Dropped my field recorder in the sea

aswefallintostatic · 2014-04-20T09:38:19.000Z

Hi Guys, slightly off topic, but i was recording waves hitting rocks the other day with my field recorder when a particularly large wave came up and got me and more importantly my field recorder thoroughly wet. The recorder still works but testing it today i could convince myself that it is not sounding as crisp as it used to.

What do you think, is this just psychoacoustics or might the salt water bath have caused some degradation in the mic diaphragm?

Cheers,
Tom

TrabanT · 2014-04-20T13:18:26.000Z

knowing from the last hurricane in NY … the subway system had particular hard time getting their electronics to work … they said compared to other water damages the hurricane brought in sea water (not just rain water from clouds)

hence

all their electrical stuff is more damaged and corroded due to the salt in the water …

my 2ct … did you record the “crash” … please sound demo!

… sorry for your loss of equipment in case it took its toll on your gear .

guga · 2014-04-21T12:23:26.000Z

that’s bad though, sorry to hear that…
the salty water could have potentially affected the way the mics ‘listen’ to sounds or it could as well be that some of the water has managed to get into the recorder and perhaps some components are not working as they used to do…
if you’re lucky, it could as well be that once the water has completely dried, things could change, but with salty water it’s a bit different and corrosion is NOT your best friend.
if you feel like, you could open your recorder and check it yourself, or else, take it to someone who has some experience (it usually works out to be a better solution )

cosmosuave · 2014-04-21T13:06:10.000Z

I would take the case off remove the batteries and rinse with fresh water then stick it by a window with sun to dry it out…

TrabanT · 2014-04-21T15:27:37.000Z

i would not rinse it with water, but with distilled water (calcide chalk remnants) , and place the components in a big sack of rice for hygroscopy to take action

Allerian · 2014-04-21T15:59:59.000Z

Misleading title.

FreeFall · 2014-04-21T16:24:56.000Z

You want to get that salt water out of there.

I agree with TrabanT. If you can, open the unit and rinse it with distilled water. Then blast it with some compressed air, then into a sack of rice for several days.

I once had a beer spill into the key bed of my laptop. I opened it, blasted it with compress air, and let it dry for a few days and it was fine (still works five years later!).

dimi3 · 2014-04-21T21:45:19.000Z

If your stuff falls in the salt water this key grip told me the best thing is antifreeze… swears by it! Can find any science though…

aswefallintostatic · 2014-04-23T08:41:12.000Z

Thanks for all the replies guys!

It seems to be working for the moment. I opened it up and kind of wiped it over with a damp cloth then dried it thoroughly. Hopefully that will sort any problems.

@TrabanT - I do have a recording, im going to upload it to soundcloud

@Allerian - misleading how?

Thanks again

pseen · 2014-04-23T09:00:58.000Z

Was it recording?