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Systema P.T.W.


hrturner

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As with any new toy, I can't let it sit for longer than a week without tearing it apart. This weapon wasn't any different!

 

If you aren't familiar with the PTW series, allow me to bring you up to speed. Systema is a Japanese manufacturer of airsoft goods. Most people are familiar with their standard AEG parts as well as their Professional Training Weapon (PTW) line. I have been a long time supporter of systema and have built many guns that have used their gear sets, pistons, bore-up kits, etc. When the PTW came out circa 2007, I was intrigued but due to the high price I opted to steer clear thinking I would be able to continue building normal AEG's with Systema's parts.

 

Well the desire to shrink down my collection to a solid support weapon and a solid back up drove me to ultimately purchase as lightly used 2008 Systema PTW. **** The clip in front of the front sight post is for my contour camera. ****

 

PTW_zpsf4af0f26.jpg

 

Upon first un-boxing the beast, I was shocked. Here it was. The 1400 dollar revered Systema PTW that I got for a "steal" at 850. I must say out of the 20 some odd AEG's that I have bought over the years this one is a close second on structural build. The first words out of my mouth were: "Why didn't I buy one of these years ago?" Mind you I haven't even shot it at this point. So everything out of the box and assembled, I decided to test the red cylinder (M150). This cylinder is rated at 500+ fps and can easily be swapped into the PTW in under 5 seconds. Put the cylinder in, plugged in the 12 volt battery, and pulled the trigger, WHAAAAAPPPPP! Yea the gun cycled an M150 spring on full auto like it was absolutely nothing! It was beautiful. Took the red cylinder out and put in the gold cylinder (M130) and had the exact same result. Semi-auto was even more satisfying. Clean, crisp, single shots every pull of the trigger. No over-revving, no struggles, just pop-pop-pop as fast as I could pull the trigger. Needless to say I'm sold and now a fan-boy!

 

The first game I was able to actually use this beast at was Shadows open play game in Portland. Weather was about 40 no wind in the woods, running .25 bioshot bb's with the gold cylinder. Hop-up hadn't been adjusted and the PTW was able to easily range people out to about 70 yards! Haven't been able to actually measure it out so just ball parking it. I'm hoping when the weather warms up to actually get out somewhere and measure of actual distances. I will update when I get a chance.

 

Now the fun stuff, tearing it apart! (Well its fun for me!) This is how the cylinder sits in relation to the gearbox assembly.

PTW-cylinder_zps5b00fc8d.jpg

 

You can clearly see why the piston is so easy to swap. It is similar in nature to the ICS split gearbox design except the Systema design is tappet-plate-less. This is a very cool design which alleviates a lot of the typical headaches but does subsequently introduce its own new set of problems. The internals of the cylinder, with the exception of the cylinder head, are similar in function to a normal AEG (Although AEG pistons, springs, etc wont work in a PTW).

Cylinder_zps0bf95d71.jpg

 

The biggest functional difference with the PTW cylinder is the tappet-less design. Rather than having a plate that is actuated by the gears, Systema opted to use the piston itself to pull the air nozzle back to chamber the next round. As you can see in the photo below, the nub on the inside of the cylinder head for the air nozzle fits inside the piston head and is secured by an o-ring. As the piston is pulled back, the tension pulls the air nozzle backwards and allows a BB to feed into the hop-up chamber. The piston head is on a spring driven shaft that resides inside the piston body and allows for the piston body to travel backwards and delays the release of the air nozzle from the piston head. This gives heavier bb's enough time to load before the gun finishes a cycle.

Piston_zpsf0463626.jpg

 

This is the dissasembly of the cylinder head. It isn't easy to take apart and if you aren't careful you can screw up the nozzle to the point where it wont fit in the hop-up unit anymore (That's how tight the tolerances are on this gun).

 

IMG_20130228_150138_zps7830f11b.jpg

 

The one thing I found great about these cylinders is even the M150 can be put back together by hand with relative ease. I figured with spring tension like an M150 would have and from experience with traditional gearboxes, that this one would have been a pain but it was surprisingly easy!

