Leo Greer

I'm not sure whether this is a blessing or a curse... ...If we call them disabled here in Texas it usually means they're incapable of using social media. IMO, if you can post about it on social media, you're fully responsible for your actions.

It's a tough situation to be sure, but I think the best answer is to give him a 100% shadow as Tackle suggests. When the shadow is hit, he has to be out as well, and if he's hit, the shadow is out. I can only imagine how quickly it could go wrong without the ability to communicate. A number of folks at my local site bring along their kids between the ages of 6 and 10, and this is probably a similar situation due to the communication difficulties. Basically, I think you'd need someone to take responsibility for him at all times. The additional difficulty is, of course, your own limited sign language vocabulary, which would likely need to be rectified with written site rules and explanations. It's hard, but I wish you good luck! I think almost everyone should be able to enjoy airsoft safely, and this is a barrier that can be overcome.

If available... Arcturus ME models would be my top pick for affordability, utility, and performance. Availability over there in the UK might be an issue. Second to that would be a G&G somewhere in the midrange. They just work and probably won't break the bank. IMO, Krytacs are very good, but they're simply expensive for what you're getting. Slick factor? Yes. Price vs. performance ratio? No. Reliability? Pretty good. The other issue I'll bring up is that they tend to have overspin at UK power limits (they're really designed to work with an M120 for USA power limits).

Stay away from those unanswerable questions, my friend. There lies the way of madness. ?

Very simply, this is an extremely common issue. Airsoft is rife with underpowered batteries being marketed as proper, weak ferrite motors in stock guns, and people who don't know what they're doing working on gearboxes that are badly designed and relatively complicated. Actually, I should say, the original design is genius but has been cloned, iterated, and become so outdated that it appears badly designed. In addition, there's no other plausible alternative (to my understanding). Here's what we know: Gearbox locks after a few shots, doesn't unlock. The fact that this happens after a few shots means the piston isn't "too long" (or it could never cycle in the first place) There's an aftermarket aluminum piston, which is a 17 tooth piston (I'm assuming this is an SR-25 or other 17T gearbox, though the OP's pics don't show the whole thing). If the piston were sticking, we should see obvious scraping from the successful cycles, which we do not... Additionally, if the piston really were binding, the gears would simply free spin instead of causing a gearbox lockup. This is the easiest way to tell the difference: pull the trigger. In conclusion: Is it somehow possible that the piston, spring, gearbox rails, or spring guide are binding and causing issues? Yes... but how likely is that with no indicators? Standard gearbox lockup is by far the simplest, most common, and most reasonable explanation. I see it constantly with people who don't know how to work on their guns, and who don't understand even vaguely how the batteries they use work. (Heck, I was one of those people once upon a time)

Absolutely not. What you need to do first is get a good LiPo battery. This lockup is occurring because your battery/motor don't have enough juice to complete the cycle, and thus the gearbox locks. What battery are you currently using?

This has got to be a trolling post. It has to be... it can't be anything else... *looks at kicking mustang's insta* It has to be... right?

I and others have had good consistent success with fishtank silicone or others silicone meant to bind glass. As for exact brand, I use Locktite brand (I believe) but I haven't done much experimenting since what I have works. If you'd like some more in-depth info, there's a thread on the subject by the creator on the AirsoftSniperForum under Long Range AEGs.

Silicone cylinder head buffer mod, if you have enough space. Remove the previous buffer, sand the area rough, use fishtank silicone to create a buffer, and then cut it to the correct size. In my experience this mod performs much better than sorbo or other typical buffer materials. Additionally, silicone instantly rebounds to its original volume, so your cylinder volume is the same each shot (vs sorbo where your FPS can get wonky due to the material not being elastic enough).

I should add, the amount of “cycle time reduction” you get from SSing is functionally ineffective, since you could just use a weaker spring and achieve the same faster cycle. The only time I think it’s useful to SS (period) is to use a very stiff spring at high RPS while keeping the FPS down. This allows for low FPS and high RPS with no PME. And by high RPS, I mean 35-40 RPS SSGs.

"Over travel" is a good thing, not a bad thing. I have no clue why people try to avoid it. That extra space for your piston to accelerate increases your FPS efficiency by a significant amount (by increasing air pressure), allowing you to use a weaker spring and have an all-round better time. Heck, if you're not having PME issues there's no reason to short-stroke either.

First off, AEGs and HPA both use the same general system (pressurized gas) to power the BB. You get a muzzle noise when there is too much gas being used for a particular BB weight and barrel length, regardless of system used. One of the easiest ways to quiet your replica is to properly volume it. Second, really good shimming helps a lot (some gears are louder than others but shimming usually helps). I don't aim to make my replicas as quiet as possible (no augs filled with dynamat), but on most of my replicas you can hear nothing but the piston head hitting the cylinder head. I don't use buffers on my Arcturus replicas (they have perfect AOE already), but I'll see if I can link a video to show what I'm talking about. If you want to really know how to get an AEG as quiet as possible, go to AirsoftSniperForum and check out 1Tonne's thread, but in summary, HPA doesn't have to deal with any kind of gearbox noise, most of which is produced by the bevel to pinion gear junction, and the piston hitting the cylinder head.

