Hatchet

Morning all, I've recently installed a Gate X-ASR into an M249 gearbox and am experiencing some issues. Everything appears to be wired up correctly with the signal wire and positive going to the microswitch, the negative going directly to negative motor terminal. LEDs blink green on battery connection and gun fires when trigger is pulled. However, intermittently it will stop firing with the LED's flashing red/green. According to the help card, this is the trigger wire being connected to the negative motor wire. Obviously it's not. Leaving the trigger alone for a few seconds and the lights go out and firing can resume, but the same thing will recur. I wondered if this could be an overheating issue, even though the light pattern on the card suggests otherwise. Nothing's obviously hot and the shimming seemed good when tested - gears spinning smoothly in an assembled box. This is on a 22TPA motor with 13:1 gears that's pulling something like a M100 spring, so should be well within the operating tolerances of the X-ASR. Anyone come across this before or have any suggestions? I vaguely recall having similar issues with a 249 and different Gate mosfet in the past, but put it down to a bad mosfet since when I swapped it for a cheetah all was fine.

Could you superglue a pin to it to unscrew? Other than that, if you're going to replace it you might want to consider trying to source the selector from the G3 SAS since it's one sided (like M16, MP5) and doesn't have the axle so you avoid this whole issue in future.

Bunch of different versions here by the looks of things and now I questioning both my eyes and my sanity trying to compare them all. Jacob's one doesn't look right, because the charging handle is right up on the front sight like an MC51. I'd assume it's been made by cutting down the barrel at the front and shortening more than usual (because it looks too long to just be an MC51 front end. The one that George has linked looks right to me - charging handle looks about right and the foregrip is shortened too, based on where the bipod notches end. Probably the easiest way to do it and based on their description (CA33 parts) the same way most people have done it. I've attached an old pic I had that shows the difference between the CA33 front end and the standard G3 front end. Also bear in mind that if you want to attempt to do this with an LCT it's going to cost a lot more and will probably involve welding...

My current options (that I've had a few years now) are the Bolle 800s and revision bullet ant. I favour the bullet ant for most skirmishes since their lower profile makes them easier to fit under hats and the like. You can also usually pick them up on Ebay since they were/are UK issued. You can then also just get replacement lenses. So pick up a used set for £15-£20 and a new set of lenses for similar. Much cheaper than £75 for a new set. Obviously rip the foam lining out of them to aid airflow. I find them to be low fog, but if I'm running hot and static then they can fog (to be fair, I'm not using any coatings/sprays). Easy to take apart and clean as well. I think I'm on my second set of these as the originals eventually perished (possibly aided by cam cream). The bolles are excellent if I'm running a helmet, and I prefer to wear them in these situations as they cover more of the gaps. In combination with a mesh lower, you get decent full face coverage. Airflow is good. Again, it is possible to get them to fog, but generally they don't. Again, easy to break down and replace/clean lenses as needed. Both of these are obviously properly ANSI rated and probably worth replacing the lenses every couple of years to allow for UV breakdown and general wear and tear. I don't do mesh because I find it reduces visibility/light too much for my liking (plus, shattering bb potential) or shooting glasses since I shot some off someones face with a 3rd burst from about 20m.

Be interested in a review of that when it comes in. I've been vaguely contemplating doing something similar.

I did this on a TM/CA. CA33k front end is a straight drop in (although I might have had to shorten the cocking spring). The G3 handguard is too long as it stands, but should be relatively easy to modify. I fitted wood furniture instead.

I actually do like the look of that. Nicer than the DesertTech MDR (which we're still waiting on, Silverback). Can see that if you'd spent £x hundred quid on a 3D printer that the natural conclusion might be to print all the things. I'd also like to nominate the Kriss Vector in the "why would you do that?" category.

I've been running an Urban ERT sling for years on all the different guns I've owned (LMGs, sniper rifles, etc). Not padded, but robust and you can buy every sort of sling mount going for it. The hybrid switches between single/2 point, they have dedicated ones for odd shapes like P90's etc...

Brownells have bits and pieces like that in (in the UK), but typically it's expensive. I've used them for things like skinny M4 grips, etc. But personally have baulked at the idea of dropping £300 on a foregrip that may or may not fit because airsoft (MP5 handguards for example).

Chromebooks are Chromium based, not Android. Some newer models can run Android apps (from the Play store, rather than Chrome apps/extension from the Chrome Web Store), but not all of them.

Like everyone else has said, either spare batteries, or if you must have a solution, something like an Imax B6v2 with a large capacity battery (Overlander do a 22,000MaH one). It has an XT60 input, so just have an xt60 connector on your large "supply" battery and you're good to go. However, you will be spending £140 or something daft when you could do it a lot cheaper with a couple of spare batteries...

I've gone through a bit of HPA and came out the other side with none, but for different reasons. I'm also considering going back into it. I've had the mancraft kit for a VSR and moved away from that because it adds unnecessary complexity to a spring setup. Given a MED of 30m, a normal spring gun is quiet enough and you can just grab it and go without worrying about tanks, etc. Additionally, it's not the kind of setup that you change often once setup, so some of the benefits of HPA are lost. More importantly, for me, is how dead HPA feels. Pulling the trigger on a bolt gun and feeling the bolt release/go forward conveys a sense of power to your rifle that's lacking on HPA, even though the joules at the barrel are exactly the same. The only draw for HPAing the SRS would be the ease of bolt pull, because trying to cock when prone is a pain compared to the VSR. I've also owned an inferno'd E&L AK, and despite efforts and sending to be teched, it never shot as well as when it just had a standard gearbox in it. It was, however, great to be able to RPS and power easily. The current attraction of HPA is making a quiet DMR, which I'd like to give a try. Having had some success with the MK23, I could see that play style translating well to a rifle. I've been looking at the Kythera for this, partly for simplicity (no battery) and legality, but also because the trigger feel/feedback is meant to be much improved over the inert microswitch feel of the others. However, it's a big buy in with the tanks, etc etc and right now there are no games to be played and I already have 2 others guns I've bought and never fired in anger... I suspect if I were in the same position as the OP I would hold on to the existing kit (tanks, regs) and experiment with standard AEGs and other guns before ditching it all. There are of course options for running GBBRs on HPA tapped drum mags etc which you could take advantage of by keeping your existing kit.

