M249 TRacer Box Mag

[Cico]

So I wanted to have the ability to run my 249 with tracers and all the options I had were $80-$150 and looked like Silencers.

What LMG do you see with a Silencer? Not very many and as I wanted to keep mine at the Para length that was out of the question so I began to ponder on how I could illuminate my box mag to then in turn illuminate the BBS.

Then when walking through Wally World(walmart) i found some 4inch long white LED strips(2 per pack) that run off 12 watch Batteries or can be wired for 12v(i went with using the Batteries)

What I did to Install them

Removed the whole inner part of my mag and lined both sides of the feed path with the light strips ran all the wiring under the guts of the mag internals.

Drilled a hole in the side of my Box mag Shell for a switch

Installed the switch and wired everything back up.

Reinstalled the internals and shaaaabam a box mag with 120lums of power to illuminate the BBS as they are sitting in the Mag.

Pics to come as I am doing this mod again for another Mag and will actually take pics as i Go.

What you need to make this

Switch($3.50 at Princess auto)
Light Strips($20.00 at wall mart)
Drill
Drill bit the size of the switch hole needing to be Drilled
Solder
Soldering iron
about 45 Min.

PM or post here if you have any questions.

[Dynamo]

you will get better charging of the tracer BBs by using UV leds.
though using leds inside a mag does indeed work, generally you would want the light source to be as close to the barrel as possible, if not directly ahead of it. this is why the most common tracer kit are silencers. the next most ideal location to mount your LEDs would be right in the feed path just below the nozzle, and lastly would be magazine mounted LEDs.

as an example i have two 5mm 3000cmd UV LEDs mounted 6mm below my hopup. i also have wired the LEDs directly to the terminals on my motor. i did this so that the UV LED would only light up when i pull the trigger. i chose this route after watching how other tracer kits work.

if you look at silencer based tracers, they use a censor to detect when the BB passes through, triggering a strobe to charge the BB as it passes. the problem i have with this method is that from your targets perspective, they see a nice bright flash every time you fire a BB.

the hopup tracer mod is not as effective at charging the BB as the silencer tracer unit, but the bright flash out the front of the can is no longer an issue. thats not to say there aren't any draw backs with a hopup mod. for instance, most hopup tracer mods have simply an on/off switch hidden somewhere on the front end of the gun. this means that either the LEDs are always on or always off. this becomes an issue when your opponents are using NVGs. with NVGs, light from the LED tend to bleed out the side seams of most AEG, and can even shine out the barrel. with the LEDs drawing their power directly from the motor, most of this is reduced by quite a bit as the LEDs only light up during the feeding and firing cycle.

the reason why i don't bother with mag tracer kits is simple. in AEGs there are always 3-5 BB sitting in the feed tube that don't get any light from the LEDs, so you have to fire these BBs out before any of the charged BBs make it up to the hopup to be fired. this is why tracer mags make for crappy tracer kits, the BBs have lost most of their charge before they even reach the barrel.

so for the best tracer results there are a couple of things that need to be met.

#1 match the LEDs to the tracers. make sure that the output wavelength of LEDs being used is as close as possible to the ideal wavelength that the BBs can absorb.

#2 position the LEDs as close to the barrel as possible, so that the BBs leaving your gun are as bright as they can be.

#3 wire you LEDs directly to your power supply, so they only run when you fire.

[DarkAngel]

Why not put a UV LED in the spring feed tube?
Cut the spring tube and put a clear "pipe" between and surround it with UV LED's, place it near the receiver end so it doesnt stick out much.

[Dynamo]

Originally Posted by DarkAngel

Why not put a UV LED in the spring feed tube?
Cut the spring tube and put a clear "pipe" between and surround it with UV LED's, place it near the receiver end so it doesnt stick out much.

doing that would add bulk to the tube and also risk making your gun into a flashlight.

