barrel, hop, and rubber question

[Rogerborg]

where would i find that part? i didnt see anything like that in the hop unit when i took it out, so im not sure where id find it

Here's an SHS hop unit for illustration purposes only, the Specna is similar.

View attachment 89689

It's under the hop arm.  The arm presses down on the nub, which pressed on the bucking.

You'll generally want to remove the hop arm, and the nub, before putting the barrel and bucking in or out, then replace the nub, and then the hop arm on top of it.

If you've pulled the barrel and bucking out without realising that the nub was sitting on top of it, it might still be in there, or it might have dropped out and vanished into hyperspace.  If it's all back together now, I'd get the hop arm out and see if the nub is still in there.  There's a pin running side-to-side that the arm rotates on, you just push it out then the arm will lift up and out.

A typical nub is just a little cylinder of rubber, it might be solid, or more often hollow.  If you have lost the nub, then the traditional bodge is to cut a piece of biro tube, or a section of insulated wire (18g or 16g), or just the insulation from the wire.  Essentially anything round that will fit inside the C section on the end of the hop arm, with a little give in it.

However, I mention the "flat hop" style nub because your Specna may have a flat-hop bucking with no internal mound.  If so, then a regular cylindrical nub won't put enough pressure on it to hop anything.

None of this is a concern if you're replacing the bucking with a Maple Leaf: they're great buckings and pretty tolerant of nubs. You can throw just about any nub in there and it'll work, whether it's a standard round, Maple Leaf Omega, H-nub or just about anything else you fancy.

 

[ak2m4]

an AB++ is programmable, but it isn't as good as it could be

What improvements would you make? 

 

[Rogerborg]

What improvements would you make? 

Good question. I've very happy with my AB++, and I can't think of anything else that I'd need it to do.

Active Braking or pre-cock, 2-5 round bursts, ROF reduction, DMR delay, low battery alarm.  Binary trigger is the only thing missing, but that's for wanker-guns.

I might eventually go optical on my MP5K, but only because the trigger has mechanical issues that an optical mosfet could ameliorate, not for any extra features.

 

[SoupyXo]

What improvements would you make? 

if i had a mosfet to test for myself, id be able to answer with a more experienced answer, but since ive only seen feature lists and a few videos, i can't really comment, but im sure there's room for a hell of a lot more things they can do.

as far as i can tell from what I've seen, with a mosfet, you're bound to either semi or full auto, with no option to switch firing modes using the selector switch, but again, i don't have one and cant comment fully, so I'm basing it entirely off of what I've seen in videos.

giving the switch the ability to change fire modes using the brains of the mosfet with some built in memory, you'd be able to have multiple modes, and have each mode have its own fire rate, pre-cocking and active braking etc, which isn't something ive noticed as being a thing on the current selection (ive only seen titans, ab++ and warfets being used in build video's thus far) 

having a sensored brushless motor that the mosfet can communicate with, so the mosfet knows what position the rotor is at, and can have the option for different levels of ''boost'' or ''overclocking'' and even as far as being able to change the degree of the sensors, so it can do more for free (with the potential of the magnets inside it to explode magnificently if it isnt done properly)

enabling the use of data logging for temperature monitoring, and a few other metrics would be good, but thats the nerdy shit that the average player doesnt care about... i could go on, but 

 

[ak2m4]

Good question. I've very happy with my AB++, and I can't think of anything else that I'd need it to do.

Active Braking or pre-cock, 2-5 round bursts, ROF reduction, DMR delay, low battery alarm.  Binary trigger is the only thing missing, but that's for wanker-guns.

I might eventually go optical on my MP5K, but only because the trigger has mechanical issues that an optical mosfet could ameliorate, not for any extra features.

Agreed, for the price point it does everything I need.  It's a good solution for a standard trigger switch, gives you the option of hot-swapping and been proved to be pretty reliable.  

 

[Rogerborg]

Hmm, that is interesting stuff, although as with all things airsoft, it's a miracle when the stars line up and these over-priced toys shoot at all.

