waterproof key fob?

[Drugless]

O.k. so how many of us have put their key fob through the wash. Mine inadvertently went through on Saturday night. Stopped working, now it's good as gold again (nice and clean too!)

[VirginiaJim]

Brian?

I did.  I took it apart.  Dried it out and replaced the battery.  Brian prefers to dunk his in wine.

[B.D.F.]

You said we would never talk about that again Jim..... 

It IS true though, I've been known to dip my fob in various liquids. It is mostly waterproof but not completely. The washer is tough too because not only does the fob get wet but the machine has an aggravitor in it that is tough on grime and fobs.







Brian

Brian?

I did.  I took it apart.  Dried it out and replaced the battery.  Brian prefers to dunk his in wine.

[Rhino]

Ok, I'm probably going to be sorry I asked, but did this experiment work?

[Rembrant]

Ok, I'm probably going to be sorry I asked, but did this experiment work?

According to the picture, yes it did.

[B.D.F.]

Mostly successful. It worked with water, soda (Sprite IIRC), beer and Chivas. It did not work with a reasonably good Riesling but that was probably because I left the fob soaking for far too long (2 hours or so). The fob recovered but the battery was dead; I am still using that fob today.

The interesting thing about the photo is that the fob actually worked WHILE in the soda- note the LCD showing the key icon.... the only fob I had with me was in the drink, as per the photo.

Brian

Ok, I'm probably going to be sorry I asked, but did this experiment work?

[Rembrant]

You must have some pretty big ear canals eh Brian?

Those ear plugs laying on the tank look to be extra-large...lol.

I suppose this explains why you're such a good listener?...lol.

Rem

[B.D.F.]

Actually, I have fairly narrow canals (Easy Boys!). Those ear plugs are hollow and shaped like a cone- the deeper you push them in (Boys!), the smaller they get. Best 'plugs I have ever found- they work great, do not require rolling or any manipulation before use either- just sort of jam them in there (Extra Easy on this one Boys and yes, there is a joke in there somewhere).

They are shaped in a spiral, have plastic stems that stick out for insertion and are called 'Skull Screws'. :-)  I have to cut the stems off the before use under a helmet though or they poke into the speakers.

Brian

You must have some pretty big ear canals eh Brian?

Those ear plugs laying on the tank look to be extra-large...lol.

I suppose this explains why you're such a good listener?...lol.

Rem

[mikeeitup]

I attached mine to an enormous orange carabiner to prevent myself from being stupid. Thank gos it's worked so far.
Mike

[Conrad]

I attached mine to an enormous orange carabiner to prevent myself from being stupid. Thank gos it's worked so far.
Mike

I tried a carabiner, it didn't work for me...   

[OregonLAN]

If you want to make it water resistant/proof, simply take apart the dongle, cover the battery terminals tabs with a bit of tape and use a generous amount of clear acrylic/lacquer to coat the entire PCB. Worse case, if it goes through the washing machines, you'll have to replace the battery. Also, there's a product at Home Depot that repels water that you could use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoKXTlqmUb8

Before Garmin started making GPS units for motorcycles, I coated the PCB of a vehicle GPS to make it water resistant. It worked well.

[Rhino]

Mostly successful. It worked with water, soda (Sprite IIRC), beer and Chivas. It did not work with a reasonably good Riesling but that was probably because I left the fob soaking for far too long (2 hours or so). The fob recovered but the battery was dead; I am still using that fob today.

The interesting thing about the photo is that the fob actually worked WHILE in the soda- note the LCD showing the key icon.... the only fob I had with me was in the drink, as per the photo.

Brian

I guess soda is not a good RF shield.

[mikeeitup]

I tried a carabiner, it didn't work for me...   

I'm not talking those dumb 150lb cheap carabiners that you buy from Home Depot. I'm talking 7kn climbing full sized carabiner that u can use as "brass knuckles". That would clang around in a washer lol
Mike

[Conrad]

I guess soda pop is not a good RF shield.

FIFY

[Conrad]

I attached mine to an enormous orange carabiner to prevent myself from being stupid. Thank gos it's worked so far.
Mike

I tried a carabiner, it didn't work for me...   

I'm not talking those dumb 150lb cheap carabiners that you buy from Home Depot. I'm talking 7kn climbing full sized carabiner that u can use as "brass knuckles". That would clang around in a washer lol
Mike

Actually, that was a joke that didn't get any traction...