My best mod to date - Aft camera in the battery enclosure

[etienne (Etienne Demers)]

Hi guys,

I just thought I would share this mod as I believe it is my best cost effective mod to date. You can do all this for under 200USD…

I had been wanting to do this for a bit and needed it on my last job.

I basically used an IP camera:

83.95US $ |SIP E185D 1/1.9" SONY CMOS IMX185 Hi3516D H.265 2MP 1080P ONVIF2.4...

With a fisheye lens:

18.4US $ |Sl-ry168f20ir Hd 3.0 Mp Megapixels 1/2" M12x0.5 F2.0 1.68mm Cctv...

The superb BR 3 inch dome:
https://www.bluerobotics.com/store/watertight-enclosures/wte3-p-dome-r1/

A piece of plastic that I cut with a dremel to mount the camera inside. (some rubbish I found in the shop)

In order to do this, you need to reverse the battery housing so that the cables come from the front. You will need to redo some cables.

For best results I have shifted the whole housing aft but I will need to add buoyancy in the back to compensate the shifted battery weight.

If you do this, the cables won’t show in the front looking camera when you tilt down and the aft camera won’t have too much cables in the way.

This works extremely well, especially since the aft camera is low light and the forward pointing lights are enough to be able to get a decent picture of the tether…

To figure out how to add an IP camera, have a read on my previous topic: Low Cost HD-Zoom-Tilt Project - #29 by etienne

I’ll post pictures later today, I don’t have anything decent right now.

Cheers,
E.

[etienne (Etienne Demers)]

Ok so this picture shows how far aft I installed the battery enclosure. This provides clearance for the cables so we don’t see them in the BR2 camera when tilting down. Also pushed the aft camera clear of most cables. The cost is the ROV pitches up so I will need to buy some buoyancy to even it out.

Front of the ROV there are 4 connectors and 1 vent. This is because the tether cable is not shielded so I needed one for telemetry and one for the camera. This is also where I terminate the tether because I am planning in being able to swap between this tether and a surface supply tether without having to rewire.

One I get some shielded cable I will drop one of the tether cables.

Also note that I am still experimenting with the ROV as I intend of modifying it quite a bit so I am not too fussed about cleaning the cables up.

This shows the camera inside the 3 inch dome. This is also where we load the battery.

This Picture shows how I mounted the bracket for the camera. Then I glued some EVA foam to keep the camera in the dark.

This picture shows how I extended the battery wires and the network cable in order to fit the battery from behind.

Just showing a picture from the top of the 4 inch dome to show the cables are clear. 90 Deg penetrators would be ideal in this situation. I am thinking of building a mid way bulkhead and maybe adding another fowrad facing camera in the front…

If you are serious about ROV work, this is a must so you can manage your tether…

I wasn’t recording this, I’ll try to remember to take a snap shot underwater on our next job.

Cheers,
E.

[odedezra]

Very cool modification!
I’m wondering how did the focus work out for you in the 3" dome and wide lens?
I just did a quick deployment of a wide lens IP camera and 3" domed enclosure, the video on land is crisp clear but in the water completely out of focus.
Would be interesting to hear how it worked out for you.