Does anyone have pics of their radio box enclosure? Any pics of a Otter box with the radio gear installed? The box I was going to use the walls are too thick to allow the theaded end of the poppet firing valve to exit the wall and be secured with the screw on rings that come with the valve. The box is not wide enough fo allow a dremel to line up evenly and counter sink the hole.
I have tapped the otter box hole (effectively) to hold the poppet valve in place, and then gouped the threads up with silicon (electronics safe) caulk. never had trouble with them coming out. To "tap" them, I cut a shallow slot on both sides of one poppet valve and drilled the hole a little small. then I used that poppet valve to "tap" the hole. I have also just undersized it a bit and forced a poppet valve to thread into it. both methods worked for me.
I just dont remember how to post pictures anymore. I wish it was easy... Here is the link to my picasaweb folder for the radio box http://picasaweb.google.com/Jadfer1/NewRadioBox# See if this helps.
Countersink the outside instead? Personally, I just Scotchkote the electronics and put them wherever in the ship is most convenent - no WTB at all. Haven't used one in 8 years of battling. Cheers,
The outside of the otterbox has ribs. This gives it the strength to go really deep. You can use a dremel to take off the ribs down to the same depth as the walls of the box. This should allow the poppet to rest flat on the outside of the box. The clear boxes are polycarbonate - use superglue. The Colored boxes are ABS, use abs pipe glue.
I just recently started using the snap-n-lock type boxes. They work great for everything but the poppet valves. The sides seem too flexable to mount them to. I have considered beefing the sides up with light plywood, or something, but have not actually tried it yet. Where do you get the otter boxes? My rudder servo is inside a grease-box. I made it just large enough to house the servo, and filled it with grease. I still water-proof the servo before I drop in inside, so it is just an extra precaution. But it is working out really well. Mikey
Thanks for the tips guys. What if I lef the box open but drill holes in the bottme to allow water to pool out when the water in the hull is evacuated. The servos of course and rcvor are waterproofed of course. Generall speaking I don't use wt boxes but Bismarck I do use it. However with this newbox I just wanted an easier platform to access and remove servos from in case of issues. Yamato has survived numerous immersions with the servos open as well as bb26's PE. Nothing fancy on the waterproofing just regular tool dip o-ring on the output gearshaft and lithium grease. Where can I purchase Scotchcoat? I'm in Canada so any comparable item would work for me.
Scotchcote is an elusive 3m product. It has stopped being carried by big chain stores where I live but the rumor is electrical contractor outlets can still get it. Also another recommendation is a pool supplier/store as there is a need for waterproof coatings around swimming pools. It probably can be ordered online also but I haven't gotten there yet.
I also like the idea of a grease/vasoline box. This is coming from someone who's receiver is a block of wax so take that with a grain of salt....
I'm trying some of these "waterproof"servos from traxxas this year. The big gun folks have reported great success with them, so I hope that they will remove the need to waterproof servos. Everything else, I just pot in some manner. _Greg
Wreno, those snap-in fasteners sound pretty interesting. You're talking about these, right? http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=327&CategoryID=6 Do they hold a standard servo as firmly (without wiggle) as regular servo screws do? Do you have any photos of them in use?
We've seen the waterproof servos fail last year. Let's call them water resistant like the water retaining box. Still liking the grease idea fill the servo too.
I'm trying some of these "waterproof"servos from traxxas this year. The big gun folks have reported great success with them, so I hope that they will remove the need to waterproof servos. Everything else, I just pot in some manner. _Greg We have decided to scotchcoat the outside of the "waterProof" servos because the failure mode seems to the bottom most gasket. Marty
Is there a comman denominator in the Traxxas failures? After X sinks (minimum) they go out? Or Random? I have used one in my Tirpitz with 3 sinks then another in my Baden with 6 sinks plus driving around with the ship mostly full of water with no problem. I do rinse things off with 90% alcohol though including my radio box and all has worked fine. In fact I have a leak in my radio box and get about 1-2 tablespoons in there with no failures yet ( I just cant find the leak). If the servo has a life of 12-15 submersions that would be good for determining when it might fail or when to replace it. Thanks Johnny
Assuming that all servos are properly installed it has more to do with the depth of the sink then how many sinks. The deeper the water the more the air wants to get out and the water wants to get in. Having water in the ship should be OK for the servos. Having them stay dry with a 6' sink for 20min, might be too much to ask. Johnny you've had some shallow sinks at Wades & Springfield, that helps. I still like to have a water proofed servo in a water tight box. Redundancy, a good thing.
