# Wireless Connection instead of Tether? **URL:** \ **Category:** Blue Robotics Software\ **Created:** [April 27, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568 "2018-04-27T00:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tp3208](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@tp3208](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tp3208)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 12:23am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/1 "2018-04-27T00:23:41Z")
Would it be possible to go wireless and ditch the tether? ---
**Author:** ![jwalser](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/jwalser/32/2234_2.png) [@jwalser](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/jwalser)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/2 "2018-04-27T00:33:44Z")
Not if you want to have live video. At least not at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![tp3208](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@tp3208](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tp3208)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/3 "2018-04-27T00:52:48Z")
When will it be available? ---
**Author:** ![kklemens](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/kklemens/32/2247_2.png) [@kklemens](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/kklemens)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/4 "2018-04-27T00:59:30Z")
Hi @tp3208 , What are you trying to do? Acoustic modems are slow and the only reasonable means of transmitting video wirelessly through water is through an underwater optical modem, of which there is only one commercial device that I know of: [BlueComm](https://www.sonardyne.com/product/bluecomm-underwater-optical-communication-system/). ---
**Author:** ![tp3208](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@tp3208](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tp3208)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/5 "2018-04-27T01:24:03Z")
I am thinking of modding a BlueROV2 to use for the RoboSub competition. Since our budget is low, we are thinking of using this as first year plan. We would program the sub to complete certain challenges and then use the wireless system to debug the code live. Actually I have another question. Would it be possible to mod the BlueROV and then add our own code? Like if we wanted to make the sub follow a line on the bottom of the sea floor. Would the hardware/electronics allow it? Or are they locked to the just the programs that are preinstalled? ---
**Author:** ![kklemens](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/kklemens/32/2247_2.png) [@kklemens](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/kklemens)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/6 "2018-04-27T01:33:04Z")
You can try experimenting with [this](https://www.ardusub.com/miscellaneous/wireless-topside.html). For the remaining questions, I suggest you look through the rest of the ArduSub documentation and our [GitHub](https://github.com/bluerobotics) repositories. ---
**Author:** ![jwalser](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/jwalser/32/2234_2.png) [@jwalser](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/jwalser)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/7 "2018-04-27T02:01:28Z")
You can debug the code live with a tether! Just take it off for the competition. ---
**Author:** ![tp3208](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@tp3208](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tp3208)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 5:08am UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/8 "2018-04-27T05:08:38Z")
I guess ---
**Author:** ![jwalser](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/jwalser/32/2234_2.png) [@jwalser](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/jwalser)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2018, 2:44pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/9 "2018-04-27T14:44:29Z")
All of the software that runs on the ROV is open source and can be modified. More than one robosub team have used our ROVs and ArduSub in the past. ---
**Author:** ![tp3208](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@tp3208](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/tp3208)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/10 "2018-04-28T18:42:10Z")
Ok thanks. Since we are a school group, is there any discount? We have a very limited budget that can almost pay for the BlueROV2 (we are short a couple hundred dollars). ---
**Author:** ![kklemens](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/discuss.bluerobotics.com/kklemens/32/2247_2.png) [@kklemens](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/kklemens)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/11 "2018-04-29T18:28:37Z")
@tp3208 Please send a [Quote Request](https://www.bluerobotics.com/order-shipping-info/) to us and we can work with you for an educational discount. ---
**Author:** ![lharris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4af34b/32.png) [@lharris](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/u/lharris)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/wireless-connection-instead-of-tether/2568/12 "2018-05-03T17:02:27Z")
While radio waves don’t penetrate water well, blue light might work. Looking at Wikipedia 420nm laser diodes are in the area of maximum penetration for light through water. I was toying with the idea of mounting a blue laser on the sub and pointing it up where a buoy with a receiver might be able to monitor it. I would hope that a fairly wide field of view and diffusion would make the spot visible even with some rocking motion from the sub. It might allow video or at least pictures to be returned from a tether-less sub to a depth around 100’ / 30m. Pure speculation on my part but could make a nice experiment. As noted if you just want to be able to program the sub when on the surface or out of the water then any Bluetooth or WiFi solution will work. Below the water though radio waves don’t travel far and the common communication mode is acoustic and it’s slow.