Before I start I would ask that those of you who are tech savvy dont take the piss out of my tech ignorance)
My journey to ROV comes as a direct result of having to give up diving.
My diving was fuelled by my passion for underwater photography and photogrammetry so making the conscious decision to give up diving was made far easier when seeing the BR tutorial for integrating the BGH1 so I spec’d my BR2 towards that config with Heavy lift and ethernet switch. Alas the BGH1 has an integrated ethernet port and my Canon EOS R6 mk2 does not…
The Canon EOS R6 mk2 has HDMI and USB-C ports, but no Ethernet port. My initial thoughts were to link the R6-2 USB to the Pi USB and it’d just work (absolute ignorance on my part!). I posed the USB to Ethernet conundrum to a tech savvy (geek) friend of mine. He told me of the cheap finless stick computers available on Amazon for not a lot of money and asked if one of those could be housed and act as the interface conversion. I said that “I didn’t have a clue but the Amazon returns are pretty favourable so I’ll buy one and see”! When the stick PC arrived I put the ball back in his court again on how to make the interface work. The Stick PC had Windows 10 Pro installed (even though the ad said Windows 11 Pro), so I upgraded the it to Win11 Pro. Canon have ‘Canon Utilities’ desktop software that has fulll control of a USB connected camera. Windows 11 Pro also has Remote Desktop Connection as standard. My initial trials ran the camera connected to the stick computer over USB, then the stick computer connected to the Internet over wifi and Remote Desktop, then my laptop connected to the stick computer over Remote Desktop over Wifi - the setup worked!
I then looked at running the Remote Desktop network over the BR Ethernet switch and FXTI which didn’t work. After a while of messing around with different network settings and thought I would try the connection from a Windows laptop - I had been using the MS Remote Desktop App for MacOS - and it worked with full connection! Confused why it worked on the PC but not on MacOS, I realised that I hadn’t disconnected from the WiFi on the Windows laptop. Turning off the WiFi on the Windows laptop I decided to give it another go, and it worked! Full Remote Desktop Connection over the BR Ethernet over FXTI!
I created a short video of this moment showing the interface links here.
With this working in theory I started to procure the waterproof housings and links to progress towards a workable solution. My Nauticam housing has M14 & M24 bulkhead ports, I realised that BR do M14 wetlinks, but they are for the T500 thrusters and not for any data cables. Needing to run USB between the camera and stick PC, I discovered that USB2 requires 6 conductors - ideally shielded. My ‘suck it and see’ mentality wondered if the FX 4UTP tether may work for this using 6 of its 8 conductors - its only copper after all (I imagine the tech savvies are now taking a deep breath through their teeth due to my lack of interface know how), either way, with all documentation and cable specs working against me, it worked! With the FX tether not fitting the BR M14 wetlinks, I had a length potted into the wetlink connector.
Thinking I was on the home straight, I started to assemble the components…It turns out that instead of using the normal 2mm thread pitch (for M14), Nauticam use 1mm thread pitch for all of their bulkhead threads - so the newly potted M14 Wetlink with FX tether didnt fit! Being so invested I figured I had to find an option, so I had a M24x1 (nauticam) to M10x1.5 adaptor made and I cut off the M14 x 2 wetlink and replace it for a M10x1.5 wetlink.
Thus far all of my USB-C connectors had been temporary cam locking (like WAGO) USB-C tails. Working with some electronics engineers I bought some solder on USB-C male connectors and asked them if they’d be kind enough to solder them on. It turns out that these USB-C ends from Amazon didn’t work! Knowing that the WAGO style temporary connectors did work, but they WAGO style end wouldn’t fit into the housings I thought I’d try to cut the cable and splice with heat shrink solder in-line connectors. This worked!
I now had the connection from the camera in the Nauticam housing to the stick PC, but not a housing for the stick PC or a connection to the BR Ethernet Switch.
Measuring the stick PC I realised it would fit inside a 3" enclosure. The stick PC has a RJ45 out on it, so I figured that a FX tether with RJ45 on the ends should work.
With all of the bodge cables and heat shrink solder joints I put everything together resulting in this video.
With the setup working on the bench I was finally able to test it in-water yesterday. While in-water I achieved full manual camera control of the Mirrorless DSLR camera that was shooting 16:9 4k video on its full frame sensor in Clog3. I have not had a chance to edit the footage into anything interesting to view yet, only managed to put a LUT on the Clog rushes, but the footage looks epic!
Either way, here is the current setup in image format
To round off, the things I have needed to buy/have made to achieve this (bear in mind I already had the camera, housing & BR2 withe Ethernet switch):
M24x1 to M10x1.5 adaptor for Nauticam housing
4UTP FX Tether with M10 Wetlink on both ends with USB-C on cable ends
3" BR Enclosure, ends etc
Fanless stick PC
4UTP FX tether with M10 Wetlink on one and and quick release setup on other end - RJ45 on both ends of core conductors
Bespoke payload skid to fit Nauticam housing
Pair of Smallrig Arca Swiss QR clamps
I mentioned not having been able to create anything interesting from the Clog footage yet, I have put together the rushes with LUT - the mussels had just spawned so the viz was dog-sh1t and I didnt have any particular shots in mind - and here they are https://youtu.be/qr7XbhPGDdU
This has been a journey of ups and downs, hence the reason for sharing in detail. I really cannot wait to put this setup through more challenging, planned trials next week.
