Wet SSB radio

[jonahmulski]

I had my IC-M700Pro on my front seat the other day when it was raining. I went out to get it for the install and found that I had left the window down about a half inch
The unit had it's face towards the window and that is the only side that got wet. It looked like it didn't get soaked, just sprinkled on. The LCD screen looks clear. I wiped the radio off and have been letting it sit in a warm room to dry out. It hasn't been connected to electricity.
How water resistant are the faces of these units?
How involved is it to open it to see if it's wet inside?
Any ideas for drying it out?
Thanks

[Sssssailor]

Enclosed area with a dehumidifier?


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[Cheechako]

It's probably fine. Fresh water and just bit of moisture. Leave it in a warm or A/C environment and it'll dry out fine.
I wouldn't even open it up. You could heat your oven to maybe 200 degrees max, turn it off and put it in there. But I wouldn't worry.

[Paul Elliott]

I would put it in front of a heater (forced-air or with a fan, since you want airflow). The air should be warm or hot, but still within human comfort range. This will dry it out nicely. The fresh water has probably done no harm -- most circuit boards get washed in fresh water as part of the manufacturing process.

It's possible that the speaker cone will have been warped, but this seems unlikely.

[jonahmulski]

This is good news! Many thanks for the quick replies. I have a dehumidifier so I'll leave it in front of that overnight and call it cleaned and dried.
Cheers

[El Rubio]

Isay open it up to see if any water hot inside the cabinet. Don't connect power to it until you are certain it's dry. If wet inside at all, take a hair dryer, not a heat gun, and dry it out. If you see a white powdery-stains on the circuit board, that's corrosion from the water. It doesn't mean it's ruined. Just scrub it off with an old tooth brush, either dry or dipped in some isopropyl alcohol. I doubt you have any issues, but a little water can cause a short. So can enough corrosion. The corrosion can deteriorate certain metals and eventually cause damage. That's why it's good to gently clean the board if you see the white stuff. I'm not familiar with your rig, but many manufacturers spray a coating on the boards to protect against. Moisture. It isn't waterproof, but helps with condensation iasues.

Some people swear by things like putting a wet cellphone in a bag full of rice so the rice will absorb the water. The damage will happen before the water is absorbed. I was kind of expecting some to suggest that dump rice into chassis and leave if for a week.

Good luck with it, and it sounds pretty minor and not much water. If you aren't certain, just bring it to a repair shop and have it looked at by someone who can recognize the problems.


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[SoonerSailor]

Many years ago I dropped an expensive camera with electronic exposure and shutter control into ocean water. I immediately removed the battery and dunked it in fresh water several times, then put it on top of the still warm diesel engine to dry. I didn't try to use it until a few weeks later, but it worked fine after that. The attached lens didn't, since the aperture leaves didn't dry out and corroded enough to prevent proper movement (was able to replace those parts), but the camera electronics were fine.

Interesting too was a recommendation of the oscilloscope maker Tektronix to service departments for cleaning dirty old circuit boards. They said run them through a dishwasher cycle.

If you make sure the radio is completely dried out before powering it up, almost certainly it will be fine.

Chip

[roverhi]

Wonder how the O/P made out with his radio??

With most electronics, if they are fresh water rinsed of salt water or other electrolyte and allowed to dry thoroughly before switching on, there is usually no harm done. Turning them on before you've done the above is almost a guarantee of a trashed piece of equipment.

Have had mixed luck with the rice trick. For one thing, it's usually a phone that is the victim and they are really on all the time unless physically switched off. Had one phone that was dropped in an unused toilet come back to life. Another dropped in 10' of ocean would only display the apple logo when powered from the wall but nothing else. Another one tht my son took for a quick in the ocean died completely. All of the above were left in rice for a week before trying to revive. Had a Sony multi band radio many years ago that liked to go swimming. Dropped it in the ocean 3-4 times luckily in shallow water. Pulled it out, dunked it in a bucket of fresh water several times, left it out in the sun for a couple of days and it came back to life each time. Only damage was heat from the sun's rays warped the display.