bps
White 35 bps or greater
As long as the user continues to fire, the fastest achieved rate of fire
will continue to be displayed on the LED. If the user stops firing for 1
second, the LED will cycle back through the rate of fire colors. The
rate of fire is determined by the user’s average of 3 shots in a row. For
example, you must fire 3 times in a row at 20+ bps to attain the blue
level.
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Viking bolt delay – If using a Viking this setting determines how long the eyes
are ignored after the dwell time ends. Some delay is necessary to allow the bolt to
move far enough forward so the eye system does not mistake a small gap between
a paintball and the bolt face for a bolt return. The default is 10 ms and may be set
from 1 to 25 ms. Higher settings will reduce the maximum capable rate of fire,
while lower settings may lead to skipped or blank shots, because the bolt does not
have enough time to block the eyes on its forward stroke.
Cycle percentage filter (CPF) – The cycle percentage filter allows adjustment of
the point within the current firing cycle where a new buffered shot is allowed.
Almost all electronic paintball markers allow a single shot to be buffered in the
event the user is fast enough to release the trigger and pull again during the current
firing cycle. The CPF setting is adjustable from 1 to 10 and defaulted at 2. Setting
1 turns the CPF off, allowing buffered shots at any point in the firing cycle.
Setting 2 through 10 sets the percentage of the firing cycle that must pass before
shots may be buffered:
1. CPF turned off
2. 10% of the firing cycle must pass before a buffered shot is allowed
3. 20%
4. 30%
5. 40%
6. 50%
7. 60%
8. 70%
9. 80%
10. 90%
A higher CPF setting results in less unintentional bounce. For instance, it is
possible that if your debounce setting is border line, you can fire the marker a few
times then hold it loosely and allow it to brush against your finger, going fullautomatic. Since most switch bounce from either a low debounce setting or
mechanical bounce occurs almost immediately after the trigger is released, CPF
can be very effective in eliminating falsely generated trigger activity.
Ramp start – The ramp start setting is only used for the PSP ramping fire mode
(mode 3). It sets the minimum pulls per second that must be maintained for the
software to add shots or ramp up to the maximum rate of fire setting. The default
is 5 and is adjustable from 4 to 12 pulls per second.
Board mode – This setting allows the user to toggle between the Viking and
Excalibur board modes. If using a Viking, this should be set to 1. If using an
Excalibur, this should be set to 2. If the board mode is set incorrectly, the marker
may malfunction or not work at all.
Excalibur Operation Settings
Before changing any Excalibur settings, it is necessary to know how the marker
operates:
1. User pulls trigger. Ram solenoid is energized for the dwell time,
releasing a burst of air.
2. Excalibur solenoid delay runs, giving the air enough time to expand
and push the ball down the barrel.
3. Bolt solenoid is energized, causing the bolt to open.
4. If the eye system is enabled, the bolt stays open for the Excalibur watch
delay unless a ball falls in, in which case the bolt closes automatically.
5. If not using the eye system, the bolt stays open for a set amount of time
based on the Excalibur eyes off rate of fire setting.
6. The bolt closes and the next shot cannot start until the Excalibur bolt
close delay ends. If the bolt close delay is set too low, it may be
possible to fire the marker again before the bolt has closed completely,
creating blowback, inconsistency, or drop-off.
Excalibur solenoid delay – The Excalibur uses two solenoids, one to control the
valve and one to control the bolt. This setting times the delay between the valve
opening and the bolt going back. The range is 1-25 in ½ ms increments. The
default is 10 (5 ms). Too short of a delay will cause blowback up the feed neck.
Excalibur watch delay – If the eye system is enabled, this setting allows
adjustment of how long the bolt will remain open after each shot, waiting for the
next ball to fall into the breech. The range is 4-10, in increments of 20 ms. The
default is 8 (160 ms).
Excalibur bolt close delay – This setting affects both eyes on and eyes off modes
and sets the delay allowed for the bolt to close. If the bolt close delay is too short,
the next shot may be initiated before the bolt has completely closed. This can
cause inconsistent velocity, multiple paintballs loaded into the barrel, and other
erratic operations. The range is from 1-35 ms. The default is 25. If your Excalibur seems to misfire while rapid firing, the bolt close delay may be too short.
Excalibur eyes off rate of fire – This setting allows independent adjustment of
the eyes off rate of fire for the Excalibur. The range is from 5 to 20 balls per
second. The default is 10. If playing in the PSP, CFOA, or Millennium, this
setting must be at 15 or lower to comply with the 15 bps cap.
Additional Features
A tip for setting the debounce, AMB, and CPF – This only applies to semiautomatic fire modes (modes 1 and 2) since AMB is disabled in the PSP fire
modes or NXL mode.
Debounce, AMB, CPF setup steps, while using air (no paint):
1. Turn AMB and CPF off (set both to 1).
2. Starting at debounce 1-3, raise the debounce setting a notch at a time
until excessive trigger bounce goes away. The goal is to have one pull,
one shot, regardless of rate of fire. Do NOT slow pull test for bounce
during this phase. Instead, pull the trigger rapidly or walk it, listening
for double or triple fires.
3. When it appears that it is only one shot, one pull for solid trigger pulls,
try the slow pull test. Holding the marker steady, slowly pull the
trigger and see if multiple shots can be generated from the single pull.
4. Increase the CPF setting a notch at a time until the slow pull bounce
starts to disappear. An additional test is to fire a few rounds quickly,
then hold the trigger right on the activation point to see if the marker
will run away.
5. If you reach setting 10 with CPF and the marker can still be slow pulled
to fire full-automatic, then your debounce setting is probably too low.
Go back to step 2.
6. AMB should not be set above 3, if possible, since it is not as
transparent to the user as CPF. Even a CPF setting of 10 will not be
Example Setting Profiles:
noticed by the user.
1. Tournament legal semi-automatic (NPPL)
a. Fire mode 1 or 2 (semi-automatic unlimited or capped)
b. Debounce 5-20
c. AMB 2
d. CPF 2-5
e. Loader delay set to match your loader (1-4 for Halo, 4-10 for
2. PSP X-Ball, CFOA, Millennium
3. NXL
4. Ludicrous Speed (absolute fastest/bounciest)
gravity feed)
a. Fire mode 3 or 4 (Millennium requires mode 3)
b. Max rate of fire set to 3-5 (14.5 to 15.0 bps), depending on
Pact Timer readings. To be safe use setting 3 (14.5 balls per
second).
c. Excalibur eyes off rate of fire set to 14-15 balls per second or
lower
d. Debounce 5-20
e. Ramp start 5 or higher if using PSP ramping
f. Ramp start 8 or higher if playing Millennium
g. Loader delay set to match your loader (1-4 for Halo, 4-10 for
gravity feed)
Fire mode 5 (NXL full-automatic)
a.
b. Max rate of fire set to 3-5, depending on Pact Timer readings.
To be safe, use setting 3 (14.5 balls per second).
c. Excalibur eyes off rate of fire set to 14-15 balls per second or
lower
d. Debounce 5-20
e. Loader delay set to match your loader (1-4 for Halo, 4-10 for
gravity feed)
a. Any fire mode
b. Max rate of fire set to 26 (unlimited)
c. Debounce 1
d. AMB 1 if using semi-automatic
e. CPF 1
f. Ramp start 4 if using PSP ramping
g. Loader delay 1
Additional Information
www.tadaotechnologies.com
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