Tracer units

[bdcast34]

Does anyone know anything about the barrel extensions that light up the tracer rounds? also links and prices would be great...anyone tried this stuff?
Successful?
-Brad

[Soul Reaper]

it is a lot cheaper to make it yourself. what type of gun do you have? do it yourself and save 75.00 bucks. what you need are some uv led's and a resistor. then you can put it together. if you can find led's that have a wavelength of 400 or less they will work the best. Jawz has done some research as well. 
can you make it out to pipeline on Tuesday? I will be there

[bdcast34]

Oh okay. Im pretty bad at makin all that stuff haha. Right now i have the JG6619(ordered it through pointact with Legend) and i only have one clip... any local shops have those mags?
As for tuesday i cant make it out  i got a show in seattle to goto. 116 CLIQUE MARS HILL CHURCH!! haha

thanks
-brad


Maybe i could just pay one of you guys to do it for me!

[Jawz]

bdcast,

The concept of installing a tracer unit into a hop up system is very simple.  Getting the items and then planning out the execution is a different story because there are so many little things you need to watch out or take care of.  Here's one picture of the basic principle:



As you can see, it's all about putting one LED (or in my preference two LEDs) into the hop up unit of the gun.  The LEDs are then connected to an energy source, preferably to the AEG battery.

The installation of a tracer unit would have been one of my "Case Reports," and I have taken a bunch of pictures, but unfortunately, there's no time for me to do a write-up right now... 

Jawz

[bdcast34]

ahhh i c. so you dont customize the mag, your customize the gun?
That makes sense. Is there any soldering involved?
-brad

[Soul Reaper]

why yes there is you need some wire  and a resistor and of course the leds. that was a verry good pic that he showed. nice Jawz
will you make it out tomorrow at pipeline? we could explain it more and show you a gun with it.

[bdcast34]

No we usually go on Mondays, because we all have church all day on sundays. Im a graphics designer at puyallup foursquare church(just fyi haha).
You guys should come out on a monday ill make a post when we setup a game. We "might" play this Monday, But next Monday it should be on.
-brad

[KnuckleHead]

What time and how many of you on mondays? I live/work just downtown and would be down for and afternoon/evning game on the weekdays sometimes.
Did you find your paint?

[Jawz]

ahhh i c. so you dont customize the mag, your customize the gun?
That makes sense. Is there any soldering involved?
-brad

Brad,

As you can see from the above photo, the leads from the LEDs are naked and would need to be covered with heatshrink -- at least that's the way I do it for a clean result.  Soldering is a self-understood part of the action.

A tracer unit in a mag is possible, too, and G&P does offer such a magazine for the M4/16 (130 round mag):
http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?products_id=1611

There one major disadvantage with this concept:  You do know that when a mag is empty and you switch to a new one, you will always have 4-6 BBs that fall out unused, right?  The same problem applies to the mag tracer unit in a different way:  BECAUSE there are 4-6 BBs ahead of the BBs that are illuminated (in the mag), you will NOT see them when you shoot, and neither does your opponent, which defeats the spirit of the game and gives you an unfair advantage!  If you're the kind of guy who doesn't do a lot of full-auto shooting anyway, your shots won't be visible!   In full auto, there would be only a visual delay of tracer BBs coming out of your gun, but in semi-auto, you are practically stealthy -- not nice.  Did I make sense?

In a hop up tracer unit, only ONE single BB won't be illuminated, and that's the one that is already chambered in the hop up system -- especially when it is sitting there for a long time and therefore has lost its glow.  Usually, that is not a problem, unless you're sniping.

Hence, the "perfect" solution would be tracer unit that would illuminate ANY exiting BB, and at this time, that is provided only by the suppressor-type tracer unit from Tokyo Marui (please notice the spelling and pronunciation: it's "Marui" and NOT "Mauri!" ):



The above picture shows the 2nd generation TM tracer unit, which comes with a (thin) aluminum casing.  Maybe TM tried to keep the weight low by using as little metal as possible, but I was certainly disappointed and expected more quality from a reputable company .

Jawz

[Omega]

If it were my tracer, I'd probably see if i couldn't safely remove the internals and replace them in a sturdier mock silencer. Cause personally any silencer I put on my rifle would make me uneasy, it just seems pretty fragile to me. Especially so if I had a weak looking silencer. But that's just me

[Jawz]

If it were my tracer, I'd probably see if i couldn't safely remove the internals and replace them in a sturdier mock silencer. Cause personally any silencer I put on my rifle would make me uneasy, it just seems pretty fragile to me. Especially so if I had a weak looking silencer. But that's just me

THEORETICALLY (as with all theories), it should be possible, BUT it does not work without major modifications!  For starters, the diameter of the inner tracer unit is larger than the inner diameter of my (standard) silencer, and loosening all the screws and trying to MAKE it fit is not worth risking $100+ dollars of equipment, especially if you knew that there is a fragile glas tube inside!

The following pictures are taken from Tokyo Marui's 1st generation TUs (photos courtesy of Bitter End):






The performance of my DIY hop up TUs is so good that I will install more of them in my remaining guns (as time allows).  The hop up TU version has the advantage that it does not extend the length of the barrel, which is obviously very important for CQB (and woodland as well) where guns need to stay as compact as possible.  Also, you automatically carry the TU with you when you have your gun -- there's nothing to "forget" .

Jawz

[bdcast34]

How much does that silencer/tokyo thing cost??
Where could i get that? It seems like the easiest way to go about things ha.

[Jawz]

How much does that silencer/tokyo thing cost??
Where could i get that? It seems like the easiest way to go about things ha.

I bought the tracer unit at RedWolfAirsoft for $102 ($101.87 to be exact ), which was delivered from Hong Kong after incredible 2 days (!) via FedEx:



I don't know if they have them back in stock because they were sold out for months!  You may see some TUs retailing in the U.S. in the following months for $120+ -- that's what they were offered for before they got sold out.

Easiest way to go?  Yes -- and also the most expensive with admittedly the best-looking results .

Jawz

[Roger]

If anyone is interested in instructions with pictures for the tracer hop-up system, I have them. As Jawz said, each gun has it's own unique challenges on routing the wires & LED placement, but the basic concept is layed out for you. If your on a budget, the tracer hop-up is the way to go. With a little sodering skill & a lot of patience you can have it finished in about 2 hours on the first one. I've done about 30 of these, and the fastest I've been able to complete them form start to finish was about an hour. Total cost in parts will run you about $5-$12 depending on if you go directly to the guns battery or a seperate power source.

Whether you install the tracer hop-up, or buy the TM tracer unit. Playing a night game with 60 of these going off is something you'll not soon forget.

[Jawz]

[...]
Whether you install the tracer hop-up, or buy the TM tracer unit. Playing a night game with 60 of these going off is something you'll not soon forget.

I certainly did not when I had my very first night game!  Simply AWESOME!  After that experience, I only want to play night games! 

Jawz