WDP's Angel Semi-Auto Tips
Welcome to "Tips from the Workbench." This month I will be discussing the WDP Angel. During the past year I have been asked many times to talk about the Angel, so here it is.
How the Angel works
Nitrogen or compressed air is supplied to the "mini-reg" (regulator) at a working pressure of 700-800 psi. If you are using a "low pressure" Angel, your pressure should be between 450-500 psi. The gas travels from the mini-reg through the flash tank feed pipe where it makes a 90º turn upward into the low pressure regulator and 14-way valve area. The pressure in the lpr is set to 85-90 psi. Air pressure holds the hammer rearward until the firing cycle is activated by the trigger pull.
When the trigger is pulled activating the firing cycle, the Angel works mechanically like most other "blow-back" semi-autos. The hammer travels forward, hitting the valve which releases the gas necessary to fire the paintball and re-cock the gun.
The basics:
The Angel is an electro-pneumatic semi-auto--meaning it uses electronics to activate the firing cycle, and gas (nitrogen or compressed air) to fire the ball and re-cock the gun. Although the Angel fires from an open bolt, the bolt is in the closed position until the paintball leaves the barrel. This causes less gas blow-back and is probably one of the reasons the gun is so accurate.
The Angel has an adjustable rate of fire which can be set from one shot per three seconds, to about fifteen balls per second. The factory pre-set is twelve balls per second. The rate of fire adjustment is found under the hand grip (left side)--there are two adjustment screws located here. The top one is the rate of fire adjustment screw--the bottom screw is the "dwell" adjustment. The rate of fire should be set to amount of shots you are capable of firing, and the amount of paint your hopped can feed. If you set the rate of fire too high, you will chop paint. If you set it too low, you'll squeeze the trigger faster than the cycle will allow the gun to fire.
The dwell adjustment is used to control the amount of open gas that is used in the firing cycle. If your dwell adjustment is open too much, you'll waste gas--not enough dwell time will cause your gun to short stroke, or give you inconsistent velocity. To set the dwell, fire your gun over a chronograph with the dwell set all the way open. Gradually turn the dwell down while firing the gun. When the velocity starts to drop, turn the dwell up 5º.
Trouble shooting the Angel....
Like any other high performance paintgun, the Angel needs to be kept clean and lubed if you want to get consistent performance from the gun.
- Gun will not fire:
Is your air turned on? Check the on/off button on the mini-reg, and the on/off on your high pressure system. Are the electronics okay? Here's how you can test the electronics. Gas up the gun and make sure the switch is in the "on" position. Remove the two allen screws from the rear plate. Carefully remove the cover plate--do not snag or tangle the wires. Using a sharp object press and hold the orange button. This is an electronics bypass switch. When you remove the pick or pencil or whatever you used to press the button, the pneumatics will re-set if your pneumatics are working correctly. Pull the trigger and look for a red LED to illuminate momentarily. If this happens, your electronics are working properly. If not, the electronics may have been damaged. Do not attempt to fix the electronics yourself--bring the gun to an Angel tech, or send it back to WDP for repair.
- Bolt is stuck in the forward position:
This can be caused by a ball break in the breach. Also the snap ring may be set incorrectly. We don't have enough room here to go over setting the snap ring--if you have this problem and can't fix it, please e-mail me at onthedge@mailcity.com and I'll help you get it fixed.
- Ball breakage:
If you've checked your paint and it's okay check your rate of fire adjustment and adjust as necessary.
- Unusual gas consumption:
This is almost always caused by having your dwell time set incorrectly. If your gas efficiency is down, back the dwell screw out a 1/4 of a turn until your gun makes a sharper more crisp sound when firing.
- Can't get velocity high enough:
Most likely your low pressure regulator is set too low. This is factory set at around 85 psi--it is unlikely, but it could change after it leaves the factory. To fix this problem you'll need to remove the end cap. Next you'll need a #3 machine screw to pull the lpr out of the housing. At this point you'll need to add shims--extra shims are included with the gun. Each shim will increase the pressure by 5 psi.
- Gun leaks from the on/off in the mini-reg:
If your gun is leaking from the on/off you probably just need to change one of the two o-rings.
- Gas leaking down the barrel:
This is probably a bad or damaged cup seal.
That's my time for this month. See you in April.
(About the author -- Rick Muncy is an Airgun Designs certified technician and works as an airsmith at Pev's Paintball Pro-Shop in Woodbridge, Virginia.)
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