Hello all...
I am faced with a problem right now where I have a unit that has a connector on it. This connector is used to dock to a "recharge docking station".
So, what this means is that this connector has my power, GND and other signals going to it.
The task at hand is to be able to past various test that will allow this unit to run underwater... say 3 feet for 30 mins.
The solution right now is that we have to have a seal on the connector to meet this spec.
I was hoping to find a "special connector" that would allow us not to use this seal so when we put the unit in water, nothing would short, or leak in.
I may not be able to change the connector... so I'm open for other ideas too.
I may be able redesign the I/O board the connector go's too. I am aware of short circuit protection for circuit boards, but not sure how it would work with water being the short...
Anyone who faced something like this or would like to post is welcome!
Thanks, Tony
Underwater connector problem
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Robert Reed
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Sam
Don't know how many contacts you need on your connector, but you might want to look at JET SKI manufacturers and web sites. Every ski will use between 3 - 8 connectors on board. The ones I have seen run from 2 - 8 contacts per connector, and they are made to be submerged and watertight for a period of time, maybe weeks on end.
Don't know how many contacts you need on your connector, but you might want to look at JET SKI manufacturers and web sites. Every ski will use between 3 - 8 connectors on board. The ones I have seen run from 2 - 8 contacts per connector, and they are made to be submerged and watertight for a period of time, maybe weeks on end.
Here is a suggestion: PVC plumbing fittings.
Get a pipe larger than the diameter of the current connector. Let's say 3/4" is more than enough diameter wise. Get an end cap seal and place this at one end of the pipe. At the other end place a threaded "clean out" assembly (female receiver and male threaded cap). Drill a hole slightly smaller than the cable you are using for the power and other signals. Squeeze the cable into the end caps. Seal with silicone sealer or glue where the cable enters. (It will likely be easier to fish the cable through the end cap before gluing it on the pipe.) Plug in the connector and "back twist" the threaded part the number of turns it takes to seal the cap (thus the cable will be "straight" when the cap is screwed on).
PVC connectors are VERY water tight when the proper sealed. You must use the proper glue and primer to make a very good connection. The gluing process actually melts the pieces together. The threaded parts are made to seal in water so I'd assume they could seal it out just as well.
Hopefully this is of help.
Get a pipe larger than the diameter of the current connector. Let's say 3/4" is more than enough diameter wise. Get an end cap seal and place this at one end of the pipe. At the other end place a threaded "clean out" assembly (female receiver and male threaded cap). Drill a hole slightly smaller than the cable you are using for the power and other signals. Squeeze the cable into the end caps. Seal with silicone sealer or glue where the cable enters. (It will likely be easier to fish the cable through the end cap before gluing it on the pipe.) Plug in the connector and "back twist" the threaded part the number of turns it takes to seal the cap (thus the cable will be "straight" when the cap is screwed on).
PVC connectors are VERY water tight when the proper sealed. You must use the proper glue and primer to make a very good connection. The gluing process actually melts the pieces together. The threaded parts are made to seal in water so I'd assume they could seal it out just as well.
Hopefully this is of help.
No trees were harmed in the creation of this message. But billions of electrons, photons, and electromagnetic waves were terribly inconvenienced!
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Chris Smith
- Posts: 4325
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2001 1:01 am
- Location: Bieber Ca.
Ampex and a few other companies sell water proof connectors.
If necessary you can extend both half connectors that you already have into slightly longer ones, them semi permanently seal the old ones from the water, while the new short extensions are already water tight and ready to go.
Also a feed back circuit like the GFI will sense a short or draw, and kick it all off.
If necessary you can extend both half connectors that you already have into slightly longer ones, them semi permanently seal the old ones from the water, while the new short extensions are already water tight and ready to go.
Also a feed back circuit like the GFI will sense a short or draw, and kick it all off.
There are 50 contacts on the connector.
I'll check out Jet Ski components to see if they have something that could help.
I heard of AMP but not AMPEX, I'll check them out too.
Not sure if I made this clear...
I have a connector that has PWR and GND going to it so it can hook-up to a docking station...(AC).
The scenario when unit is underwater... its not hooked up to the docking station... Its running on batteries. So the connector and its 50 contacts are being shorted... The unit is not designed to do this, but it is a test that we would like to meet... 30 mins at 3 feet. The PWR on the connector is from the DC PWR from the batteries.
As of right now we can only pass this test if we seal the connector completely shut.
Are GFI circuits for DC applications too?
I was hoping to find a circuit that would allow me to keep the system running while detecting a short on that connector...
Thanks for the input.
I'll check out Jet Ski components to see if they have something that could help.
I heard of AMP but not AMPEX, I'll check them out too.
Not sure if I made this clear...
I have a connector that has PWR and GND going to it so it can hook-up to a docking station...(AC).
The scenario when unit is underwater... its not hooked up to the docking station... Its running on batteries. So the connector and its 50 contacts are being shorted... The unit is not designed to do this, but it is a test that we would like to meet... 30 mins at 3 feet. The PWR on the connector is from the DC PWR from the batteries.
As of right now we can only pass this test if we seal the connector completely shut.
Are GFI circuits for DC applications too?
I was hoping to find a circuit that would allow me to keep the system running while detecting a short on that connector...
Thanks for the input.
Application of silicone grease (not rtv) will seal out water yet still allow the pin's wipers to make contact (you do need a connector with wiping action not just pressure contact). Vasaline will also work in a pinch. It dosen't make a generic connector waterproof but makes a marginal connector more resistant to water induced leakage
Many of the mil spec "barrel style" connectors are watertight but 50 contacts is a lot. I might be tempted to use an ordinary ribbon cable connector and clamp it in a small modified pelican plastic case (half of connector sealed to lid and half sealed to box, remove hinge and voila!)
http://www.pelican-case.com/cases.html
You probably already realize a serial fiber optic link for the data and contactless power (inductive coupling) would be ideal but that's hindsight.
