ak2m4

Stariver apparently is owned by the same company as T238, sell a lot of Gel Blaster products under that brand in China.  My Solink ones aren't on Aliexpress I don't think - well I've not seen them.

Yeah I would agree but super easy to convert Rob and in doing so you can choose the exact height.
@Pseudotectonic I've just ordered some of the Solink Lite 28k budget ones

Brushless Gossip
Issue 1 - September 2024
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Strolling across Aliexpress I've noticed a few new brushless motors popped up recently, and I am happy to say there seems to be a new generation of brushless arms race.
The brands seem to have picked up the chatters and are now starting to advertise their improved CPUs and algorithms and response times measuring in milliseconds.
The prices seem to be drifting down a little as well which is good.
For discussion I will note them down here along with some marketing points they are making. This is purely a review of their marketing and I have not bought any of these.
In no particular order:
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Chaoli CLBL 480
~£90 + VAT Two models, 26.5k-39k and 39k-48k adjustable RPM with potentiometer on the case "3 ms response" "32-bit CPU" "Emergency stop after power failure, no buffer, stable output" Seems to have a capacitor on the control board Comment:
Probably the oldest of this bunch because I have seen this model before but not the others.
Potentially the fastest response of the bunch by 4 ms.
Still expensive, if they remove the adjustable RPM and make it cheaper this can be a winner.
Good for chasing trigger response.
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T238 QRBLS "Quick Response"
~£68 + VAT Choice of 25k/28k/37k models, no on-board adjustable RPM "Emergency stop after power failure, no buffer, stable output" Comment:
Some impressive videos on Youtube, does seem to have faster response.
Good budget option.
Unknown CPU and response ms, could possibly be room for improvement.
Could be good enough for all intent and purposes.
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(T238 / Solink?) KPG Gamma Brushless
~£58 + shipping £2.33 + VAT Choice of 36k/43k models "7 ms start time" "ARM Cortex M4 @ 100 Mhz" "self-developed patented algorithm" Comment:
Impressive marketing. 7 ms is not the fastest tho.
RPM seems a bit too much, could perhaps make it slower and improve torque or efficiency.
Good budget option if you want the higher RPM.
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(T238 / Solink) "Demon kinG"
~£110 + shipping £24 + VAT (barely below threshold for Customs Duty!) Choice of 34k/39k/48k/60k models "7 ms start time" "ARM Cortex M4 @ 100 Mhz" "self-developed patented algorithm" Comment:
Expensive but they market it as flagship so I would expect the highest quality components.
Same factory with the Gamma and the T238?
They seem to suggest the 60k model is absolute bonkers for forbidden builds but this is probably irrelevant to most people.
Good for unlimited budget extreme builds.
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Final thoughts:
I should throw in the Paragon brushless as honourable mention ("3 ms start") because it was probably the first motor that I am aware to market their boot up time, and I think we can call these millisecond-conscious brushless motors a new generation. And this gen is entering an exciting arms race.
The market has definitely moved on from the days of Warheads, and in my opinion unless these last-gens come down in prices, there is little reason to pick them over the newer cheaper models.
With Specna starting to bring in brushless into their stock builds (albeit a previous-gen brushless) we are perhaps seeing the start of brushless becoming mainstream in the near future.

I was in the Z1 showroom a couple of months ago (i'm relatively local) - midday on a Saturday. And I was the only customer. Spent 45min in the shop chatting with Alex - no one else came in during that time. I also noticed that they were also renting out parts of their unit (downstairs) to another company. Never a good sign as that was part of their huge warehouse.
 
I think that people forget that Z1 was one of the very first UK online Airsoft retailers. I remember looking at their website as far back as 1999/2000 on the college PCs wishing I had the money to buy to put together a metal body TM build from parts. They had some cool shit in stock back in those days.
 
Sad to see the retail side of things go - but such is life.
 
 

Yep, business rates/rents etc are crippling most walk in stores, irrespective of the products they sell, add to that the rising stock costs means most businesses are walking a tightrope in fear of the next setback, I wonder how many heard the gloom predictions regarding the next budget & are literally thinking "should I jump before I'm pushed ?".
The other big issue is t'internet, we're now the generation to learn about the must have airsoft stuff via it, we then scour it for availability & best prices, & if a retailer wants us to buy from them, their having to virtually shoot themselves in the foot financially to get the sales.
It's a sorry state of affairs🙁

It's a shame to see any retailer go that's been around for as long as they have, but they chose to invest a hefty chunk in a new showroom at just the wrong time. Add to that the location not being cheap and airsoft being rather a luxury, the current economic climate was sure to have an effect sooner or later. To be perfectly honest I was more upset when ProAirsoft shut down.

