A guide to the Polarstar Fusion Engine

[Zorak]

One obvious solution is to start chronying with the heaviest plastic BBs we can find and set the limits accordingly. Make people bring empty mags to the stand, load 'em with 3-6 .45s, and enforce 225/260/360 with a 10fps fudge factor.

[Knief]

Gimp,

That's one of those things where we can't be everywhere at once. If a ref isn't present, and I'm being shot at by a P* from 40 feet away, but the guy is hiding in bushes, there's know way for me to know what zip tie he has on his gun, you know? Even as a ref, unless we specifically inspect a gun point blank, it can be hard to see the zip tie from 10 or 20 feet away. Refs are really on capable of solving an MED dispute after the fact without actively interrupting game play to check zip ties.

[Gimpalong]

Right, Knief,

I see where you're coming from. My point is that even without FCU locks there are at least two levels of redundancy that should (emphasis on should) prevent problems from occurring.

Firstly, the P* owner has already demonstrated that their gun has been set to semi-auto only via the FCU at the chrono station. Going back to their vehicle and altering that setting would be flat out cheating. I wouldn't be surprised to find that this has happened, but I doubt it's a frequent occurrence. Most people setting their FCU to semi-auto only probably intend to use semi-auto only for that purpose, not as a means to by-pass chrono regulations.

Secondly, their rifle has been tagged at the chrono station. Anyone who is near them, ref or not, is going to be able to look at their gun and see that they have the highest MED and shouldn't be engaging in fully automatic fire. Similarly, we don't just rely on refs to make sure everyone has their goggles on. We rely on everyone on the field to police that behavior.

Frankly, I don't have an issue with using an FCU lock. I already use a regulator lock, so it's no big deal for me. I know, however, that many P* users are already employing the system in a DMR capacity with the understanding that if they've got their FCU set to semi-auto only that they are "good to go." No fields that I know of (and this includes all the Lion Claws stuff) require anyone to pull out their FCU and show settings or lock it down. That's not to say MI can't be a pioneer here, just that it isn't yet common practice.

While I've been pushing tournament regulator locks, I doubt we'll start seeing the majority of P* owners using them, unless some fields actually start demanding that they be used. Similarly, I don't think people will start using FCU locks unless they are absolutely required to.

Additionally, there are no off the shelf regulator locks available for many of the most common regulators, and absolutely no off the shelf FCU lock available. Sure, they can be had through the P* community via Shapeways, but those are semi-custom jobs, not widely available products.

In the end, the solution is to either flat out ban P*s (which I think would be a bad idea and set a terrible precedent) or apply a little flexibility towards the system, requiring P* users to undergo a bit more strenuous chrono procedure and additional scrutiny on and off the field.

We're not likely see to fewer P*s are on the field in the future unless they are just out-and-out banned. As the system becomes more popular we've got to take the initiative to develop solid ways to regulate them so they can be used safely.

Oct 28, 2012 11:23:14 GMT -5 Zorak said:

One obvious solution is to start chronying with the heaviest plastic BBs we can find and set the limits accordingly. Make people bring empty mags to the stand, load 'em with 3-6 .45s, and enforce 225/260/360 with a 10fps fudge factor.

This is what is being done at LC events. At these events, P* users are required to chrono with .32s (no idea why that weight was selected).

A few people have pointed out that forcing P* users to chrono with the heaviest weight bb would be beneficial for safety purposes.

[Master_Oki_Akai]

Huh, well look at that.

Yeah, it will have to come down to an expansion and continued enforcement of the honor system and self moderation.

I retuned my P* today with a longer 407mm barrel. At max pressure it was shooting at 3.3J way WAY too hot. So I had to turn down the PSI to 100 and got 500fps at 2.8J with .25s
So i figure that's maximum ceiling on single shot.

So now I just gotta find the proper settings for full auto.

The new Firebase regulator is made specifically for airsoft players and looks to be designed with back pouches and regulator locks in mind.

Side note if anyone hasn't seen them -
Amped Airsoft is selling various P* kits including several different configurations of M4s loaded with the fusion engine, regulator and tank in some cases at 200-300$ cheaper than building the same on your own. Looks to be one stop shopping worth considering.

[Ike]

I can't believe that I didn't think of this sooner.

As far as making a Polarstar permanently semi auto, there's a simple solution that doesn't involve blocking the selector with a pin through the receiver. Take a dremel and shave down the metal disk connected to the selector switch on the inside of the receiver. Here's a picture for reference, please note that my selector switch is currently set to semi automatic.



The red part is where you would use a dremel or file to remove a SMALL amount of material. The idea is to remove just enough material so that the selector bar inside of the Fusion Engine doesn't make contact with the full auto switch. Should the user want to reverse this process, they would need to perform the same mod that those of us with G&P receivers have to perform to obtain full auto: they would need to put a layer of heatshrink or two around the selector bar as demonstrated here:

reviews.ampedairsoft.com/polarstar-fusion-engine-full-auto-alignment/

[Master_Oki_Akai]

Doesn't work because you can still adjust the FCU to flip the FA - SA positions.
My alignment is still off and I can't get both to function on mine yet so that's what I have to do

[Ike]

Nov 29, 2012 9:07:12 GMT -5 Master_Oki_Akai said:

Doesn't work because you can still adjust the FCU to flip the FA - SA positions.
My alignment is still off and I can't get both to function on mine yet so that's what I have to do

I knew I had to be forgetting something, it couldn't have been that easy. At 5am this morning, it felt pretty clever.

