Rain proofing project on throwaway mavic pro platinum

[Rotorcrafty]

LivinLarge (I like the sentiment!), Designing a waterproof device and retro-waterproofing are two quite different tasks and we are only talking about rain proofing and not floating or submersible. (In USA, how would the FAA handle a submarine drone!? Probably pass it off to the Coast Guard!)
Let's stay with the OP and talk about the barometer. If there is no static tube (which could easily be fitted and be waterproof) then the barometer would not function properly. This would have two possible effects- No or inaccurate height indication; Ability to fly unrestricted height. The AC does not need to be airtight to be rainproof. Firstly there would be airflow through the camera dome this would satisfy the static tube requirement for the barometer. There may be some water ingress through this path but could be minimised with the use of tape without preventing some air flow. As I mentioned the temperature in falling rain is usually lower than ambient so cooling shouldn't be a problem. I would still limit flight times at first and check heatsink temperature.
Maybe to keep the water off the lens and help keeping water out, a spinning clear plastic disc as used on ships' bridge windscreens might be effective. Just a thought.

Eric

 

[Rotorcrafty]

Btw FYI - flying with the gimbal bubble installed WILL most definitely impede air flow to the fan as that covers the air intake to the cooling system that is located directly behind the gimbal. That’s exactly where the fan is located. So, Bottom line, NEVER fly with the gimbal bubble installed or you could easily overheat the ESC and FC board. Period.

There was a thread on this IIRC.
On searching, there is a LOT of discussion about this. One user even had a non working fan.

Eric

 

[Rotorcrafty]

So why did DJI fit a dome. It's not just to protect the gimbal. It's transparent and tries to keep some optical correctness over a wide range of gimbal movement. They also provide a rubber cover to prevent the dome being scratched and degrading video. Not all video is for production but also for FPV which can be pretty rough but good enough to fly.
Maybe DJI have a position on this?

Eric

 

[MavicCF]

Btw FYI - flying with the gimbal bubble installed WILL most definitely impede air flow to the fan as that covers the air intake to the cooling system that is located directly behind the gimbal. That’s exactly where the fan is located. So, Bottom line, NEVER fly with the gimbal bubble installed or you could easily overheat the ESC and FC board. Period.

This topic comes up all the time, @Thunderdrones has done extensive research into whether or not the bubble cover negatively affects cooling and has proved conclusively that it does not.
Flying with the cover on will not damage the Mavic or cause it to overheat, it will just reduce photo/video quality.

 

[fpv3d]

Flying with cover on will certainly shorten the overall lifespan of the electronics due to the fact it cuts down on airflow and therefore allows for much less heat dissipation. It’s common sense.

 

[MavicCF]

Flying with cover on will certainly shorten the overall lifespan of the electronics due to the fact it cuts down on airflow and therefore allows for much less heat dissipation. It’s common sense.

Sorry to the OP for getting off topic here. @fpv3d, read through this thread

 

[LivinLarge]

LivinLarge (I like the sentiment!), Designing a waterproof device and retro-waterproofing are two quite different tasks and we are only talking about rain proofing and not floating or submersible. (In USA, how would the FAA handle a submarine drone!? Probably pass it off to the Coast Guard!)
Let's stay with the OP and talk about the barometer. If there is no static tube (which could easily be fitted and be waterproof) then the barometer would not function properly. This would have two possible effects- No or inaccurate height indication; Ability to fly unrestricted height. The AC does not need to be airtight to be rainproof. Firstly there would be airflow through the camera dome this would satisfy the static tube requirement for the barometer. There may be some water ingress through this path but could be minimised with the use of tape without preventing some air flow. As I mentioned the temperature in falling rain is usually lower than ambient so cooling shouldn't be a problem. I would still limit flight times at first and check heatsink temperature.
Maybe to keep the water off the lens and help keeping water out, a spinning clear plastic disc as used on ships' bridge windscreens might be effective. Just a thought.

Eric

I assume the OP is looking to make the Mavic more rain resistant in case it is caught out in an unexpected downpour, rather than trying to actually shoot video in the rain. Still, I would be concerned about the fan drawing in moist air that would damage circuits that were not somehow protected.
I have used a Gortex membrane with my waterproof quads to allow the air pressure to equalize without letting in water. A tube with a loop could also work. I use heatsinks rather than forced air cooling.

 

[MobiosOne]

Coat every electronic component in conformal coating

 

[Cheech Wizard]

Here is a tip if you DO get your drone wet. My drone was 40 ft up a tree overnight a few weeks ago during a light rain. When I retrieved it finally which was a comedy in itself (3 - 60 plus year old guys with a tennis racket and ball, a wrist rocket and finally a ladder and saw(I should have videoed the debacle)). Anyway, I was concerned about water in the drone, so I used a hairdryer on low heat and then put it in Tupperware with a bunch of rice and some left over desiccant packs from prescriptions. The rice and packs will absorb the moisture. You want to be positive there is NO moisture before putting in the battery and firing it up.

 

[Wipster]

Maybe small cone shaped rain protector for the motors on the props.

So I have for whatever reason acquired a second Mavic pro platinum. I bought this second one used and have flown it for two hours so far. Flys great but there is vibration in the gimble. Replaced ribbon and it helped but still slightly noticeable....enough so you wouldn’t want for video. I was going replace the gimble and still maybe resell the thing for small profit. Instead I’ve decided it’d be fun to keep it and see just how far I can push it. I have since named my used mavic “Burner”

One thing I was thinking was seeing how rain resistant I can get Burner without sacrificing to much performance. The most obvious problem I see is the battery and top of aircraft which I think can be easily overcome by fabricating a one piece cover that can be easily applied to the top of a fully deployed Mavic. This shold mitigate much of the moisture getting into to battery and folding arms. Hopefully little impact to gps/rc signal...

Issues I’ve identified I need to think through are the air intake and the motors. I think the only air take is behind the gimble? If so this positioning would seem to help protect from some of the moisture being sucked into the aircraft. Don’t think anything can be done to completely protect against this but seems like a small modification could be designed to help reduce the impact. As far as the motors, brushless motors are already pretty much waterproof by themselves so not concerned with motor failure as much as the sensors used to control them and ensure steady flight....very important considering the conditions I plan to test this in. Still much to research on this subject.

So really just looking for any thoughts or suggestions on this project or any other ideas what to do with Burner...?

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

There's a guy who makes "wet suits" for the P4.. seems to work well. Swellpro also makes a waterproof quad. So it's possible.. just gotta find the right spots to seal.

 

[LivinLarge]

Waterproof Mavic?

 

[JoelP]

There are companies that apply conformal coatings of paralyne to electronics for water proofing, but I believe one would have to totally disassemble the unit to coat all parts well enough and even it it may not stay totally resistant.

 

[Former Member]

Flying with cover on will certainly shorten the overall lifespan of the electronics due to the fact it cuts down on airflow and therefore allows for much less heat dissipation. It’s common sense.

No it wont.

 

[dbyantis]

Btw FYI - flying with the gimbal bubble installed WILL most definitely impede air flow to the fan as that covers the air intake to the cooling system that is located directly behind the gimbal. That’s exactly where the fan is located. So, Bottom line, NEVER fly with the gimbal bubble installed or you could easily overheat the ESC and FC board. Period.

Members of this forum did testing to determine if there was any heat impact from the installed gimbal cover, there is no appreciable impact, so if not taking pictures, and feel that the protection is needed, no worries.