Generally speaking all you need them to do is to shoot semi auto as soon as possible after pulling the trigger, which is what pre-cock does.  And then to fire as fast as possible between shots in "auto" mode, whether that's an unlimited burst, or an X-round one.  But that's more of an issue for the battery and motor than the mosfet, which really just needs to get out of the way of the current flow as much as possible.

Multiple modes would be nice for switching between sites or even games, but it only takes a few minutes to reprogram an AB++, including getting to it to push the magic button.

I get the technical appeal of knowing exactly how your electrics are performing.  In game though, actual performance is largely down to human reaction times in CQB, or not being seen in woodland.  Gun go brrrt, fun is had.

 

[Badgerlicious]

if i had a mosfet to test for myself, id be able to answer with a more experienced answer, but since ive only seen feature lists and a few videos, i can't really comment, but im sure there's room for a hell of a lot more things they can do.

as far as i can tell from what I've seen, with a mosfet, you're bound to either semi or full auto, with no option to switch firing modes using the selector switch, but again, i don't have one and cant comment fully, so I'm basing it entirely off of what I've seen in videos.

giving the switch the ability to change fire modes using the brains of the mosfet with some built in memory, you'd be able to have multiple modes, and have each mode have its own fire rate, pre-cocking and active braking etc, which isn't something ive noticed as being a thing on the current selection (ive only seen titans, ab++ and warfets being used in build video's thus far) 

having a sensored brushless motor that the mosfet can communicate with, so the mosfet knows what position the rotor is at, and can have the option for different levels of ''boost'' or ''overclocking'' and even as far as being able to change the degree of the sensors, so it can do more for free (with the potential of the magnets inside it to explode magnificently if it isnt done properly)

enabling the use of data logging for temperature monitoring, and a few other metrics would be good, but thats the nerdy shit that the average player doesnt care about... i could go on, but 

Well, that's kind of what titans and some other ETU's do, with an app to make changes and data logging, knowing where the sector gear is etc. You just can't do that with a dumb circuit the ab++ is designed to fit in to. 

Also is ~£100 for a uniquely form factored brushless motor with an esc that bad? From my brief stint in the RC world it seems... reasonable. 

 

[Adolf Hamster]

as far as i can tell from what I've seen, with a mosfet, you're bound to either semi or full auto, with no option to switch firing modes using the selector switch, but again, i don't have one and cant comment fully, so I'm basing it entirely off of what I've seen in videos.

you mean like having burst fire? because there's a few will do that.

most will only be able to do 2 selections, given it's relatively rare to have an airsoft pew with a 3-position selector (that is 3 firing modes+safe).

giving the switch the ability to change fire modes using the brains of the mosfet with some built in memory, you'd be able to have multiple modes, and have each mode have its own fire rate, pre-cocking and active braking etc, which isn't something ive noticed as being a thing on the current selection (ive only seen titans, ab++ and warfets being used in build video's thus far) 

for internal mosfets it'd be redundant, as setting things like fire rate, precocking etc are tied to the properties of the gearbox/motor (ie you won't need to change them if you're not changing parts)

for swappable mosfets i can see where you're coming from, the ability to quickly set between guns so you can have one mosfet that works for multiple guns, but then that means folk wouldn't need to buy multiple mosfets which ain't good for sales

 

[SoupyXo]

you mean like having burst fire? because there's a few will do that.

i mean like having the switch do safe, true semi, and then also a selectable burst or full auto mode. what I've seen is that you either get semi, or full auto, or burst fire while retaining safety, and that's that. i'd like to see one with a safe, a semi with selectable bursts (single, 3 round/5 round), and a full auto all controlled by the same fire selector switch that's already on the gun, but having the programmability of the mosfet behind it. if that's already a thing, then i haven't seen a full demonstration/the person showing it hasn't fully demonstrated the features

but then that means folk wouldn't need to buy multiple mosfets which ain't good for sales

if i had a mosfet that had the ability to do that, id buy one for each and have different modes on each mosfet, tuned to each gun, or have a program card/box that could store different ''tunes'' 

