Hi! Looking for ROVdiscussion

Hi! You already know my name, and I just signed up because this looked most promising for DIY ROV discussion!

I'm actually not a diver, but am working on building an ROV for fun. So far all I've done is construct an underwater camera enclosure that should be good to a few hundred feet (I've only tested it to ~120 feet in Lake Crescenthttp://maps.google.com/maps?q=lake+c...85301&t=h&z=12.)

The camera enclosure should also work for underwater flashlights. I use PVC pipe fittings.

I've also done some experiments with running brush-type DC motors enclosed in mineral oil and DOT5 silicon break fluid in order to prevent the pressure of depth from crushing the motor enclosure, but brush type motors cause gas generation and brush failure, so next I intend to try brushless motors.

I've also considered using a scuba tank to maintain ambient pressure inside my ROV enclosure so that the pressure inside will be equal (or maybe a few psi higher) then the water outside, so there will be no great pressure to go past my seals or to crush the body.


Anyway, it's nice meeting all of you! Hopefully ROV isn't too far off topic! Just let me know if it is.

Thanks & have a great day,

Jesse

Hello Jessie,

Having a small ROV would be slick to check out new potential dive sites without jumping in everywhere.

But a pet peeve of mine is this British thing where silicone is spelling silicon. Silicon is a metalloid chemical element on the period table, silicone is polymerized siloxanes.

Post some ROV pics of your project! :)

Hi Publisher,

Thanks for the response! I do apologize for the bad grammar regarding silicon and Silicone. I do know the difference, but I also usually know the difference between then and than -- and I usually get those wrong too. But I'll try to do better!

I couldn't figure out how to post pictures here, so when I figure that out, I'll post some photos of my first experimental thruster since that (and the camera) are all that I've done so far.

-Jesse

My British friends all write silicon too, and I give them a good ribbing over it.

It does seem rather incongruous that an American would have to correct a Brit type considering us Americans ruined the Queen's English!

Am I able to post photos to this forum, or do I have to upload to my own server then link to them?

As to Silicon vs Silicone, I'm just not very good at spelling, or remembering to use the correct word where there are multiple similar words. As a younsger, I learned QBasic programming language before I learned about the word "than." You see, Basic programming has lots of "IF a=b THEN whatever..." So when I'm typing something out, I almost always write THEN even when I should write THAN. Silicon[e] is probably similar case, as I was fascinated so heavily by the periodic table of the elements, I must have just got "silicon" stuck somewhere in my head.

Thanks,

Jesse

He explained that this unit may be very close to many on his shelf but not exact.