Is a little moisture bad?

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So this morning I noticed it was very foggy so I decided to take my new P4P out and fly above the fog just like I did with my Mavic Pro. The Mavic did get wet on the wings and a little on the underbody but as long as I kept the camera down as I went through the fog no water got on it. The P4P did the same but I noticed that some of the wiring from the camera (black ribbon cable) got some water on it.I've heard that they spray it with a spray to make it resist water but have no idea if thats true. Of course I immediately dried it off but I'm curious if this is is going to be a problem as the photos and video I get up there are one of a kind.
 
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jUST BE CAREFUL.....A little moisture can start corrosion....Never spray any thing around the drone...some times too that a Once in a Life Time picture.....is Not worth the risks of damage to a High Dollar Drone....Please read your Dji warranty.....it forbids a drone flight in rain / fog moisture.....IF you damage the Dji drone and send it for warranty work...and they find out its from a flight in rain with moisture damage...You have no warranty for repair !

Your drone has several external openly exposed connections.....water or moisture in them leads to futures problems !

Please any ONE.....correct Me IF i have reposted wrong in any way shape or Form........Thank you.
 
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Flew mine once in fog. No problems since or during flight and fog was very dense. Guess I was lucky.
 
Flying in fog makes a double risk. Firstly you are flying in moisture which is never very good situation. Secondly you can't see anything nor from the ground nor on display, and this is an excellent situation for the accident.
I would avoid it for sure.

(Motorcycle-man) The value of things depends on many variables. If you got a better shot you could imagine, then for the pro-photographer the value of the drone might be of a very little importance comparing to the value of the photo. Of course this is not the case here for the hobby operators which I'm sure you had in mind.
 
But blind flying a High Dollar drone thru fog to get a once in a life time picture might be ok...that is if the cameras lens is not spoiled by moisture / fog by the time to finally get out of it !...Yes hobby operators is what i sure had in mine...thank you.
 
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However flying in a fog condition is kinda tee totally against the FAA visual rules of drone flights isn't it...when people break rules then laws are made...we droners sure don't need any more FAA rules / laws due to those that fly unlawfully ! especially beyond line of sight or in a fog to take a few pictures.( Big Sigh).... My goodness gracious Me !

Always Fly sensibly and legally and responsibly !
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
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That sort of moisture won’t be a problem at all for the electronics, it will simply dry out. Little if any residue will be left and the PCB’s are all coated anyway.
 
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So this morning I noticed it was very foggy so I decided to take my new P4P out and fly above the fog just like I did with my Mavic Pro. The Mavic did get wet on the wings and a little on the underbody but as long as I kept the camera down as I went through the fog no water got on it. The P4P did the same but I noticed that some of the wiring from the camera (black ribbon cable) got some water on it.I've heard that they spray it with a spray to make it resist water but have no idea if thats true. Of course I immediately dried it off but I'm curious if this is is going to be a problem as the photos and video I get up there are one of a kind.

We now make the Wet Suits for the Mavic and the Phantom 4 , this will allow you to push the envelope on flying in the rain and fog.
We have some amazing footage on phantomrain.org

Screen Shot 2019-01-08 at 8.59.18 AM.png


Screen Shot 2019-01-08 at 8.35.53 AM.png

Now the Mavic is ready for extreme flying, battery seal: Prop seal: vent closures and great design.
Screen Shot 2019-01-08 at 8.38.54 AM.png


Screen Shot 2019-01-08 at 8.53.40 AM.png
 
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We now make the Wet Suits for the Mavic and the Phantom 4 , this will allow you to push the envelope on flying in the rain and fog.
We have some amazing footage on phantomrain.org

View attachment 107157

View attachment 107154
Now the Mavic is ready for extreme flying, battery seal: Prop seal: vent closures and great design.
View attachment 107155

View attachment 107156
What happens with the vents at the front? Surely this is one if not the most significant point of ingress??
 
What happens with the vents at the front? Surely this is one if not the most significant point of ingress??

You might think that, but you would be wrong, the battery is the weakest link, you have the Power button on top and the seams in the battery housing , so we sealed that up using the exact same concept from the Phantom Rain Wet Suit and we sealed the Power Battery button with an acrylic cover , worked like a charm.

