Waterproofing with Corrosion-X / where is the barometer?

[tlr]

I've read a bit about waterproofing RC vehicles with Corrosion-X. I don't intend to land in water, but just in case, I'd like to waterproof my Phantom as much as possible.

People on other forums have said you can literally submerse almost every component (motors, ESCs, radio, etc) into Corrosion-X since it doesn't conduct electricity. The only component I worry about about messing up is the barometric sensor, for somewhat obvious reasons. It is inside the Naza, correct?

Are there any other components I should avoid?

Thanks.

 

[tlr]

Uh oh. I went ahead and submersed everything except the Naza in Corrosion-X, at least I thought I avoided the Naza but some might have gotten on it. Now the Phantom doesn't maintain altitude very well

I've only tried ATTI mode since I'm indoors, but sometimes it hovers for awhile then either suddenly tries to increase altitude or drop rapidly. I can counteract it with throttle but it's very erratic.

The barometer is definitely inside the Naza, correct? Are there holes somewhere to let the pressure equalize inside the Naza? Should I attempt to disassemble it and clean it?

That was dumb.

 

[tlr]

Ok, I disassembled the Naza, thoroughly wiped it down, and it appears to be back to normal. I guess some Corrosion-X formed a seal in the Naza case or something. I'm surprised there's no vent holes or anything.

Glad I didn't need to buy another $260 Naza. Of course since everything except the Naza is waterproofed now, if it does crash in the water I will have to buy another Naza-M V2, which is about half the cost of a Phantom (w/o controller+battery)...

But yeah, Corrosion-X appears to be fine on everything (motors, ESCs, PMU, receiver, GPS) except for the Naza. I'd recommend removing the Naza entirely before dunking the rest of the electronics in Corrosion-X.

 

[SilentAV8R]

Corrosion X is great stuff. I used to race electric boat (RC). We would use Corrosion X on the motors, ESC, batteries, servos, receivers, etc. worked great as a preventative and also after a dunking. I used canned air to blow all the excess water out, then give it a good spritzing with the Corrosion X and you are good to go.!!

 

[ElGuano]

To answer the question you already know, yes, the barometer is inside the Naza module. It has a black walled shield in newer models, and isn't shielded in older V1s.

 

[Ejazzle]

how is the corrosion x holding out? I fly over the ocean a lot and am thinking about spraying down basically the entire phantom and gimbal.

 

[Ejazzle]

How hard is it to disassemble the NAZA? Mine is not holding altitude now either. I am not very savvy when it comes to circuit boards and stuff like this.

 

[FASTFJR]

Corrosion X is great stuff. I use it all over my current Boston Whaler 28 and older boats I've had. Pull the engine covers and spray everywhere. Never tried it on my Phantoms

 

[J.James]

if it does crash in the water I will have to buy another Naza-M V2

I cant see any reason why that would be much of an issue if the naza gets wet. Its one of the least likely things to have water cause any shorts or fry any thing in it. just rinse it all out good or submerge it in some dry gas which is anhydrous alcohol that contains no water and will flush out any water or dirt that's in it and it dont conduct electric shake it out and then pop it in a oven set to be about 125f degrees for about and hour to force the alc to boil off completely out of even the tinyist nilks an cranny's and not hot enough to damage any thing just make sure to turn your vet fan on so you dont get any fumes in the house. and then go flying and have fun.

 

[SanCap]

How hard is it to disassemble the NAZA? Mine is not holding altitude now either. I am not very savvy when it comes to circuit boards and stuff like this.

It has 4 tiny torx screws holding it together and opens up easy.

 

[ussvertigo]

tlr, you crack me up! Youre just like me, you ask a question if one thinks maybe this is not the right thing to do, then the next thing is "hell with waiting on an answer I'll take it apart now". Its folks like you that help us see what is beyond, now I'm gonna take mine apart just to see what it looks like! Actually, I have been down in fresh water 2 times, but with this latest event, seeing more V/H drift now. The Naza module was the only thing I did not use compressed air on, hope I lucked out, it will be apart by tonight. capg

 

[SanCap]

Here is what the inside looks like, this is a Naza V1 upgraded to V2. If you look hard enough you can see the version 2 enhancements This one splashed and sunk into salt water, it did not look like any water got inside but all the external pins had corrosion which I cleaned off but still have a black tint to them.

 

[J.James]

Here is what the inside looks like, this is a Naza V1 upgraded to V2. If you look hard enough you can see the version 2 enhancements This one splashed and sunk into salt water, it did not look like any water got inside but all the external pins had corrosion which I cleaned off but still have a black tint to them.

ah salt water sucks. esp if it spends any time in it and dont risned off with clean water quickly

There is a product called tarnex that takes corrosion off of brass and sterling silver really well. Its mostly meant as a silver dip cleaner but you could try useing that in a q tip to clean the black off. Then use some spray contact cleaner to clean them after.

 

[SanCap]

Here is what the inside looks like, this is a Naza V1 upgraded to V2. If you look hard enough you can see the version 2 enhancements This one splashed and sunk into salt water, it did not look like any water got inside but all the external pins had corrosion which I cleaned off but still have a black tint to them.

ah salt water sucks. esp if it spends any time in it and dont risned off with clean water quickly

There is a product called tarnex that takes corrosion off of brass and sterling silver really well. Its mostly meant as a silver dip cleaner but you could try useing that in a q tip to clean the black off. Then use some spray contact cleaner to clean them after.

Thanks, I will try that. I have sprayed a little WD-40 on a tooth brush and did clean it up a bit. The brasso sound promising. Even if I do get it clean it would be a risk to try to plug it into any known good items. Then have 4 ESC's burned up.

 

[Ejazzle]

Now that I've got the naza off the board and cleaned off. What should I use to stick it back on? That sticky tape on the bottom wasnt sticky anymore.

 

[SanCap]

3M has a red double sided sticky tape usually found in the auto department at Walmart. It sticks well and can be removed when needed.

 

[J.James]

Just so happened to come by a spare phantom vision naza 2 controller that may or may not be shot. But I cant find any hole in it at all for the barometer. But in this case it might be a good thing because it came out of a P2V that some one gave me so I could salvage the top shell to replace my cracked and scathed shell. But it also still had all the internals except for 3 of the 4 motors and the landing skids and compass. But I see it must of took a salt water swim lesson and flunked out. Because most every bit of exposed metal was WAY corroded. a lot of the solder joints were white and very hard to solderer all the soldered wires on the board.
and out side of 2 escs that were still clean and work. Im hoping the naza MAY still be ok the pins that had plugs plugged in to were not to corroded. The other that were bare were but cleaned them up. and hoping no salt water got inside it.

 

[ussvertigo]

When you open the naza, you should see a small component (approx. 1/4") with two holes on top on the circuit board. After my last water crash my P2 had more drift than before on alt. so I opened the naza and used cotton tip with light amount of alcohol to brush across top several times. I was afraid of using compressed air so I just blew on it. I also replaced one of the esc boards because the led lights had quit. Now it holds alt. fine but don't know which fix was responsible. If I were to attempt water proofing, I would remove the naza unit first.

 

[dropdeaderik]

Has anyone ever poster a video on how to apply corrosion X onto a Phantom?