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The "dumb question" thread


Gorf

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Everyone must have questions they are too scared to ask when they are starting out, for fear of ridicule. I'll get the ball rolling...

 

What's the difference between a large battery and a mini battery?

 

This one is advertised as a mini battery

1100mANiMh_cheap.jpg

 

while this one is advertised as large

3300nimh_cheap.jpg

 

They both look like they should be seven sub-C batteries wired together then shrink wrapped, but the fact that the top battery in the "large" pack overlaps the side while the one in the mini pack doesn't suggests to me that the cells themselves are different sizes. How do you acquire the knowledge of which battery will fit in your AEG, not just in terms of connector but in terms of the physical dimensions which I can't see published on any of the supplier websites...

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There are two main differences: One beeing the obvious, large batterys use larger cells. But also the conectors are different sizes: A large uses a Tamia conector (same as RC cars) and the mini uses a different conector that i have not managed to identify.

 

Guns with lots of space will house a large battery, others can't so will need a mini. Others still have to use a "stick battery" they use the same size cells as the mini, but are arranged end to end. Stick batterys use the same conector as a mini battery.

 

 

An 8.4v nicad or nimh will allways have 7 cells. It dosen't matter how big the cells are, nicad and nimh will allways put out 1.2v per cell, in series Vs add together. The larger the cell the larger the capacity. nimh will have larger capacity than a nicad

For example:

Mini nicad = 600mah

mini nimh = 1100-1500 mah

large nicad = 1200-1300 mah

large nimh = 1700 - 3000 mah

 

 

The cells will ALLWAYS be the same size, both in capacity and physically. The reason your pictures show overlaps and non overlaps is geometry and the mathematical relationship between diamater and lenght.

 

 

It should be fairly simple to check wether your gun needs large, mini or stick batterys. Open the battery compartment and if it has a tamia conector, use a large. If it has a mini conector and a short wide space, use a mini, and a long narrow space, a stick.

To make this simpler, generally guns where the battery goes into the stock use a large type battery. Guns that hide the battery under grips or in the body generally use minis. The TM MP5K and the TM AK47s both use stick batterys that run on top of the gearbox from front to back.

You can also search for details on your gun, it shouldn't be to hard to find out what battery you need.

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Mini batteries are made up of sub-c cells, large batteries are made up of bigger 2/3A cells...

 

Large batteries are physically much larger and have a higher mAh rating than minis and they have large tamyia connectors as opposed to the mini connectors found on mini batteries.

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Thanks folks - where does a newb get all this info? For example, where can I go to establish whether I have a tamyia or mini? Is there perhaps a wiki somewhere?

 

edit: Thanks for the info re 7 x 1.2V cells - I'd worked it out, but the point of the thread is to educate people too worried to ask.

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you can tell by the size by looking at them mini conectors are just the same shape as tamyia but are simply smaller in dimensions. mini connectors are roughly just under 1/2 inch wide and about an inch long. tamyia conncertors are just over an inch long and just over a half inch wide. if you look on componentshop.co.uk you can compare batterys and sizes as they have the specifications on all stocked batterys on the site

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edit: Thanks for the info re 7 x 1.2V cells - I'd worked it out, but the point of the thread is to educate people too worried to ask.

 

And that is why i explained it :)

 

 

There is lots of info on the internet regarding airsoft. and several times airsoft wikis have been started. I don't know how sucessfull they have been.

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Mini batteries are made up of sub-c cells, large batteries are made up of bigger 2/3A cells...

 

Large batteries are physically much larger and have a higher mAh rating than minis and they have large tamyia connectors as opposed to the mini connectors found on mini batteries.

 

Sure that's the right way around Tread? My 9.6v 3700mah pack is made up of Sub-Cs and a 10.8v 2200mah pack made up of 4/5 Sub Cs (same size as 8.4v 'large).

