casework for SpokePov

SpokePOV kit for bikes

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anon
 

casework for SpokePov

Post by anon »

Any ideas for encasing the spokepov PCB? I ride my bike in the rain, so the raw board is not going to do.

My thoughts so far are:

Sandwiching two clear pieces of polycarbonate cut to pattern on standoffs, with some sort of filler material in the gap.

Potting the whole thing in some sort of rubber or epoxy / resin.

Any chance of getting a board layout drawing of just the empty PCB shape and mounting holes for measuring and possible CNC use?

adafruit
 
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Post by adafruit »

you can conformally coat the whole thing and it will be OK. or dip it in clear epoxy. the only mechanical thing is the button and its completely waterproof.
ill post instructions on this in a bit.

anon
 

playa

Post by anon »

I think epoxy is the way to go. Just conformal coat would make me paranoid if I took it to the playa.

adafruit
 
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Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Post by adafruit »

ok, just so you know: i had 3 full sets out on the playa, no conformal coat or dip, and all of them worked great for 6 full nights...i just rinsed them off when i got back!

anon
 

blink blink

Post by anon »

That just makes you:

A. Lucky

or

B. Crazy :)

As someone who works maintaining the L2K ring, let me tell you the playa can do some nasty stuff to a board.

Just finished putting together my first kit, went smoothly and appears to be passing selftest.

Two suggestions:

- Take another close up of the sensor placement and orientation, still a bit tricky with the picture and directions provided since you (at least I had to) look at it under a mag/lamp to figure out which way it goes. Mentioning "writing side up" in the text may be helpful.

- Suggest the builder double check their handywork. In my excitement to show my wife me new triptoy I forgot to solder in a resistor network. Thankfully impeccable design seems to have protected me from toasting any LEDs.

adafruit
 
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Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:21 pm

Post by adafruit »

OK well, you're not embedding this in the ground ;)
i think conformal coat and wiping the boards down at the end of the night is OK. they had a fine layer of dust but nothing corroded...

thx for the suggestions, be sure to send me a picture of your image when you're done! I want to see what other people are doing. I'll try to get the CAD files up. im in the middle of a move, so things are hectic.

6288
 
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Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 11:28 pm

Post by 6288 »

how bout just sticking the thing in one of thous foodsaver bags and vacuming all the air out. then just leave a litle slack on it so you can poke holes threw it and atach it to the spokes

Monster
 
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Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:41 am

Post by Monster »

use some candles and drip melted wax on the board, and then cover it with something sturdier, like epoxy, if you'd like.

i've taken apart RC cars and the boards sometimes are waxed to prevent water from getting on the contacts

DSlage
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 7:05 pm

Post by DSlage »

My local Hope Depot sells a product called "Liquid Electrical Tape" that sounds like it may be perfect for weatherproofing the board.

rlotz
 
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Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:13 pm

Post by rlotz »

ladyada wrote:you can conformally coat the whole thing and it will be OK. or dip it in clear epoxy. the only mechanical thing is the button and its completely waterproof.
ill post instructions on this in a bit.
I looked but haven't seen any updated posts on how to protect the SpokePOV from the rain. I finally got mine built after ordering it months ago, but now the PNW rains have set in. I've read about conformal coating, but I'm unclear on what should be sprayed and what shouldn't. Obviously the dongle connector should be masked, but what about the LEDs and batteries. Should I coat the batteries and then just deal with scrapping the coating off and re-applying when replacing them? Or is there a better way to protect the batteries and their contacts? Does the switch need to be masked or will a coating not affect its function?

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