Moisture in controller? Vibration issues? Naza light controller with a Hex

[bensid54]

I have been reading some posts about fly away with Naza controllers and have seen some interesting points made and some solutions. First thing I'm curious about is moisture in the controller from flying over salt water. One thing about the air over salt water is it can be very corrosive which can be deadly to electronic devices of any sort. So does anyone know if using grease made for insulating electronic contacts would be damaging to the Naza controller or my Futaba 14 channel 2.4ghz receiver? Can a slight vibration from unbalanced or slightly damaged props cause some minor control issues with a Flame wheel hex using a Naza light controller? I don't want to hear that I need a new controller because I'm not in a position to purchase another controller at this time, thanks in advance.

 

[PeterLester]

Based on personal experience with the NAZA on my Flamewheel F550 and attempt to upgrade motors/props leads without extremely careful rebalancing will result in almost uncontrollable flight and/or fly-aways.
In my case installing larger motors led to loss of RC vertical flight control such that it would repeatedly hit the ground and rocket skyward..... I was very lucky to get it back with minor damage.

Condensation: The primary issue with salt water is that it is conductive. This is somewhat true for fog or spray over salt water as well. Corrosion is caused by the NaOH, i.e., sodium hydroxide which is a very strong base produced across some of the internal circuits when salt solution is present.

Whereas the German MicroKopter electronics are fully exposed such that they may require a spray on insulation layer such as conformal, the DJI electronics are miniturized and enclosed in housings for weather protection.
Inappropriate use of this spray over certain components such as bare contacts, pressure sensors will destroy your electronics as it is nearly impossible to undo the damage. http://www.circuitnet.com/experts/55993.shtml
The use of oils or grease will seep in to capacitors etc. and damage electronics beyond repair sooner or later.

It is pointless to attempt to protect the DJI electronics IMHO as the housings already do that and should not be opened. Also the IMU sensors such as pressure sensor for altitude must not be isolated from ambient air pressure.

 

[bensid54]

What I was thinking of was coating the terminals of the Naza and RX. I can understand the concept of too much dialetic grease being a problem but would a light coat on the terminals cause a problem in other words do you think it would wick into the controller? From my own experience I know that oil can over a long period of time wick a distance of six feet.

 

[PeterLester]

Hobby shops sell a contact cleaner for electric motors which is more like a light oil than a grease. I cannot offer suggestions though..... your choice.

 

[bensid54]

Thanks for the suggestion but I'm looking to prevent corrosion before it starts, I'm thinking to put a light coat of protectant into the servo plugs and connecting wires in the hope that the grease it won't migrate into the controller .