[coach]

Originally Posted by Dynamo

if you look at silencer based tracers, they use a censor to detect when the BB passes through, triggering a strobe to charge the BB as it passes. the problem i have with this method is that from your targets perspective, they see a nice bright flash every time you fire a BB.

muzzle flash = realism

aside from that, you're location is given away once the BB leaves the barrel anyway. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to backtrack a tracer BB's trajectory.

BUT, I hear word of a suppressor tracer unit being released that eliminates the flash...

[Dynamo]

Originally Posted by coachster

muzzle flash = realism

aside from that, you're location is given away once the BB leaves the barrel anyway. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to backtrack a tracer BB's trajectory.

BUT, I hear word of a suppressor tracer unit being released that eliminates the flash...

silencer=/= flash.
running without one i would be the first to say i would love to see realistic muzzle flash.
as for tracing back to the source of the tracers, yea it's possible, but with out a muzzle flash, all you have is a general direction. where as with a flashing tracer unit, you basically become a beacon.
it's also nice to be able to run without a silencer and still have bright tracers.

[Reckless]

wouldn't a stream of glowing BB's from a Saw already be a beacon? the fact of a muzzle/silencer/tracer unit flashing wouldn't really matter much ... if it was a DMR or an assualter I'd be more worried about it... but from a saw that's already a very visable stream...

[ThunderCactus]

I did the same thing in my box mag, works great. Only downside is if you don't shoot for a while you need a 30 round burst before you get tracers again lol
So putting one or two LED's closer to the top of your feed tube would be preferable, however the huge downside to constant illumination would be being REALLY visible to anyone with night vision.

[Dynamo]

Originally Posted by ThunderCactus

I did the same thing in my box mag, works great. Only downside is if you don't shoot for a while you need a 30 round burst before you get tracers again lol
So putting one or two LED's closer to the top of your feed tube would be preferable, however the huge downside to constant illumination would be being REALLY visible to anyone with night vision.

thats why i wired mine to my motor, so it only lights up when the motor gets power.
another benefit is that i only needed to mod the hopup, no need to either mod the mags i have or buy a new set just to have tracers.

i think a hopup tracer for an MG would be easier to do than doing it to a normal AEG. there's just so much more room.
i'll take some pictures this week of my mod, maybe help with ideas. if i had an M249 to work on, i would use it as a template for others.

[ThunderCactus]

It's easier on a CA style hopup since there's more meat to work with. I'm thinking just drill into the feed tube and have the LED there.
But the same could be said for the G&P 249. Lots of room under the AUG style hop chamber. I could drill into the brass tube underneath the hop chamber and put the LED there. It would also greatly reduce the light signature of my LMG as you can see light through the plastic box mag.
I'm gonna have to look into this myself now lol

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by Dynamo

doing that would add bulk to the tube and also risk making your gun into a flashlight.

UV LED = nearly invisible.

[coach]

Originally Posted by Styrak

UV LED = nearly invisible.

Not invisible to NVD users.

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by coachster

Not invisible to NVD users.

Well duh, lol.

[Shogun-G]

I saw this posted on another site and wanted to check to see what you guys thought...

What do you think about putting a mini-maglite in the box mag? Would that work?
For that would be pretty damn simple - just tape it to the inside of the box mag.

Also - lining the inside with reflective foil duct tape to enhance the effect.

Thoughts?

[ThunderCactus]

excellent low cost and simple alternative, it would absolutely work.
You'd lose a little bit in mag capacity, but you wouldn't notice since the box is already 2000-2500 rounds.
I'd prefer hooking an LED into the brass feed tube on the G&P, or the hop chamber on the CA. The reflective tape on the inside of the box would certainly help eliminate the light getting through the plastic and reduce your signature under NV. However, just like my current LED in box method, you need to get those charged BB's through a 50-60 round feed tube before they get to the barrel.
It's not a major issue, but if you don't shoot for a while, you need a good 30 round burst before you start getting lit tracers again.
So way cheaper and way easier than installing an LED in your feed path, and it will work, it just won't be more efficient.