Neat product but not a lot of information online or parts available from Noveske.
Prior to purchasing, Noveske did say that that normal port was wide open and the gas regulation was based off the barrel port size. They did not disclose the size of the S port.
I figured that Noveske was a good manufacturer and I had good experiences with them in the past so I ponied up $200 for the 10.5” Carbine 5.56 SB. I also ordered a pin gauge set.
The plan was to use the SB on a 10.5” barrel (cut down 14.5/16’ carbine gas with 0.063-.070” gas port).
Upon receiving the SB and the pin gauge set, I went ahead and measured the S port to be 0.063". From reports I read about here, it seemed on the large side for a dedicated suppressed port.
I needed a 1/16” Starter punch (not a 1/16” regular punch) to take it apart. Their patent contains clear diagrams.
With the barrel I was planning to use, this SB was essentially only a barrel port/off switch. Decided to give modifying it a try since I was past the point of returning it. Basic idea was to do a BRT style port insert into the drum of the SB.
Still need to get it put back together then finish collecting parts/assemble the upper before I can test it. I expect to have to open up the new threaded S port some. May also open the old S port/new Normal port a bit. Ideally a BRT FSB port will fit. The 0.042" vented 8-32x1/8 screws are below flush with the drum..
Obviously, the markings on the SB body are now opposite of their actual function. Taping both ports or just the S port would retain correct markings. I went with the larger port because it was low risk. If it didn’t work out, it would not function any differently than how it came from the factory. If you have a properly ported barrel, taping just the S port may be the way to go.
Also shown is a non-Noveske sourced straight gas tube.
If doing it again, I would order a 16” Carbine 5.56 model to get the smallest port.
Requests/Suggestions for Noveske to improve an already good product:
Publish port sizes or answer when asked.
Sell the gas tubes separately. You used to and they can be obtained from other vendors. Selling the tubes would allow users to take the SB from one barrel set up to another.
Offer just the drums for sale: Could start by offering the current drums you make and let the users pick what the want. Even better would be to do an occasional run of custom drums or standard port size pairs, similar to the Govnah plates (ex: 0.070/.049, 0.073/.052). This would also fix the problem of an oversized barrel port or save people the hassle of having a long barrel cut down to set the size of the normal mode port. Another option would be to sell a drum with just pilot holes for users to open up as they desire, similar to the JP large frame version.
Since the SB is already exposed/not tucked under a hand guard, swapping drums/tuning could be an easy thing to do. Just remove the pin, swap drums, re-install pin.
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