Power Functions and water-your experiences

[z3_2drive]

I decided to make this topic because today I decided to take my mini rc chassis for a test run right after the rain had stopped. It was a big parking lot with lots of ways to test rc's. I drove it for a few minutes on the wet ground with puddles everywhere, and got plenty of drifts and donuts, eventually getting the car a bit wet. But then I lost signal and it drove straight into a big puddle a couple inches deep, and the car being small it got completely soaked , Components involved: RC buggy motor (submerged for a few seconds) Servo (splashed) receiver (lightly splashed as it is the highest part of the chassis) and the battery which got a little wet but I quickly wiped it down. It kept driving perfectly since brushed motors aren't affected by fresh rainwater, so I bashed it some more, drove into another large puddle, and eventually crashed and snapped one of the small hub's pins(the hub used with the small wishbones). I took the car apart and wiped everything off and set it to dry in the sun and after a few minutes everything was dry and still worked fine. I have had two other incidents with water, the first being a large car that lost signal and dunked into the pool but I quickly grabbed it so only half the car went in, after that the receiver(V1) stopped working. The second major one was last week when I decided to take my drift chassis out in the rain on my driveway, everything survived but for a few minutes it would steer under its own accord because water disperses the electrons and created signals of its own. If any of you have any knowledge or experiences of your own with lego and water feel free to share them!

Edited June 30, 2013 by z3_2drive

[DLuders]

In Hong Kong, Kwon SunnyKoomos recently discussed his experience with his Lego Power Functions M-motor getting wet:

Edited July 1, 2013 by DLuders

[Philo]

For accidental immersion, there is one big recommendation:

Remove immediately the batteries!

Then, dry things as much as you can, and let them dry thoroughly during a few days, possibly turning them from time to time to avoid any water accumulation.

Electrolysis can cause havoc very rapidly, hence the need to remove batteries. But water in itself generally cause no damage, just let it dry before applying power again.

[tibivi]

When I tested my rc boat, I dropped a battery box (AAA) in the pond

I couldn't reach it directly so we fished it up, It still works fine

Another time I was drifting in my street when it just had rained with the 8675 outdoor challenger(I putted an rc battery of 3000 mA instaid of the usual battery ), I drove into a puddle and I didn't saw my car anymore the puddle was deeper than I expected, the antenna alone was half above the water

I let it dry and cleaned it with, now it still works fine

Greets,

Tibivi

[DLuders]

To get them dry, people sometimes place their wet electronics in a bowl of rice. The moisture is soaked up by the dry rice grains and it's not messy.

[vmln8r]

I managed to completely soak a rechargeable battery box while testing out a stingray prototype; after some vigorous shaking and mildly-warm air from a hairdryer, it's still going some months later.

[z3_2drive]

  On 6/30/2013 at 8:51 PM, VMLN8R said:

I managed to completely soak a rechargeable battery box while testing out a stingray prototype; after some vigorous shaking and mildly-warm air from a hairdryer, it's still going some months later.

Everything is fine, the worst part is the mini heart-attack you get when it falls into the water

[750ACE]

"A big parking with lots of ways to test rc's" is kinda funny since ir outside totally sucks. Lol

[z3_2drive]

  On 6/30/2013 at 10:50 PM, 750ACE said:

"A big parking with lots of ways to test rc's" is kinda funny since ir outside totally sucks. Lol

More fun though :P and buggy motors are very loud

[sunnykoomos]

  On 6/30/2013 at 4:14 PM, DLuders said:

In Hong Kong, Kwon recently discussed his experience with his Lego Power Functions M-motor getting wet:

Sorry to tell you that "his experience" is actually me,not Kwon. Kwon is Korea.

Anyway,here are more experience about lego electric stuff goes into water,all work fine after dry.

Note that I am NOT the driver in the last video!

Hope useful for all of you

Edited July 1, 2013 by sunnykoomos

[AVCampos]

Thread resurrection!

