#1 How can I learn about the Impulse before I buy one? There are several forums available on the Internet. If you can go to any of the following sites and read through the forums, www.pbnation.com and www.pbreview.com. Feel free to post any questions you might have. Also, take a look around, there are plenty of answers to many of the questions that you might not even know you have. Second, you can get to the on-line versions of the Impulse manual at the Manuals & Instructions page, here at the Impulse FAQ. First, you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to read this file. It is available for free. Simply click on the link below. 
In addition you can go to the Impulse Owners Group (IOG) web site at, www.impulseownersgroup.com
#2 What is Smart Parts Phone Number? You can call Smart Parts toll free at 1-800-992-2147. NOTE: Several people have been dialing the wrong number. This is in part due to the fact that Smart Parts has given out the wrong number on occasion, I know it was on my answering machine recently. The number is NOT 1-800-922-2147.
#3 What is the warranty on the Impulse? Smart Parts warrants for 1 year to initial retail purchaser that the Impulse™ paintball marker and regulator are free from defects in materials and workmanship. Disposable parts (batteries, o-rings, seals, etc) are not warranted. The valve and hammer assembly are warranted for six months. The solenoid and electronics on your Impulse™ are unconditionally warranted for six months, plus an additional warranty of six months for electronic parts only (installation and labor are not included.) This warranty does not cover surface damages (scratches and nicks,) misuse, or improper disassembly and re-assembly, or attempts made to drill holes or remove metal from the external surfaces, which could result in degrading the performance and reducing pressure safety factors. Do not use Teflon tape on any part of this marker--the tape can break off and plug the solenoid. Instead, use Loctite 271. Do not make changes to the basic marker parts without written approval. The only authorized lubricant for the gun is DOW 33 Lubricant. Use of any other lubricant could result in voiding your warranty. Use only those “on/off” switches purchased from Smart Parts. Unauthorized “on/off” switches will void this warranty. Paintball markers non-refundable. This warranty is limited to repair or replacement of defective parts with the customer to pay shipping costs. This warranty is effective only if the customer returns the warranty registration card enclosed with the marker. The warranty is non-transferable. Do not attempt to alter the trigger assembly in any way, as this will void your Smart Parts warranty. Trigger alteration of any kind may result in serious injury!
#4 What’s the big deal about the serial number? An Impulse with a serial number of 1500 and below is a pre-release, also referred to as a Special Edition Impulse. The pre-release Impulse was made to “test” the Impulse before production. A pre-release Impulse will have an aluminum ram shaft, stainless steel valve, aluminum pull pin, will be missing the Max-flow insert, have an open hole bolt, the feed tube is glued on (not threaded) and takes cut down Shocker barrels. An Impulse with a serial number greater than 1500 is a production release or normal Impulse. These Impulses are the start of the Impulse threaded barrels. The only real problem here is that an Impulse with a serial number less than 3000 may also have the problems of the aluminum internals (ram shaft & pull pin), stainless steel valve, missing the Max-Flow insert, have an open hole bolt, and the feed tube is glued on (not threaded). Several people have had their Impulses upgraded by Smart parts. An Impulse with a serial number greater than 3000 should have several updates, including Stainless Steel ram shaft, stainless steel pull pin, a venturi bolt, a threaded feel tube and an insert or newer manifold for the Max-Flow. The next update happened around 4000. These Impulses will have a thicker trigger. The purpose of the thicker trigger is to remove the side-to-side slop that some people do not care for. This also involved a new trigger frame. The next update is "vision ready". If the Impulse is a standard Impulse it will have all the correct milling and options so that it can be easily upgraded to a Vision Impulse if the owner chooses to do so at a later date. This change happened in the mid 6000's. Just past 11,000 Smart Parts stopped drilling the air transfer hold that connects the solenoid air passage to the valve from under the body. Because of this change you can NOT use a VFF, HFV or AHF. Please make sure you check your Impulse body before ordering one of these parts. Smart Parts has also started to supply the Impulse with a trigger that can have the post-travel adjusted. While not serial number specific, the original Vision and non-Vision Impulse boards (with the Dwell POTs) were replaced with the Cricket Vision and non-Vision boards, sometimes called the blue-light boards. To date the Cricket boards have been upgraded twice. Once for the Adrenalin Impulse where the dwell range was increased and the second time to raise the ROF with Vision off and correct some issues with the Vision "seeing" paint.
#5 Where are some good places with good prices to buy Impulse upgrades? For top notch service and great prices stop by www.e-paintballoutlet.com.
#6 What are the addresses for the different Impulse owners groups? Originally there were two owners groups. In the end, only one survived, www.impulseownersgroup.com
#7 How many different Custom Impulses are there? Not counting the stock Standard and Vision Impulse from Smart Parts here is the list of custom Impulses, past, present and future. The list is sorted in alphabetical order as to not show any preference. This list is complete and some of the markers are no longer manufactured or sold and others are in the works and have not yet been released to the public. The web site links are for informational purposes.The names with pictures to the left are Private Label Impulses currently manufactured by Smart Parts. Click on the Image to view a larger version.
#8 What is the difference between Custom Impulses? In my opinion, there are currently five categories of Impulses. - At the bottom are the Standard Impulse and Vision Impulse. Works great but like all factory guns, no thrills. Smart Parts has released some anodized Impulses but they were just stock guns with a “paint job”.
