Jason Rollette's
Underwater ROV submarine camera
Here is the video!!!! Video1
I have since redesigned this sub, the new one with work in progress is HERE
The chassis is up for sale, if interested email me.
History, I had this x10 cam 0 lux cheapo camera laying around and wanted to make an under water camera. I had thought about adding IR leds to make so it could see further under water. However the tube I had would not with stand the pressure. So my son and I stated looking at ideas to use pvc to make the camera house. Then we wondered how we would move it to get a good picture. We ended up with an ROV design. The next day we were off to Menards, to get PVC pipe. We spent 4 hours cutting the pipe and this is the design we ended up with.
Picture of the front,notice the tubes, I will put plexiglass discs in the front to make them water proof
The tubes will contain 2 lights on either end, the middle 2 will houses 120 high power IR leds, the lower tube will house the 0 lux under water camera. You can also see the space left for the 6 bilge pumps.
the side you can see where the (6) 12 volt bilge pumps will be located. These pumps will be used as thrusters.
the back shows the removable backs to get at the electronics.
This is the manipulator we are going to use. I got it from Eldercare.com we are going to attach it to a solenoid. And mount it on the the front.
View of the back where we plan to run power for the lights and the camera.
Front view all the top tubes will have lights in them and the one underneath will contail the camera.
Side view you can see the 6 bilge pump motors we plan to manuver
Front view showing all 5 tubes and the motors tucked nicely underneath.
This is the Maiden voyage.
Many people have emailed me asking for plans and videos. I did put together a parts list, which I will try to find,
However I plan to do a redesign over the winter, and would rather post that. But if you look at the pictures the whole frame is made from ½” pvc, and the grates are made from plastic ceiling tile venting.
The top tubes are 2.5” pvc, with unions with Plexiglas in-between.
This unit moves too slow for my liking, and is too heavy. I want a move nimble/smaller design. I will reuse many of the parts. Only the outer frame will be scrapped.
this is where I got my bilge pumps.
SportsmanGuide
I used 4 of the 500gph, and 2 of the bigger 1250 ones for forward/reverse.
I am using a 400 watt inverter to run a small tv, and vcr off a deep cycle marine battery.
For control I am using 2 runs of Ethernet cable 1 for power to the lights and video, and one for the motors.
I would not recommend more than 100 feet of cable due to the increasing resistance of the cable, and lost voltage in the cable.
Inverter
Inverter
Control box
Deep Cycle Battery
There have been many questions on the depth and if it can handle pressures, Well I did test the pressure by internally filling it up with compressed air to 255PSI and had no air leaks when it sat over night. This is the highest air pressure I had available, but the pipe I used was rated for 600 psi, so I would guess I would be safe. The other thing is I don’t have a boat, and it is hard for me to find that deep of water. I have had it 35 feet deep so far. There have been tons of complaints that I don’t have detailed plans! I have just not had time to do this. But you can look at the pictures and pretty much see that it is made out of off the shelf PVC pipe and just by looking at the pictures you can see what I did.
Partial Pressures of Compressed Air
(assuming air is 80% nitrogen, 20% oxygen)
Depth/Atmosphere/Absolute Pressure
0 / 1 / 14.7
33 / 2 / 29.4
66 / 3 / 44.1
99 / 4 / 58.8
132 / 5 / 73.5
165 / 6 / 88.2
198 / 7 / 102.9
231 / 8 / 117.6
264 / 9 / 132.3
297 / 10 / 147.0
You can Email Me.