[Ike]

Added a section on generational differences and the new Gen 3 parts, fixed some typos, and hopefully made some sections easier to understand.

[SamRI]

I've read a lot of reviews and forum posts about fusion engines. One thing I've not found much of is a long term review. I'd like to know what kind of maintanence is required over the life of your fusion engine. Have there been any parts that need upkeep or replacing over time?

I.e. How often/likely do the o-rings go bad? Can you lubricate them to prolong life? And so on.

[Ike]

I haven't needed to do any maintenance on mine so far, but I have no clue how many times I've cycled it. The o-rings should last tens of thousands of rounds if not longer. I'd suspect that the first one you'd see a leak from is the o-ring on the poppet valve nozzle. A little lube every 25,000 rounds or so to be safe would probably be a good idea. If it ever needs replacing, the o-ring size is 011-70D.

Other than that, you have an additional 2 (3?) o-rings on the nozzle assembly to maintain as well. I'll be installing a Fusion Engine for a friend next week and will have both of ours apart so I'll be sure to take some pictures and update the guide. In the meantime, I believe Amped Airsoft has a few disassembly guides on their website but I'm not sure how in-depth they go.

The only other problem I could see somebody running across is getting some dirt in their air line while it's disconnected, which could obstruct airflow at the solenoids or jam up the nozzle spring. Should that happen, just crack open the engine and blow it out with duster gas or a vacuum.

[slippy]

Recommended maintenance is every 30,000 rounds. Ike feel free to chime in on gen1 and gen2 but gen3 comes with a shot counter. All that the recommended maintenance is is simple pulling the nozzle, removing the old grease, and applying new. Takes all of five minutes and is really no big deal. Typically, from what I've noticed with EPAR's, the typical o-rings shouldn't hardly ever fail unless you are constantly in and out of the system and accidentally pinch one. All I've ever had fail are tank o-rings due to essentially dry rot and I've had a couple of solenoid gaskets fail in high end paintball guns.

[Ike]

Thanks for the input Slippy! I didn't know about the shot counter on Gen 3- it's definitely not present in Gen 1 or Gen 2. I'll update the guide this week with that, a section about maintenance (with credit to you for the info you provided), and those pictures I promised.

[kevinh24]

Hello guys, so Im receiving my very first polarstar engine this week and planning on using It at the wreck game this Saturday the field limit is 400 feet per second with .20 gram bbs, I'm using a 380 mm tb barell and will probably be running 90-100 psi to save air. I wanna make sure I'm not losing performance and I'm 400 fps or lower I'm using a blue nozzle I forgot to mention. I do not have my own chrono graph so it'll be difficult, if I can't figure it out or anyone here can't I will just sit at the fields chrono and mess with my p* all day or ask the other 2 people at the field who have one if they can help me. But I'm lookin forward to your guys answers.

[slippy]

Mar 16, 2014 16:02:04 GMT -5 kevinh24 said:

Hello guys, so Im receiving my very first polarstar engine this week and planning on using It at the wreck game this Saturday the field limit is 400 feet per second with .20 gram bbs, I'm using a 380 mm tb barell and will probably be running 90-100 psi to save air. I wanna make sure I'm not losing performance and I'm 400 fps or lower I'm using a blue nozzle I forgot to mention. I do not have my own chrono graph so it'll be difficult, if I can't figure it out or anyone here can't I will just sit at the fields chrono and mess with my p* all day or ask the other 2 people at the field who have one if they can help me. But I'm lookin forward to your guys answers.

Well the simple answer is that with a blue nozzle you'll be fine. The FULL answer is that there are so many variables to consider that it will make your head spin (temp, humidity, hopup, nub, bucking, barrel, nozzle alignment, air-seal, bb brand, PSI, and FCU settings) . When I used a blue nozzle I very rarely hit 400FPS while using a 509mm barrel. I would say that you may end up in the 110-120 PSI range to attain this. Many of us tend to use higher rated nozzles to have the ability to substantially lower our psi while maintaining a set FPS.

Using a bigger bore nozzle has a few advantages.
1. As stated above you can seriously turn down your psi and maintain a solid FPS
2. Using a bigger bore turned down also allows you to save on air (I have a red nozzle in mine and I'm shooting around 60PSI)
3. You will notice that your FE isn't as loud as you're AEG counterparts. Running at a lower PSI will only compound the effect. (unless you decide to use a Noveske or Madbull amplifier)
4. No wide spread proof of this but I think that my P* is a little bit more accurate

There is one big disadvantage. Most people take the FPS to nozzle color charts as the gospel. It's merely a guideline. I've been asked a few times at chrono what nozzle I'm using and when I reply I normally end up being re-chrono'd because they can't wrap their heads around the fact that I'm shooting 380 FPS while using a red nozzle.

It sucks sometimes but when people see that I'm only shooting around 15RPS with a P* I typically don't even receive another sideways glance the rest of the day. Just be sure to do yourself, and the rest of us a favor, and use the platform responsibly.

[Tank]

By the way, if anyone is interested in what Polarstar's "Patent Pending" covers, you can find it here.

www.freepatentsonline.com/20120192847.pdf

It took quite a while of searching for me to find this, then I suddenly thought to look for a company name based lookup of patents.