Internally the Etha is a radical departure from anything seen
before in an Eclipse marker. For the first time we utilize a spring
return bolt system in the firing mechanism, allowing us to simplify
the pneumatic side of the marker and use a Pull Poppet spool to
release air from the firing chamber.
The Etha bolt features dual-stage acceleration so that it picks up
the paintball at a lower speed before accelerating further to push
the ball fully into the barrel. The front of the bolt has a ramped
rubber section.
This extended rubber piece is both removable and replaceable and
designed to flex freely in order to prevent clipping of the second
ball in the stack as well as to be flexible on the face to cushion
the paintball as its pushed toward the barrel. Both of these
features work hand-in-hand with the Deftek Feed System and Break
Beam Sensor System to keep any occurrences of barrel breaks to an
absolute minimum.
The Pull Poppet that releases the air from the firing chamber is
driven by a new, super-robust high pressure solenoid that is
controlled by the fully adjustable PCB. The PCB controls the firing
mode (semi-automatic and ramping), rate of fire, dwell and
de-bounce through the multi-colour LED mounted in the rear of the
frame. It is pre-programmed with modes compatible with all major
tournament series meaning no upgrade needed wherever you play.
The frame, together with the lever operated clamping feed-tube, eye
covers and the new OOPS knob are all manufactured from extremely
resilient glass reinforced nylon. The Etek3 LT has proven to us
just what this amazing composite is capable of: it is extremely
strong, very tough, and more than capable of handling the abuse
that even the roughest and toughest paintballer can throw at it.
When it came time to specify the materials for Etha there was no
question that this material would be at the top of our list for
these parts.
Inside the frame there are sintered brass bushings for the trigger
pin to pivot on and a captured, fully adjustable leaf spring
similar to that found in the Ego11. These components combine with
the externally adjustable trigger to produce a crisp, smooth
trigger action with which to operate the micro switch. And for the
first time in an Eclipse marker the trigger can be fully removed
for maintenance or cleaning without having to separate the frame
from the body - it makes cleaning up after a hit to the frame a
breeze. To help keep paint and debris out of the inside of the
frame, the grip panels are sunk into the frame around their
perimeter, they also use a clever upper locating tab that means
that each grip panel only requires one screw to fix it in place
making access to the board and battery quick and easy.
On the bottom of the frame there is a brand new OOPS (On/Off Purge
System) ASA with front exit porting and the same internals that are
found in the POPS ASA. It actuates with the twist of a knob and
fully vents the entire marker when turned off. It mounts to the
frame via the robust T-Slot system.
The OOPS feeds through a macro-line and up to an SL3 regulator. The
SL3 reg was first seen on the SLS and has since made its way onto
the Geo2 and the Ego11 as well as the CSL where it has been very
well received. With the ability to run HP, MP or LP compressed air
tanks without adjustment it makes it a truly versatile regulator.
And with its replaceable and reversible main seal it is robust,
reliable and easy to service too. Like all other Eclipse markers,
the Etha is designed to run solely on compressed air and not CO2.
The barrel also shares some similarities with those found on its
bigger brothers. The Etha barrel is a 14.5 inch, two-piece,
precision honed, 0.693 bore barrel that has a 'Cocker' thread into
the gun body and uses the same threading as the Shaft4 barrel to
join the front section to rear section.
This means it has the longer control bore as well as being
compatible with all other Shaft4 barrel accessories such as the
Boost Kit and 16" tip. With such a good standard barrel there
should be no reason to run out and spend money on an aftermarket
system.
And like all other Eclipse markers, the Etha comes delivered in a
hard case, lined with shock absorbing foam and packed with
everything you need to look after and maintain it: a full colour
manual; a full set of hex keys; a tube of Eclipse Grease; a
comprehensive marker and regulator spares kit; and a barrel safety
device.