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The A&K M249 Review


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Hum... I was just considering replacing my bearings (as my 249 just stopped feeding and I'm going back into the gun).

 

So these wouldn't work:

http://www.gunnerairsoft.com/catalog/produ...products_id=546

 

Everywhere I look, I'm finding the possible correct bearings for $10-11 each!

 

Stealthbomber, what are the dimensions of the bearings (ID, OD, Width), that I need to be looking for? Any suggestions on where to look? I looked at mcmaster's as they have just about everything... but there's only 2 choices in 8mm bearings.

 

Could I use a 5/16inch bearing as it's almost the exact same size? There are more choices in that size here, but still over $6 each bearing.

Well, THIS is the place I bought bearings from.

 

The gear shafts are 3mm diameter so you're gonna need bearings with an 9mm OD, a 3mm ID and a width of around 5mm but the width isn't really important.

IIRC, the wall thickness of the gearbox is such that there's plenty of room.

 

Scroll down THIS category until you see Part No: 4255-118. 61p each. That's what you need.

 

Note, as well, that they do normal, flanged, bearings HERE.

FWIW, I have their 6mm bearings in several of my guns now.

On the bright side, they've never failed but, OTOH, they didn't actually increase the ROF at all. Go figure.

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One more question.

 

My box mag has been jamming up EVERY game. I know fareast said that there is something you can file down to improve the feeding. I'm not quite following his pictures as to what it is that needs to be filed down.... can anyone help me with a clearer explanation? I need to get this thing working right before the night game on Saturday.

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One more question.

 

My box mag has been jamming up EVERY game. I know fareast said that there is something you can file down to improve the feeding. I'm not quite following his pictures as to what it is that needs to be filed down.... can anyone help me with a clearer explanation? I need to get this thing working right before the night game on Saturday.

I am guessing it's just a case of cleaning any molding seams off everything.

 

PM Pablo for advice.

We bought M249s at about the same time. My boxmag was always OK so I never really looked into it any further. His was a total PITA. He reckons the counterweight in the hicap-style mechanism just wouldn't spin sometimes.

In the end he unhooked the wires from the built-in battery tray and bought a 4 x AA battery tray from Radio Shack and hooked the wires up to that.

Last I heard it was running perfectly on 6v.

 

I'd consider giving this a go myself except that a large 9.6v battery lives in the boxmag as well so I've got no free space inside the mag. To make it work, I'd have to cut away the existing battery tray and then find a 6v one (maybe 4 x AAA cells) to fit in place of it.

 

*EDIT*

Regarding bearings, it's a while since I opened mine up so I can't recall exactly what it's like inside.

If you use normal 8mm flanged bearings, bear in mind that they will sit roughly 1mm inside the gearbox.

If you think you can adjust the shimming to compensate for this then give it a try.

If it was me I'd wait until I had another gun that could use 8mm bearings and then buy the bearings, try to fit em in the M249 and, if they make the gears too tight, use em in the other gun instead.

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  • 3 weeks later...

FYI - you can get a 9 cell 4/5 SC ELITE 2200mah 10.8V battery in the fore grip of the para version (if you don't mind removing the fuse and lenghtenig the wire)

judging from the space left 12V made of the same cells will also fit (and 9.6)

 

got this one from cheapbatterypacks for 47 USD

 

battery.jpg

inserted.jpg

barrel.jpg

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

My box mag was working fine until the end of the day when it started to jam. I figured out the cause and it was this

 

post-53234-1217100398_thumb.jpggif.gif

 

the feeding tube seemed to have one circle that got pushed sideways and caused the bbs to not freely pass through it. I fixed it with some needle nose pliers, but I was wondering if there was any way to fix it for good. Maybe put a clamp on it? Any suggestions would be wonderful.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think just accept it. Mine has some play in it and is fine. Also on the subject of the handle- you can hold the gun by it. I've seen it written that it's a bad idea. It does no harm at all. I've ran with mine smacking against my leg, dragged it through buildings, knocked it on tree's and it's fine still.

 

 

Also i'll put up a few pictures of the modification I have made to the box mag. It actually works rather well now, and i've not had a problem with james. I guess A&K have tightened the quality control since his review.

 

The slector switch for it is on the side that will be in the mud. A bloody stupid idea I think. Sure as god made little green apples, my swtich broke after day one.

 

What I did, was buy an on-off-on switch for an electric guitar (a beefy thing) and wire it up. Before removing the original switch I made a note of all of the wire positions and what legs they went to, and copied across. This did change the sequence to sound act- full wind- off, rather than sound-off- full wind. I prefer the way it is now.

 

The switch I have relocated into the side of the mag that faces the trigger guard. Now all I need to do is extend a finger to move the switch. Also in this position, the switch is protected from any bangs and bumps.

 

See the photos :)

 

IMG_5616.jpg

 

IMG_5618.jpg

 

Demonstrating how easy it is to reach:

 

IMG_5619.jpg

 

 

 

And while i'm at it, here is my beastie. Since i havn't seen any MkII's in this thread (i've not looked through it in a long time), I figured i'll put mine up.

