VX3 repair/ maintenance - helpful info

[Strongarm]

I’ve had a VX3 remote for over 12 months, it has been working ok, throttle response isn’t that great but it works fine for most applications.

I set it up as a temporary Remote for a Boogie for a friend while i wait for the new remote to arrive and the range was bad, and got worse and worse over 2-3 sessions.

I opened it up and noticed that the flexible antenna had lost its coating and the salt water was causing it to effectively short out.

I opened it up, coated with a thin layer of lacquer and then a thicker layer of silicone. Now it works fine. This should almost be done as a preventative maintenance for the remote before you get stuck out and need to swim in.

Seems to be working great now.

[SoEFoil]

@Strongarm

I opened it up, coated with a thin layer of lacquer and then a thicker layer of silicone

Would you have pictures of these steps ?

[Strongarm]

Sorry, but then my hands were covered in glue and sealant/adhesive.

All you need to do is seal off the exposed copper.

[hgurdus]

Surprising that they don’t just throw it in the potting, I guess it stops the signal? Maybe Ill just pot the rest of mine with normal epoxy. A little extra heft can’t be a problem.

[lishine]

Did you replace the rusting screws?
Can you tell which screws are these in order to order stainless steel?

[lishine]

Pictures of VX3 disassembly.
Coating antenna with lacquer.
Replacing screws with stainless steel.
Notice: bit have to be thin and long.

[lishine]

How to lock VX3?

It powers locked. And after unlocking I haven’t found a way to lock it.

[Foilguy]

Turn it off is the only way that I know of

[Strongarm]

No auto lock that I could find. Would have been so simple for flipsky to implement as well - the already had the unlock procedure in code!

[lishine]

I described a problem with VX3 disconnecting from simple splash:
'Assist build from Israel - #27 by lishine

Well, as you can see in the pictures above:
'VX3 repair/ maintenance - helpful info - #6 by lishine
There is a lot of void in the remote, also around the antenna. And according to my test, when the water enters inside the remote, it disconnects.

So the idea is to fill it with a closed cells PU foam.
In the meantime I surrounded the anntena with as much silicon as I could. I do not have picture right now, but the connection now improved and it seems that I don’t experience the disconnects on splash.

I see some fog/water being now in the display, it’s coverage changes. I hope it will not cause damage. Maybe PU foam + silicon with prevent this in the future.

[JonathanC]

Fog/water is the beginning of the end for the VX3 display in my experience. They all eventually fail once this starts. The display is potted but water still somehow gets in and slowly degrades. I’ve had four of them fail and have given up on them.

[lishine]

Thanks for sharing. First time I hear that there is a recurring problem with this remote.

Did you try to coat display with something?

What remote you are eventually using?

Now that the fog is inside I have to try to get it out somehow.

[Foilguy]

@JonathanC

I have several VX3’s now going into my second season and have not experienced the issue. During my first year I was in the water a lot as I was learning, I don’t fall off as often now but the remote gets fully immersed at least two times each session when I launch and retrieve

How frequently are your remotes immersed?

[JonathanC]

Immersed all the time, I’m using small boards and catching waves. The early ones seemed slightly better, have just bought the Pro version to see if it’s any better but will end up using Bremote only I suspect. Response from Flipsky has been pretty good to be fair. Had to send the last one back to China but previously they simply replaced. Very frustrating, the display completely disappears in the end but you can still use the remote ‘blind’ however the whole thing dies eventually. Such a waste

[Foilguy]

I just received a new “non-pro” model so I have a spare.
Screen brightness is a LOT better. Not sure on if it’s a different screen or they changed the firmware to make it brighter.

[lishine]

Yes, my screen is bright as well, bright enough to be seen in the sun, unlike other people said. Probably they changed it.

[Pavel]

Could you clarify why you refer to them as “pro” or “non-pro” each time? Are there any actual differences between the remotes?

[JonathanC]

1.6” v 1.8” display for Pro - looks identical side by side though. Think also different features on Pro for VESC use.

[lishine]

Display sealing:

'First build - Full Carbon efoil - #63 by Andrii

@Andrii
What do the circled corners show?
What is the technique for removing display case?

[JonathanC]

The circled corners show small cracks in the corners of the clear case - I had the same cracks with my failed displays. I’m pretty certain () Andrii has come up with a good solution. I’m going to experiment with one of my faulty ones to see how difficult it is to remove the display.