. Also is ~£100 for a uniquely form factored brushless motor with an esc that bad? From my brief stint in the RC world it seems... reasonable. 

when you're pitching it against something like an acuvance xarvis esc with a fledge 10.5t motor, tuned using a tao3, then no, its not really unreasonable but that's a lot of kit with a lot of brains.... now pitch it against lets say a toro t120a esc, with a speed passion v3 comp 10.5t, using a sky rc progbox which in all costs £130 and can do an immense amount of stuff for that price... a singular 20k rpm warhead motor, alone, as a BASE MODEL, being £90, and a mosfet thats ''decent'' like say a warfet, then having to pay for a tech top put it in because you may not be that technical, and your price is already at £157 with the mosfet and motor... yeah that's a touch unreasonable

 

[Rogerborg]

i mean like having the switch do safe, true semi, and then also a selectable burst or full auto mode.

AB++, Warfet, or anything optical will give you safe / semi / burst-or-auto.

I'm not sure if the optical units can do safe / semi-or-burst / full auto, that's beyond my functionality and price-range of interest.  Hopefully someone's butler might clear that up for us.

 

[SoupyXo]

that's beyond my functionality and price-range of interest.  Hopefully someone's butler might clear that up for us.

*waits for jeeves to pop in with the silver platter and napkin to tell us all we're poor and peasants and to get out of the lord's chatroom*   yeah nah i get it, like i said, maybe the person showing the mosfet's just did a shit job of doing a ''walkaround'' as it were.... i like to know all the details, so i can see what im truly getting for the amount of money im paying for a small piece of PCB with a few £4 pieces of silicon and some capacitors on it does...

paying £70 for something barely larger than a deans connector, that has an led and beeps... makes me cringe pressing ''Pay Now''

i like to be wined and dined before i pay a lot of money for a flash drive i cant store stuff on XD 

im also capped for daily posts again lol 

View attachment 89714

 

[Rogerborg]

paying £70 for something barely larger than a deans connector, that has an led and beeps... makes me cringe pressing ''Pay Now''

Welcome to airsoft.

And I cannot über-emphasise the importance of playing several times before spanking mortgage payments on airsoft toys.  The actual experience of playing - once the adrenaline rush wears off - isn't for everyone, and you'll never see that money back.

 

[Badgerlicious]

a singular 20k rpm warhead motor

Well, you can get 45k for the same price if you really like stripping gears.  

A warhead + an AB++ will give you most of what you seem to want for £130. ETU's do jump up in price with their optical sensors and what not, and a few of those can be programmed on the fire selector so I guess it's a case of putting the right code into the lil chips do do something like that. Or another button elsewhere. 

You are right in that airsoft is incredibly slow to innovate. It's been a long while since I was into RC and I was surprised at the lack of brushless motors once I learned how they all go together. Hell, we still use backwards wired tamiyas as standard. Deans is only just starting to become normal in stock guns. 

And, considering how tangential this got. To the main post, I recently tried to fit some MR hop backings into a zci barrel in a prowin hop and it was really, really unhappy. The contact patch is too large for the zci barrel window so it gets hung up and shots were going way left. But, fitted a macaron and it's happy as can be. 

 

[Adolf Hamster]

maybe the person showing the mosfet's just did a shit job of doing a ''walkaround'' as it were....

given the standards of youtube review channels in airsoft i genuinely wouldn't be surprised if they couldn't fill 50% of the watchtime of a mosfet review talking about how ambidextrous it is.....

 

[SoupyXo]

Welcome to airsoft.

