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GATE ASTER Airsoft Drop-In Programmable MOSFET Module (Type: V3)

17 Customer Reviews

by Andrew P. on 05/22/2022
"So far, it has worked amazingly for me.
I have it in my LCT RPK and man it's great when you thrown on that 3 round burst, people call their hits with that. Once installed, it's really easy to use. The BLU Link works swimmingly in it and you can do all sorts of fun stuff:
Trigger
Telemetry
Temp
Magazine
even engine control which I have not tried yet
just to name a few

I ride my gun hard every week. I take care of it just as well. I did not personally install this, I took it to a shop, but they said it went in just fine. I figured it would work well for my purposes (to run an 11.1 Titan). I might make an updated review in like a year but taht is for the future.
Overall a sold 5/5 MOSFET, Hit it out of the park with this one.
by Austin R. on 04/22/2022
"This MOSFET is top tier for sure. It has a lot of customization and modes, and different levels of expertise. Super fast trigger response perfect for full-auto-like semi-automatic! Only problem is that you (kind of) have to buy the USB link in order to update the board. Still I’d say worth the money
by CT C. on 12/08/2021
"This thing made a monumental difference can't recommend enough.
by John B. on 09/12/2021
"Great option to replace a standard trigger if you know what you are doing. Some installs will require some material removal from the gear box shell with a dremel. The trigger sensitivity adjustment is amazing, but the optical trigger can cause some issues. I ran into some problems with "too much external light" on really bright sunny days. This is possibly remedied with electrical tape over some holes in the gear box. The Gate phone app is pretty easy to use, but the initial set up was a little confusing.
by Zack D. on 05/17/2021
"Great mosfet! I personally prefer the Aster over the Titan. I like the 1 sided board over the enclosed style that the Titan has. Yes I have installed both many times and do like the Titan, but to save some money and have nearly all the same features, the Aster is the way to go. You can upgrade the firmware to advanced (I use advanced on all my Aster builds) and expert. There are many customizable modes you can program into this mosfet via the Gate control station on pc with the use of the Gate USB link, or the Gate Blu-link to use with the app on your phone. You can still use the safety lever inside the gearbox, but I prefer to leave it out, since the advanced download lets you program a firing mode on safety! I usually run semi fire on safe, binary fire (pull the trigger and it shoots, release the trigger and it shoots) on semi, and burst fire on auto. You can choose the amount of burst on the advanced mode, whereas the stock firmware only allows 3/5 rd burst, still cool though. You can adjust trigger sensitivity and pre-cocking which give you the ability of a hairpin trigger. I also recommend purchasing the Gate Quantum trigger, which was designed for the Aster. I have one installed on my Krytac SDP, and the semi and binary modes are insanely fast. This unit does work with the Maxx triggers as well, but for the most part any trigger you use besides the Gate Quantum trigger, will need to be dremeled down on the inner top section, as it rubs on the wiring harness. Over time this can create a hole in the heatshrink on the wires, and eventually strip the wires. Buy it. I run both the front and rear wired version. Just a side note, the front wired version has connectors that attach the positive and negative wires to the deans connector. This is a major help especially when installing the wires into the handguard of an m4/mp5 and the space is small, requiring you to cut the deans connector off, pull the wires through, and re solder. This design avoids that scenario. The rear wired version does not have this feature because it is not necessary. P.S. make sure you use black electrical tape to cover all the exposed holes on the gearbox, the Aster is very sensitive to light. I do this with all my Aster builds as sometimes the light can mess with the shooting modes.
by Mona K. on 04/01/2021
"The Gate Aster is a great mosfet for the price. I have many good things to say about it but only a few negative that are easily fixable.

During installation it was easy and straight forward and I only had a few problems. One of the problems is that G&G triggers with the metal tab screwed onto the trigger interferes with the optical sensor and must be removed which fixes the problem. You will also need to sand the little tab off of the top side of the shell as a sticker will need to go there. Some of the holes in the gearbox will also need to be covered up (i used electrical tape) because this will let light into the gearbox and affect the optical sensors. Other than that I have no problems with installation.

