Hi Jimmy,
You are on the right track thinking about using a larger plenum. In a recent experiment I put an 11mm plenum spacer ring in my Wildcat and adjusted the hammer spring tension as I shot over the chrono while aiming at 50 yard target....then pulled it back apart and put my 15mm ring in and repeated the process. Results? I got the velocity I wanted at much less hammer spring tension, the numbers over the chrono were much more consistent and lots of "duplicates", and the accuracy was considerably better. So go get some real thin tubing and cut a piece so that it will push your reg as far forward as possible - but not far enough to block the breath hole with the rear o-ring. I think if I remember you can go 13mm but don't quote me on that. You will appreciate the results.
As far as an externally adjustable regulator? It would be nice but once you get your gun set up the way you want it, you're probably going to leave it that way and never change it again...As for the Robert Lane reg? I am laughing out loud right now... I am laughing because every time I emailed Bob about some little problem he went ballistic...
so I naturally had to think up some problems to tease him with. He would probably like to strangle me...I told his wife to go out and buy him a big prickly cactus for Christmas and bill me for it! I should actually put it up for sale or give it to someone I don't like very much? If you would like to have it to play with let me know and I will send it to you along with the bottle brush...
With the Lancet MK8 in my Wildcat I got a
real loud ping with each shot! So I watched a video on how to cure that and put a bottle brush inside my airtube to break up the sound wave, and it worked perfect! No more ping! But the numbers were not as tight as I wanted...in a head to head comparison between the RL reg and the Huma, the Huma reg wins hands down as far as I am concerned. When I first convinced Huub to make me a reg for my Wildcat I ordered the RL at the same time and figured I would try both and use the one I liked best. I put the RL in first and used it a while until I got the Huma...and the Huma is everything I hoped for. I haven't given the RL reg a second thought until tonight.
A little advice? If your accuracy ever gets weird on you, shoot your gun over your chrono to see what's up...don't assume your having a scope not holding zero problem. Your OEM reg may begin fluctuating up & down badly someday...and that will be the point where you replace it with a Huma and be very glad you did. Bye the way, I found out what causes them to fail - the stack of Belleville washers needs to be contained in a tunnel that is only slightly bigger than the washers to prevent them from drifting out of place...otherwise as they get worn on the edges over time one or more of them will slip slightly out of place and
Bingo you just got a different reg pressure! That reg works fine in the guns that it was designed for where it is inserted into a tunnel in the breech block so the Belleville washers can't get out of place. But instead of designing a new reg for our Wildcats they just took that same old reg and put it in a large sleeve to accommodate the larger diameter of the inside of our air tube. Just check it every now and then by shooting over your chrono and comparing the numbers with the ones you got the time before to keep it honest.
All the best, Chuck