The_Lord_Poncho

I'll give it a go. For me, the fill valve is on the underside of the buffer tube, so I think a fairly easy fit. @Cannonfodder have you taken the plunge yet?

I bought the black versions of the IKEA peg boards. But, the white ones are definitely the way to go so that you can actually see the RIFs!

I'm watching this with interest - I have a full stock GE 870 shotgun, and the performance is distinctly anaemic, with the useable range being probably 20m max.... HPA tapping it might just give it a new lease of life.

Do you have a 3d printer or a mate with one? (if not, you will be surprised how cheap a perfectly adequate entry model is). I downloaded a ready made file a few years ago, and just scale it up or down within my slicer programme to pair with the cheap poly carbonate discs from ebay. Something like this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5561802

Do you think that your accuracy issues are due to the over-voluming? I have a number of AEGs which are theoretically over volumed, and an M4 with a mancraft gen 2 that is somewhat over volumed, and all are pretty accurate (in fact, I'd venture the Mancraft is the most accurate that I own). Might it be a barrel or hop issue, or even something as simple as clipping some errant foam in a suppressor?

Same here - I have a gen 3 E&C, and that has the extractor moulded too. The extractor (moulded or separate) is purely cosmetic, I would be surprised if that alone meant it was incompatible with a WE frame, but happy to be corrected. As an aside, the E&Cs are great pistols.

I'm a bit confused - if your bottle reg mates with a Balystyk 800 reg (same reg as I use), I would have thought the O-ring which seals the two together must be the industry standard size?!

Fair point - but I have three guns that this could benefit. 3x £8 -£24+ postage. Whereas (if i can get the right size of course - big 'if') I can get 5 bearings on their own with postage included for £2.50. That's a good saving!

I have a few spring guides which don't have bearings (and neither do the corresponding piston heads have bearings either). I believe the type of bearing that typically is used on spring guides is known as a 'thrust bearing'. Typically these can be had for a few pence, especially from the like of aliexpress. Upon measuring a number of my spring guides, the diameter of their shaft closest to the lugs at their rear measures just over 11mm. Spring outer diameter measures around 15mm, so I'm guessing the bearings i need have an inner diameter of, say, 11.5mm, and an outer of circa 16mm. I've been looking through countless listings, and failing to find bearings that fit these dimensions - has anyone else had any success? I know that there are purpose sold options, I'm just trying to save a few quid!

I can't help you directly - hopefully someone who has the sdik will be along shortly to provide specific help. However, after buying a old pdik that had multiple issues, Mancraft themselves couldn't have been more helpful. I used the chat function on their website on two occasions, and both resulted in them posting me out replacement parts completely free of charge (just paid the cost of postage). So I'd definitely encourage you to get in touch directly with them- you may be surprised.

Thanks - yes, you are correct, i hadn't 'manually' cycled the gearbox first out of the gun - probably ought to have. But without the box having a QD spring, and an ARL that is a particular nightmare, I was being lazy and trying to minimise the number of times i needed to close the gearbox up. Looks like I failed on that particular quest. Thank you for your detailed explanation - this is super helpful - i'll investigate further. It seems to be in place ok - if you mean the tiny spring that goes between the selector plate and the top of the COL where it pokes through the gearbox casing slightly? possibly a stronger spring could help?

ah yes, but all those other offers are china based with longer postage times. I want to get you up and playing as soon as possible!

Here you go - 10 for £7.63 (or best offer), postage included. I bought these a while back for my bottle, works fine. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196068402675 Way I look at it, we are supposed to remove the regulator from the bottle after each game day, and these O rings will get knackered quite quickly - good to have a few spare....

yep - looks like it! In your post and that from Sewdhull you mention variously the casing is too tight, or the receiver is too tight. The trigger switch and CoL are actually the ones that came with the gearbox and it was working fine before i stripped it down to swap a few bits out - everything swapped except for the CoL, trigger, trigger switch (how many times has that been said!) - so in my mind at least, this indicates that the problem is not with the gearbox case itself, but rather Sewdhull's suggestion that the receiver is somehow squishing the selector plate and/or CoL. An SRL gearbox in an old metal G&G LR300 receiver - possibly just a compatibility problem with the only rectification being the fitting of the cheap FCU - or is there another way do you think?

Ok, update - gearbox placed back into receiver, auto selected, and blats off all day long. Switched to semi, a single shot/cycle, then dead. COL must be messing with the trigger switch somehow, but I'll be damned if i can sort it. A T238 now ordered from Aliexpress for the sum of £21.50!

