APE Rampage Boards

Advanced Paintball Electronics (APE) took the paintball scene by storm because of the reliability, programmability and affordability (that's a lot of 'ability') of their Rampage Electronic Boards. APE looked at the current issues players have with some of the other boards on the market and created a board that was easier to program with more features and better battery efficiency. Lets take a look at the very popular APE Rampage A5 Board.

You will need an existing Tippmann A5 egrip to use the APE Rampage A5 Board.. Install is pretty straight-forward. Simply remove the grip assembly from the A5. Open the halves and remove the electronic board. The Rampage A5 Board comes with a Solenoid so you do not have to solder the old one onto your board (if you wanted to later use the old solenoid, you are able to use it on the Rampage Board). Make sure you remove the strip of tape on the solenoid. Reinstall the push rod so that it's in the correct position and make sure all trigger parts are in their proper place.

The only adjusting you will have to do involves the metal leaf that activates the micro switch. It may need slightly bent outward from the middle of the leaf to allow the micro switch to be activated properly depending on certain triggers. Most will work out of the box. After you reassemble, pull the trigger. If you don't feel and hear the micro switch 'click', you need to gently adjust the leaf. Bend outward in small increments using a pair of needle-nosed pliers at the middle of the leaf.

The APE Boards come pre-programmed at the factory using the most optimal settings. For all you 'tweak geeks', this doesn't mean that there aren't endless adjustments to cater to your specific playing style. In the most basic explaination, there are 7 firing modes. You simply press the mode indicator button on the board that peaks through the top hole in the front of the A5 grip. The LED indicator will flash to show what firing mode you are in. Use the APE Chart in your instructional manual to understand the corresponding blink sequence. This is a mode called "Idle". To program you must enter the Idle Mode, press and hold the trigger, then press the mode button again. The LED will flicker for 2 seconds. You are now in programming mode. Programming involves 6 setpoints. APE does a super job explaining the setpoints and their adjustment. Referring to the table in the manual makes it quite easy. It's just a matter of becoming familiar with the programming, then finding the settings that work for your style of play.

We love all the features on this board. As avid A5 owners there are two that really appeal to us: true full-auto firing and instant on/off. Tippmann used to have true full-auto firing with the original E-grip. There were issues with the original board Tippmann produced so they farmed out the programming to Wicked Air Sports. The current Tippmann W.A.S. E-Grip is a solid preformer, don't get us wrong. It's just that the 'true auto-firing' was lost when Tippmann adopted the WAS Board into their guns. By 'true auto-firing' we mean, pull and hold the trigger, full auto is activated. The W.A.S. board requires 3 semi-auto pulls before full-auto is activated. Maybe it's a good thing for speedball, everyone will have their opinions on that one. But for woodsball, true full-auto does have it's advantages (in our opinion that is). Woodsball can be unpredictable, rarely are walk-in individuals that encompass a team organized in terms of strategy and position. Point is, full auto is not just for laying down a ton of paint, it aids in reaction firing. Having to pull the trigger 3 times before activation defeats the purpose, especially when your old like us and your reaction time is slow. The APE Rampage Board is true auto-firing. When set in the Full Automatic mode, one trigger pull activates full-auto. Plain and simple, love that!

There has been some confusion among new users regarding how to turn the Rampage Board on and off. Technically, the board is always in 'standby mode' switching between on and off. As soon as input is made the board is instantly on, when no input occurs the board is automatically off. What this means is max battery life. Boards can really drain batteries. APE has created what is probably the most efficient board out there. Love that too!

APE Boards come with a one year warranty. You can purchase a lifetime warranty directly through APE for $10.

We carry Rampage Boards for the Tippmann A5 E-Grip, Custom Pro E-Grip, Smart Parts Ion and also the BT-4 E-Grip Markers. We are also anxiously awaiting the arrival of the New APE X7 Board!