Trying something Different....

[timothyalderson]

Ive been cruising on here for a while and have been looking over alot of good ideas and came up with a design that I'm going to attempt to make. Something ascetically pleasing to look at that will also be somewhat durable and rebuild able. I plan on doing shallow to intermediate dives in salt water with it, somewhere around 175 feet. Ill will be using this for Inspections on small boats so it will spend alot of time hovering in 40 feet and shallower with the occasional bottom drop to 100 or so. I designed it to be compact with a short tether (200'). I'm contemplating using a converter to make it 36 or 48 volts down the umbilical then dropping it to 12 volts. I also have a decent supply of commercial diving connectors and thru hulls I will be using. The frame will be made and molded of high density foam then covered in resin and painted. I already started making the Mold for the ROV basic shape then will finish it by hand. Wish me luck.

[timothyalderson]

More Pics

[timothyalderson]

And More....

[Okkaby]

Nice design, similiar to my design

Is it nessesary with mesh protecting the intake for the mortors, I will guess that it only making the waterflow bad ?

What dimension do you plan ?

When are you planning to built it ?

[timothyalderson]

The mesh does not really block the flow from the props. Its more to protect them. It is large size screen. I think the holes are around 3/4 inch? And I already started building it. I'm going to get the foam poured this weekend and let it settle for a few days before I pull it. I have a few tricks i will be adding to hopefully make it better. I have alot of soft lead I'm going to make small plates that I will bolt to the bottom on the front and back. If the plates are even it flys straight. If you offset them to the front or back it will point the camera up or down slightly making it easier to see things. About as easy as I could think to make it. AMRON International sells Seacon connectors for around 35 and there good to 600 feet. Their quick connect so you can remove the tether from the ROV. You just Solder them in place and seal it. Same ones I use for Comms connectors on my Hats. The dimensions are 12X12.

[timothyalderson]

UPDATE:
Ok the foam is poured and it still curing. Might be a few more days. I started getting the Relay box, the Camera and housing, and the Lights. I found small LED light banks at West marine for cheap. They are potted and should be water proof to a decent Depth, 12 volts for around $18. I think i'm going to run 6 of them across the front with the camera center. Also the camera I used has infrared, zero light installed. In zero light I can see anything within 4 feet of the camera. Kind of handy. Ill try and keep this up to date.

[ltdcruze]

A few questions about the foam:
What kind of foam (brand name) and where did you get it? (a link would be great )
Onto a more scientific question
Do you know how buoyant the foam is?

The reason I ask this is my new ROV, Shuriken, will use a foam similar to what you are using on top. I am also trying to make Shuriken as small and light as possible, so I want to try and not add more foam (and weights) than needed. The foam will be contained in a thin plastic piece to act as a mold that will be directly screwed on to the ROV.

[Silver dollar]

A tip is to place the lights as far from the camera as possible. This to avoid glares from particles in the water.

[timothyalderson]

I'm trying a few different foams to see which works better. I started with just regular sealant foam from home depot. If that doesn't work I order some closed cell stuff. The foam is fairly Buoyant. Ill hollow a majority of it out for the cavities etc. I can find the equation for seawater buoyancy. Also Thanks for the Light tip.

[ltdcruze]

any progress?