 

The gearbox of the PTW was a whole other beast. Before I get to get lets show you what that 1400 pays for in terms of electronics. This picture shows the MOSFET system. These little devices have been getting a lot of praise lately (as they should). These devices all for faster switching of power to the motor than your conventional trigger blade switch that traditional AEG's contain. The large black container not only acts to protect the mosfet system but it also acts as a heat sync to dissipate heat generated from firing the weapon. This image also shows you the Systema motor. One major difference to note is that unlike traditional AEG motors, the Systema motor features an exposed commutator shaft (part that spins and has all the wire coils on it).

 

Motor_zps14158842.jpg

 

This shows the actual gearbox and the mosfet controller exposed.

 

Mosfet_zps54017f8c.jpg

 

 

Now the gearbox itself is an interesting work of art too. Here are a couple of different angles for you to view before we open it up.

Motor-GB_zpse7794cc6.jpg

 

Gearbox_zps6b99f843.jpg

Gearbox2_zps9f37fb1e.jpg

 

 

As you can see the PTW gearbox itself is significantly smaller than the traditional gearbox yet it has more gears?! How can this be you ask? Well lets dive into the internals. The internals of the PTW gearbox are quite clever and I'm surprised haven't caught on to mainstream yet but in due time I suppose. Systema decided to go with a planetary style gearbox. So what does that look like?

 

Gearboxopen_zpsd3df84b4.jpg

gearboxopen2_zps33766faf.jpg

GBparts_zps12974ae9.jpg

 

 

That my friends is a planetary gearbox. Still confused? Its quite easy honestly and the design allows for higher tension springs to be used in combination to the Helical gears seen in the first two photos and the 4 planetary gears seen inside the ring gear in the third photo. You will notice in the third photo that the GB shell seems to have some wear on it, I am attributing this to a lack of shims and grease when I opened the gearbox. You'll also note in the first two pictures the brains of the operation and what makes the PTW so expensive. The ECU. The ECU is where semi-auto and consistent gearbox stopping occur. The red arms that protrude around the ring gear are used to tell the ECU when the ring gear has completed one revolution and to cut power off to the motor. The other set of wires protruding from the gearbox in the last photo are the wires for the fire mode selector (which is no longer mechanical)! Last but certainly not least is the hop-up unit. Systema went with a new design and it works quite nicely.

Hop-up_zpsd616fcb1.jpg

 

Here is the hopup unit completely disasembled. You will notice that it still uses a silicon bucking similar to standard AEG's but rather than being a whole sleeve, its more of just a nub. The system is very well guarded against air leaks and has a VERY precise fit.

 

IMG_20130228_153706_zpsa7d4aeda.jpg

 

 

Overall Impressions:

 

This is a fantastic and very well built piece of machinery. If someone were in the market for a solid and reliable M4 platform and didn't mind the price tag, semi-proprietary parts, and the special magazines; I would certainly recommend this weapon.

 

Build Quality: 5/5

Upgradeabilty: 4/5 *Proprietary parts, its getting better though*

Accessories: 5/5

Price: 3/5 *Not a small chunk of change*

Overall: 4/5 - If the prices come down, I would give this gun a perfect 5 but even at the price, the performance is worth it.

 

I hope you enjoyed this overly technical review of the Sysema PTW. Let me know if you have any questions.

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Ok Turner, my one big question, is it only compatible with Systema mags? I understand that the way the gun operates, when you insert a new Systema mag you must press the bolt release before it will cycle again and that when a Systema mag is empty, it will stop cycling. I am assuming that with other mags neither of these things will be required, but with other mags even work in the first place?

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Ok Turner, my one big question, is it only compatible with Systema mags? I understand that the way the gun operates, when you insert a new Systema mag you must press the bolt release before it will cycle again and that when a Systema mag is empty, it will stop cycling. I am assuming that with other mags neither of these things will be required, but with other mags even work in the first place?

 

The Systema style mags have a tab on the back that when the magazine is empty, that tab presses the bolt catch up and dis-engages the white switch you see sticking out of the front of the gearbox. You have to use a Systema style magazine though due to the proprietary hop-up but there are more and more companies now who make Systema style magazines.

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Magpul PTS PMAGs have fed flawlessly in my PTW so far- on par with the Systema magazines. Also, these mags are getting less costly and more plentifully available in the second-hand market.

