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danhay · November 20th, 2012, 10:26

Complex electronics do not like moisture; both precipitation and humidity induced condensation are anathema. This is why Systemas are afraid of the rain. I had my Raptor X120 unit stop working at the end of a long MilSim scenario which took place in the very damp Canadian Shield near Petawawa. I considered myself lucky because several Systema users experienced similar total failures after about 4 hours of game play. My Raptor worked like a charm once I had cracked open the mechbox and given it a few days to air out.

The solution to this problem is conformal coating, an electrically neutral coating used to protect electronic components from moisture or physical damage. The most durable type of conformal coatings are epoxy based products but acrylic or polymer based spray-on coatings are probably just as good for components which will be buried inside a receiver or buffer tube (stock). I picked up a small epoxy conformal coating kit from digikey and applied it to my Raptor X120. It's worth noting that the Raptor X130 and it's successor, the Chimera, both have an acrylic conformal coating for protection.

Before I had a Raptor in my AEG I used it during a 24 hour MilSim which involved more than a little rain. The only problem I encountered was my replica EoTech fogging up between the panes of glass (the knock-offs are not sealed air-tight like the real steel units).

I also recall a video I saw on youtube in which a young gent completely submersed an AEG in a swimming pool and successfully test fired it upon surfacing and allowing excess water to drain out. DC powered systems tend to be much more tolerant of water ingress than do AC systems.

Cheers - Dan

November 20th, 2012, 10:26	#8
danhay Trader rating Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Calgary, AB	Complex electronics do not like moisture; both precipitation and humidity induced condensation are anathema. This is why Systemas are afraid of the rain. I had my Raptor X120 unit stop working at the end of a long MilSim scenario which took place in the very damp Canadian Shield near Petawawa. I considered myself lucky because several Systema users experienced similar total failures after about 4 hours of game play. My Raptor worked like a charm once I had cracked open the mechbox and given it a few days to air out. The solution to this problem is conformal coating, an electrically neutral coating used to protect electronic components from moisture or physical damage. The most durable type of conformal coatings are epoxy based products but acrylic or polymer based spray-on coatings are probably just as good for components which will be buried inside a receiver or buffer tube (stock). I picked up a small epoxy conformal coating kit from digikey and applied it to my Raptor X120. It's worth noting that the Raptor X130 and it's successor, the Chimera, both have an acrylic conformal coating for protection. Before I had a Raptor in my AEG I used it during a 24 hour MilSim which involved more than a little rain. The only problem I encountered was my replica EoTech fogging up between the panes of glass (the knock-offs are not sealed air-tight like the real steel units). I also recall a video I saw on youtube in which a young gent completely submersed an AEG in a swimming pool and successfully test fired it upon surfacing and allowing excess water to drain out. DC powered systems tend to be much more tolerant of water ingress than do AC systems. Cheers - Dan Last edited by danhay; November 20th, 2012 at 10:28..