Svezda
sage
Reged: 06/01/07
Posts: 259
Loc: Texas
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The foot / 30cm or so of rain that fell in the Dallas area this week may have messed up my G-11 electronics. I'd been observing Jupiter the last two weeks or so every night since we had a great clear sky run but when it rained suddenly and kept up for a few days I didn't worry since I always keep my mount and scope covered with a 'waterproof' cover. Well, it wasn't very waterproof in spite of its advertised properties and my application of a couple cans of Scotchgard waterproofing spray. The scope is fine as it has very tightly sealed caps but the mount's electronics box and hand control were really (really) soaked. The cables, connectors, etc. - soaked. I of course can't plug it all in and test it now so have no idea if this is all permanently damaged but I assume so. Just in case it's not, is it possible that I could put these pieces in an oven at the lowest possible setting (170F) with the door open to lower the temp some, with the pieces wrapped up in a towel, maybe, to protect them? It seems that if I really, thoroughly dried everything this way there might be a chance of saving it. Has anyone had this unfortunate experience and salvaged their eqpt.? 
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hudson_yak
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/15/07
Posts: 1105
Loc: Hyde Park, NY, USA
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I'd skip the oven, just take the covers off, dismantle as much as you can, and wipe out moisture and let things air dry. As long as nothing was energized while wet there's a good chance it'll all be ok. Nothing too moisture-sensitive inside these things (no LCD displays, etc.)
Mike
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Meade 8" LX10
Orion ED100 + Losmandy GM-8 + Berlebach UNI 24
Meade 12" LightBridge
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Falcon-
sage
Reged: 09/11/09
Posts: 239
Loc: Gambier Island, BC, Canada
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I second the recommendation not to use the oven - too much chance of melting plastic. However I have recovered many a bit of wet electronics by mike's method of disassembly and air drying, just takes a bit of patience to REALY let it dry out.
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Tasco 11TE-5 'Lunagrosso': 4.5" Newtonian, 900mm f/7.9
Meade DS-2114S: 4.5" Newtonian, 1000mm f/8.8
Galileoscope: 50mm Achromatic Refractor, 500mm f/10
Tasco EQ-2-like mount w/ clock drive
Celestron CG-5GT mount
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mich_al
super member
Reged: 05/10/09
Posts: 122
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Maybe add a fan moving some air around would help too. Hairdryer on low ?
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Mike C
sage
Reged: 03/05/08
Posts: 362
Loc: Cornwall, UK
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Sorry to read of your misfortune with the heavy rain.
Several years ago where I used to work we had a (then) very expensive notebook computer saturated by a leak in the roof. Luckily it was switched off. We were about to make an insurance claim, but in fact after being allowed to dry out it was none the worse for its soaking.
I'd be optimistic that your G11 electronics will be ok. All the best.
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Mike Crowle
http://www.pbase.com/mcrowle/astrophotography
Meade Series 5000 ED Apo 127mm
Celestron C8 SCT (1991 model)
Losmandy G-11; Vixen Super Polaris
Canon EOS 40D (unmodded); Philips SPC-900NC Webcam
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Falcon-
sage
Reged: 09/11/09
Posts: 239
Loc: Gambier Island, BC, Canada
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Quote:
Maybe add a fan moving some air around would help too. Hairdryer on low ?
That may help for the first stages, but I would let it dry for days or a week not hours...
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Tasco 11TE-5 'Lunagrosso': 4.5" Newtonian, 900mm f/7.9
Meade DS-2114S: 4.5" Newtonian, 1000mm f/8.8
Galileoscope: 50mm Achromatic Refractor, 500mm f/10
Tasco EQ-2-like mount w/ clock drive
Celestron CG-5GT mount
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RAKing
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/28/07
Posts: 2071
Loc: West of the D.C. Nebula
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I agree with everyone else about skipping the oven. 
Unless your cover was ripped or something, you probably just suffered from "weeping" and humidity under that cover. I would bring everything inside if possible and get it away from the humidity. Let it air dry for a day or two, then hook it all up indoors and give it a try.