I've bought a basic T238 1.9 from aliexpress before, with good results actually. It's been in an AR for a while now, and five or six mornings of game play later its still going strong. Certainly makes things quite snappy. I previously bought it as it only worked out an extra £10 or so in comparison to the new trigger switch+ wiring that I needed and I fancied trying it out. I had a play last night again with the gearbox - COL seems to be moving correctly, and seated in the right place etc, but I haven't fully convinced myself that it is not the culprit and may not just be playing nicely with the trigger switch - one its all screwed into place on the gearbox shell, its tricky to see the two interacting. I have also wondered if its the trigger contacts themselves - potentially the shock from the first shot making the trolley jump to the side so that all successive pulls of the trigger move the trolley contact behind the other two contacts, not between to complete the circuit (if that makes sense). I've bent the two contacts slightly to try to make them a more inviting womb, and will see if it makes any difference tonight when i get a chance to instal into the lower receiver again.

It is indeed- it's a standard AR lower receiver, with a standard selector switch. I will take a look for pinching, however would this explain why after it has fired a single cycle once fully installed, the trigger continues to fail to activate the motor once the gear box has then been removed fully from the lower receiver? I'd really rather not spend money on this - it was only ever supposed to be a project from leftover parts - but you do make a compelling case to get a cheap T238 and chuck it in there if I can't sort it out any other way!

Mm - that is an excellent question - I have no idea, I've only ever attempted to test in semi so far - i'll try full auto tonight and see. Are you thinking that maybe the cut off lever is involved somehow?

Thank you - would this be the case when it happily spins the motor with the motor out of the grip, and fires one shot/cycle (only) when the motor is in the base of the gearbox, before then not spinning the motor in or out of the gearbox? Perhaps the shock from that one cycle of the gearbox is enough to shift the position of the trigger assembly, such that the trigger can no longer actuate the trolley?

Patrol Base have rear wired V2 gear boxes by Delta Armory for £24.99 at the moment. Quick change spring, SHS metal toothed piston, SHS tappet plate. Only 7mm bushings, and no idea who the OEM is, but seems a good deal! https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/delta-armory-complete-version-2-gearbox-for-m4-ar-15-aeg

So - I've re-built a V2 gearbox - nothing fancy, standard wiring and trigger contacts, no mosfet or anything like that. Connecting up the motor wires to a motor outside of the receiver to test trigger function - spins the motor absolutely fine. Assemble into a lower receiver, attach the grip, motor etc, and it fires a single cycle, then nothing more. No motor function at all - it's not a lock-up of the gearbox, because after removing the gearbox from the receiver, and connecting the motor to its wires outside of the gun, the motor will not spin when the trigger is pulled - completely dead. Disassemble the gearbox, check all wires are undamaged, solder joints good etc, and then reassemble the gearbox - test the motor outside of the rif - spins fine. Pop into the receiver, and again - single cycle, then everything once again dead. Repeated this process another two times - same results! Any ideas? This is made all the more painful as its not a quick change spring gearbox, and the ARL is particularly murderous in this example.

It's been said above, but full flap (double) M4 pouches comfortably (and neatly) each take two MP5 mags side by side. E.g. the issued osprey double mag pouches that can be had for a few quid off ebay. That's between 6 and 8 mags on the front of your plate carrier dependant on the size of the carrier.

I'm with you with the drawstring behind the head - surprisingly secure. BUT - the tip regarding stuffing the unfolded paperclip into the hats brim - either you have a tiny head or a supply of very big paperclips!

I use mesh in the woods - opinions are mixed, but personally I am very confident in them - lots of hits at various ranges, and they have shrugged them off. Theoretical possibility of BBs breaking up and particles going through, but should that happen, I am confident said particles would be more an irritation than a danger. https://www.patrolbase.co.uk/nuprol-shades-mesh-glasses-eye-protection?fv=5297&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw59q2BhBOEiwAKc0ijdfKfZisTXqVrTj8lsUQPyfJNNaLap0L_MCH2kAYYsavH_S8w_9LUBoCBDIQAvD_BwE Indoors, due to the extreme close ranges, I use full goggles, combined with the novritsch anti fog system suck on the back of my helmet. Googles are the Pyramex V2 - which actually are identical/are the OEM for the Nov goggles. On their own, they are pretty low profile, with good all round visibility, and actually really excellent antifog properties. But, combined with the anti fog unit, and I have never had fogging, even super hot and sweaty, static, in a cold building. You are right to ask about the noise though - you can hear a low hum/whine, even when the unit is wound down to its slowest setting (which frankly, is all that is ever needed). I suspect outdoors it mostly wouldn't be noticeable, but at times in a dark and silent building, it can be annoying.

What needs to be done (if anything) to maintain hi-cap magazines, and ideally, to prevent several BBs jamming against each other where they are first picked up by the cogs/wheel?