My ROV

What are you working on .... Show off your Rov's Projects here.
Silver dollar
Posts: 75
Joined: Feb 20th, 2011, 3:03 pm
Location: Munkedal, Sweden

Re: My ROV

Post by Silver dollar »

What kind of battery do you use?
lostcaggy
Posts: 16
Joined: Mar 7th, 2011, 1:56 pm

Re: My ROV

Post by lostcaggy »

NiCd batteries onboard at moment, using computer for control at the moment but I'm installing a Wii Nunchuck to use as a controller.
bjoern
Posts: 2
Joined: May 28th, 2011, 12:35 pm

Re: My ROV

Post by bjoern »

Hi!
Which programming language did you use for the control interface on the laptop?
A different question at this point:
Do you think it would be possible to use the USB-CAT5 cable for both the Arduino and control and a USB camera?

Regards, Bjoern
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thegadgetguy
Posts: 238
Joined: Feb 13th, 2011, 8:27 pm
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: My ROV

Post by thegadgetguy »

Most USB over CAT5 devices only support USB 1.1, while most USB cameras require USB 2.0. Also, the extender might not have enough power on hand to power both devices.
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MagicHat
Posts: 15
Joined: Jun 12th, 2011, 6:19 pm
Location: Norway

Re: My ROV

Post by MagicHat »

Hello!

I am planning to make an ROV that I can control with my laptop. Just like what bjoern is sniffing on here, I was thinking about using a USB 2.0 extender which I would connect to both a 720p HD webcam and an onboard arduino microcontroller for controlling the engines. Inside the ROV i would have a USB hub between the USB extenders receiver part and the webcam and microcontroller, allowing them both to connect. The webcam will send magnificent live HD pictures to my laptop where I can control the ROV with a USB joystick.
thegadgetguy wrote:Most USB over CAT5 devices only support USB 1.1, while most USB cameras require USB 2.0. Also, the extender might not have enough power on hand to power both devices.
Yes, you are right. Most of those cheap USB-extenders are USB 1.1. However you can get USB 2.0 extenders too, for what I would call, an acceptable price. Check out this Unitek USB 2.0 extender with a range of 100 meters (330 ft):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3167wt_905

If the extender doesn't deliver enough power for both the arduino and the webcam, I would either have to connect the receiver part to an onboard battery or have an additional power cable for the ROV.

By using watertight RJ45 connectors and 25 pin power connector for engines etc. (IP68 rating, tested at 100M), I am hoping to reach depths of 100M (330 ft).
bjoern
Posts: 2
Joined: May 28th, 2011, 12:35 pm

Re: My ROV

Post by bjoern »

MagicHat wrote:Hello!

I am planning to make an ROV that I can control with my laptop. Just like what bjoern is sniffing on here, I was thinking about using a USB 2.0 extender which I would connect to both a 720p HD webcam and an onboard arduino microcontroller for controlling the engines. Inside the ROV i would have a USB hub between the USB extenders receiver part and the webcam and microcontroller, allowing them both to connect. The webcam will send magnificent live HD pictures to my laptop where I can control the ROV with a USB joystick.
thegadgetguy wrote:Most USB over CAT5 devices only support USB 1.1, while most USB cameras require USB 2.0. Also, the extender might not have enough power on hand to power both devices.
Yes, you are right. Most of those cheap USB-extenders are USB 1.1. However you can get USB 2.0 extenders too, for what I would call, an acceptable price. Check out this Unitek USB 2.0 extender with a range of 100 meters (330 ft):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3167wt_905

If the extender doesn't deliver enough power for both the arduino and the webcam, I would either have to connect the receiver part to an onboard battery or have an additional power cable for the ROV.

By using watertight RJ45 connectors and 25 pin power connector for engines etc. (IP68 rating, tested at 100M), I am hoping to reach depths of 100M (330 ft).
Sounds quite interesting. Please let us know if you were successful using the extender.

Regards, Bjoern
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thegadgetguy
Posts: 238
Joined: Feb 13th, 2011, 8:27 pm
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: My ROV

Post by thegadgetguy »

If you do succeed, it would defenitly give you the ability to have extremely high quality video. On the subject of power for USB devices on the ROV side, some USB hubs have an optional power input on them. What webcam were you thinking of using? You'd have to have a very large number of lights on your ROV if you used a normal webcam, as they don't do well in the dark.

Sounds cool, (and it will look awesome, video wise). ;)
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MagicHat
Posts: 15
Joined: Jun 12th, 2011, 6:19 pm
Location: Norway

Re: My ROV

Post by MagicHat »

I am not going to hijack his thread completely. Instead I will go on and create a new thread for my project when I have done a little more planning ;)

I have talked to a guy who works a lot with USB extenders, and he said that allthough very likely, it might not work to put a USB hub at the receiver side. He said that out of the extenders he had used about 30-40% of them didn't work with a hub, while the rest did. :)

The expensive ones (i.e. Gefen) was actually the extenders he had had most problems with, while the cheaper ones were more reliable..

To be on the safe side you can buy an extender with an integrated hub at the receiver end, like this (Icron USB Ranger 2104):

Image
http://www.icron.com/products/usb_new/u ... 1_2104.php
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