Waterproofing Drone

happygoblin · Post by **happygoblin** » 30 Jul 2012, 02:03

Anyone any ideas/opinions on waterproofing Drone circuit boards ?

It looks like the motor boards are covered in some type of varnish but i would rather not get them damp and loose them seeing as they are totally exposed to water from damp grass, tree's, bushes, puddles etc.

Being as im in the UK. summers pretty much over already, were back to English rain probably for the next 10 months.

You can send off your ipod/phone/pad and have "nano coating protection" made to it both externally and internally. Making it literally waterproof.
They dont (currently) "do" drones so has anyone come across a working alternative. ?
I've done plenty of googling and come across conformal coating. Anyone tried or had success with this ?
Or any other alternatives tried ?
Woud be handy for English weather and im sure handy for pond, sea, river accidents too if it could protect everything!!

Jhowemca · Post by **Jhowemca** » 30 Jul 2012, 05:06

It would be nice to have more protection from unexpected water landings. The drone 2.0 already has a water resistant coating on the ultrasound sensors, motor boards, nav board, and mother board. I don't feel comfortable landing on rain soaked grass, but I do land on dew covered grass with no negative effect. I know here in New England, the dew doesn't compare to Old England's rainy weather.
Good luck, hope you find something to keep you in the air for a longer season. Let us know how it goes.

natscape · Post by **natscape** » 30 Jul 2012, 06:02

Remember: Waterproof is different from Water resistant.

MaxFlyer · Post by **MaxFlyer** » 30 Jul 2012, 12:38

If you use the longer/wider cable ties ("zip ties") on your landing feet that will give you a much taller posture and maybe help keep your drone above wet grass.

Levitation Theory · Post by **Levitation Theory** » 06 Aug 2012, 20:00

Talked to a friend of mine a couple of days ago about this topic. He is an air plane mechanic for private jet. I asked what he would do to water proof circuit boards. He said he uses hi temp silacone and globbs it on incasing the board. He said that the key was to let the silacone totally cure for a couple of days before powering it up. I will be experimenting with this, and tell you how it goes.

quartelli · Post by **quartelli** » 08 Aug 2012, 00:03

OHHHH I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread as I live in Wales UK.

We had our summer for three days......In MAY

Drone Shop · Post by **Drone Shop** » 08 Aug 2012, 07:18

how much heat does a drone main and nav board produce?
id be thinking silicon may be too thick to allow the heat to dissipate, ideally it needs something oil based and applied in a thin layer.
quartelli soo true

gymo · Post by **gymo** » 08 Aug 2012, 09:33

They do generate heat but i find that it only shows after ive left the drone on for quite a while, drone 2.0 seems cooler though.

I've flown mine countless times in the pouring rain without any mods (i wont let British summer beat me)
Drone 1 couldn't land in any liquid as it killed it instantly, as long as it was fresh water giving it a shake and letting it sit for 20mins and i was flying again.

Drone 2.0 performs exceptionally it the rain
the motor boards are coated in a varnish type material and the navigation board (ultrasound part) is coated by P2i.com. the main board is not coated so i make sure the bottom plate is sealed.

thats not me endorsing the use of it in water, but it does look cool flipping to shake off the excess water. and the water bouncing off the blades in a downpour looks awesome.

Nigel

Fozza · Post by **Fozza** » 08 Aug 2012, 10:11

gymo wrote: but it does look cool flipping to shake off the excess water. and the water bouncing off the blades in a downpour looks awesome.

Nigel

Nutter! I'm in Nottingham. We have plenty of rain up here this year.
I wouldn't dream of flying in the rain, would love to see a video of you doing it though

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

gymo · Post by **gymo** » 08 Aug 2012, 10:16

its not the craziest thing ive tried

I've got a video somewhere, i'll dig it out an upload it.

biggest issue with flying in the rain is water on the phone screen. it starts registering strange commands (phone has a waterproof case)

BillyBag2 · Post by **BillyBag2** » 08 Aug 2012, 15:45

I think the ultrasonic sensors do not like the wet. You may need spares.

DBS · Post by **DBS** » 08 Aug 2012, 16:09

They don't like the wet... and they don't like the coating... tough fix

Fozza · Post by **Fozza** » 08 Aug 2012, 17:18

gymo wrote:its not the craziest thing ive tried

I've got a video somewhere, i'll dig it out an upload it.

biggest issue with flying in the rain is water on the phone screen. it starts registering strange commands (phone has a waterproof case)

Still waiting for the video

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

MaxFlyer · Post by **MaxFlyer** » 08 Aug 2012, 18:31

I know this is about flying in the rain, but if I had a lake or a pond nearby, I'd glue ping-pong balls to my landing cable ties!

Fozza · Post by **Fozza** » 08 Aug 2012, 20:06

MaxFlyer wrote:I know this is about flying in the rain, but if I had a lake or a pond nearby, I'd glue ping-pong balls to my landing cable ties!

Ha! As my 2.0 always crash lands upside down that would not help much.

Except for seeing where your expensive pooh stick has landed.

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