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It’s a well know fact that water and Electricity don’t mix, and one place in particular that’s very susceptible to the ingress of water is your receiver. The receiver is at the heart of your RC Car, and without it, you car won’t function. So it’s important to keep it in perfect working order at all times.
This easy to follow video tutorial shows you how to quickly and simply protect your RC Cars receiver using a few readily available objects…
What You’ll Need:
- A balloon
- Cable tie
- Piece of kitchen towel
- Sticky tape
What to do:
- Plug in all your electronic components into the correct sockets on the receiver, such as the steering servo, ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) and the receiver power supply lead.
- Tear off a piece of kitchen towel and wrap the receiver in the towel. This helps to “soften” any sharp edges on the receiver & plugs that may split the balloon. Securing the paper towel in place with a little sticky tape.
- Pre-stretch the balloon by blowing it up or stretching between your fingers. If you blow the balloon up, be careful to avoid letting any moisture into the balloon. To be doubly sure, turn the balloon inside out after inflating.
- Gather all the leads together including the aerial at the end where the aerial protrudes from the receiver case.
- Carefully stretch the balloon over the receiver. It can be quite tricky but it is doable. Work slowly and carefully making sure you don’t damage the wires and aerial.
- Once the receiver is fully inside the balloon, seal the mouth of the balloon off with a cable tie.
Ok, so as promised, here’s the video to walk you through it step by step!
You can do this modification on virtually any RC Car, truck, buggy or even boat or plane receiver. You just need a balloon big enough to take your receiver!
Bonus Tip
To make sure the balloon is 100% water tight, seal the mouth of the balloon with a little silicone sealant!
Need Any Help?
If you’re having trouble following the video, or instructions above, drop me a line via the comments box below and I’ll do my very best to help!
Happy Bashing
Justin
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justin
I'm Justin, and I've been building & bashing RC Cars since 1987 when I got my hands on a newly released Tamiya Lunchbox! Since then picked up so many hints, tips and techniques I decided it was time to share them all with you...
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4 Responses to How To Waterproof An RC Receiver With A Balloon
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Thanks for posting this- I saw the tip (I think in your free ebook) but wasn’t sure how to do it nice and neat
. On my Traxxas Rustler this wouldn’t be necessary right? Since it’s sealed in a case? Keep these tips coming! I haven’t messed with RC since the mid 80′s and I have a lot of catching up to do so my kids think I know stuff! 
Hi JCSmooth, Thank you’re quite right, on a Rustler, or indeed any Traxxas RC Car, waterproofing the receiver wouldn’t be necessary as the receiver has it’s own sealed plastic case.
We’ve got loads more tutorials and how to’s in the pipeline
Is there anything particular you’d like to see covered?
Cheers
Justin
Thanks Justin! The tips have been helpful for me to get bits of understanding from a variety of subjects. For me, maintaining tips are great since I’m just starting out. Tweaking performance is something I’ll be interested in down the line. Also I built a very small off-road track and had a lot of trouble finding resources…tips on track building and maintenance might be cool. Keep up the good work!
Hi Sean, Thank you for the kind feedback! I have plenty of maintenance tips up my sleeve which will be coming up shortly. Indeed maintenance is one thing most of us in the hobby spend much of our time doing. I must admit, there aren’t many times when I take my cars out that something doesn’t come back broken or cracked. I’ll get my thinking cap on for some “Quick Fix” solutions to keep our cars on the road when we’re out bashing.