Just took my Phantom for a swim... HELP!!!

[have2fish]

Was trying to fly thru a gazebo out over a pond, it a board and flipped my phantom into the pond... HEEEEEELP!!!!

I am supposed to go to a wedding in 3 days, and was hoping to shoot some unique shots there... Am I screwed????

Lights were flashing when I finally got to it, an alarm was beeping and the battery smelled a bit burnt... It was underwater for about 30 seconds, I guess I will be able to tell exactly how long when I DL the video....

I immediately unplugged battery and am now home starting to take props off, case off and going to try to gently shake and then place infront of fan overnight? Any other thoughts????

Thanks...
have2fish...

 

[auck]

good start, but i would also recommend completely disassembling it and sticking it in bags of rice (or something else that "sucks" moisture). it s a good sign that the phantom was still giving you some kind of response. keep it in there a couple of days and then get yourself a new battery and plug it in. hopefully no electronic parts went bad. good luck

 

[GearLoose]

Welcome to the Phantom Swim Team.

I dunked mine yesterday so even though that doesn't make me an expert on Phantom first aid, I've read quite a number of forum posts on the subject, so here's what seems to be The Word:

Open up the Phantom's shell and pack it with rice, which will absorb a lot of moisture.
(I put mine out in the sun in a breezy location. No rice. It didn't dry out enough, so I opened it up.)

I'd also place a fan so that it blows air over the open Phantom, to help with evaporation.

Dispose of the battery (properly) rather than trusting it to survive.

Others will certainly chime in, but don't wait too long.

 

[Gizmo3000]

Do as others have suggested and let it dry out.
definitely ideal to open it up (2mm driver or allen wrench) and let it get a tan int he backyard as well.

I guess it depends on how long it was submerged, the battery *might * be ok (or useable for other stuff if it's still got a charge.).

I've read about a half dozen reports of Phantoms going swimming (even happened to amy coworker who has one).

On the positive side, you guys are probably not as screwed as you might fear. some Phantoms come completely back to life, tho others might need a few ESC's that need replacing, or a motor. But the NAZA and GPS seem to e less susceptible to water damage.

 

[Roadkilt]

Although I have no experience (yet!) with a submerged phantom, and being by the ocean that's even more fatal than freshwater, I have had moderate success with wet electronics this way: get the purest rubbing alcohol you can get and flood the electronics with it. Just like gas line antifreeze. It is a powerful solvent for water and pulls it out of every small gap without injuring the electronics. Then let it dry out in a warm well ventilated area like a windy sunny spot. The alcohol evaporates quickly with the water in it and leaves no residue.

 

[have2fish]

Thanks guys for the info and support.

I had a fan on it all nite, had it in the warm sun all afternoon, and when I fired it up without props, 3/4 motors seemed to work fin, the 4th just kinda pulsed but did not rotate.

It is with a friend of mine who builds lots of rc planes/quads now, I am hoping that the damage will be minimal... It already is much less than I would have expected... (I hope that I did not just jinx myself...)

 

[Perranman]

I have just joined the club, dunked my new toy in the sea in Cornwall. It was wobbling a bit and headed towards a cliff and then hit a prop and fell 1m into sea water. I rescued it and am now force drying it with a dehumidifier at full blast. I think I needed to recalibrate the IMU before taking it up again.
Well I have learned.
I hope it starts up again OK but I'll leave it overnight to dry out.
[EDIT] just tried turning it on and at least one motor is shorted out. I am pretty disappointed. I'll need to order new motors.

 

[auck]

I have just joined the club, dunked my new toy in the sea in Cornwall. It was wobbling a bit and headed towards a cliff and then hit a prop and fell 1m into sea water. I rescued it and am now force drying it with a dehumidifier at full blast. I think I needed to recalibrate the IMU before taking it up again.
Well I have learned.
I hope it starts up again OK but I'll leave it overnight to dry out.
[EDIT] just tried turning it on and at least one motor is shorted out. I am pretty disappointed. I'll need to order new motors.

i would double check to make sure the ESC is not the problem.

 

[Perranman]

Yes Auck it was the ESC - burned and nearly melted. I ordered spares from quadcopters.co.uk.
Any idea how to test the other 3?

I must say that apart from feeling a real prat and not very happy about the entire thing, the phantom is almost indefinitely reparable, its all so nice and modular.

 

[CameraGuy]

Mine went for a swim 3 weeks ago. I had a SCUBA diver fish it out of the fresh water lake, after about 10 days.

I took it apart, and it has been filled with rice in a plastic bag now for about 10 days. I tossed the battery. I have not had the courage to try and rebuild it. I won't until July as I am pretty busy.