You guys needed the rain - but not that much all at once.  Best of luck,
Ron
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Time spent looking at the stars is added to your life.
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Svezda
sage
Reged: 06/01/07
Posts: 259
Loc: Texas
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Thanks, everyone - I thought the oven might be extreme but if it were set at 170F, door open, parts nice and cozy in a towel I bet the parts wouldn't get damaged (wouldn't put the fragile 'telephone' cables in there - very soft material and the connectors are very fragile (weak point in the Losmandy system - it's a very good idea to carry expensive spares because if only one connector of the four total broke then you'd be out of luck at your next star party unless you could get a replacement overnighted. Anyway, the hair dryer sounds like the safest and most effective solution. I do plan on taking off the covers on the hand control and on the electronics control box. The water wasn't just condensation under the cover - water actually *poured* out of the control box (not sure of the proper name for it) when I turned it over. The rain was hard enough over a few days to drip through the cover continuously and that was about like keeping the parts in a faucet with it dripping all the time.
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Adrian Lopez
sage
Reged: 10/22/08
Posts: 267
Loc: Puerto Rico
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I'm reluctant to give advice (having never experienced this myself), but even if you end up using a hair drier I'd still wait at least two weeks without applying power. Remember, water doesn't destroy electronics -- short circuits do. Any moisture remaining once you power on your mount could damage it irreparably, so it's better to wait too long than not long enough.
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Celestron Omni XLT 120 (f/8.3) Refractor
William Optics 1.25" Dielectric Diagonal
Celestron 4, 6, 9, 15, 25, and 32mm EPs
Nikon Action Extreme 8x40 Binoculars
Canon Digital Rebel XT
RA Sweep Calculator (find objects without GoTo)
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zoran
member
Reged: 06/09/06
Posts: 189
Loc: Zagreb, Croatia
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Perhaps Silica Gel could help with drying up motors and electronics? Close them in a box with a gel pack and hope for the best:
Pelican rechargeable Silica Gel pack .
Good Luck,
Zoran
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WO Zenithstar 105ED
SBIG ST2000XM + CFW10
Losmandy GM8
Celestron Celestar 8
http://www.astrobeli.info
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tturtle
journeyman
Reged: 03/03/09
Posts: 7
Loc: Florida
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I'd disassemble what you can and vacuum out everything with a wet/dry shop vac then let it air dry for several days. Personally, I would not apply very much heat.
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-tom
CGEM 925
Baader Hyperion Zoom 8-24
6mm TV Radian
G3 Astro Aimer
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WarrenS
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/04/08
Posts: 889
Loc: Orange County New York
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No new advice on the drying out part, but going forward, a suggestion. I too have a "waterproof" telescope cover for my Atlas mount. First two inch rainfall found the mount a little wet. Now I put a large towel right over the mount, then place a heavy duty contractors trash bag over the towel, then the "waterproof" scope cover over it all. No problem since. I still use the scope cover as it reflects sunlight better and is more aesthetically pleasing.
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Warren
Astro-Tech 127EDT
Celestron Onyx 80ED
Astro-Tech Field Flattener
C8 (circa 1983 Orange Tube)
Atlas EQ-G, Orion SSAG
Canon 135mm F2.8
Canon 40D, Astronomik CLS clip filter
Leica, Minolta binos
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rtomw77
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/06/04
Posts: 617
Loc: Deer Valley, AZ
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You might try packing the electronics a box with some uncooked rice under (not in) them for several days. The rice acts as a desiccant. I heard about this on a Data Doctors radio show a while back as a way to dry out wet cellphones and other small electronics. I hope everything turns out OK for you. 