Many of the mil spec "barrel style" connectors are watertight but 50 contacts is a lot. I might be tempted to use an ordinary ribbon cable connector and clamp it in a small modified pelican plastic case (half of connector sealed to lid and half sealed to box, remove hinge and voila!)
http://www.pelican-case.com/cases.html
You probably already realize a serial fiber optic link for the data and contactless power (inductive coupling) would be ideal but that's hindsight.
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Chris Smith
- Posts: 4325
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2001 1:01 am
- Location: Bieber Ca.
Last time I checked AMPEX was still around.
MY connectors, my one inch video equipment company, sound systems etc., [all ampex] started before most here were in diapers and they made the best bar none for the public as well as every thing important military including the ICBM missile and all sorts of things.
Having bought lots of DOD things for pennies on the dollar, I was lucky to recycle all of these good things for almost free.
Even my Hues Missile Gyros have these connectors on the input/ output and the 100 thou brass pins were great for creating three or more tier circuit boards with heavy interconnecting busses.
I wouldn’t doubt if they merged with another well known company.
Ampex, Amphenol, and Tektronix all go way back.
Ampex++connectors
Ampex Electric and Manufacturing Company is formed by Alexander M. Poniatoff in San ... The Ampex VRX-1000 videotape recorder is ...
www.ampex.com/03corp/03corp.html - 45k - Cached - Similar pages
Ampex Amphenol connector ...
AMP
Ampex
Ampex Records
Ampex Video
MY connectors, my one inch video equipment company, sound systems etc., [all ampex] started before most here were in diapers and they made the best bar none for the public as well as every thing important military including the ICBM missile and all sorts of things.
Having bought lots of DOD things for pennies on the dollar, I was lucky to recycle all of these good things for almost free.
Even my Hues Missile Gyros have these connectors on the input/ output and the 100 thou brass pins were great for creating three or more tier circuit boards with heavy interconnecting busses.
I wouldn’t doubt if they merged with another well known company.
Ampex, Amphenol, and Tektronix all go way back.
Ampex++connectors
Ampex Electric and Manufacturing Company is formed by Alexander M. Poniatoff in San ... The Ampex VRX-1000 videotape recorder is ...
www.ampex.com/03corp/03corp.html - 45k - Cached - Similar pages
Ampex Amphenol connector ...
AMP
Ampex
Ampex Records
Ampex Video
connector
Are you using the connector in salt or fresh water? A friend of mine made a trolling motor for his pirogue out of a starter motor. He made no effort to seal it at all from the water, but only used it in the fresh water swamps of Louisiana. Worked just great!
Timing is everything! And this timing is near perfect. I am working on retrofitting some connectors on an underseas camera that is used for inspection of underwater bridge piles and cassions. The camera is expected to go to about 200 feet.
The OEM camera connectors were tiny semi-rigid neoprene molded with embedded pins. They worked, but on a cold wet rolling barge they were very difficult to mate with numb fingers.
We are currently using connectors from Bulgin, they are the Buckineer series and are available with different pin configurations and Bulgin makes other connectors as well. They all use a combination of internal 'O' rings and packing glands to insure their performance We currently get them from Mouser but other distributors may also stock them.
With all connectors like these there is an IP rating. The IP68 rating is for submerged aplications, but, the manufacturer may or may not specify the test depth but It's usually way more than a few feet.
There are other manufacturers, (google for sub sea and under seas as keywords) for deep sea applications but we found many of them to be unresponsive to small orders.
Like earlier said there are wraps, gells and compounds that could be used to beef up another connector but in our application mating and unmating is done several times a day so convenience counts.
I'd appreciate anyone with other product recommendations to step up to the plate since we are just in the trial stage with these connectors and they may not be our best answer. I'll post back as more info is gained on our tests!
Len
The OEM camera connectors were tiny semi-rigid neoprene molded with embedded pins. They worked, but on a cold wet rolling barge they were very difficult to mate with numb fingers.
We are currently using connectors from Bulgin, they are the Buckineer series and are available with different pin configurations and Bulgin makes other connectors as well. They all use a combination of internal 'O' rings and packing glands to insure their performance We currently get them from Mouser but other distributors may also stock them.
With all connectors like these there is an IP rating. The IP68 rating is for submerged aplications, but, the manufacturer may or may not specify the test depth but It's usually way more than a few feet.
There are other manufacturers, (google for sub sea and under seas as keywords) for deep sea applications but we found many of them to be unresponsive to small orders.
Like earlier said there are wraps, gells and compounds that could be used to beef up another connector but in our application mating and unmating is done several times a day so convenience counts.
I'd appreciate anyone with other product recommendations to step up to the plate since we are just in the trial stage with these connectors and they may not be our best answer. I'll post back as more info is gained on our tests!
Len
connector
You may also want to look at replacement power cords for sub pumps they are water tight
Moe
Moe
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Chris Smith
- Posts: 4325
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2001 1:01 am
- Location: Bieber Ca.
Here is a nice list of plugs.... 3M, AMP, Aero Electric, Amphenol, Array, Automatic, Bendix, Berg, Burndy, Cinch Jones, Continental, Crown, CW Industries, DDK, Electro Adapter, Dale, Deutsch, Elco, FCI, Glenair, Harting, ITT Cannon, Kings, Lemo, Litton, Molex, Phoenix, Robinson Nugent,Samtec, Tyco, Veam, Viking, Winchester.
Also the milatary types start at 6 pin and go up.
Mine were usually 25 or less pins.
Also the milatary types start at 6 pin and go up.
Mine were usually 25 or less pins.
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