As for performance, it works great and comes with many great features that can all be programmed with pulls of the trigger. Only problem I have is that my M4 will randomly fire on its own once in a while. As for my ARP9 I have had absolutely no problems.
by Washington T. on 12/18/2020
"I have installed about 15 of these Gate Aster Mosfet without any issues.

It's a very easy installation. Here are the key features that I like most of about it.

1. I can retain the Safety Selector Switch
2. It's the same type of installation as the Gate Titan without the top Trigger board. (Dremel work on gearbox is not necessary)
3. I can do a hair trigger mod in many variation.
4. It works on SSG at 30 RPS and DSG at up to 50 RPS that I have built.
5. For the price point, I still have the ability of the GCS App on my Android phone & PC
6. Super long length wires for easy customization and soldering
7. Motor Connectors are pretty decent
by Billy B. on 11/28/2020
"Melted down a trigger in my AEG, ordered the Aster because the Titan was completely out of stock everywhere due to COVID. Read all the reviews took the plunge anyway.

1. Easy enough to install. Need to do some tinkering to get all the stickers perfectly lined up.
2. As written in other reviews, you really need to buy the USB link to really get it tuned in. I had the basic and was able to make it work, but the USB link brought it to life.
3. Gate has updated there software. Really easy to use.
4. The old firmware has some bugs still. Again order the USB link, you wont regret it.

Would I purchase it again??? Yes I would. For the price, even with the USB link, this trigger is great.

I did learn also, that if you down load the new software (for free) and pruchase the upgrade to either advanced or expert, Gate discounts the upgrade.
by C.J. G. on 03/04/2023
"Placed one of these in a customer’s build per his request. It’s an alright mosfet, does the job nicely with great trigger response. However, it is very finicky and is overly sensitive to motor heat. Wouldn’t buy one myself, the Perun or Titan is far better.
by Bradyn K. on 05/08/2022
"I bought this for my Cybergun Scar L. I am an amateur tech and thanks to a good YouTube tutorial, I was able to install it properly without breaking anything lol.
Installation wasn't too difficult, just as long as you read instructions and are careful. Only issue I have with the mosfet is that sometimes the trigger detection can be fickle, but I'm pretty sure that's an error on my part, so I'm going to re calibrate it. I also have this mosfet in another gun of mine and it works flawlessly in that one. Great mosfet I'd say it's a good investment.
by Austin L. on 08/28/2021
"Extremely easy for any amateur techs to do as long as you have some basic machining tool (dremel mainly). As expected, I needed to do a little bit of routing on the gearbox to allow it to sit flush, but that is also described in the instructions so I did it even before my unit arrived. Installation and setup were super easy, the only issue I had was with routing the wires. The wires are thin, but super stiff, so they are harder to mold around the gearbox, especially the area where the motor pinion comes in.
by William K. on 12/24/2020
"Easy installation, works great. I also purchased the link. Highly recommend. I dont care for the extra cost to purchase the upgrades.
by Craig Jr E. on 01/30/2020
"The good stuff:

Really happy with this thing's performance. The pre-cocking and cycle detection features are fantastic, and I love the added security of cell protection.

My application:
12:1 gears, 14TPA HS motor, M120 spring, 7.4v 30-40c 1200mAh LiPO.

Doesn't struggle with a 7.4v battery at all despite me having heard they're best used with 11.1v's.

Most of the "daily driver" functions can be programmed via trigger, but to refine them, you must use the USB-Link.

The mosfet is VERY good at detecting problems. I think mosfets like these are the next HUGE evolution of airsoft (especially once the Blu-Link comes out), and I've been teching airsoft guns since you either bought a Tokyo Marui AEG or you bought complete garbage. It feels absolutely insane to plug an airsoft gun into your computer or smartphone to change the gun's "settings".


