Do you really need that 25bps cap on your MR when playing in the woods? Can you really get your fingers going that fast for that matter? I very seriously doubt it. What good does it do you then? Not much especially with the occasional 25bps bounce emitted from that finicky levered micro switch they put in there. With the absence of eyes, can you say CHOP! CHOP!? These are some of the questions I presented myself while diagnosing exactly where to take my MR2 from its stock configuration. When my MR2 was still HP, it bounced all the time. I had 4 extra boards laying around here and decided that 14bps is just fine for me so I will show you exactly what I did to change the board in this article.
Reason For Change
Getting myself past that 50 bazillion balls per second hype was pretty simple. Hey, I really have nothing at all against it if that's what people like but for me personally, it's simply an unattainable rof so there's really no reason to have it except for bragging rights. Equipped on a blind marker, only increases the chance of chopping. Since I've converted my MR to LP, the bounce issue has essentially disappeared. I won't even mention the concerns I had before I replaced the ACS bolt that came with my MR2. Contrary to what some others may believe, 13 or 14bps is a respectable rof in my opinion.
Another aspect I'm not particularly fond of with the MR2 board is the slide switch at the back of the trigger frame. For some reason it inadvertently changed to modes or turned the board off while I was in play.
This modification is presented here more for the person on a budget that wants to lower the possibility of chopping on their MR due to a high rate of fire with no anti-chop eye system. With a bit of work and around $100 you could add eyes and a new aftermarket board with all the buzzers and bells to your MR. If you have someone else install it, add even more cash to that estimate. On the other hand, you should be able to purchase an old Spyder board for around $5 - $10 locally or somewhere on the internet. I'd suggest replacing the ACS bolt as well to rid your marker of the dreaded hopper blowby popcorning created by the bolt not having any o-rings. The bolt must be MR specific because the detent slots are in a different place than any other Spyder's. If you use the wrong bolt, it will chop off the rubber detents and convert your MR into a milsim blender. I chose to install a stock MR1 bolt in mine. After polishing it and pulling the venturi, it worked as good as gold.
What You'll Need
You will need a few things for this board change: A Spyder e-frame board and an on/off switch since the MR2 doesn't have one similar to the older Spyder boards. You might use an existing on/off switch and wire harness(Kingman part #E24) and M2 X 6 or 8 screws from another Spyder as I did, or find a switch at an electronics store. If you choose to find your own switch, you'll need some 24-26 gauge wire and the small pin connectors that crimp onto the ends of the wires. You're really better off if you just find an old used e-frame because you'll have everything you need. You'll also need the 5 pin plastic connector that plugs into the old board for the micro switch and on/off wires. You'll have to investigate on your own to be sure the board you get fits for the charging port and mode selector button. If you have the correct board they will align perfectly with the top and bottom holes in the MR trigger frame. The extra VS board I have wouldn't fit. I'm almost positive most of the older boards will fit perfectly fine. MAKE SURE THE BOARD FITS BEFORE YOU PURCHASE IT.
Let's Get It On
Remove the trigger frame, all attaching components and fasteners to it from the body. Remove both grips. Remove the battery, battery harness and battery plug connector from the board. When removing the plug connector, you can either use your fingers or a tool such as hemostats or needle nose pliers. You could also try a small flat head jewelers screwdriver by prying it between the plug connector and plug receptacle on the board. Remove the solenoid and micro switch plug connectors from the board. All that's left to remove now are the 2 screws holding the board to the trigger frame.
Put the new board in place and figure out where you're going to install the on/off switch. I'll just treat this article as though you're installing everything exactly as I did, otherwise there are too many variables to describe. This is merely a suggestive guide, not a written in stone instructional. Some aspects of this board change, you'll just have to navigate on your own. There was a blank space at the bottom of the board where the on/off switch could be easily attached to the left grip so that's where I put mine. I checked for clearance before I dedicated that as the spot I would install it in.
Put the left grip on again and mark the zig-zag edge of the lowest point of the trigger frame into the left grip with something sharp such as a scribe or X-acto blade. You will need to do this from the right void of the trigger frame since everything is removed. Remove the left grip and you can now see that the on/off switch must be attached above this point or edge. Lay the on/off switch above this point where you plan to attach it and scribe/mark in the slot where the slide switch button will protrude through the grip. Cut the slot out with something like an X-acto blade or drilling it out is another option. Map this out well before cutting it out because there is no second chance after removing this material. Now that the slot has been cut out, put the switch in the slot then mark the 2 spots where the attaching screws will go through the grip. Use a small drill bit and drill these 2 holes. You can leave the pan heads of the screws flush with the surface of the grip or countersink them into the grip with a slightly larger drill bit. Be careful if you decide to countersink because if for some reason you drill the larger bit all the way through, you're screwed....literally. Attach everything and check for fit. You'll want to leave a tiny gap at both ends between the slide switch button and grip material so you can get your fingernail or something between them to turn the board on and off.
Remove the micro switch wires from the plastic 3 pin connector that was attached to the MR board. Remove the micro switch wires from the 5 pin plastic connector that will attached to the newly installed board. This is done by using a small object like a pinhead, prying it under the small plastic fingers of the connector, and pulling the wire out. Be especially careful when doing this because you can easily break off the plastic fingers of the connectors. You can easily pull the tiny crimped pin connectors attached to the ends of the wires off as well. There's a tiny sharp tab on the crimped pin connectors that hangs up on the fingers. When you pull the fingers up slightly it lets this tab past the point where it's hung up. Once you get one out inspect it and you'll see what I mean. Insert the micro switch wires from the MR trigger frame into the 5 pin connector of the new board making sure that the sharp tabs correspond with the connector fingers just the way you removed them.
You may now install the new electronic board to the MR trigger frame with the (2) screws that held the old board in place. Once the board has been tightened into place, attach the 2 pin solenoid harness, 2 pin battery harness and 5 pin on/off and microswitch harness plastic plug connectors into the corresponding receptacles of the electronic board. Attach the 9.6 volt Java battery to the battery harness and place it into the trigger frame. Activate the on/off switch to the on position and test the modes and rate of fire options of the newly installed board. If there is a concern recheck to be sure you have all of the plugs pushed completely into the board receptacles and the wires in the correct order in the plugs. Arrange the wires on top of the board so they are not laying between the battery or any high LED or circuit component of the board before attaching the right grip back into place.
Technical Information