- Next are the entry-level custom impulses. Here we have nothing more than a stock Impulse with milling and anodizing. These are often found as package deals with a better barrel and in some cases a max-flow tank.
- The middle level custom Impulse has some performance upgrades but has not been completely overhauled. Again these Impulses have custom milling and anodizing but also include minor performance enhancing parts (internals).
- A top-level custom Impulses has many performance enhancing upgrades. While still having a custom look through their milling and anodizing, the upgrade that are included in these Impulses are often sought after buy the owners of the Stock Impulses to try and gain performance while not shelling out the extra money associated with the custom milling and ano.
- Off the chart is when a company comes along and re-designs the Impulse from the ground up making it an almost completely new marker. To date very few Impulses fit into this category. This type of Impulse has performance parts and/or options that will not work on other Impulses.
#9 What are the modes of Fire for the Impulse? The standard Impulse, both blue light (cricket) and amber light boards, is a semi only marker. A turbo board will allow you to select between semi and turbo. For multiple firing modes the board has to be replaces with a Genesis board. The Equalizer board from Wicked Air Sports is also a semi only board. With ECS programming you can program your board to be semi only or to have any variety of firing modes. For more information on ECS programming visit the Krik-It Software page. NOTE: In 2001, Smart Parts has discontinued making the Turbo Impulse in support of the Vision Impulse.
#10 What is the Rate of Fire (ROF)on an Impulse? The rate of fire for the original Vision Impulse (Amber/Green light boards) is 19.5bps, and the original non-vision Impulses are 17.5bps. This is adjustable through a potentiometer labeled "SEMI" on the board. The Pot is not accessible from the outside of the marker. The first version of the Cricket boards and all currently released boards are capped at 20bps for Vision and 13.7bps for non-Vision. There were a short run of Vision boards in the second release of the Cricket board where it was capped at 20bps in both Vision and non-Vision mode. In addition, I know that some special team boards have had the ROF increased.
From FOM at www.e-paintballoutlet.com in regards to the ROF on the Amber/Green light board: I DO NOT recommend you use max rate of fire. The way I recommend you set ROF is turn it DOWN until you can actually "miss" a shot because you pulled faster then the gun would fire. When you get to this point, turn the adjustment clockwise about 1/8 turn.
WHY?
Hears the deal most people can't pull the trigger near as fast as they think. the only time you get super high rates of fire is with trigger bounce. problem is trigger bounce can happen ANY time and will OFTEN result in a chopped ball.
When we REDUCE the rate of fire, we are not actually slowing you down any- it will still fire as fast as you can pull, BUT we are increasing the "hold back" time, that is the amount the bolt is held fully open before it can charge forward again. This gives us much better feeding, i.e. more time for the ball to drop.
#11 What is the little screw for in the side of the Impulse body? The little screw on the side of the body is used to plug a hole that was drilled to open an air passage inside the gun. Do not remove it!! If it is leaking, take it out, clean it up and loc-tite it back in. Use caution it is threaded at an angle. Unlike a Shocker, you can not use this hole for an air assist. NOTE: On newer Impulses where there is only a single air passage hole under the body for the Vertical Adapter, the hole on the side of the body is drilled straight in, not at an angle.
#12 Where can I get a copy of the Impulse and/or Max-flow Manuals? First, you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read these files. It is available for free. Simply click on the link below.
After Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed, you can view a copy of each manual online, here at the Impulse FAQ using the information below. The Impulse FAQ has a section titled Instructions & Manuals. This section contains electronic copies of all Manuals and Instructions sheets provided by Smart Parts (either US or Europe) since the Impulse was released. I would recommend that if you do not have a copy of the manual for whatever reason that you Print a copy to have handy just incase your Internet connection or the Impulse FAQ is down when you need it most.
#13 What size screws are used to hold the Impulse Board to the Body? I had to buy one of these screws once and had a hell of a time finding the right size. The screw size is 2-56 x 1/4".
The only place I could find any was in a package at Radio Shack for $1.49. In the package are 14 each of the 2-56 size in 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 length. The Radio Shack Catalog Number is 64-3010A and the item description is "Round Head Machine Screws (42)".
#14 Which trigger pin goes in the front/back? From the factory the notched trigger pin goes in the back. Some people like to reverse the two pins. Certain aftermarket triggers, lock to the front pin, so you can remove the back pin and just use one. It's all personal preference. You can not damage anything by having the trigger pins installed in reverse order, or by using just the front pin.
#15 What is an Orphaned Impulse? Smart Parts manufacturers most custom Impulses for distributors. From time to time, a distributor will no longer desire to purchase the custom Impulse from Smart Parts. At this time the custom Impulse body becomes an Orphan. The first Orphan was the Demonic Impulse, this evolved into the original Strange Impulse. The next two Orphans are the Adrenalin Impulse and the Eclipse Impulse. The Eclipse Impulse became the Mouse Impulse sold by www.e-paintballoutlet.com and the Adrenalin has been rumored to be sold by Paintball Wholesalers. Despite becoming an Orphaned Impulse, you can not buy just the body from Smart Parts. | 