 

One thing I dont think Turner mentioned is the fuse on this platform, which is actually a 35amp automotive fuse... And somehow, the previous owner of Beastmug's PTW managed to blow that fuse! Luckily they are very cheap to replace if this ever were to occur.

 

One thing I would like to add to Turner's review that I've taken from my PTW:

 

-The mags are a pain in the ass to load, they use this "speed" loading tube like you would find with a springer gun. Getting an $8 adapter for a standard TM style speed loader is essential

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I thought I might as well chime in. I have had my PTW since '09 & here are my thoughts (might add more later):

 

-Trigger: One of the, if not the best triggers I've ever used in a weapon. It has a very, very light trigger pull and only needs to travel a very small distance to fire. This is great in CQB as you can fire a good amount of rounds down range in quick succession.

-MAG brand midcaps: Mine did not fit what so ever. Granted this was back in 2009. The ones I got were slightly to tall which caused the magazine to not be able to get locked into place into the mag well by the magazine catch. I've had zero problems with Systema brand magazines.

- MOSFET:(I remember reading this somewhere) If you have your rifle in the Full Auto setting & pull the trigger for a burst, it will always fire a 3rd burst. Not a 2rd or 4rd, it will shoot a 3rd burst.

- Warranty: if you buy a brand new rifle that was factory assembled & imported from Zshot, they give you a 5 year warranty. Unfortunately, Zshot is having a hard time right now due to customs. Also, the ECU is not covered by the warranty, which I found out the hard way.

- Not sure why, but it feels real. I can't really describe it. It just doesn't feel like an AEG.

 

Also, if you have a factory built PTW (has the Systema logo on the lower) then you might find this interesting regarding your serial number. For example mine is something like 4837810. 4 is the model number, the M4. 8 is the year it was manufacturer (2008), or at least the lower receiver. 378 means mine is the 378th gun produced in the month. 10 = month. So it is Model Number/Year Manufactured/ Batch Number/ Month Manufactured.

 

Cons:

The motor is well known for being one of the problems of the PTW.

The ECU is somewhat delicate. I think my rifle must have gotten wet or something, as my ECU is failing to work properly. When going from Semi Auto to Full Auto it works fine. However, going from FA to SA causes the rifle to act as if it is on safe. The only way to fix this is to go from FA/SA to Safe and then back to whatever you want . Not sure how much it is going to cost.

 

 

Nice review.

Edited by Burchell
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Great review Rob.

 

I want to add a few things as well.

  • I am touching further than 200ft with a 9in barrel, without my hopup adjusted all the way (by all the way, I mean at all). This is also with the Blue Cylinder.
  • Trigger is super sensitive, which is just how I like it.
  • I have 4 Magpul PTS mags for the gun, and I personally think they feed better in the weapon than the Systema.
  • I also have 5 Saber mags, but have not tested them whatsoever.
  • I love the feel. I am rather sure that the Systema PTW's are actual steel, rather than the aluminum most AEG's are made of.

My one complaint thus far lies in the bolt catch release pin. I had to purchase one (My weapon did not come with one), and the damn thing doesn't fit snug. So I will have to work it a bit. And if that pins goes, your gun stops functioning entirely. After each mag load, you must hit the bolt catch release just like the function of a real AR, and with no pin, the computer does not reset..... So PTW owners, keep an eye on that pin!

 

Eye candy will come soon, I am waiting on 2 parts before I want to unveil it entirely.

 

Build Quality: 5/5

Upgradeabilty: 5/5 (cylinder swaps will be an amazing thing to be able to do, though parts for the weapon itself are somewhat annoying)

Accessories: 4/5 (Very specific accessories are needed)

Price: 4/5 (The gun itself is worth the money paid, I just wish everything else for it wasn't as high as it is.)

Overall: 4.5/5

 

And just like Rob said, the very first words out of my mouth were, "I've played this damn sport for this long, why the hell did I never get one of these?!?!"

 

Jeff

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Added in a disassembly of the cylinder head as well as the hop-up unit.

 

Also noticed that my gold cylinder wasn't running an O-ring on the cylinder head and very well could have been suffering from some compression loss between it missing and the overly used O-ring for the air nozzle. I am planning to get some new ones and will be interested to see how it affect the performance.

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