Tom
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Celestron 8" Nexstar GPS XLT
Meade 8" f/6 newtonian on GEM-New GSO Mirror
StarBlast 4.5" Dob
XT12 IntelliScope Dob with COL
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Terje
newbie
Reged: 09/16/09
Posts: 1
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As the rain soaked through the "waterproof" cover and whatever chemicals it was impregnated with I would start off with disassembling the box and rinse the circuitbord with destilled water to get rid of any possibly conductive or chorossive chemicals that might otherwise settle on the surface.
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Svezda
sage
Reged: 06/01/07
Posts: 259
Loc: Texas
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Quote:
No new advice on the drying out part, but going forward, a suggestion. I too have a "waterproof" telescope cover for my Atlas mount. First two inch rainfall found the mount a little wet. Now I put a large towel right over the mount, then place a heavy duty contractors trash bag over the towel, then the "waterproof" scope cover over it all. No problem since. I still use the scope cover as it reflects sunlight better and is more aesthetically pleasing.
Thanks, Warren - I do the same thing, normally, that is. The big rain happened so suddenly and kept up for so long that I didn't have time to take off the cover and use more protection under it. When the rain stopped I went out to cover it better and that's when I discovered the soaking it got.
Thanks for all the hints, everyone - I'll try the rice trick.
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Svezda
sage
Reged: 06/01/07
Posts: 259
Loc: Texas
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Quote:
I'm reluctant to give advice (having never experienced this myself), but even if you end up using a hair drier I'd still wait at least two weeks without applying power. Remember, water doesn't destroy electronics -- short circuits do. Any moisture remaining once you power on your mount could damage it irreparably, so it's better to wait too long than not long enough.
Thanks for this advice! I will heed it.
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Svezda
sage
Reged: 06/01/07
Posts: 259
Loc: Texas
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I wanted to let everyone know how robust are the electronics of a ten year old G-11 that got completely soaked, drenched, and worse for a couple days under a supposedly waterproof cover. I followed the advice above and especially wanted to try the rice idea. I let all the parts sit completely covered by white rice for about a week. I put the covers back on the hand control and main electronics control box and powered it up, hoping for the best but expecting the worst...it all worked perfectly! I was surprised. I was also pleasantly surprised to see one of the ICs in the control box was a Texas Instruments part (where I've worked since 1997). I currently work in Quality and Reliability Assurance so it's kind of ironic how this happened - I opened up the box to see a part we manufactured working fine after a good drenching.
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gnowellsct
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/24/09
Posts: 729
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Although we do get reports on Yahoo Losmandy of the occasional defective Gemini controller, I will make two points.
1. The stepper version has probably some of the most robust electronics commercially available.
2. The Gemini version is almost as good.
If the post was about a stepper mount I would put the odds at 100% that the mount would be functional.
For a Gemini I'll put it a 95%.
I would use a hairdryer set to low. That's just me. I mean cmon I go out in subzero temps and have seen the thing get entirely frosted over and nary a problem.
Greg N
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"Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."
featuring selected astrojunk:
bunch o' widefield eyepieces
bunch o' narrowfield eyepieces
couple o' Barlows
couple o' scopes
couple o' mounts
couple o' tripods
and a pier 'n' stuff
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rmollise
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 4555
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Quote:
The foot / 30cm or so of rain that fell in the Dallas area this week may have messed up my G-11 electronics.
Dry everything carefully and keep on trucking. I know of one G11 that was underwater during Katrina, but which was cleaned, dried, and returned to service.
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Uncle Rod
Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT
Available now!
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gnowellsct
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/24/09
Posts: 729
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Quote:
Quote:
The foot / 30cm or so of rain that fell in the Dallas area this week may have messed up my G-11 electronics.
Dry everything carefully and keep on trucking. I know of one G11 that was underwater during Katrina, but which was cleaned, dried, and returned to service.
Holy toledo! We need to get that testimonial on teh G11 group!!!
Greg N
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"Aperture will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no aperture."
featuring selected astrojunk:
bunch o' widefield eyepieces
bunch o' narrowfield eyepieces
couple o' Barlows
couple o' scopes
couple o' mounts
couple o' tripods
and a pier 'n' stuff
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