Getting started again

Hi,

I recently found my old OpenROV, which I believe is a 2.5 version. It’s not been run in about 8 years and I can see some parts have perished.

I’ve noticed that the old openrov forums have disappeared and most of the community information appears to have been lost.

So I’m now trying to decide if I’m better off trying to resurrect the old rov, or start with something new.
Budget is likely to prove a problem as there’s no way I’ll be allowed to build another £1000 rov.

I’ve looked at some of the 3d printing communities and see that there’s some activity there, albeit waterproofing appears to be the big problem… As always.

What is considered the starter approach these days?
Is there any way to salvage and reuse parts from the old openrov?

My local rivers are typically freshwater with an average depth of about 6ft and max depth of about 15ft

Thanks for any guidance
Steve

Hey @Wasps , the V2.5 kits are pretty old at this point and weren’t very good at maintaining a seal on the main tube. To get yours working would probably take a substantial amount of improvisation. I have some later OpenROV kits in storage (v2.6 and v2.7) that I don’t think will ever be used. If you’d like, I may be able to send one to you. No guarantees about it being easy to get working, but I think you’ll have a better chance with it than the 2.5. Another important thing to note is that they use a web browser (Chrome) for the interface, and since it’s been half a decade, changes in Chrome since then are likely to not be compatible with the old software. DM me if you’d like to chat about it! -Eric

Hi Eric,

Yes, that’s exactly the problem I remember having.
Even though I was only dealing with 5-6ft depths, there was always a little water making it into the main tube.

I don’t really have the budget to buy a new OpenROV kit.

I’ll do some more research and see what other options are out there for minimal depth, short range rov’s.

Thanks for getting back to me
Steve

@Wasps I’d be happy to send you the newer kit for free if you like it. I’d rather see it get used by someone rather than just sit there.

Eric

Oh wow
That would be incredible
Thank you Eric

I’ll PM you

Thanks
Steve