THE BAD STUFF:

The upgrades to Advanced and Expert firmware are for absolute niche cases (such as very highly-tuned DSG builds and strict MILSIM builds), NOT the layman airsofter. GATE doesn't advertise these prices because they're incredibly high for what they are. For the Aster, Advanced is $35, Expert is $55. Expert is for "high-tuned" guns and Basic/Advanced are for "mid-tuned" guns. EXPERT EDITION FIRMWARE CAN'T BE EDITED OVER USB AT THE TIME OF THIS WRITING BTW! They haven't released a version of GCS which can even DO that yet! GATE also does not come remotely close to saying what the difference between "mid-tuned" and "high-tuned" means, and for that matter, does not offer adequate explanation as to what most of the features even do. For example, pre-cocking is a pretty simple concept. When you activate pre-cocking via trigger, it doesn't ACTUALLY activate pre-cocking - it enables pre-cocking "manual mode", which you have to edit in the firmware via USB, as it can't be done by trigger. There is NO OPTION FOR AUTOMATIC PRE-COCKING, DESPITE THEIR ADVERTISING. Then, once you're editing it, manual mode leads you to options for 25ms to 75ms. The ONLY way to figure out which of these you need is to try from the highest number and move down until your gun only fires one round per trigger pull. 50ms on my M4 provided a two-round burst, so I set it to 25ms, which seems to be working. The piston sits about 70-80% back on this setting, but this may vary per gearbox setup.

I am not including the firmware upgrade shennanigans in my rating for the MOSFET because that does not have an impact on the MOSFET as a physical device (arguably). This is, rather, a complaint about how GATE has decided to manage their firmware options. It makes their entire product catalogue look incredibly young for how long their products have been on the market, which doesn't inspire confidence at all. I am hoping they figure this stuff out in the future, because the platform is FANTASTIC, but the software support is just... not mature enough to justify supporting their Gen 4 programmable product line wholeheartedly.


Conclusion:

3.8/5 because:

-Selector plate sticker is weird to install on non-standard V2 selector plates, such as SCAR selector plates.
-Gearbox interior sticker to detect trigger movement requires grinding down the trigger sled retaining rail for best results.
-These come with OLD firmware, and they NEED TO BE UPDATED (the original firmware allegedly has a problem where it can over-amp the motor, which will either melt the wire sheathing or fry the MOSFET controller). However, this update requires the $30 USB-Link adapter.
-NOT compatible with GATE Programming Card.

A WARFET would probably be a better pick until they get firmware stuff this smoothed out. Easier to install, doesn't require modifying the gearbox and putting stickers on it, and it includes most of the basic features of the Aster - AND it comes with the Programming Card.
by Maxwell M. on 12/08/2019
"Unit worked perfect. Give me great trigger response, all the settings worked out perfectly. Installation was easy. But the Dean's connection retainer spring snapped in half, and wires somehow got shredded or melted or something inside the grip, as they were in half, motor connections were fragile to start as all normally are. After all this I tried to resolder with wire I purchased from Gate and unit would not work at all for some reason. I got mine from the first batch the had available before they set it up for preorder. Might have been a big factor in why mine was so screwy. Giving it the benefit of the doubt.

Pros:
Great trigger response
Sensors worked perfect
Functions worked perfect
Installation was super easy

Cons:
Wires basically blew up
Dean's retainer spring snapped
Fragile motor connections
4 stars due to wires and such

Overall the unit was perfect, but my luck has never been great with new things. My guess is the unit was a test model which is why it wasn't 100% perfect. But I would definitely buy another as it was amazing before any issues and I'm sure the final release models are way better.
by Maxwell M. on 12/08/2019
"Unit worked perfect. Give me great trigger response, all the settings worked out perfectly. Installation was easy. But the Dean's connection retainer spring snapped in half, and wires somehow got shredded or melted or something inside the grip, as they were in half, motor connections were fragile to start as all normally are. After all this I tried to resolder with wire I purchased from Gate and unit would not work at all for some reason. I got mine from the first batch the had available before they set it up for preorder. Might have been a big factor in why mine was so screwy. Giving it the benefit of the doubt.

Pros:
Great trigger response
Sensors worked perfect
Functions worked perfect
Installation was super easy

Cons:
Wires basically blew up
Dean's retainer spring snapped
Fragile motor connections
4 stars due to wires and such

Overall the unit was perfect, but my luck has never been great with new things. My guess is the unit was a test model which is why it wasn't 100% perfect. But I would definitely buy another as it was amazing before any issues and I'm sure the final release models are way better.