Like with my theory, auto would work because it's free to cycle, in semi the semi auto cut off lever would jump the trolley back over the trigger and get stuck 

If you purchased it new from a retailer, you might be best advised to send it back; there may be a fault causing the motor to overheat.

However, it is worth asking what you mean by "overheating issues"; what are the symptoms?

my hosting company were switching some sort of cache on the plesk system apparently.

I wouldn't bother with changing the spring as higher fps doesn't equal better range. If you are going to swap anything then it should be the hop rubber and nub, the ones mentioned above are a good choice. As for where to buy from @ak2m4 is a good place.
 
Having posted that @Adolf Hamster makes a very good point. Give heavier bbs a try as you might find you don't need to change any parts

I would say that the majority of that improvement has come from the rubber. The hop unit in the Combat machines isn't actually that bad.

Theoretical user has now refunded me so can draw a line under this one. 
 
Lessons learned though, I will be a lot more cautious going forward.

oh wow, someone with a lot of forum activity!  that sucks.  Royal Mail counters are generally hot on people providing proof of identity when picking up packages.  

Haha, yes I'm well versed in this, learnt the hard way...Just some tips here:

- Always use the RM service that covers the value.  Tracked 24 is £150, Signed For £50, Normal 1st/2nd £20
- If you can use their new Tracked 24/48 service as it's given priority and only a few pence more.  Signed For is an old product.  Tracked 24 will let you know which depot its been to etc.
- Never refund unless the 10 business days are up (or it's a low value etc) - worth explaining to the buyer that's their policy before agreeing sale.
- Take photo of contents and package before shipping
- In the event of a claim always keep all correspondence and proof of the value of the item (this can be hard.)
- Order online via RM website and they'll pickup for free and provide label if needed.

cheers and good info , im also well versed in sales , I don’t sell to anyone and everyone , the item was only just over £20 including the shipping , was a signed for service and  to someone with a lot of forum activity .
 
just one of those things , I’m quite lucky in that I don’t sell for any other reason other than to clear space and free up funds for more shite I don’t need 😂 

At the end of last month I went to an airsoft carboot , nice and easy , you see it you buy it , I hand it over . That for me will be the bulk of my airsoft sales moving forward .

 

Haha, yes I'm well versed in this, learnt the hard way...Just some tips here:

- Always use the RM service that covers the value.  Tracked 24 is £150, Signed For £50, Normal 1st/2nd £20
- If you can use their new Tracked 24/48 service as it's given priority and only a few pence more.  Signed For is an old product.  Tracked 24 will let you know which depot its been to etc.
- Never refund unless the 10 business days are up (or it's a low value etc) - worth explaining to the buyer that's their policy before agreeing sale.
- Take photo of contents and package before shipping
- In the event of a claim always keep all correspondence and proof of the value of the item (this can be hard.)
- Order online via RM website and they'll pickup for free and provide label if needed.

How low is low?  If it's under a tenner and been a week then I'd just refund, if more then I'd wait till the specified EVRI delivery time was up.  Not got a glue what this is but Royal Mail is 10 working days.  I'd say 1 in every 200 packages I send goes missing only to turn up on the 10th day.  

Ok, so I woke up early today and decided to tinker with it again before work.
 
I tested it with the stock bucking & barrel set up and it fed fine, so I went back to the previous one and changed out the bucking. (Was an XT barrel and guarder bucking, now both XT, courtesy of @ak2m4😀) and it's running ok, just like the stock set-up; currently coming in at around 1.08J with no hop.
 
I Still have the slight gap between the bucking and nozzle though, so that's still something I could look at fixing, it'll just take some experimenting to find what length nozzle I need.

Cylinder head is generally 22mm OD, 1.5mm cross section.
Piston head is generally 24mm OD, 2.4mm cross section

AK2M4 sells some slightly larger piston head O rings for slightly larger cylinders; they are 24mm OD, 2.7mm cross section.

It is surprising how good some gearboxes look after a long period.  I opened up the lad’s blowback G&G AKM on Sunday to deal with a low power issue, after it had not been opened for many years.  Apart from a worn piston head O ring, it was pretty much perfect.
 
it was still a bugger to do due to the stupid pneumatic blowback system.

Jurassic Army.  Look at the size of the vent holes in the piston head.  Length of the cylinder head shaft looks quite long as well.  Looks all nice and clean, cheap to fix up and run

Jurassic Army.  Look at the size of the vent holes in the piston head.  Length of the cylinder head shaft looks quite long as well.  Looks all nice and clean, cheap to fix up and run

Wow, that is OLD!
 
The different design of tappet plate would certainly account for what you're seeing. The fix will still be a longer nozzle though as you can't get tappet plates like that any more.

We have to maintain our toys?
 

@Pollynator_bravo2 clean that inner barrel and wash that rubber