Homebuilt ROVs Forum

Hi

I´m struggling what camera to choose. I will have dive depth to maximum 60 ft. At the moment my idea is to use a laptop for live feed and recording video (OBS to change camera settings contrast etc.). From computer usb adapter to Cat6 cable down to rov usb adapter again and actioncam that I drill a hole in the waterproof case for the usb cable.

Do you think this could be done? My aim is 1080p video, sound is not necessary and some latency of feed can I accept.

/steel

Good morning.
You can not directly connect the USB output of the video camera to the CAT6 cable, you must use the so-called "Video Balums", read the publications of how to connect the video cameras that are in the forum.
Greetings

Yeah Steel,
USB is usually only good for around 16 feet, after that you get signal degradation and you'll be lucky to have it work at usb 1.0 speeds.

You could plug an IP (internet protocol) camera into some Cat5, ethernet cable is good for 325 feet before you begin to have signal strength problems.

I use eKL ethernet-over-coax adapters, basically cheaper versions of the $180.? BlueRobotics FathomX boards. Can be bought on Amazon for $70 a pair. Allows me to send 100mbps ethernet over coax up to 6500 feet. Over Cat5 the speed drops to 75mbps over that distance...coax shields better than ethernet cable. Model # EKL-NCR200 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L6X94XS

asesorplaza1 wrote:Good morning.
You can not directly connect the USB output of the video camera to the CAT6 cable, you must use the so-called "Video Balums", read the publications of how to connect the video cameras that are in the forum.
Greetings

Thx! I will do that

Oddmar wrote:Yeah Steel,
USB is usually only good for around 16 feet, after that you get signal degradation and you'll be lucky to have it work at usb 1.0 speeds.

You could plug an IP (internet protocol) camera into some Cat5, ethernet cable is good for 325 feet before you begin to have signal strength problems.

I use eKL ethernet-over-coax adapters, basically cheaper versions of the $180.? BlueRobotics FathomX boards. Can be bought on Amazon for $70 a pair. Allows me to send 100mbps ethernet over coax up to 6500 feet. Over Cat5 the speed drops to 75mbps over that distance...coax shields better than ethernet cable. Model # EKL-NCR200 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L6X94XS

Oddmar that's an interesting approach. I will look into that. Thx

Oddmar wrote: ↑Nov 9th, 2021, 1:04 am Yeah Steel,
USB is usually only good for around 16 feet, after that you get signal degradation and you'll be lucky to have it work at usb 1.0 speeds.

You could plug an IP (internet protocol) camera into some Cat5, ethernet cable is good for 325 feet before you begin to have signal strength problems.

I use eKL ethernet-over-coax adapters, basically cheaper versions of the $180.? BlueRobotics FathomX boards. Can be bought on Amazon for $70 a pair. Allows me to send 100mbps ethernet over coax up to 6500 feet. Over Cat5 the speed drops to 75mbps over that distance...coax shields better than ethernet cable. Model # EKL-NCR200

Hi Oddmar, this coax method seems like a super viable approach for deep-diving ROV ops- could you tell me some more about it? I'm trying to build a 1000ft capable ROV and this seems like exactly the right tether

Keaton, I apologize for the slow response...I don't get notifications of people posting, unless i actually visit the forum.

Not much more to tell than i explained already. Using eKL ethernet over coax adapters, you can use regular TV coax as your tether, with 100mbps speed at 1000 ft. You need one on each end of course. My ROV descends inside a tether-management drop cage, so i put another on the cage, so i could interface lights, a yaw thruster, and a camera to observe the ROV. The cage hangs by a cable from my gantry crane in my cabin pontoon boat, then a baling-reel-style tether spool pays tether out from the cage as the ROV maneuvers about at depth.

Using the cage means i can let the ROV sink by gravity inside the cage to the desired depth, and recapture it to raise it back up, saving ROV battery power on the trip down and up.