 

It's a Marque 1 and a half, but there we go

 

IMG_4423.jpg

 

IMG_4431.jpg

 

IMG_4427.jpg

 

IMG_4443.jpg

 

 

Size comparison to the M16

 

IMG_4440.jpg

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I have another problem with my m249. The microphone broke off from the wires. I tried to solder it back on, but it seems to be toast. I tried contacting echo1, but they haven't replied to any of my emails. I was wondering if anyone knows where I could find a replacement microphone or if not where to buy a whole new a&k/echo1 box magazine? I really liked the sound control and I just can't play without it. Thanks for the help.

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gunnerairsoft have the mags in for $45 http://www.gunnerairsoft.com/catalog/produ...products_id=692

www.rsov.com also have it in slightly cheaper $43.89 http://rsov.com/index.php?target=products&...product_id=2021

Edited by rolling-thunder
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gunnerairsoft have the mags in for $45 http://www.gunnerairsoft.com/catalog/produ...products_id=692

www.rsov.com also have it in slightly cheaper $43.89 http://rsov.com/index.php?target=products&...product_id=2021

 

I've never used either of them. Which of them would be better/faster to use to get it to the US? The price is negligible so the better service would win out.

Edited by thatoneguy92088
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After having spent a while looking around and pondering whether to import or buy from the UK, im looking at getting one of these fairly soon, probably next 2 weeks.

 

Now having read the thread i know how to fix the hop and box mag. but the only other changes i want to make are to increase the rate of fire. So i intend in swapping the motor for an ICS 3000, fitting an m100, replacing the cylinder head and piston and will probably install and a MOSFET with AB.

 

The only problem is how would i install the MOSFET with the microswitch?

 

Cheers Sean

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After having spent a while looking around and pondering whether to import or buy from the UK, im looking at getting one of these fairly soon, probably next 2 weeks.

 

Now having read the thread i know how to fix the hop and box mag. but the only other changes i want to make are to increase the rate of fire. So i intend in swapping the motor for an ICS 3000, fitting an m100, replacing the cylinder head and piston and will probably install and a MOSFET with AB.

 

The only problem is how would i install the MOSFET with the microswitch?

 

Cheers Sean

 

The install is the same, as the microswitch has 2 contacts just like a regular aeg switch. If you need further help, just pm me. If you order a fet from me, they come with generic directions, but they should work fine for the m249.

 

 

As far as the motor, if you're going with an m100, I would suggest putting in a guarder high speed motor instead of the ICS 3000 (which is a torque motor not a high rof motor).

 

The cylinder head in mine seals like a champ... if you have a good seal don't worry about replacing it.

 

The piston is garbage though.

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  • 3 months later...
The install is the same, as the microswitch has 2 contacts just like a regular aeg switch. If you need further help, just pm me. If you order a fet from me, they come with generic directions, but they should work fine for the m249.

 

 

As far as the motor, if you're going with an m100, I would suggest putting in a guarder high speed motor instead of the ICS 3000 (which is a torque motor not a high rof motor).

 

The cylinder head in mine seals like a champ... if you have a good seal don't worry about replacing it.

 

The piston is garbage though.

Hi,

If you speak spanish, here you a have a small rewiev I wrotte about how to installa amosfet ona 249 para.

http://www.gtanavarra.com/gtaforo/index.php/topic,57.0.html

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Here is my beauty

 

i installed guarder boreup kit for M4, madbull hop bucking and G&P RIS with no cutting or modding

 

i placed a large 9,6 2400 battery in the boxmag so i rewired it (also no cutting or modding needed)

 

ohh and i also used a bit of coyote spray paint

 

 

IMG_0244~0.JPG

 

how about perform with guarder boreup kit for M4?

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  • 3 months later...

I recently bought an Echo1 MKII from a local store that was deemed "broken". I bought it for a nice $230 USD and was surprised to find that it fired. It came with the box mag, battery (cheap 9.6v) and an M16 hi-cap (that makes 29 total M16 magazines).

 

I was able to fiddle with it yesterday and today and this is what I've come to:

 

Hop-up: still poo.

Box mag: I think it's quite nice. I modified it like FarEast did and am quite happy. (cut notch in mag. part)

Mechbox: Wonderfully simple to work on. I haven't really worked on any other MB's before, so this is a great starter MB. It sucks when it decides to not work properly, though.

 

So far I've replaced the gears, cylinder head and piston/head. I also have a hop-up nub waiting to be installed and a bucking if need be. I really want to re-wire the MB with 16AWG wire and add a ABMOSFET, but I don't know if I'll have the time. I also replaced the outer barrel with an M4 outer barrel. The inner barrel sticks out a bit, but is covered by a Mad Bull noise amplifier. The US loves their orange flash hiders and basically melts them to the barrels...

 

With everything stock it chrono'd at ~317 with .20's. I will try to chrono it tomorrow with the aftermarket upgrades installed.

Edited by SgtBojangles
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Might just go for an A&K after all.

 

One thing that is troubling me though is the box magazine. On some of the videos I've seen, it really noisy when on Auto. Has this been fixed? Would the CA version be the same? I think I'll probably prefer to use the microphone system - is that just as noisy as Auto and is it still as flakey these days?

 

:)

 

 

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