Contending with salty air.....

[Signal Tracer]

Hi Guys......

I exclusively fly over salt water and I seem to have a nagging question about doing this....Is there any sort of dialectric coating that's applied to the control boards on my P3A? And if there isn't, is there a product and procedure for doing so?
Tnx...
...Jim

 

[DPD]

Hi Guys......

I exclusively fly over salt water and I seem to have a nagging question about doing this....Is there any sort of dialectric coating that's applied to the control boards on my P3A? And if there isn't, is there a product and procedure for doing so?
Tnx...
...Jim

I know u can use dialectric grease on parts like battery terminals, but probably not a good idea to apply it all over everything...


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[Richard R]

Try just blowing some dry, clean (e.g. canned air) through the vents to flush out any 'vapors' and loose material. If you are really concerned, periodically open the shell and flush the electronic boards with contact cleaner (check Home Depot) , then blow them dry. I don't think it will dissolve salt, but is could help wash any deposited salt off.

 

[Darren Roach]

Tough one there as salt is one of the biggest killers of electrical circuitry

 

[Signal Tracer]

I remember seeing something in a Mil. Spec. spray that left a thick coating on electronic boards when applied. But this was during the analog era. It was formulated expressly for wet environments.

 

[Signal Tracer]

Spoke to their "tech support" today. They had no idea what I was talking about. All they could say was the cover of the unit protects the circuit boards. Well OK, it does do that however I was looking at moisture and salt protection for the circuit boards. Maybe by opening up the unit and identifying where the heat sinks are versus the actual circuitry I could apply a rated Mil. Spec. PCB coating (spray on) material. I've used these products on marine electronics with very good results but the P3A circuitry I am being a bit cautious about.
Any ideas?.....

 

[With The Birds]

Spoke to their "tech support" today. They had no idea what I was talking about. All they could say was the cover of the unit protects the circuit boards. Well OK, it does do that however I was looking at moisture and salt protection for the circuit boards. Maybe by opening up the unit and identifying where the heat sinks are versus the actual circuitry I could apply a rated Mil. Spec. PCB coating (spray on) material. I've used these products on marine electronics with very good results but the P3A circuitry I am being a bit cautious about.
Any ideas?.....

The boards are already coated. You will likely be ready for an upgrade before the salt kills your AC, I have done 100's if flights below 100ft directly over the ocean and beaches, including most flown early morning when you can taste the salt in the air.

 

[Signal Tracer]

The boards are already coated. You will likely be ready for an upgrade before the salt kills your AC, I have done 100's if flights below 100ft directly over the ocean and beaches, including most flown early morning when you can taste the salt in the air.

That's what I needed to hear! I'm mostly near bays and estuaries and enjoy morning flying as well. Sometimes, if the dew is heavy, the bird will come in moist but I haven't had any problems with that.
Thanx, and a hat tip....
...Jim

 

[rprieto]

The boards are already coated. You will likely be ready for an upgrade before the salt kills your AC, I have done 100's if flights below 100ft directly over the ocean and beaches, including most flown early morning when you can taste the salt in the air.

Hi,

I am a newbie in the forum and with drones for that matter.

I am a whale researcher and we just bought a P3S for two main applications: taking aerial photos of whales for animal measurements (photogrammetry) and to collect whale blows (also called whale snot). I have two worries: 1) that the whale blow will get into the electronics and slowly (or quickly) damage it; and 2) that the drone gets a dunk and dies.I've seen lot of videos and forum discussions and learned about coating electronics and using floating skids (either DIY or commercial).

I was actually planning to disassemble the drone and apply a dielectric coating (Nanoprotech). However, watching this video (

) I became suspicious there was already a coating:

P3S Coating

• rprieto
• Mar 27, 2017

P3S board showing coating. Still taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMfj8XBdwuw, by...

Long story short, I found this thread and comment by "With the birds" that confirmed my suspicions. after this long intro (sorry), the real questions:

1) do you think that this coating will withstand salty moisture from whale blows?
2) do you think that if the drone takes a dunk, it is safe to wash it with fresh water and then let it dry?
3) you mention that you fly a lot over water; do you use some flotation skids?

Looking forward to have your thoughts,

best
rui

 

[WetDog]

The problem with snot is several fold. One is the 'glop' effect that will put the disgusting goo on the gimbal and camera. The other is the goo getting into the bird itself. The gimbal will be difficult to clean. The innards can be protected a bit buy putting tape over the vent holes. I do that for my p3's that fly over water in Alaska. Not much overheating here. Ymmv.
Another issue is that if you misjudge and get blasted by goo then you stand a chance at losing the drone entirely due to air effects. You arent going to have much time to correct. And yet another issue is birds. I came within a few feet of playing chicken with a seagull last time I was out.
To answer your questions directly;
The coating is likely not to help much. Remember the camera is a delicate electromechanical device, not just a pub.

Yes, you can (and should) immediately flush a dunked drone in fresh water several times. Remove battery first. Then dry THOROUGHLY. Seems to help. Somewhat. Floats are going to be of limited utility. Unless the craft comes down under control in flat water it's going t
To get wet (see above).

 

[rprieto]

The problem with snot is several fold

thank you for your insightful reply WetDog. Have you been working with whale sample collection off Alaska?

The innards can be protected a bit buy putting tape over the vent holes

In the Azores I imagine that covering the vent holes during the summer wil not be a good idea, as air temperature can rise to the 80's. However it is a good advice and I can always make some controlled trials on land.

Floats are going to be of limited utility

Yes, I imagine that floats will not help much for landing on water but my idea was actually having the floats there to be able to recover the bird if it goes down. Water here tends to be pretty deep...

again, thank you for your response. It is most welcomed. Your suggestions will help a lot.

 

[happydays]

Not sure how you would collect whale snots apart from a covering on the shell itself?

To the OP - I fly regularly over sea water and never ever even gave it a thought. The air itself won't cause corrosion, only if the sea water actually gets inside - and how likely is that to happen?

 

[Signal Tracer]

Not sure how you would collect whale snots apart from a covering on the shell itself?

To the OP - I fly regularly over sea water and never ever even gave it a thought. The air itself won't cause corrosion, only if the sea water actually gets inside - and how likely is that to happen?

I fly in the early mornings. Dew and fog have been an issue on the OUTSIDE of my bird. This led me to thinking about how the boards were protected from moisture.

...Jim

 

[happydays]

I fly in the early mornings. Dew and fog have been an issue on the OUTSIDE of my bird. This led me to thinking about how the boards were protected from moisture.

...Jim

That's dew, not necessarily salt water. Taste it, that'll tell ya!

 

[Signal Tracer]

lol....I just got this visual of me standing alone in a field....licking the P3A!

 

[Coleza]

Yes, I imagine that floats will not help much for landing on water but ...

rprieto, actually we've demonstrated you can land on the ocean and in quite a range of conditions. Our WaterStrider is now on 6 continents including Antarctica and many of them for research aids. It turns out we find it easier to launch from the water than the deck or hand launching. And, it can be tricky timing the sighting of a whale with getting the drone on location so landing near an expected sighting location and waiting until the time is right has been helpful in capturing whale footage.

We love supporting our researchers so please feel free to email me directly for a researcher's discount code for $40 off.

Same for you in Alaska WetDog!

My email address is [email protected]