Water Proof Conversion

[SanCap]

We went to Cayo Costa Island for an overnight trip with our friends with a total of 3 boats. Of course I had to fly the quad asap. Things went well for the first 5 minutes, I had the go pro set to take a photo every 2 seconds. I got at least a couple of hundred really decent photos before I lost control of the copter and I don't know why. It crashed at the waters edge on the inside of the bay (stern of the boats) and continued to run upside down! I was amazed that the motors were still running. I flushed the motors with fresh water and started them again a while later and they seem to be fine. It was very exciting while we were watching my copter doing what IT wanted to do! I do have some ideas on what I need to do to correct this issue.

 

[Ksc]

this might have been answered already, but can you only run in ATT or can you still put the gps in it?

 

[SanCap]

this might have been answered already, but can you only run in ATT or can you still put the gps in it?

The gps is in it and shows (led light from original DJI Phantom) that is connected to all sats. As people have said in this thread the compass needs to be further away from the motors and the receiver antenna needs to be outside the Dex shell. This is an experiment and I will learn as I go. It sure is fun!

 

[Ksc]

is it possible to put landing gear on it? Dex doesn't look like they have a water proof model with landing gear. Obviously if you had landing gear, your compass issue would be fixed.

 

[kenskid]

LOL...looking at this "chop top" gave me an idea. After going through the hell of unscrewing six million screws to get into the guts of my Phantom, I'm going to work on a chop of my own on the stock shell. Something that I can secure but then just lift it off if I need to bind or change up some connections.

Thanks for the pic.

I'm curious as to how you get into the shell...

The top lid comes off. It will be sealed with a very thin oring with nylon screws and nuts to keep it in place.

 

[GearLoose]

The landing gear on a QuadH20 is normally bolted through the hull of the quad. A better solution, suggested by a QH20 owner, is to use Scotch Dual Lock (like super Velcro) to attach the landing gear. That is what I have done and it works great, reducing the risk of breaking the hull in a hard landing.

Actually, I had a very hard landing -- really a vertical crash -- and broke the carbon fiber landing gear. To repair it, I shaped a piece of thin aluminum bar stock (from Ace Hardware) to match the curves of the landing gear, then glued the aluminum to the carbon fiber. Works just fine.

In the process of making this repair I realized that I could replace the entire carbon fiber strut with aluminum stock, which is very light yet also quite strong, with a nice springiness.

The same could easily be done for the Hex -- I cut a curved jig out of a piece of thick wood, then hammered the aluminum into shape. Use Dual Lock to attach it and you have removable landing gear.

is it possible to put landing gear on it? Dex doesn't look like they have a water proof model with landing gear. Obviously if you had landing gear, your compass issue would be fixed.

 

[SanCap]

I think I figured out what happened. I swapped the compass from another phantom and my problem went away. It appears that I did not have the compass sealed properly.

 

[dkr77573]

If your compass is still too close to the motor, it could cause a problem that a calibration alone can't fix. I don't know if you've seen this video or not...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo7Kf3uo93I

 

[dkr77573]

I was wondering the same thing. Is it possible to mount landing gear that's not buoyant and have it mounted in such a way that the craft will right itself in water? You can then extend the compass lead outside the craft and seal the exit with sealant. You can seal the compass and lead too, similar to how the DieHardRC guys sealed their external antennas.

is it possible to put landing gear on it? Dex doesn't look like they have a water proof model with landing gear. Obviously if you had landing gear, your compass issue would be fixed.

[/quote]

 

[SanCap]

I have started to install a landing gear system so I can mount the antenna and compass as DJI did. I will post a pic of it tomorrow. Till then here is another photo of our spot on the Island.

Jim

 

[JustJames]

Looks like you haven't posted in awhile but what a cool idea. I would love to do this build with a phantom. My goal is to have a water set up and a land setup.

Did you finally get this all sorted out?

JJ