I really need advice

[crazyairsoft]

I have been reading earlier posts about the army armament R85a1 (which i have just bought) and have took it skirmishing once and discovered it's not the the most favored gun in the world. The posts say it breaks down constantly and i discovered it doesn't really fire fast or far, plus it's a pain with the battery. I need to know wheather to sell it on or keep it and modify.

Thanks for reading, all advice wanted.

 

[RR01]

I've got three of them and, once sorted, they're as good as any other L85s, but for half the price. I presume you've bought it second-hand, as I haven't seen any new ones for sale for a while. They need setting up properly and also need the wiring loom / switch looked at, as they tend to burn the motor contact away in normal use. All three of mine did that. The gearbox bearing can also wear a bit if it's seen a lot of rounds through it.

You can replace the wiring loom / switch with one for a G&G L85, as the parts are identical, however the only place I've found them in the UK is Zero One, though last time I checked they were out of stock. You can however order direct from G&G, but don't mention it's for an Army one!!. I've also added a basic Mosfet to each of my main two L85s (the other is a project still being sorted) to reduce the current load on the switch and prevent the burning of the copper contact. Those two now work fine and having sorted the barrel and hop on my A2 RIS version the range and accuracy is very good. The A1 has standard inner barrel, so isn't quite so accurate.

I've got different batteries in each gun. The A2 RIS has a twin cell Lipo in the bottom of the RIS unit. The working A1 (presumably just like yours) has a 2200mAh NihM pack in the bottom of the hand-guard and the project has a 3300mAh split L85 style NihM pack in the hand-guard that has been opened up by removing the inner heat shield pieces and a bit of plastic to make it fit in.

If you want any specific advice, send me a PM with details and photos if necessary and I'll see what I can do to put you on the right track.

Mike

 

[crazyairsoft]

Thanks for advice and how much would that all cost (+ got it first hand from the website gunfire)

 

[RR01]

Just had a look on that website. Hadn't seen it before, although I've bought from another Polish retailer before now.

When you first got it, did you clean out the inner barrel? They can come with muck inside, so they need a good clean before being used. Did you set the hop for the weight of BB you're using? I use 0.25s in mine, as I think they give a better, more stable flight to the BB. Most of my team use the same weight.

As yours is new you shouldn't have any problems with the trigger switch yet, although it would be good to add a mosfet now to stop it burning over time. I found it also makes the trigger response just a little bit crisper.

You can use a plug in mosfet, but I've gone for the basic kind that needs soldering on. If you aren't happy soldering then get someone who is to do it for you. One thing to note is that the wire that loops around to the right of the gearbox on to the metal plate covering the switch needs to be disconnected and insulated if you go down the soldered in mosfet route, otherwise as soon as you connect the battery the gun will fire and continue firing, regardless of whether you pull the trigger, as the wiring changes mean the link is live all the time if you leave it connected. Try Airsoft World for mosfets. About £15 for basic or £30 for a plug in.

As regards costs, a new tightbore barrel would be a first step. A Madbull Black Python V2 509mm should set you back £30-£40 depending on where you buy. A new hop rubber would also be a good idea. Either Tokyo Marui or Madbull Shark are good with the new inner barrel. Cost is only about £10 for the hop rubber, depending on where you source them. Try Ehobbyasia.

As regards the battery, if you are happy using Lipo's (some aren't because they can be dangerous if mistreated or can be ruined quickly if allowed to run down too far) then almost any 7.4V 20C lipo will fit in the hand-guard, otherwise a smaller cell NihM should fit easily, or look for the L85 style 8.4V pack (try Zero One).

If you do have any gearbox problems then the Army L85 one is one of the easiest to work on, as you only need to remove the motor and then the screws that hold the two halves together to split it apart to work on. Because the cylinder is separate you don't have the problem of the spring exploding out of the gearbox and sending gears everywhere as can happen with a V2 or V3 gearbox.

 

[crazyairsoft]

Can u tell if disabling the blowback actually does anything And if so how to disable it, also what is a mosfit, im new

 

[RR01]

I've never yet seen an Army L85 with the blowback working. Most people remove the parts and either keep to add to it if they sell on the gun or ditch them completely. On the Army L85 it's a bit of a gimmick. From looking at it, it seems to be an addition to the top of the cylinder housing and should probably just pull out of the top without much effort, although not having seen it installed I can't be 100% sure.

A mosfet is a small electronic circuit board that acts very like a relay on a car, allowing the switch to pass only a small current to activate the main circuit to power the motor but without the high current that's needed to turn the motor running through the switch contacts and causing them to oxidize and burn out.

 

[crazyairsoft]

Can anyone send me a description or diagram of how to install a mosfet

 

[RR01]

Can anyone send me a description or diagram of how to install a mosfet

Hopefully attached are scans of the relevant pages of the instruction sheet I downloaded off Airsoft World's site for the ones I bought. Although AW sell the GDS4004, the set-up is exactly the same as the 4005 for which these instructions are written.

 

[crazyairsoft]

Which mosfet do u recommend, also is it located in the plastic tube?

 

[RR01]

Which mosfet do u recommend, also is it located in the plastic tube?

There are various types available. It depends on your budget how much you want to spend and whether you want hard wired or plug in. Have a look for ideas here: http://www.airsoftworld.net/catalogsearch/...p;manufacturer=

The ones I've used in the L85s are the Gate GDS-4004, although I've also got a Burst Wizard P&P type in my G&P M16A3. In the L85 I've put mine in the space between the magwell and trigger in the lower receiver.

