Homebuilt ROVs Forum

Ok guys Ive got everything but the camera working. I tried everything. I ohm'ed all the wires all thru the umbilical and local, available voltage checks and voltage drops, Tried shortening the cables etc. Any Ideas. I know the camera works because I tested it with the original wiring before I installed it. I just cut them before the camera and soldered them into the ROV. Any Ideas? This is also the second camera Ive tried.

What are you using for a camera cable?
When you cut the camera cable did it have a shield?
Do you have a wiring diagram of how you wired it?

....or even a picture might help us diagnose the problem.

-Steve

No shielding. It had 12v, COMM, video, and Mic. I didn't use the Mic wire. I De-sadered it from the cam. The camera cable is one of the CAT cables. The original cable for the camera was the same thing. Mine is just longer. The resistance is really close and I checked for a short into the other Cat wires, nothing. Ill take pictures and draw a diagram tonight.

Pictures....

Are you sure your connections inside the shrink wrap are good? Are you sure the camera is rated for 12v. It sounds like either your connections are bad or the camera is fried. From looking at your pics, everything is connected correctly, so it has to be either a bad splice or fried camera from to much voltage

I Ohmed the entire umbilical including the connections and its all good to go. I tried three cameras now. I'm using the same power as the camera came with. It even says 12v on the camera in the picture where the power goes into it. I'm going to do more testing and see if I can isolate the issue.

im guessing you have power to the camera? what does the other end look like? maybe its not the camera (i can see no way of telling if its turned on aside from if you can see picture).

I removed the camera from the housing and hard lined it into the TV. The camera works fine. I tried the 12V power supply and nothing and for giggles I tried a 9V and it worked fine. IT says 12V right on the board of the camera but my only guess is that it uses 9v for some reason instead. Huh odd.

If you are using a car battery or deep cycle battery ("12v") then you are actually running somewhere in the 12.5-14 range which may be just too much for the camera. I know it says 12v but put a voltage meter on it yourself and see.

Also the other end is a standard yellow AV plug and a power supply port. This camera has no shielding and has a standard 75 foot cable stock and is intended for security. Really cheap zero viz IR camera for around $35.