The front vents we doubled the walls, inside and out , you just cannot see it. , so the vents do a great job of keeping the water out as do the prop covers . .

We have been watching the Mavic forum for some time seeing what the issues were with the Mavics and the New Mavic Wet Suits solved some of the biggest issues and the Compression cones we made to seal up the drone work extremely well and fold into the open vents when the legs are closed.

Engineering marvel. lol
So if the water were to get past the first vent it will not get past the secondary vent inside as it was designed to be much narrower but without blocking air flow.

Screen Shot 2019-01-08 at 3.01.09 PM.png



Phantomrain.org
approved vendor
 
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We now make the Wet Suits for the Mavic and the Phantom 4 , this will allow you to push the envelope on flying in the rain and fog.
We have some amazing footage on phantomrain.org

View attachment 107157

View attachment 107154
Now the Mavic is ready for extreme flying, battery seal: Prop seal: vent closures and great design.
View attachment 107155

View attachment 107156
There is no way that this will reduce the amount of moisture from the air! And again, DJI would not replace a wet drone that was "Protected" by your snake oil products.
I thought this forum was to provide the best advice to questions asked. Clearly yours isn't!
 
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In the US, the FAA requires 3 statute miles of visibility for drone flights under the part 107. Also, you must fly 500 ft below clouds and 2000 feet horizontally away from clouds. Idk if fog counts as a cloud per-se, but I’d have to look it up.
 
I was in Florida over the Holiday. I flew out over the Gulf from Hudson, FL about a quarter mile. Since it is Florida, a freak rain shower is never out of the question. I was minding my own business taking pictures of wakes, and then WHAM!! INSTANT DOWNPOUR. So i flip in S-mode and come in on the telemetry full tilt at about 100ft AGL. Surely, I was expecting to watch her drop on her 1600ft journey inland, but it came in flawlessy, and i used a small dehumidifier in a closet to dry it out that night. Its still kicking, and I really doubt that Ill see an issue. Im not planning on doing it again, but these suckers are stout.
 
I was in Florida over the Holiday. I flew out over the Gulf from Hudson, FL about a quarter mile. Since it is Florida, a freak rain shower is never out of the question. I was minding my own business taking pictures of wakes, and then WHAM!! INSTANT DOWNPOUR. So i flip in S-mode and come in on the telemetry full tilt at about 100ft AGL. Surely, I was expecting to watch her drop on her 1600ft journey inland, but it came in flawlessy, and i used a small dehumidifier in a closet to dry it out that night. Its still kicking, and I really doubt that Ill see an issue. Im not planning on doing it again, but these suckers are stout.

I do agree they made a good attempt at making it weather resistant , however the battery cover takes in water quickly and water get inside the drone in some places.

The Wet Suit takes the weather proofing to the next level and when you open up the battery and see there is no water inside you feel even more secure on your next flight out.
 
You might think that, but you would be wrong, the battery is the weakest link, you have the Power button on top and the seams in the battery housing , so we sealed that up using the exact same concept from the Phantom Rain Wet Suit and we sealed the Power Battery button with an acrylic cover , worked like a charm.

The front vents we doubled the walls, inside and out , you just cannot see it. , so the vents do a great job of keeping the water out as do the prop covers . .

We have been watching the Mavic forum for some time seeing what the issues were with the Mavics and the New Mavic Wet Suits solved some of the biggest issues and the Compression cones we made to seal up the drone work extremely well and fold into the open vents when the legs are closed.

Engineering marvel. lol
So if the water were to get past the first vent it will not get past the secondary vent inside as it was designed to be much narrower but without blocking air flow.

View attachment 107163


Phantomrain.org
approved vendor
So if I have a phantom wet suit and my aircraft is damaged even with it on what happens?
 
I believe the main problem with flying in fog, mist, clouds is due to moisture being sucked into the craft. What happens is the components get hot, especially after flying for some time. The heated air inside the quad will naturally want to leave the craft via it's vents. Obviously if hot air is leaving the craft then air must replace it, so cold and moist air is sucked back into the craft. As most of us know the main vents are near the ESCs and they would be the main cause of heat. The components aren't protected in any way. Someone mentioned the PCBs are "coated" OK they may be, but not the components and not the solder joints on the PCBc.

