Fathom to Arduino Serial Connection

Build DIY ROVs
1

Hello!!!

I have been looking for information but I have not seen a clear guide,

I need a connection from above, out of the water, to the ROV. I only want a Serial connection, from outside a computer or arduino to the ROV with arduino, the idea is to have a Serial communication to send data and receive, I only want to send data, I don’t need video.

I have been reading that you use FATHOM but some concepts are not clear to me,

  • What combination will I need???

I understand that above I would need FXTI , it has a connection for Binder 770 and a USB output that I could connect to the USB of my laptop and read through the arduino IDE serial the data that comes to me from the ROV’s arduino.
In the ROV part, I would need another Fathom X board and from there connect to the Arduino serial port to have communication with the surface. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Thanks!!!

2

If you just want serial data, it would probably be easiest to utilize a second twisted pair in the tether and use a pair of RS485 converters to connect to the Arduinos.

If you want to use the Fathom it would probably be best to add an ethernet switch (https://bluerobotics.com/store/comm-control-power/tether-interface/ethswitch/) top and bottom and use an ethernet shield on the Arduinos instead of using the serial ports.

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3

Thanks!!!

So it is much easier than I thought! The FATHOM board would be useful if you need video but since it is not my case, I understand that following this attached diagram and using the standard cable https://bluerobotics.com/store/cables-connectors/cables/cab-nbpuf-4utp-26awg / and RS485, it would only use two twisted pairs and it would already have serial communication.

FullDuplexRS485
FullDuplexRS485699×546 232 KB

Thanks!!!

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