I completed assembly and initial shallow water testing of phase 2 today. Next step is at-sea deep water tests. The thrust of the two T100’s is impressive! I don’t think I will need more than 1/2 power in actual use.
Next step after at-sea testing is to shift all components to a BR water tight enclosure to allow easy access for powering up and charging. Note, I have a GoPro mount attached at the front. Live video is mainly for navigation, the GoPro will be recording video for later editing and viewing on youtube.
Congratulations on your successful shallow water test!
May the deep sea testing go as well.
Regards,
TCIII AVD
Thanks TClll. Due to visiting family and some other committments I probably won’t get out on the water until February. So, I may go ahead and purchase the BR WTC and make the changeover. It takes me about 30 minutes to take apart and put back together my current setup. It was built for just UW CCTV and no required access, so it has served its purpose well.
Pool test today went well. 15 minutes cruising around at 6 feet.
Cool! Mind if we add them to “Customer Photo Gallery”?
-Rusty
Sure, use any of the pictures I post as you choose. Here is a short video clip of today’s pool test. Most of the noise you hear is the ROV dragging along the bottom of the pool. It is 2 lbs negatively buoyant.
- YouTube&feature=youtu.be
I replaced the above youtube video with this one (added pictures of the ROV):
ROV Pool Test 01 04 16 - YouTube&feature=youtu.be
Where did you get that cat5? None of mine fits through the cable penetrators.
@Jacob,
The Cat5/6 I have here at my shop has a diameter of 10 mm.
The cable penetrator is designed for a diameter of 6 mm.
If you have a lathe or a good drill press you can bore the counter bore out by 4 mm, but be careful as you will be getting close to the outer wall of the penetrator.
You might want to try opening the counter bore up a mm at a time and see if the cable will fit before going out to the full 10 mm.
Regards,
TCIII AVD
@Jacob-
Here is my source for cat5e:
http://cables4sure.com/cat5e-patch-cables-200ft
It is 6mm and fits the cable penetrators perfectly. It is holding up well so far.
By the way, I have removed the baluns, there not necessary.
Richard
Heading out Thursday for 100 foot testing. By the way, I have started a blog at:
I have installed a magnetic compass on the ROV to allow rudimentary navigation. The bracket and compass snap into place and are removable.
Completed Phase 2 testing to 90 feet today 18 miles off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. The test went well and all goals were met.
Leakproof to 90 feet. Anticipate will be okay down to 130 which is the limit of my mounted GoPro.
T100’s/ESC’s and their control from the surface passed the test.
The mounted magnetic compass worked great and was easy to read at the surface control box monitor.
Visibility was bad so I couldn’t get in any useful heading control practice or explore around. I did manage to surprise a large school of Amberjack. I posted a few pics of the test on youtube (I’m the tall guy):
ROV Test@EF 01 14 151 - YouTube&feature=youtu.be
Here are the Amberjack from the GoPro view:
Amberjack@EF 01 14 15 - YouTube&feature=youtu.be
Ignore the dates on the previous post clip. I need to correct the date in the DVR.
During yesterday’s test one thing became apparent. Due to the short coupling between the center of buoyancy and the thrusters, the ROV is way too sensitive in rotation. I am going to add a vertical stabilizer off the back to slow down the rotation. Eventially II’ll work up an inboard compass and a heading hold program which will completely solve the problem.
Well, everything came to an end when my WTE bolt flange failed, flooding out (salt water) and burning up everything electrical. It was my fault for using the Loctite Marine epoxy in a structural member. Just don’t do it. It may be okay for potting the connectors but never use it for structural attachment. It is too brittle and will not take any impact. Rusty has put a warning on the store page for Loctite. I had been complaining about the Loctite but didn’t go back and redo the bolt flange that I had attached to the WTE with Loctite when I first started. I will stick to a recommendation of West G-flex for any structural work, and I believe it is a better choice for potting. When I get the funds saved up I will start over again but with the BR WTE. BR is a great company and their products are first rate.
Richard where did your flange fail out? Was it at joint area that you used the epoxy on the flange to adhere it to the rest of the enclosure or what?
Another question … I see you have a ton of bolts holding the flange components together, what is the “seal” in-between the two flange pieces? Do you have an O-ring race in there or are you using rubber sheet stock? I am curious about this because I have done testing with sheet stock versus using an O-ring and have seen drastic performance differences.
Harold,
The Loctite epoxy joint holding the flange butted up against the PVC pipe end cracked open. I suspect this occurred on the workbench when I was tightening the flange bolts and I did not notice it. As the ROV was motoring away from the dock smoke started pouring out in the flange area and the controls stopped working. I immediately retrieved the ROV looked into the lense area and saw it was half full of water and filled with smoke. Not wanting to be near the ROV if the LiPo batteries blew up I put it back in the water for about ten minutes and all smoking had stopped. This was a classic case where a power switch would have been welcome.
I used a rubber sheet gasket for the flange to endcap interface. Look back at some of the pictures and you can get a good feel for the flange detail. This unit had a dozen dives on it, several of which were to 90 feet. I am going to rebuild when I save up enough money to get started again, and I will definitely use a BR WTE.