Tether connection solution

Originally the tether has nowhere to be secured to the ROV apart from into the side panels. This creates a skew drag in the ROV when tether drag occurs. I solved his with an easy solution, using a threaded bar through the side panels on the aft of the ROV. Nuts on either sides of the panels makes sure the panels dont`t gets deformed when making up the outside nut on the threaded bar. A thin plastic tube will be installed over the threaded bar to protect the cables from the sharp threads.
I am interested to see if there are some other solutions out there too.

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Although I haven’t tried this, you could probably accomplish the same thing with a piece of line, tied to both side frames and with a loop knot in the middle. If I were to do this I’d probably use something like dyneema for its superior strength.

I have done exactly the same as you, i use a 12mm aluminum rod and two 5 mm aluminum Button Head Cap Screws.Has also replaced all the screws on bluerov2 with aluminum Screws. (Will not corrode in seawater,aluminum + aluminum :slight_smile:

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I’m doing something similar, I’m using a 2 foot long stainless wire braided rope with loops on the ends, and once of the plastic blue robotics cable thimble things in the middle, attached to the back of the rov and then clipped to the tether.

Interesting, let us know how it turns out in the long run. How often do you check them and make sure they are tight ?

@an-ron What connectors are you using on the ethernet cable?

Dyneema, works perfect

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Almost exactly how I’d do it. One thing to keep in mind, both Dyneema and the tether are pretty slippery. So it might help to rough up the tether cover a bit (with sand paper) and use a bit of glue-filled heat shrink tubing over the Dyneema / tether combination. You want to minimize the risk of any tension on either the splice or the connector.

I used self-vulcanising tape, to keep the dyneema in place, before the splice. And if you see the first picture, the black part of the tether runs in a big loop around the other wires, to avoid tension on the connector.

The small Dyneema shackle is chosen in stead of a SS shackle to prevent the rope from sinking and thereby risking entangling the rope.

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