Last week I used my GoPro and remote controller (Wi-Fi, 2.4 GHz) to film my RC boat MOC, and the camera lost connection as soon as I submerged it (about 1 metre of water between camera and controller), which illustrates how difficult it is to send wireless signals underwater.

This got me thinking: if lower radio frequencies have better range and penetration in air, does the same happen in water, and, if so, would it be possible to adapt a cheap analogue 27 MHz transmitter/receiver to wirelessly control a LEGO submarine to decent swimming pool ranges? Has anyone done such a thing? I remember watching some videos some time ago about a guy building a LEGO submarine inside a plastic box and using magnets to transfer motion to outboard propellers, but I don't recall how it was controlled.

[Mr Jos]

I do know that they used the low frequency controllers for model submarines as they indeed work deeper under water. My 2.4GHz was good for my RC speedboat (130km/h topspeed), but the moment it flipped it was pretty much over. I think they used the 27 / 40 MHz for  subs. For my drone I had nearly 10years ago I used a GoPro connected to a really strong receiver, it gave me 7km (yes kilometers) of range to see the direct video stream in my fatshark goggles, haven't used it in a very long time and I don't remember the frequency.

The video you talk about is also from a cheap 27MHz set salvaged I think. A simple toy remote with 4buttons.

[dr_spock]

You can find bare 27MHz RC receiver and transmitter boards on Aliexpress.com for cheap.

 

 

[Jayden]

  On 8/4/2022 at 3:50 PM, AVCampos said:

I remember watching some videos some time ago about a guy building a LEGO submarine inside a plastic box and using magnets to transfer motion to outboard propellers, but I don't recall how it was controlled.

Expand  

Are these were the videos you are referring to?

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjs42dxcRiGNsFHHXeu8ES1XDVZCa0CzD

 

[AVCampos]

  On 8/6/2022 at 3:52 AM, dr_spock said:

You can find bare 27MHz RC receiver and transmitter boards on Aliexpress.com for cheap.

Expand  

🤔

  On 8/6/2022 at 4:07 AM, Jayden said:

Are these were the videos you are referring to?

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjs42dxcRiGNsFHHXeu8ES1XDVZCa0CzD

Expand  

Yep, those!

[StudWorks]

This topic has always been on my mind. I always thought making a floating MOC would be a blast (check out this floating Sherp and ZeroBricks' new amphibous vehicle!! ), but I'm worried what would happen to a BuWizz 1.0/2.0/3.0 and PF/CF/BuWizz motors (also wires and lights) if the worst happens, for example, the MOC sinks. Would I have nothing to worry about if I just put all the electronics in a dry rice bowl ASAP? And if something was submerged would it affect the longevity and reliability of the electronics on board?

I've also seen Lego offroaders wade shallow water and I've always thought that was so cool, but again, I worry about the water resistance of these electronics, even during a little bit of water exposure compared to submerging. (already got quite stressed when my crawler's BuWizz 2.0 got wet six months ago).

Anything I should be aware of regarding MOCs and water?

 

 

[Mr Jos]

Can't say much about those electronics, but the ones I always used survived ok. During normal operation+crashes no water at all came in the boat, as I always taped the top hull to the boat completely all around. Even a flip then prevents water leaking in.

Like after this crash, no damage to motors/battery/electronics due to tape. Tape can be seen in the 2nd video It's the best way to prevent damage.

But even with big crashes where water did come in, I just washed it out with clean water and let it sun dry. Never had broken electronics due to water (did have damage 2x from a fire in the boat due to 2x180Amps going through the 2x 150A ESC setup, 7000W of power is insane for a RC boat). Lego motors will give maximal like 5-15W.

If you would use Power Functions motors I'm pretty sure they will survive, can't say much for the newer motors because of the angle feedback

And about the RC electronics, the 40MHz receiver I used in my 1st DIY boat (that got caught in the YouTube algoritm somehow), the receiver was open to splashing water and worked for years until I no more needed it when I changed to 2.4GHz. Same for the controller etc that were from a RC car, so not water tight.

Biggest but: It has to be "fresh" water. Don't do it in the sea or any other water with (high) salt concentration.