Review: AWS Raptor FET V2HC-X120 (V2 version)

[SF_Chewy]

AWS Raptor FET V2HC-X120 Review

I saw that a few of you may be interested in knowing some first hand experience, I decided to write this as my first review. I'll try to be as in depth as possible when writing this. I delayed writing this until I had time to game it a few times and test it on different settings.

Intro
So I was lucky enough to grab the last front wired version of this MOSFET from Duy (airsoftparts.ca). I bought this version mainly because of a few reasons: I had a KA 11.1V buffer LiPo that I received when I purchased another gun. I really didn't use this battery too much because I had no MOSFET in any of my guns and with all the 7.4's I was running, I was getting ample power. Also, and really the main reason, I opted to install a new RIS for my A&K Masada which drastically reduced the amount of space in my front RIS guard, to the point where I could no longer use any of my batteries in my RIS except for an 8.4 Nimh and my KA 11.1 buffer tube LiPo (it measured about the same length of an 8.4V mini but half the size width wise). So all these things I thought that this Raptor FET would be a great choice.


Install
So as the label read, this is supposed to be a "drop-in" FET with no modifications required to the gearbox, except for the selector plate and trigger spring. I'm confirming that this was NOT true with my gearbox. Quite possibly because the specs are slightly off from most V2 gearboxes.

Upon "dropping in" the FET, I discovered that the FET did NOT fit into the gearbox. The design of the trigger well (the hole where the trigger sits) was too wide (pictures below). So I had 3 options, to drop in a new gearbox, to quit or to modify. I chose the latter and proceeded to modify.

First I had to do the regular modifications with the selector plate and the trigger spring, as well as the removal of the trigger assembly. All of which went off without a hitch. Consult the manual for steps on these, pretty straight forward though. I utilized my set of files and some sand paper to shave the selector plate down, as it seemed a better option than cutting it.

Next came the actual mod to the gearbox so it would allow for the FET to fit in. The issue here was that the trigger well (the hole that houses the trigger) was way too large, and took a lot of space that the FET needed.

*Unfortunately I do not want to take apart my gear box again as it was a pain in the ass, so I am subbing it with this pic of the gear box opened which shows the area to be modded*
So the only option was to sand off the entire well if I wanted to mount the RaptorFET in.

Notice the where I marked the image:

I took a gamble and thought that this can act as the rest of the trigger well, so I sanded the entire trigger well off of that side (only to the side the FET fits into). I tried to leave a bit of the well there, but unfortunately the FET wouldn't fit in there. So after about 20 minutes of sanding I had totally sanded the entire well down to nothingness and the Raptor FET finally fit. The question was would the trigger hold? I'm happy to say that after 2 hours of fiddling and failed attempts I finally got back together. The combination of the trigger and other things slipping just gave me a heck of time reassembling it back together. Once it was together, though I played around with the trigger to see if it would wobble off, and it seemed to be pretty stable. Note, though, that doing it this way, I'm thinking that if you jossle/slam your trigger too hard, say dropping it on the trigger (somehow) would probably damage the FET. I have yet to do any such thing.

Also another note, follow the instructions with regards to the new elongated spring. I had it pop out on me a few times when I first installed it. To break in the new spring, I reinstalled the gear box and left it on full auto (the least amount of spring tension). I left it for a few hours on full to let it break in. I then came back and switched it to semi and left that for another few hours, and finally put it on safe over night. I haven't had any issues with that spring popping out. I suppose you could use glue or something to hold it on, but after I let it break in I haven't had an issue with it since.

The Raptor FET also came with mini Tamiyas, which I changed to Deans as that is what all my batteries were connected with. Remember that when you change the connector, the positive (red) has 2 wires that need to be soldered on. I also removed the fuse assembly and soldered on quick disconnects so I can get wiring in and out of the small hole where the wires fed through without too much hassle. I figure the FET said it could handle and dissipate any extra charges up to 100c, which is why I removed the fuse from this setup.