That 36K will probably increase your RPS to near 30. Depending on your exact setup, this may end in PME and/or overspin. I suggest either looking for a 30K brushless or going with a brushed 16-18 TPA Neo. Krytac stock motors are technically Neo motors but they’re very weak, so a new motor with strong magnets will be an upgrade.

Unfortunately, most people don't understand what joule creep is, how FPS and joule output actually relate, or even what voluming is. 'Tis unfortunately likely that the folks running the field know very little about the mechanics of the RIFs themselves, regardless of how well they run the site. At my local field, I'm perhaps the only player who understands the basics of airsoft mechanics. The refs are well-meaning but clueless. When applicable I try to explain things to help educate folks, but it matters not. To put it very, very simply; joule output on a certain BB weight is exactly the same regardless of the propellant. As soon as the BB leaves the barrel, HPA is indistinguishable from AEG or GBBR or even spring. Different BB weights do affect how much power is transferred to the target as heavier weights retain more velocity over distance. Lowering the limit for a certain propulsion method does not level the playing field in any way. As long as the rules are abided by, why does it matter what he wants to do? Besides, without knowing the BB weight and distance it's impossible to actually know how much force will be transferred. Set an MED and a joule limit and stick with it!

Interestingly and anecdotally, I most often use a 25C 2200 Mah Kypom LiPo with my T238s, but I also use a Turnigy Nanotech 70-140C 5K Mah brick, which is capable of more than enough output to fry everything in that motor whether shorted or not. I haven't had any issues yet, but I'll let folks know if I do.

In my humble and irrelevant opinion… GBBRs are for fun with your buds, AEGs are for when you have to show everyone who’s boss. Clearly, GBBRs can still be competitive, and I know several players who do great with them, but AEGs are simply better at being airsoft guns.

I should note, if you’re getting a brushless to overheat or even heat up in any capacity, you’re likely doing something wrong…

It literally just acts like an ordinary motor except for in conjunction with ETUs and other units that use AB or reverse the polarity for other reasons. For example, my primary uses a T238 33K brushless with the stock 18:1 gearset. I get 29 RPS on 11.1v with extremely snappy trigger response. No ETU, just the stock inline MOSFET and microswitch. But if you want OP trigger response… I used another T238 33K paired with a 16:1 spur, a standard 10T bevel, and an SHS DSG gear. Boom: 60 RPS. (Disclaimer: never used on auto in a game) But if you really want ultimate trigger response, you don’t need to go brushless: either build a simple 18:1 28TPA DSG on 11.1v, or a 12:1 28TPA SSG using 14.8v. Use a Perun or Gate and set precocking if you like. in general, you don’t need to go crazy expensive at all. My primary cost, in total, $350 USD or £270ish. Most of the time when people are recommending mad expensive upgrade sets it means they don’t really understand how to tech correctly: most stock parts can be adjusted, modified, and work just fine or better than “upgrades”, since they’re actually designed to fit the specific RIF you’re working on.

It definitely depends on where you’re at in the USA. I live in Texas in the South and acceptance is WAY higher than other places. I’m spending a lot of time in Wyoming in the north and people get freaked out when I mime clearing rooms with a finger pistol…

Obviously, our situation across the pond is a little different, but I thought I’d share anyways. I’ve gotten a lot of my friends into airsoft, and they’ve brought their friends and so on. The general process is very simple; we hang out, pull out the airsoft guns to show the uninitiated, and then offer to take them to the field. I have extra RIFs to share with folks, and we’ve made a lot of converts. Onto the price, in USD… You can get a good RIF for $170. Good mesh mask and military surplus goggles: $25 Good battery and charger: $45 10,000 BBs to start off (I can probably play 20 games on that amount): $22 Field fee for 9-5: $25 Transportation: Varied. I have my own car and live about 20 miles away, so: $3 Case of water (I’ll drink half on a field day): $4 Lunch: $8 at Subway, or $3 for a brought sandwich Entry cost: $265, £200 Field day cost: $40, £30 All in all it’s not horrible… but then you have folks like me with more like $300-800 into their RIF… ?

Break it! Break it! Break it!! I’ll confess, I’m still too scared of trashing a $100 motor or $75 ETU to try my T238 and Perun together. Some lovers are just never meant to meet, and you don’t know until they blow up. ?

In order to have influence, I suspect you need one of two things: either a large base of active members, or an irrelevantly sized base with connections to the industry. For example, I participate on several other airsoft forums that don’t have a large amount of active members. However, we have a few folks who are connected in one way or another to the industry. One of the admins for the chief American airsoft forum is a distributor for MOS (E&L and Arcturus). On the AirsoftSniper forums there are several members who design, produce, and sell custom upgrade parts and even complete custom projects.

You should be okay. My calcs put you at approximately 26 RPS with 9.9v and 12:1, and at that point it’s down to individual build. I put together a 1J setup that did 30 RPS and it was fine, but I’ve also had troubles at 28 with another build.

In general, it's not about responding, it's about what's said and how politely it's communicated.

Sounds like a fun project. I considered a G36 for one of my builds, but the trigger/selector issues were what put me off in the end. Hope you get it all sorted!