 

[crazyairsoft]

i also need the advice on how to make the gun shoot faster, is it somin to do with the gearbox, fps or what?

plus, the foregrip need to have the front sight to stay on, i wanna know how i can get rid of th front sight but still keep the foregrip to stay on. this is because i want to buy a acog so i will no longer need the sight.

WHO WANTS A MACHETE FOR AIRSOFT, I KNOW I DO, BONZAI!

 

[RR01]

The speed the gearbox cycles is controlled by your battery. A 9.6V NihM will make it cycle faster, but can mean you'll need to maintain it more often, as higher speeds can cause breakages. Mione work fast enough for me on the 7.4V Lipo, doing about 650rpm. Don't try an 11.1V Lipo as the gearbox probably won't last long. An 8.4V NihM does about the same rpm but a 9.6V ups this to about 850 rpm.

The top of the foresight should come off easily. Just remove the long screw in the side completely, then it should slide forward and off but leave the sight block underneath in place to hold the hand-guard on. I've done that to mine as I've got an ACOG on a riser mount on the A2.

 

[Airsoft-Ed]

There are various types available. It depends on your budget how much you want to spend and whether you want hard wired or plug in. Have a look for ideas here: http://www.airsoftworld.net/catalogsearch/...p;manufacturer=
The ones I've used in the L85s are the Gate GDS-4004, although I've also got a Burst Wizard P&P type in my G&P M16A3. In the L85 I've put mine in the space between the magwell and trigger in the lower receiver.

Not to jack the thread too much, but are the burst wizard mosfets any good? 'Cos they're £70 cheaper than the ASCU I was going to go for instead.

The trigger response on my M16 is appauling will a mosfet help prevent lock up? I never really understood what they're for.

 

[crazyairsoft]

Sorry for the constant questions but the screw has come out the bottom of the l85 front site so it wont stick on the barrell, where can i find the screw. Plus when your on semi and shoot it 3 or 4 times, the semi auto function stalls so you have to switch to fully then back to semi, how do i stop that from happening

 

[RR01]

Not to jack the thread too much, but are the burst wizard mosfets any good? 'Cos they're £70 cheaper than the ASCU I was going to go for instead.
The trigger response on my M16 is appauling will a mosfet help prevent lock up? I never really understood what they're for.

The one I've got is programmable for various fire modes, the newer ones are even better. Definitely sharpens up trigger response but will not cure an underlying electrical or mechanical problem. If it's that bad it may be burnt contacts, in which case cleaning them up first (or buying a replacement trigger block) would help a lot and a mosfet may then help to reduce the current load and stop the burning. I presume it's a standard V2 trigger block, not a micro-switched one. If it is micro-switched then Maplins do replacements for very little money.

Not sure about lockup, unless you go for an active braking one, as that returns the piston to the same point in the "semi" cycle each time. I presume it does the same in auto or if you program it for burst mode. I've set mine to three round burst instead of full auto on my M16 but then I've never had that one lock on me anyway (touching wood!!!).

Sorry for the constant questions but the screw has come out the bottom of the l85 front site so it wont stick on the barrell, where can i find the screw. Plus when your on semi and shoot it 3 or 4 times, the semi auto function stalls so you have to switch to fully then back to semi, how do i stop that from happening

The front sight block is retained on the barrel by some very small grub screws. One of mine has one each side, another has it in the bottom of the block. Not sure where to get any, except possibly a DIY shop, although I can't say I've ever seen the really small ones. Another option may be a model shop, as they sometimes keep such things for RC cars.

The locking on semi seems to be a problem with the Army L85, although I've not had it happen very often on my two main ones now I've replaced the switch harness and added the mosfet to each. Try running yours in a bit more. I don't know how many rounds you've put through it yet, but a sustained burst on full auto may help to get the motor settled in and the gears meshing better. Any AEG gearbox, being a mechanical system, will need a little bit of running in to get erverything settled down and working smoothly.

If you don't want to waste ammo, remove the cylinder and just run it as the bottom section, so you're not putting extra strain on the gear train by making it move the piston as well. What actually happens on the L85, and you can see it best with the cylinder removed, is that the motor comes to rest with the sector gear teeth (the one with the large teeth that pulls back the piston) pointing up around half way through its cycle. This puts the semi cutoff lever in the wrong place so that when you pull the trigger again it doesn't connect with the moving contact because it's being moved immediately away from the live contact before it can connect. Switching to auto moves the cutoff lever out of the way, so allowing it to connect. Another easy way to overcome this is to drop the mag and look into the magwell. You'll see a small silver lever towards the back of the magwell. Push it upwards and it will release the anti-reversal latch, re-setting the piston back to the "at rest" position and allowing the cycle to start again on a new trigger pull.

Another thing to check is that the motor is properly meshed with the gears. If you remove the rubber butt plate, just above the bottom screw hole is another small hole. You need a small Allen key (either 1.3mm or 1.5mm, not sure which) which fits into a grub screw in the base of the motor cage and is used to adjust the depth the motor pinion gear is pushed into mesh with the gears. You can tell by ear if it's right. Turning clockwise will push the motor deeper, anticlockwise the opposite. You need to aim to have a nice quiet noise when it's running on auto, definitely not skreechy (to deep) or to whiney (to loose or not connecting at all). I do all mine by ear, aiming for that smooth quite run just before it's in too deep. That also keeps wear on the gears and motor pinion to a minimum and makes the whole gearbox sound a bit quieter.