All but my DJI quads are protected by Conformal Silicone Spray. I give every quad 2 sometimes 3 coats as soon as they arrive. I've actually run a protected ESC under "clean" water, without any problems. I've tried various electronics under water to demonstrate the spray and each of them are still working a few years later. Just one tip, I suggest spraying out in the open air or an extremely well ventilated room. The first time I used I sat down very quickly, it was that or collapse on the floor. The spray has the same effect as chloroform, a few wiffs and it's goodnight.

I picked up a large can from a communications specialist about 5 years ago and it's still about half full. The only quads I haven't treated are my DJI Phantoms and Mavic. Everything else is well covered. It's a shame that DJI wouldn't cover something protected in this way. It does no harm, not even if you have to remove components from a protected board. I've never found any problems arising from using the spray, except by breathing in the fumes of course. By the way, it's perfectly clear and you'd be hard pressed to even know a board has been sprayed.
 
I believe the main problem with flying in fog, mist, clouds is due to moisture being sucked into the craft. What happens is the components get hot, especially after flying for some time. The heated air inside the quad will naturally want to leave the craft via it's vents. Obviously if hot air is leaving the craft then air must replace it, so cold and moist air is sucked back into the craft. As most of us know the main vents are near the ESCs and they would be the main cause of heat. The components aren't protected in any way. Someone mentioned the PCBs are "coated" OK they may be, but not the components and not the solder joints on the PCBc.

All but my DJI quads are protected by Conformal Silicone Spray. I give every quad 2 sometimes 3 coats as soon as they arrive. I've actually run a protected ESC under "clean" water, without any problems. I've tried various electronics under water to demonstrate the spray and each of them are still working a few years later. Just one tip, I suggest spraying out in the open air or an extremely well ventilated room. The first time I used I sat down very quickly, it was that or collapse on the floor. The spray has the same effect as chloroform, a few wiffs and it's goodnight.

I picked up a large can from a communications specialist about 5 years ago and it's still about half full. The only quads I haven't treated are my DJI Phantoms and Mavic. Everything else is well covered. It's a shame that DJI wouldn't cover something protected in this way. It does no harm, not even if you have to remove components from a protected board. I've never found any problems arising from using the spray, except by breathing in the fumes of course. By the way, it's perfectly clear and you'd be hard pressed to even know a board has been sprayed.
No need to wait for condensation to do its work- forward motion and the fan will guarantee a nice dose of moist air finds its way in.

The boards, components and solder joints are all coated. No need for another layer. In any case fog is not a problem.
 
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I flew mine in pea soup plenty of times the only thing I do is leave it out in the house so it’ll dry out instead of sitting i the sealed storage thingy, signal doesn’t carry as far in fog either
 
You might think that, but you would be wrong, the battery is the weakest link, you have the Power button on top and the seams in the battery housing , so we sealed that up using the exact same concept from the Phantom Rain Wet Suit and we sealed the Power Battery button with an acrylic cover , worked like a charm.

The front vents we doubled the walls, inside and out , you just cannot see it. , so the vents do a great job of keeping the water out as do the prop covers . .

We have been watching the Mavic forum for some time seeing what the issues were with the Mavics and the New Mavic Wet Suits solved some of the biggest issues and the Compression cones we made to seal up the drone work extremely well and fold into the open vents when the legs are closed.

Engineering marvel. lol
So if the water were to get past the first vent it will not get past the secondary vent inside as it was designed to be much narrower but without blocking air flow.



Phantomrain.org
approved vendor
Perhaps I am wrong. Some proof would be nice.

Here is the thing- footage of a Mavic flying in the rain with the wetsuit fitted shouldn't impress anyone.. The mavic would fare just as well with no additional protection. Rain water has minimal dissolved solids so very low conductivity. The electronics will continue to operate.

Do a disassembly after a flight in rain and demonstrate water hasn't entered. You don't need a lot of water to trigger the moisture sensitive tape which is the first thing DJI will look at as a convenient starting point to argue about any warranty entitlement.

To be comfortable in using this product I expect most would also like a guarantee that the vent narrowing hasn't compromised the thermal performance. This is particularly important given phantom rain does not offer any form of additional warranty for issues that may arise in use of the product- including the ingress of water into the drone.
 

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