Homebuilt ROVs Forum

Hello all,

Has anyone found (or devised) a connector that will allow the tether to be disconnected from the ROV? This would obviously have to be able to withstand pressure. I am not planning on going more that 100' for now.

I will only be running (2) Cat5 cables to my ROV, one for control of the thrusters and one for cameras and POE for the cameras, I will use an on-board battery for power. I would like to be able to disconnect the ROV from the tether for storage and portability but also this way I could have 2 or 3 different tethers made at different lengths, depending on the mission.

Thoughts?

Sea-ker,

I would be interested in this also. One question - have you considered putting a switch into the sub so only one uplink cable would be required? The only one external connector should be required.

I'planning to use a piece of pvc pipe and a union with plexiglas. Will have ip67 connector in the plexi glas like these . And a normal RJ45 inside.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but these Subconn connectors work wonderfully well for detachable underwater connections.

http://www.subconn.com/connectors/standard-circular

Chris K

fyi, ip67 is only rated to 1m depth, so you will need to do some more waterproofing of that fitting if you want to be safe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code

This can do the trick:

http://www.homebuiltrovs.com/howtosealingwireexits.html

do you have a problem with the cable getting kinked as you twist the plug into the ROV? or do you rotate the ROV or the Spool during or after attachment?

Thanks to all for your ideas and links.

Octonaught1: I am using one of the Cat5 cables to send +12v control for relays and PWM to a motor controller for up/down thrust, and the other for analog video and POE so a switch would not help me but thanks for the suggestion.

Kjetil: Do you have a larger pic or a link to the pic? I would like to see what you are doing there, it looks interesting.

Chriskon149: I can’t see any pricing on the website but I would wager that they are way out of my price range but it is a good link to keep, I have bookmarked it for future use!

Derelicte: Thanks for your input, that is good to know.

Silver dollar: I am thinking of something similar to this but I want to keep RJ45 connectors on the end so that it can be unplugged from my control board, then the cable can be unscrewed from the control box. I was thinking of stripping off some of the insulation and embedding that part in the epoxy. Thanks for the link!

Unorthodox: The tether I am using now is only 30' but I am rebuilding my ROV for deeper dives and want to put 100' of tether on. It occurred to me that if it were to be able to be disconnected, it would be easier for storage and if I wanted to use a different length, I could do so rather easily.

I have been trying to get my hands on Subconn wet-mate connectors for six months now without success. Would love to know if there is a “small quantity” distributer out there.

I went with a Bulgin for Ethernet:

http://www.bulgin.co.uk/Products/Buccan ... ernet.html

They seem to work, but I don’t fully trust a connector that’s only sealed when mated. Also, I have found small leaks during my tests but I think that’s because I didn’t lube the O-ring appropriately.

I use a 6pin underwater connector from Glenair, it has piston and face seals and is good for 1000's of meteres.
They do several pin arrangements but aint cheap. mine was salvaged scrap. sorry, i've only got one connector pair.
I will be using potting compound from RS components to seal the solder joints.