My GoPro went down too, and not in it's waterproof housing either. I did the same with it. It now works, but the lens has trapped condensation in it, which I can't seem to fix. I even took the entire camera apart, but the lens is a sealed unit.

My condolences. Really sucks. I bought a new Phantom only, a new battery, gimbal and GoPro. The memory card still seems to work.

Search this forum, you'll see my pics after I had it fished out of the lake.

Hope things work out

Darren

 

[have2fish]

It looks like I friend one of the ESC boards...

Anyone have any website s(in California) they like to support? Need to order a new one

Thanks guys, and I will post updates when I rebuild..

 

[Audaciter]

It looks like I friend one of the ESC boards...

Anyone have any website s(in California) they like to support? Need to order a new one

Thanks guys, and I will post updates when I rebuild..

You can try Heli-World, located in San Jose, California. heli-world.com

 

[rapyd]

Well I guess I should post mine too. I was a little more dareing than most but I was having so much fun. I was at Lake Havasu Az. for 5 days, I was at the famous "Sand Bar", "Pirates Cove", "Copper Canyon" & the "London Channel" filming all the places where most of the "Girls Gone Wild" stuff was shot.

I was shooting a guy jumping from a 60' rock, the girl I was with recorded me flying on a cell phone so that what you will see. I uploaded it to YouTube in the canyon so excuse the crappy image. This was done on day 4 of all "Over Water" flights.

When the guy jumped, I came down very quickly, about 25' off the water I gave it full up, I could see that it was still falling at an alarming rate, I thought I was going to make it, well watch the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO0zE4wO ... v8FEieEJxA

Believe it or not, I was able to dry out the GoPro on the dash of the boat, all I had to replace is 1 ESC on the Phantom, the memory card lost the video that it was shooting

From now on, I will be carring a bag of rice

Dave
Bail Out Hobby

 

[BruceTS]

wow didn't expect that! nice splash down and lift off after.

 

[karatkij]

Waited a day of letting the P2V dry out , only two white prop motors work no Wi-Fi. Brand new P2V 2nd flight lost power with a good 3/4 charge on battery and came down in the swamp in central Florida to land in 3' of water. Is there anyone that can repair the P2V or is it gone to parts?

 

[Jermz]

Don't get in a hurry to fire it back up. Make sure it's good and dry. If it was still flashing lights it may be ok. The burned smell could be battery very likely. The motors will handle the water ok, it's mainly the electronics and battery to worry about.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MagiCmonD]

Fernando Trindade
Apr 11 05:58

Hello.

I recently bought an FC40 Phantom which I WAS using for helping me with my
business.

Sadly it went for a 35 seconds dive in fresh water. Even not being sea
water, I'm afraid I lost it.

It submerged two motors (unable to tell which two) and half the battery. It
stood by a wall at the margin until I was able to retrieve it. 35 seconds.

I immediately disconnected the battery when I reached into it but it was
probably fully discharged any way.

Went back home, disassembled the Phantom, dryed it out carefuly with paper
towels and a hair drier and put the battery to charge. The charge went
well. No problem whatsoever. Battery fully charged. 12.52V.

Hoping not to burn the electronics out I connected the battery while
filming it.
It lights up the 4 ESCs and it starts to beep and a red flashing the LED on
the receiver.
When I turn the Transmitter on, the LED stops flashing.
I hit the reset button on the receiver hoping it meant "pairing" and I
think it worked as the LED turned yellow first, then Red then turned off.

But the beeping continues.

Suddenly the LED on the back of the Phantom lit up.
Red Green Red.

The beep continued...
You can see the video here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0w0kiqihx2age ... 221248.mp4

What shall I do now?
This is my business now and I don't have enough money to buy another....
Can you help?

Thank you so much.
Fernando

 

[Ruprekt]

Unfortunately you can add my name to the list... Second day flying and took a dunk in a pond! A dunk was all it was though only about up to mid hull and I got it out. Trying to dry it right now but having a time getting the top hull half off! Any words of wisdom guys? Also there seems to be some clear red liquid on various parts of the drone. Some sort of sealant from DJI? Any place that services these things in and around Seattle? Thanks guys!

 

[pittsy]

Mine went into the pool and after 5 days sealed in my Pelican case with rice most components were working. I had to replace the GPS unit and 1 ESC and its been working great ever since.

 

[jryser]

Take the battery out IMMEDIATELY - and then dry it for three days with a fan blowing on it and let it go for three days more. Mine took a swim and only needed one engine replaced bc it had mud in it. Thorough drying and drying some more is the key!! I have two P3Ps and my swimmer is still my main bird.


Sent from my PT beating heart