Testing
I'm glad to say that after the mod everything in the FET fit perfectly and all the switches and cut-off levers worked to a tee with no issues whatsoever. Every press of the switch gave me a complete cycle on all modes (semi and full). So I decided to tinker around with it. This is the current setup that my ACR is running:
Modify Double Oil Channel Stainless Steel Bushings
Modify Nano Torque Gears
Modify High Speed Ultra Piston
Modify Polycarb Piston Head
Modify Enhanced Cylinder and Cylinder Head
Modify S110 Spring
G&P M170 Devil Jet motor
KA 11.1V buffer tube LiPo

Changing settings is a bit tedious as you have to hold the trigger down and plug in the battery at the same time, but you get used to it. All settings were easily accepted and changed. No issues with this.

This FET combined with the G&P M170 motor gave my setup and extremely fast trigger response. On full auto it cycles extremely fast but never half cycles, which means that the cut-off lever is doing its job properly and active breaking works very well. Using my chrono, I clocked this thing going at an average of 25RPS which equates to roughly 1500RPM. No half cycles as you may have on guns without FETs, every cycle is a quick and complete cycle.

I'd also like to report that the monitoring feature works well. Basically when it detects your voltage run below a certain limit, your gun will no longer work. This prevents you from exhausting your battery below the acceptable threshold which would inevitably lead to bad charges later in the battery's life. As long as you program the FET to the appropriate cell size of your battery (3 cell 11.1 in my case) you should have no issues.

EDIT #2: After using my ACR for the latter part of the day, the shutoff did its job and turned off the gun entirely. I brought the setup home and forgot to take out the battery. Unfortunately this lead to the demise of my battery as leaving it in there essentially drained the last bit of charge (after about 1 week) and I was left with a dead inflated LiPo. So take note if your battery dies with you using it REMOVE IT ASAP! The FET leaves just enough charge in there, but will continue to drain the battery.

Conclusion
Overall, minus the install this FET has been completely great to me. All the features work, and the gun works like a beast.

Pros
- Easy program modes
- High trigger response
- LiPo monitoring and auto shutoff when the voltage is low
- Different fire modes

Cons
- Drop-in applies to most gearboxes, notably A&K gearbox is NOT 100% drop-in, modification was required
- Requires a good working knowledge of gearboxes to install
- Comes with mini tamiya

Attached at the end is some gun pr0n. I have a video that I'm working on to show you guys programming, firing and chronoing. I have to edit it as my basement there was a bit dark unfortunately. I actually have to change a gear in the gearbox sometime soon so I will supplement this with some more gearbox pictures as I know it sucks for you guys not to see the insides of the gear box.

Edit:
AWS Raptor V2 Review - YouTube

[Daiviet]

Nice write up, thanks for the work.

I am a bit weary of the voltage stop on the FET though. Usually the cell voltage has to be checked on LiPo's through the 3/4 pin connector, so how accurate of a reading could the FET get for cell voltage if its just plugged in through the normal connector?

[WhiskeySix]

I've installed two of these so far, and the LiPO monitoring works fairly well. I've tested twice on a 3 cell LiPO that was running at 3.2V a cell, as soon as the one cell dropped to 3.1V, it stopped. Although it does act up for the last couple trigger pulls before it stops completely (firing two 3 round bursts in semi with one trigger pull).

The mini tamiya connectors are a pain as they heat up really fast, so I'm just going to change the connector to an XT60 right from the start.

[kaiu]

It fit 100% in my SRC Version 2 Mechbox (SRC T91)

Both work awesome, takes seconds to program. (Hold Trigger, Plug in Battery, then do that morse code thing based on what settings you want )

Very simple and straightforward...

The Stealth on the other hand required quite a bit of modding to fit my CA Version 2 Mechbox (CA G3)

[SF_Chewy]

Here's a short vid I made, I apologize for the audio, it is lower than I expected it to be. I'll have to re-render it.

AWS Raptor V2 Review - YouTube