My Hybrid ROV just completed another dive in my Associations’s swimming pool. The object of this dive was to determine battery usage over a period of close to an hour.
I ran the ROV for almost an hour using Depth Hold, which caused the vertical thruster to run continuously, and applied moderate drive to the two horizontal thrusters as I circled the pool. I also tested the outboard lights as well as the inboard WTC Controller mounted lights. Both performed as expected.
After about an hour of moderate run time I found that it took around 1300 ma to recharge each of the two NiMH 9.6 vdc 4500 mah batteries. So I would say that I could safely perform a dive that could last around two hours and still have some battery margin left.
I had previously programmed and verified the combination Topside Tether Interface/Wireless Access Point functionality so I was not expecting any issues with the WiFi Access Point and there were none. However, I found that I got the best WiFi connection by keeping my laptop at least a foot away from the wireless router. The WiFi range appeared to be very good at 10 feet and beyond which is good enough for me.
The pictures below show the Access Point Dry Box with the Tether Reel and open by itself:
Tether Reel & WiFi Access Point Dry Box
WiFi Access Point Dry Box open
Now to do more swimming pool testing and prepare for a Intercostal dive.
Thanks for the kudos, much appreciated. I am just happy that the ballasting/trimming went so smoothly only taking a buoyancy piece of PVC pipe of around 40 cu inches to offset the 90 cu inches of the OROV Controller Board WTC to obtain fore and aft trim. I accomplished the lateral trim using just a 2 oz lead fishing sinker.
I would like to thank Rusty for all of his input concerning the ballasting and trimming of the BR BlueROV1 chassis that is used in the Hybrid ROV.
I loaded VLC, a video recording app, onto my laptop and setup the network streaming address for the OROV and it worked like a champ. It put the recorded video file in the Windows 10 Video Folder.
I found that all that is required to record with VLC is to start the Cockpit, then start VLC, select Network under the Media Tab and push play which will bring up the VLC video window. There is a red record button above the player controls at the bottom of the window which allows you to start and stop recording. The video might look a little jerky in the VLC video window, but it is smooth on playback and in the Cockpit too.
Now when I go for the next swimming pool dive I can record some video as proof of operation.
As far as roll goes, I have the holes in the mount larger than the 6-32 attachment screws so I can adjust it in the roll axis in relation to the chassis. The pitch axis of the mount is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ROV chassis so no issues there.
As far as magnetic interference from the T100 Thrusters, I really can’t say as the present OROV firmware has a very strange way of dealing with IMU calibration and external magnetic influences. They have set up the compass firmware to obtain heading input from the gyros as long as the Thrusters are in operation. Once Thruster operation ceases, the firmware will wait five seconds and then take compass readings until the Thrusters are applied again. However this is developmental firmware and is subject to change with the next OROV firmware release.
That’s a neat way of getting around the problem. I am frequently impressed with simple elegant solutions from the Open ROV community. Refreshing perspective and approach.
