The Viewloader Revolution 9 Volt is a nice product. While the full (12V, two battery) Revolution has established itself as the top of the line agitated loader, the market is there for an agitator that does not need to support as high a rate of fire. The agitator 
has two purposes: first of all, to make sure that there is always a ball feeding into the marker'sbreech, preventing dry firing due to balls getting "stuck" in the hopper.
Second, the loader is used to help feed balls faster, to allow a very high rate of fire (rof). Many players using high end or heavily modified guns use the powered loader to feed paint at up to 13 balls per second (bps). Few paintguns, though, can cycle this fast, and those guns that can cost enough that the $75 loader is a comparative drop in the bucket. For players that have a marker that fires at a decent rate, in the 5-7bps range, and want to keep paint flowing, yet don't need a full Revolution, the 9V is the answer.
The components of the 9V Revolution are almost identical to the full Revolution. One of the two 9V battery slots is blocked off with a plastic spacer, there is no low battery light, and the paddle that spins to shake the balls has two small arms, instead of a 4 armed paddle. The IR "eye" that looks for a ball in the feed tube is the same, and the physical packaging is the same, so covers or accessories for the Revolution will fit either model. A quick history of the powered loaders is in order, to explain why ViewLoader (recently acquired by Brass Eagle) decided to create this product. The original mass produced VL loader was the VL2000. It used one 9V battery to drive a paddle to shake the balls to keep them 
feeding. The IR sensor that shoots a beam across the feed chute is essentially the same as all VL powered models. When a ball breaks the beam, the loader is off, but when the beam makes it across the tube, the paddle turns; a simple concept. The VL2000 had some reliability issues and relatively delicate electronics, in addition to a limited motor speed, so the newer version, the Shredder, attempted to rectify them. Powered by two 9V batteries, essentially overdriving the same gears and motors, the (18V) Shredder had problems of its own. While the power was sufficient to drive motor faster than the VL2000, the gears tended to strip under the higher power load. The Revolution was brought out to correct these problems, and uses a motor regulated to 12V with more durable gearing, but drawing on two batteries to provide longer battery life and greater efficiency. The Revolution 9V is the most recent outshoot of the Revolution model. (Many thanks to Ravi Chopra, who is my source of this info, as read on rec.sport.paintball.)
For my needs, the 9V loader is enough. It powers on when the balls have lodged in the loader, keeping me from embarrassing and annoying dry firing. There is nothing worse than lining up for a cover shot into an opponent's blind side, and pulling the trigger on an empty breech, alerting the bad guy to your presence, and causing you to pause momentarily to wonder what just happened. Some guns, especially low end open bolt semi-autos shake enough in their normal operation to keep the paint from getting stuck, but a steady hand and smoothly operating gun takes away this inherent agitation. The powered loader is then necessary, unless you can remember to shake the gun every four or five shots.... Also, the force of the balls is then constant, keeping paint flowing into the breech, so higher rates of fire are possible. It is less likely that a ball will be "chopped," being cut by the bolt as it cycles because the ball has not fallen all the way into the breech, when a powered loader is used. My gun fires smoothly enough to make shaking a necessity, and a $45 dollar loader that I can use on any gun I use is a worthwhile investment.
The 9V Revolution seems to be built to the same high quality as the full Revolutions. As the bodies of the loaders are the same, the shape and spring loaded lid are the same. While playing the loader kept balls flowing, so my rate of fire was unaffected by chopped balls, and I never dry fired. I would like to see an inexpensive upgrade kit for the 9V loader. As the guts are the same as the full loader, it may be possible to install the four armed paddle, and remove the battery block to allow the insertion of both batteries. If the power system is the same to allow 12V operation, the upgrade might be possible for players who move to tournament guns and need the full setup. In short, the 9V loader is a good compromise between price and performance, and is a useful accessory for the rec or tournament player who needs an agitated loader, but does not want to make the full $75 investment in equipment that exceeds their needs.
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