From the video it looks a clone of the CAM249 gearbox (PGC style). I think your mosfet options would be limited to external ones, so any semi would be timing based rather than detection of gear rotation. As far as I know, nobody makes an internal GB mosfet for the 249, but happy to learn otherwise. Alternatively you could look at either the G&P M249 or the FN Herstal licenced versions which I believe both use V2 gearboxes - that would then open up your mosfet options to Titans, BTC Spectre, etc. Or, even easier, just get a pistol and transition on the semi-only parts of the site...

Acetech list different effectiveness for different models. Might be worth seeing if your manufacturer of choice does the same.

These drops ins are meant to be quite good, but US based and you have the usual shipping, etc. - Malkoff Devices .

Also I think 52m, 84m and 91m. Although the 91m involved an element of luck. Also needed to not have a bunch of AEG's unloading into the close range targets if you were to have any chance of hearing the impact. I suspect the morning briefing on reporting perceived problems to the marshalls rather than shouting the odds yourself probably played a larger part. However, a reality check for those who are convinced their AEG's shoot 100m is never a bad thing.

Once again, some great info there. I think the green wire is the signal wire, so it should just be a question of connecting the gearbox end of that up to the trigger switch (unless they've completely disconnected it inside the box mag and replaced it with the button). 5 min solder job. In theory I guess you could use the battery in the box mag to power the gun as well, but that'd depend on the size. I could see it working in the larger 200 round box, with some customisation (perhaps they'll make a drop in for that). The only other downside is it makes using M4 mags in a pinch a bit more tricky since you need to open up the top cover and disconnect/de-thread the wires before you can remove the adapter.

They can give your position away (if nothing on the rest of your kit has), but that's just part and parcel of it. Gaming the system by putting them on your ankle/chest/belt in order to gain an advantage is against the spirit of it, because you're essentially trying to either hide your position, or buy some more time when someone spots you and tries to work out which team you're on. Having it on your ankle when the marshal has told you not to is just breaking the rules rather than bending them.

It was a Classic Army HK53. These are odd guns, in that nothing on them is really built much like anything else. They have an M4 style hop, a receiver that is different and not compatible with the other HK33 versions, an MP5 style single slot stock (but G3 width and you can't put MP5 stocks on it) and a few other quirks. They are however a little less common on the field and have a larger mag capacity than an MP5 (whilst avoiding the somewhat finicky hop that most MP5's have). In essence, the build mostly centred around the foregrip and rear stock. These were real steel items from a G3 that I picked up from a Militaria place for a fairly reasonable price. I then had to rip out the buffer spring and chop the G3 stock mount from two pin to one pin design to fit. Quite a lot of filing/dremmelling a little bit at a time to get a snug fit and a little widening of the stock interior to enable it to take a nunchuck lipo battery, because unlike on the airsoft version, the rear sling mount is more recessed and the pin retention holes (where you stick the body pins during maintenance) go all the way through the stock. I suspect the rear stock part was the large proportion of this build. The front foregrip just needed chopping down to the correct length and a slight bit of filing to get it to fit snugly. Obviously the wood was in much tattier condition when I got it, but some oiling really brings it up nicely. All in all, it was a satisfying build to finish and rock solid once constructed. I'm trying to remember why I sold it now!

Build project I did a while ago and then sold. I've also made pretty much every type of MP5 due to having all the different stocks/front ends. Here's one of them.

Nice, look forward to seeing a review. I've been keeping an eye on them for a while, but can't justify dropping that kind of cash in the current circumstances (plus lack of a regular site). I'd been holding off earlier in part due to the receiver. New one looks better, but my suspicion is that dust cover won't close as is - none of the photos/videos I've seen show that. Looks a good tool for some sneaky work.

Except this doesn't work like that in practice and makes very little difference. If you think about it, at 330fps with a .45 (about 2.3j/500fps with a .2) , in theory you should be making your 100m shot in a second. But you don't because the velocity *massively* falls off as soon as it round comes out. and it takes more like 4 seconds. Again, in theory, an AEG firing 330 should hit someone at 50m in about half a second, but it doesn't. The faster the velocity of the projectile, the more air resistance and energy lost. Hence in practice, heavier, slower rounds retain more energy over distance and the velocity differences are fairly negligible. All of which previous posters have said, but examples sometimes helpful. Airsoft Trajectory Project goes into this in way more depth and is worth a read if you are into that stuff.

We took the fort down yesterday. Just a big empty space there now, very strange. Front bridge and tower at the village is gone, Wendy house gone. The village mostly still stands, but I expect that will be another day's work. Having played there for around 20 years, I can't express quite how gutted I am by the loss of the site. This year has been... sub-optimal. Still, the one thing I do have confidence in is the CS staff. A new site is a question of when, not if. Can't say I'm going to enjoy the wait, but maybe it's time to visit some other sites in the meantime.