And I cannot über-emphasise the importance of playing several times before spanking mortgage payments on airsoft toys.  The actual experience of playing - once the adrenaline rush wears off - isn't for everyone, and you'll never see that money back.

yeah nah, im willing to at least play twice a month, i have a site literally a mile away and its cqb indoors, ukara registered site, next door to an army surplus store... convenient huh, and given that im an enjoyer of the pewpew, airsoft replicas are something i would buy to collect if nothing else

Well, you can get 45k for the same price if you really like stripping gears.  

opting for the lower speed motor is a choice, and a suggestion, based on the experience of destroying spur and pinion gears like rocks at sheets of A4 paper... it gets worse with nitro power... imagine a nitro powered airsoft minigun... ok im gonna end up on a tangent again ?

I guess it's a case of putting the right code into the lil chips do do something like that. Or another button elsewhere. 

a dip switch board that fits in an accessible but not exposed area of the gun would work for this... flip a switch, mode 1, flip another, mode 2, and another for mode 3, or a sequence of 3 switches for another.... it could be done, possibly faster with a button on the receiver maybe... i dunno, its something to look into

given the standards of youtube review channels in airsoft i genuinely wouldn't be surprised if they couldn't fill 50% of the watchtime of a mosfet review talking about how ambidextrous it is.....

this is why i like luke at negative airsoft... his no nonsense absolutely bullshit free stance is hilarious, and addicting.... the man is a legend in his own right

 

[Skara]

To me it looks like we're trying to find a solution for a problem that does not exist.

Like having multiple, pre set firing modes, in my 12 years of playing I have never gotten into an engagement and thought "oh, how I wish I had a 6 rounds burst for that guy and then a 3 and a half rounds one for that cheeky cunt behind that tree" 

A Gate Titan will give you some degree of customisation when it comes to firing modes, for example you can program it to have semi-binary-burst/auto which is something I did for a while before reverting back to my good old safe-binary-auto.

Though I'm sure many people won't even bother and will just set active brake to adaptive (very bad for your motor) and precocking to adaptive as well.

Just like brushless motors, they're a niche because 90% of the people don't need them, and the 10% who do are prepared to dish out some serious cash.

 

[SoupyXo]

Just like brushless motors, they're a niche because 90% of the people don't need them, and the 10% who do are prepared to dish out some serious cash.

we wouldn't have to dish out serious cash if they were cheaper, like they should be, since lets be realistic, they're not expensive for other applications, and its not like the form factor is a massive hinderance, slim motors aren't niche, they just aren't common in airsoft because they're ridiculously overpriced, because as far as I've seen, only warhead makes brushless motors, and the rest are brushed stone age technology.

from an RC perspective, where you can spend £30 on a 10t brushless sensored motor, that does just as much as the £120 brushless sensored 10t (minus of course the timing adjustments on the end of the can, which would be brand dependent) its a bit of a kick in the face... corner the market, hike the price, and fuck the people who cant pay £90 for a motor cos they can buy a shit brushed motor instead.

like, id be willing to pay the price for one, but i have more sense (most of the time) 

brushless has a lot of benefits over brushed, including noise reduction, tunability, the fact that the brushes don't wear because its magnetic wizardry, speed, sensitivity, size, weight, even the looks....  

 

[Rogerborg]

safe-binary-auto.

W - - ?

Though I'm sure many people won't even bother and will just set active brake to adaptive (very bad for your motor) and precocking to adaptive as well.

Eh.  The motor (or "mortors") I buy cost about the same as a game day.  Given how much of the junk we buy just sits around essentially unused, dying in the line of pew-ty is the heroic way to go.

 

[SoupyXo]

Eh.  The motor (or "mortors") I buy cost about the same as a game day.  Given how much of the junk we buy just sits around essentially unused, dying in the line of pew-ty is the heroic way to go.

ive seen a brushed can go nuclear in many applications (6s lipo was the best one to watch go up in flames) 

 

[Rogerborg]

brushless has a lot of benefits over brushed

It is frustrating, and the first manufacturer to start shipping airsoft form factor brushless motors for a less eye watering price is going to clean up.

Systema are working on a gearbox with an integrated brushless motor, which looks great.  But Systemas have always been niche, and their reliability is somewhat of a running joke.

https://thereptilehouseblog.com/2021/01/24/systema-ptw-2021-update-infinity-variant/