stanward Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Has anyone coated their CTB16PC boards after removing the flux? We used to use clear acrylic "paint" in the can (rattle can).I'm debating if I should try that TechSpray brand conformal coating or not. You can just burn through the coating with a soldering iron.We get lots of moisture here in Hawaii, and didn't want any problems on the boards.Stan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Jones Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I use the TechSpray at work on a rather wet show. We used the SF version until we found it would cause the processor chips to overheat. We switched to the AF and we didnt have problems.For me - it would be up to Dan to see if he would still warranty the boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob VandenBoom Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Dr. Jones wrote: I use the TechSpray at work on a rather wet show. We used the SF version until we found it would cause the processor chips to overheat. We switched to the AF and we didnt have problems.For me - it would be up to Dan to see if he would still warranty the boards.When you say SF and AF are you refering to silicone and acrylic based coatings? Did you have problems with the silicone coating overheating the processor? How thick was the coating?I use a thinned down silicone coating on all my kit boards - 14 to date. I have not had a problem with any of them. I have had a triac go out on two of the boards assembled by LOR that I did not conformal coat. One in the second year and one in the third year. I suspect this was a result of water getting directy to the board, but cannot confirm it. I will probably clean them up and coat them after reparing the triacs.In a post a couple years ago Dan (or somebody from LOR) said that conformal coating would be a good idea. http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=4363&forum_id=25&highlight=conformal+coating I foung nothing about if it will or will not void the warrenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Jones Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 yes - silicone vs acrylicThe control cards we use at work have a microprocessor on board. With two coats of silicone they would overheat. The manufacture assisted us in testing and we were able to determine that the silicone was not allowing the heat to disipate fast enough. When the board failed , we would notice the silicone coating had dripped off of the processor.After extensive testing with the acrylic ( including testing in 110* heat - in direct sunlight) we could not get the board to overheat - though we did notice a little more corrosion at the molex connector. otherwise no other issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyfunk Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Something like that happened to me in a former life. We ended up putting tape on the chips, then coating the boards. When dry, we removed the tape and coated the chips with a heat dissipating compound that also protected them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanward Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 Would this warranty still apply to the Planet Christmas DIY versions of LOR?Dr. Jones wrote: I use the TechSpray at work on a rather wet show. We used the SF version until we found it would cause the processor chips to overheat. We switched to the AF and we didnt have problems.For me - it would be up to Dan to see if he would still warranty the boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Where can you buy these coatings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Jones Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp;jsessionid=JM20UP1PJLH0YCXDUZ0G4IQ?N=500003+1000399+2850&Ntk=gensearch_001&Ntt=conformal&Ntx=&_requestid=115691 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob VandenBoom Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Duke wrote: Where can you buy these coatings?Here's another. http://www.techni-tool.com/ Search for conformal coating in their web store. Good place for all kinds of electronic assembly equipment and materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanward Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Dan said it is okay to use a good quality conformal coating on the boards.I was wondering if anyone could help me out? I can't find any conformal coating in the entire state of Hawaii! I was hoping someone could purchase the cans for me, and mail them out to me via US Postal Service Parcel Post (they allow the shipment of hazardous goods, label boxes with "ORM-D")? I can pay for everything. Please let me know Stan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Forgive my ignorance Stan. But would it not be cheaper for you to just to order directly? Lets say I did this for you. First there would be the cost of the item and then shipping to me. Then the cost of me shipping it to you. I would think that two shipping cost would be more than if you went direct to the vendor.73Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanward Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hmm.... I was thinking that someone could purchase the conformal coating from their local electronics store, if there is one nearby.Shipping via US Postal Service Parcel Post takes a long time, but it is the cheapest way to ship, and the only legal way to ship hazardous chemicals through the Postal Service (need ORM-D labelled on the outside).73StanMax-Paul wrote: Forgive my ignorance Stan. But would it not be cheaper for you to just to order directly? Lets say I did this for you. First there would be the cost of the item and then