 

As to the hop unit question, think metal ones are meant to be more durable in the sense that they won't crack/shatter around the feed tube when someone jams a mag in, that and I imagine they are less prone to wear over time but by time, I'm talking something in lots of years.

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The only way a metal hop is actually superior is in the TM M16 and endless M4 variants.

 

TM designed the gun with a two part hop, the lower half screwed into the lower reciever and the upper half attached to the barrel in the upper. Many single piece aftermarket hops have been made for the M16 series for no reason i can see. The one piece hop for an m16 should be made of metal as a plastic one will break.

 

 

In all other guns a plastic hop chamber and parts wont break unless they where made badly.

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Wow I'm so glad I asked, I have a TM M4 that needs a new frontend! I was just going o get a plastic single piece but I guess I'll try for the 2 part now.

Thanks!

 

A plastic two part will only fit in a TM or direct clone lower reciever. If you have a metal body the chances are you cant use a two piece hop. and many plastic bodies can't take two part hops either.

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The only way a metal hop is actually superior is in the TM M16 and endless M4 variants.

 

Not so! A metal HOP is a must in an AUG if you add/remove/swap the barrel a lot. The plastic hops are very prone to damage from rough handling/storage.

 

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Thanks folks - where does a newb get all this info? For example, where can I go to establish whether I have a tamyia or mini? Is there perhaps a wiki somewhere?

There are various airsoft techie sites but, IMO, the best way to learn about airsoft is to go to a site like www.wgcshop.com and just nose around all the stuff that interests you.

 

Nobody knows everything about everything. People just know about the stuff that interests them.

If, for example, you're interested in gas pistols you'll end up spending time looking at the guns you'd like to own and then you'll end up also looking at all the stuff you could buy to customise them.

THAT is when you really start to learn.

 

You'll see things that look the same but have different specifications.

You'll see things that don't look like they'll fit on the thing they're supposed to fit.

You'll find things which seem identical buy have huge price differences.

 

As you look at all this stuff you end up checking and cross-checking things (and asking questions about the stuff you can't figure out for yourself) until you get a good idea of the differences.

 

TBH, I don't think you can force this sort of thing.

You just have to accept that you'll really only every be knowledgeable about the stuff you have a genuine interest in.

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Sure that's the right way around Tread? My 9.6v 3700mah pack is made up of Sub-Cs and a 10.8v 2200mah pack made up of 4/5 Sub Cs (same size as 8.4v 'large)...

I was wondering about that. I just had the battery out of my stock TM G36c and it's got 7 x 2/3 printed on the shrink wrap...

 

...Nobody knows everything about everything. People just know about the stuff that interests them.

...TBH, I don't think you can force this sort of thing.

You just have to accept that you'll really only every be knowledgeable about the stuff you have a genuine interest in.

Agreed - and valid in so many aspects of life.

 

Thanks again for the help, everyone.

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Hopup works by applying backspin to the BB allowing it to counteract the force of gravity for longer, giving you a more level trajectory, thereby increasing range and accuracy. The hopup unit normally consists of a rubber sleeve, and small cylinder of rubber and an adjustable lever. The sleeve fits over the end of the inner barrel, at the top of which there is a hole. The lever depresses the little rubber cylinder down through the hole making a soft bulge at the top of the barrel. As the BB is pushed past this bulge it spins backwards.

 

To set your hopup properly you'll need a nice big space where you can fire your gun. Ideally you want to fire it out to its maximum range. Turn the hop completely down and fire a few shots. Notice how the BB's drop rather quickly. Now turn it fully up and fire. You'll see them curve sharply upwards. You need to decrease the amount of hopup applied until you get the longest straight flight that the gun can manage.

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Any gun can have a problem with the hop cranked all the way on, not only do you have your BBs overhopping massively but if the nub/bucking is a little bit harder than normal you can easily jam your gun as the BB cannot get back the lump on the hop rubber (which is depressed majorly into the barrel).

 

S'why normal AEG buckings are hollow to give them more 'give' to make them a little bit more n00b proof.

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