Loss of Radio Communication -- Receiver Baloon?

[silvermansteve]

i temporarily lost radio control of my totally stock ul-1. it came back after a minute, after i got closer. afterward i noticed drops of water scattered around the interior of the boat, when i took off the taped hatch.

question: does this sound like water getting flung around off the rotating flex shaft, next to the collet? if so, what can i do about that? the thing was freshly greased with blue grim racer. it has the teflon tube too. and it has that bushing that goes in at the prop end of the shaft -- as i never took out.

question: can one of these ubiquitous stock tactic 2.4 3 channel receivers be stuck in a balloon, with no grave loss in performance? i ask because they have no visible antenna to go outside the balloon.

[Jabbo]

Yes put it in a balloon! Let it air out a day or two first, the balloon will not affect the reception.

[siberianhusky]

Don't use a balloon unless you will take it off at the end of the day, I've seen a lot of RX's die from moisture either in a "sealed" radio box or in balloons.
Trapped moisture is death.
Much better off spraying it down with CRC or something along the lines, it forms a water resistant coating after the solvent evaporates.
Chances are if it was just drops of water scattered about that isn't the problem. I'd do an on shore range check of the radio, preferably at your running spot. See how far away you can get and still have control.
I know they work but the idea of no antennae still freaks me out with a boat. I started out back in the AM radio days and we were so careful about antennae placement and any metal to metal contact that could cause RF.

[silvermansteve]

thanks jabbo and siberian husky. i used to have one of that breed of dog, by the way. nice dog. i haven't used crc since i had my full size boat. i wonder how different it is from wd 40?

[siberianhusky]

Leaves a thicker film, almost like a chain wax for offroad bikes. I use it on the salters during the winter, stuff works great.
LOL the spring shedding has begun! They're starting to look a bit moth eaten with the big patches coming loose. Now have 1 pure breed and a race dog thats half husky half greyhound, never seen anything go that fast but it has husky stamina!

[dana]

Are your transmitter batteries new and good quality? Start there... You can coat your reciever in liquid electrical tape.., if you wish... But hey..., sometimes water just gets in. I wouldnt worry about a few drops....

[silvermansteve]

ok, the velcro on the bottom of the receiver was, i'd say, almost saturated with water. but, again, there was no puddle, only a fair scattering of droplets, widely distributed around the interior. so there is a good chance the receiver got wet. but i don't know what to do about it, or, really, where it came from if not the flex shaft opening -- the cooling system appears leak free and tightly put together. when i shake the boat there's no splashing sound, either, so i assume no water is down below the hatch, and even if it was, would that get to the rx? i don't think so.

so i'm at a loss. so did any of you notice wet receiver velcro after running? seriously, i wish i thought it was just a bad rx, that would be simpler.

[dana]

I've had water in there many times, and sometimes it's bone dry.... Either way my radios are ok. Just pop open the rx and let it air dry if your worried. Blow water thru lines to test for leaks. Put boat in bathtub without cover to watch for leaks

[dana]

Go to hardware store and buy some brush on electrical tape. Done deal

[JIM MARCUM]

You are running a 2.4 Gig radio system, right? I've gotten my RX's wet, but never had a loss of signal failure (in fresh water) yet. Just blow it dry & run. But with waterproofing sprays - even WD40 will work. I don't like baloons - false security to me. JIM

[silvermansteve]

ok guys, thanks very much for the information. by the way, i pool tested the boat right before this failure. so now: i'm going to put new batteries in the tx. i think they're fine but new is new. i'm going to dry out the receiver AND PUT IT IN A CAR. i will take another receiver and put liquid electrical tape on it or put it in a balloon. then pool test. then pool test again...and run.

[JIM MARCUM]

JIM

[siberianhusky]

you can also put a short length of large diameter fuel tube over the inboard end of the stuffing tube, slide it towards the motor so it just contacts the flex cable, it will act like a gasket, if you have to much over the flex shaft I've found it will tear itself apart, just far enough to make a seal. About 1/8" is enough, combined with grease it should keep the water out of there.
Since it's new did you take off the hardware and seal the screw holes? Possibly could leak when things are flexing on the water, a bit of mono clear caulk works great and is easily removable for paint or repairs, unlike silicone sealant.
I don't have a UL-1 but I have a bunch of other AC boats, to be honest I switched to a brand of radio that has multi model memory, easier to have one transmitter that works with all my boats instead of a tx for each boat.
I won't name a brand but it's one of the big brands that my local hobby shop carries, nice to have the hobby shop 10 minutes from the running spot and open Sunday afternoon!

[electric]

Another solution is to use a water proof recieiver cover from Traxxas. They are cheap, and work really well and have a nice finished look to them.

[silvermansteve]

thanks! electric, having pondered this further, i too thought of the traxxas box; hpi makes one too, incidentally. i'm going to get the traxxas one. and i will crc or liquid tape the esc. i used to attribute my bad results with fast electrics -- there have been several -- on incompetence, but lately i think i have bad luck.

siberian, i had to epoxy the transom of my sv-27 because it leaked badly. i don't think that's the problem with the ul-1 though; it seems dry in all static testing. i mean bone dry. it's far from new, by the way.... thanks again siberian.