shipping to me. Then the cost of me shipping it to you. I would think that two shipping cost would be more than if you went direct to the vendor.73Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zman Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Max, as opposed to spraying the boards, why not just cover the controllers. I do 2 things with mine. First I have a stand that holds them upright. The stand can hold up to 4 controllers mounted on both sides. The stands are just wide enough, where I can put a large black lawn and leaf bag over the top. Keeps moisture out, and the cord ends dry as a bone.Next if I have to put single controllers in the yard. I mount them on a slight ramp. A 16"x20" piece of OSB plywood. I then mound a 2x4 or 2x2 at the top, just enough to create a slight slope. Then I take another garbage bag and 4 landscape stakes and cover the controller and cord ends.In Seattle with major rain and (lately) snow, all my controllers are dry as a bone. With power on 24x7 to the controllers, there is enough heat generated to keep the interior dry.Seems to me an easier and cheaper solution than coating the controllers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanward Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 I don't know if you tried to direct your reponse to me or Max. I am the OP who inquired about doing the conformal coating.To answer your question, I only had one LOR controller this past Christmas. I installed it as high up under the eaves as I could under my house. There were no KNOWN issues of condensation that I know of in the controller box. I do want to do preventative maintenance. On the east side of the island, we do receive a large amount of rain, and the moisture in the area is a bit excessive. I noticed a large amount of condensation on inside of my solar lights that are installed outside.Here, mildew grows on everything, and I do not want it growing in my controllers. It wouldn't be difficult to spray them, as I assemble the PC versions of LOR. I did use conformal coating once in the past (engineer mailed them over when I worked at my previous job). Aside from that, in high school, we used to spray clear lacquer on our PC boards that we built. Of course, none of them would produce heat like the LOR ones do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zman Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hi Stan, sorry I did direct this to you. Over on PC in the past few days, this came up to combat moisture on Darryl Browns Strobes. One PC member used this following to coat the little PC boards in side the strobe,FINE-L-KOTE SR Silicone Conformal CoatingHere is the full thread:http://talk.planetchristmas.com/showthread.php?t=29981&highlight=strobes&page=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 zman, even though Stanward is the op. I have been one of the posters that has suggested that some of the trouble that a few users have been having might be because of moister condensing in the box and maybe on the board. It is better to take preventive steps than to sit back and wait for a failure. I plan to build 3 of the 16 channel kits myself this year (1st year for me). I like the forums for not only how to information. But I can also see some of the problems that others have had like the guy that a snail got into his box an shorted and burnt up his controller. So you can bet I will take steps to make mine snail proof. And I am going to spray some kind of conformal coating on mine too. And you my friend have been just lucky so far.Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanward Posted January 19, 2009 Author Share Posted January 19, 2009 zman, link doesn't work........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zman Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Something is up with the PC site, the link should be good. I can't get into the forums by any means right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Try again guys. PC had a notice up that Sunday night at 9PM CDT that they were taking down the forums to do an upgrade to the data base that stores the forums. Seems that they had a few blips Saturday and it was a sign that the data base was about to colapse. So they did an upgrade. Unfortunely the upgrade ran to about mid-day today. But I was able to get on around lunch time so the link should now be good unless it got blown away.Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stanward Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Hello Bob,I finally found someone that may be able to help me in locating and shipping me the Techspray product. I was wondering what product do you use to conformal coat your LOR boards?Thanks,StanBob VandenBoom wrote: When you say SF and AF are you refering to silicone and acrylic based coatings? Did you have problems with the silicone coating overheating the processor? How thick was the coating?I use a thinned down silicone coating on all my kit boards - 14 to date. I have not had a problem with any of them. I have had a triac go out on two of the boards assembled by LOR that I did not conformal coat. One in the second year and one in the third year. I suspect this was a result of water getting directy to the board, but cannot confirm it. I will probably clean them up and coat them after reparing the triacs.In a post a couple years ago Dan (or somebody from LOR) said that conformal coating would be a good idea. http://lightorama.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=4363&forum_id=25&highlight=conformal+coating I foung nothing about if it will or will not void the warrenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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