Homebuilt ROVs Forum

Posted: **Feb 17th, 2013, 8:58 pm**

Been working on the Archerfish some lately...
Got the frame mocked up, ordered my motors, esc's, edf rotors, and 100ft of cat5e.
So whenever all that gets here I'll have lots to do.

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Posted: **Feb 21st, 2013, 10:12 am**

It's starting to look good. The only thing I'd be concerned with is the finished weight, some of the PVC fittings can be heavy.

Keep up the good work,

-Steve

Posted: **Feb 21st, 2013, 11:09 am**

sthone wrote:It's starting to look good. The only thing I'd be concerned with is the finished weight, some of the PVC fittings can be heavy.

Keep up the good work,

-Steve

You're not kidding... It's probably already 30 lbs empty.
I'm too far in to back out now.
version 2.0 is already being designed in my head

Posted: **Feb 26th, 2013, 10:09 pm**

Got my motors in and have been working on my thrusters.
Turned this...

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Into this...

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Hopefully it will work ok

Posted: **Feb 26th, 2013, 11:22 pm**

Wow, that turned out pretty slick! Is that an outdoor drainage fitting? You might consider knocking out ever other slat to allow better water flow. It might not matter though - you'd just have to test it. Looks good!

If you can do anything to make your ROV lighter now, do it. Mine weighs less than 25 pounds, but ROVs are oftentimes rather awkward shapes, and you never know over what terrain you might have to carry it!

Posted: **Feb 26th, 2013, 11:59 pm**

yeah that is a 3" atrium drain. I'm considering taking out every other slat I just haven't decided if I'm gonna do it.
I put my rov on a scale and it comes in at 25lbs pvc alone so I was slightly off with my initial estimate.
Either way it's heavier than I would like but that's the price I pay for using cheap nicads. (they require more space)
I'm gonna keep going with it and just make the next one lighter.

I ran across these connectors today on ebay and was considering one for my through-hull connection to my motors.
Anyone have any experience with them?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170710513925?ss ... 1438.l2649

Posted: **Feb 27th, 2013, 3:48 pm**

You may have noticed that I did not go with the hobby king donkey motors I had mentioned previously.
I opted for the dt-700 because with the long shaft I didn't have to buy an adapter for the edf rotor.
It is a 700kv motor which should have plenty of power to move my rather hefty rov.
I hope.

Posted: **Feb 27th, 2013, 11:59 pm**

Started on the battery pack tonight.
30 D size nicads for 12 volts and 14.1 ah.
Could have done something different of course, but the price was right for these.
I soldered them into a circular arrangement around a 1 inch dowel with plexiglass spacers in between cut to fit inside 4" pvc.
This way I can slide the whole pack in and out of the bottom tube.

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Posted: **Mar 26th, 2013, 10:38 pm**

namesake

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Posted: **Mar 30th, 2013, 10:50 am**

I finally finished my through hull connector.
I started with a 1/4" lexan disc, drilled and tapped holes in it, screwed in pieces of brass threaded rod, and then soldered female bullet connectors on both ends. Used color coded heat shrink on both sides, and then potted both sides with flowable silicone/ windshield sealer. The whole thing installs in a 2" pvc union so I can access both sides if I need to.