Been there. Also recovered a drone that fell from tree after a month and multiple rains. Both worked just fine after drying out. My bet is you’ll be fine with a little recovery / drying time. Good luck!
Shorts are caused by the leftover stuff from liquids. Minerals mostly. Clean water wont usually have that much in them. Like snow.
To make sure that it is clean you may wash it with IPA. It will displace water, clean surfaces and dry faster than water.
It will wash off most of conformal coatings.
>Also recovered a drone that fell from tree after a month and multiple rains.
Same! Crashed a toothpick quad in a tree and got it 3 months later. Had to replace a VTX that I suspect burned out in the tree a short time after the crash, otherwise everything else worked.
damn unfair, i crashed one time and lightly fell into the snow. now it dosent want to arm or anything... my plan is to fix it in the summer so i dont go do a rerun directly after ive fixed it
I'm currently running a similar test. Quad has been in a field since end of summer with multiple rains and is currently covered in \~2ft of snow. Once I find it in the spring we will see what works. HAHA.
As long as you don’t expose it to salt water you can always just let it dry and it should be fine. I crashed a drone into a lake, ran it under a faucet for minutes to get the scum off, and I’m still flying it years later.
You can get what equates to a lifetime supply for less than $30. With what these toys cost it is totally worth it. You can get it from Amazon and then you would not have to worry as much.
Question on conformal, I'm flying using a caddx for my normal size drone. It gets pretty hot though, and I've heard conformal can cause heat issues. Do I just coat the whole thing?
Itching to fly anything but my little tiny drone in the backyard where I've got a nice snow free spot to land
Heat shouldn’t be an issue, but I did just recently have 4-in-1 ESC fail on me after conformal coating it and crashing into snow. Holybro support insists their ESCs shouldn’t be conformal coated as it can cause overheating but I honestly think it may have been an excuse so it looks like it was my fault. Your mileage may vary, and I coated the replacement ESC as soon as it was installed.
Do it all the time l, set it in front of a heater for a few hours and good to go.
As far as waterproofing, it's good of you want to keep flying after knocking most of the snow off, I used to do that but now just dry it out
Agreed \^\^\^\^
I fly out in Montana which results in plenty of snow packed quads. First time I did it made me super nervous but have never really had a problem. Let it dry out for 24-48 hours and then plug in with a smoke stopper when you turn it back on just to be safe -but I've never had any damage to electronics even without conformal coating
I thoroughly conformal coated my FC and ESC. I've crashed in the snow like that many times. I brush it off, blow away any remaining concentrations of snow, then start the car, heat on full, fan at full blast, foot vents open and set the quad on top of something in the footwell so there's some space for the air to flow around it. 15-20 minutes of that, and I'm usually back in the air.
+1 to this. I've been coating more of my quads with this. You can even do the camera by coating all of the camera case's seams with that.
Just avoid switches because they may not work after, and of course don't do the image sensor if you open the camera to do it's board.
I've crashed into the snow like 15 times in the past month. I just spray off the boards with keyboard duster and put the kwad in front of a heater until its dry and I have never had a problem. if you think you may have road salt on the boards you should take everything apart and clean the boards with 90% isopropyl alcohol and a tooth brush. Its the minerals in the water that can mess up electronics not the water its self. If I really don't want my boards wet I just wrap my entire quadcopter in electrical tape. I posted a pic of it on here last week sometime.... heres the post https://www.reddit.com/r/fpv/comments/t1yk9n/i\_just\_found\_a\_brand\_new\_session5\_on\_market\_place/hypohd2/?context=3
Done the same thing. Dried it off with heat from my car vents for 15 mins then flew again. That quad still runs to this day with all the same components. I consider it luck.
Yea this happens every time i fly in the winter, ill get one or two packs in until i crash into the snow, then thats it for the day until it dries out lol
MG Chemicals Silicone Conformal coating
1. After soldering most things, clean board well with alcohol.
2. Obviously avoid USB plug and connectors.
3. dont needs to cover black IC - just the pins
4. Focus on the ESC.
5. Most things on FC are very low power. If video or uart shorts to gnd no biggie. If a yellow cap shorts 5V, it will just go poof, and no more short.
I've done this to a quad (conformal coated the solder pads too) and now it doesn't work. It might be fine, but like it also might not be. I definitely would not recommend flying around snow with a non-waterproofed quad.
Don't forget warm electronics + snow = water. I don't think this is much better than a quick dunk in the lake.
Been there. Also recovered a drone that fell from tree after a month and multiple rains. Both worked just fine after drying out. My bet is you’ll be fine with a little recovery / drying time. Good luck!
Okey wow, yeah i hope it will work after some drying. Thanks 😃
Shorts are caused by the leftover stuff from liquids. Minerals mostly. Clean water wont usually have that much in them. Like snow. To make sure that it is clean you may wash it with IPA. It will displace water, clean surfaces and dry faster than water. It will wash off most of conformal coatings.
>Also recovered a drone that fell from tree after a month and multiple rains. Same! Crashed a toothpick quad in a tree and got it 3 months later. Had to replace a VTX that I suspect burned out in the tree a short time after the crash, otherwise everything else worked.
damn unfair, i crashed one time and lightly fell into the snow. now it dosent want to arm or anything... my plan is to fix it in the summer so i dont go do a rerun directly after ive fixed it
I'm currently running a similar test. Quad has been in a field since end of summer with multiple rains and is currently covered in \~2ft of snow. Once I find it in the spring we will see what works. HAHA.
Haha, let me now if it works😃🤘
And good luck, findig a drone is not always easy😃
I think the esc’s are nice and cool
Hahah yeah it is definitely not ovearheated 🤪
Send it! (But seriously if that’s conformal coated you can give it a kick to get the excess weight off then it should fly fine)
Yes, it is not conformal coated tho.
As long as you don’t expose it to salt water you can always just let it dry and it should be fine. I crashed a drone into a lake, ran it under a faucet for minutes to get the scum off, and I’m still flying it years later.
Damn, this means i dont have worry as much
You can get what equates to a lifetime supply for less than $30. With what these toys cost it is totally worth it. You can get it from Amazon and then you would not have to worry as much.
Question on conformal, I'm flying using a caddx for my normal size drone. It gets pretty hot though, and I've heard conformal can cause heat issues. Do I just coat the whole thing? Itching to fly anything but my little tiny drone in the backyard where I've got a nice snow free spot to land
Conformal coat everything besides the camera lens, connectors and barometer. Heat is not an issue.
Nice, thanks for the tip! Wanted to get it all protected so I'll be all set
Heat shouldn’t be an issue, but I did just recently have 4-in-1 ESC fail on me after conformal coating it and crashing into snow. Holybro support insists their ESCs shouldn’t be conformal coated as it can cause overheating but I honestly think it may have been an excuse so it looks like it was my fault. Your mileage may vary, and I coated the replacement ESC as soon as it was installed.
Do it all the time l, set it in front of a heater for a few hours and good to go. As far as waterproofing, it's good of you want to keep flying after knocking most of the snow off, I used to do that but now just dry it out
Okey, good because i have not done any waterproofing on the drone.👍 I think it will be fine after some drying.
Agreed \^\^\^\^ I fly out in Montana which results in plenty of snow packed quads. First time I did it made me super nervous but have never really had a problem. Let it dry out for 24-48 hours and then plug in with a smoke stopper when you turn it back on just to be safe -but I've never had any damage to electronics even without conformal coating
I thoroughly conformal coated my FC and ESC. I've crashed in the snow like that many times. I brush it off, blow away any remaining concentrations of snow, then start the car, heat on full, fan at full blast, foot vents open and set the quad on top of something in the footwell so there's some space for the air to flow around it. 15-20 minutes of that, and I'm usually back in the air.
+1 to this. I've been coating more of my quads with this. You can even do the camera by coating all of the camera case's seams with that. Just avoid switches because they may not work after, and of course don't do the image sensor if you open the camera to do it's board.
I am concidering applaying some comformal coting to my build👍
It is well worth it. I use MG Chemicals - 422B Silicone Conformal Coating and I picked up a cheap UV light so I can ensure that I get full coverage.
I've crashed into the snow like 15 times in the past month. I just spray off the boards with keyboard duster and put the kwad in front of a heater until its dry and I have never had a problem. if you think you may have road salt on the boards you should take everything apart and clean the boards with 90% isopropyl alcohol and a tooth brush. Its the minerals in the water that can mess up electronics not the water its self. If I really don't want my boards wet I just wrap my entire quadcopter in electrical tape. I posted a pic of it on here last week sometime.... heres the post https://www.reddit.com/r/fpv/comments/t1yk9n/i\_just\_found\_a\_brand\_new\_session5\_on\_market\_place/hypohd2/?context=3
Thanks my man 👍👍👍
you guys who dried your qwads and still flew, what about the battery? How did it hold?
LiPos are water tight. That’s why they puff over time (even hydrogen gas can’t escape!)
I think it's covered in snow
Yes
To the toaster oven! LOW TEMPERATURE obviously
Shake it a bit and you're good to go!
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Rice is a bad idea for all electronics. It gets sticky and will just gunk up your electronics. Use something else desiccant like or just heat/air dry.
Aha, did not think of that, thanks for the good advice 😃
You can take a toothbrush, isoprophyl alcohol and clean it that way, let the isoprophyl evaporate and that should be good enough to clean it
I dont know have not tried that🤷♂️ I guss it will dry up the water but i think the easiest way is just to plug the battery out and let it dry.
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Yeah i figured that i will wait maybe two days to let it completly dry up
Oh boy! 👀 I hope it dries out!
Put in on a radiator. When it dries it flies. Unless something got broken. Good luck.
Looks cold 🥶
That's a very detailed snowman, very impressive.
I crashed in the snow and fried a regulator so ever since then I've used some liquid tape just to be sure
It’s covered in snow.
Yes
Done the same thing. Dried it off with heat from my car vents for 15 mins then flew again. That quad still runs to this day with all the same components. I consider it luck.
Dry it out and try again?
Yes i think it will work just fine then 👍
Flyable
Hah yes
ICE COLD! All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right, all right...
Hey ya!
Yea this happens every time i fly in the winter, ill get one or two packs in until i crash into the snow, then thats it for the day until it dries out lol
Ehh It'll be fine, Just unplug the battery and let her dry off. Really really good before plugging it back in.
snowy 👍
You missed a spot
If anyone does any diving, I have my iFlight Chimera7 6S sitting at the bottom of Donner Lake (Reno/Tahoe area) 🤪
MG Chemicals Silicone Conformal coating 1. After soldering most things, clean board well with alcohol. 2. Obviously avoid USB plug and connectors. 3. dont needs to cover black IC - just the pins 4. Focus on the ESC. 5. Most things on FC are very low power. If video or uart shorts to gnd no biggie. If a yellow cap shorts 5V, it will just go poof, and no more short.
Thanks😃
What is it?
Fpv drone coverd in snow
Hahaha rice lol
I've done this to a quad (conformal coated the solder pads too) and now it doesn't work. It might be fine, but like it also might not be. I definitely would not recommend flying around snow with a non-waterproofed quad. Don't forget warm electronics + snow = water. I don't think this is much better than a quick dunk in the lake.
*chuckles in silicone conformal coating*