Northwest Dive Club

Boing Boing linked to a NY Times article about the OpenROV Project. Once they are producing kits it looks like an affordable way to get video without diving to around 100m.

Thread resurrection....

I have an OpenROV 2.6 arriving in the near future and after assembly hope to use it to do sea star and garbage patch surveys. If folks want to take a look at it, let me know and maybe we can have a little OpenROV meet-n-greet, dive, sea star survey, trash cleanup and BBQ.

Way cool! Did you opt for the kit or are you getting a fully assembled unit?

So cool! I've been eyeing these. I'm very curious to see how worthy they'd be to this task! I've been dreaming about modifying one for U/W photography. Did you figure out a way to mount a good light? I'd be up for such a meet-and-greet!

renoun wrote:Way cool! Did you opt for the kit or are you getting a fully assembled unit?

I'll be assembling it myself

YellowEye wrote:So cool! I've been eyeing these. I'm very curious to see how worthy they'd be to this task! I've been dreaming about modifying one for U/W photography. Did you figure out a way to mount a good light? I'd be up for such a meet-and-greet!

I have some ideas for real lights, but need to get a better feel for stability and payload

ljjames wrote:

YellowEye wrote:So cool! I've been eyeing these. I'm very curious to see how worthy they'd be to this task! I've been dreaming about modifying one for U/W photography. Did you figure out a way to mount a good light? I'd be up for such a meet-and-greet!

I have some ideas for real lights, but need to get a better feel for stability and payload

Do you need help assembling it and help with ideas? Help with lights?

This looks like all kinds of fun! I'm up for a meet and BBQ.
I also happen to know my way around electronics and am pretty handy with a soldering iron if necessary.

The build of my OpenROV so far. We've made a few improvements to existing design. It really help to have a retired Boeing engineer with a hot shop for a friend (huge thanks to Neal Chism)

http://diverlaura.smugmug.com/OpenROV-26-build/

ljjames wrote:The build of my OpenROV so far. We've made a few improvements to existing design. It really help to have a retired Boeing engineer with a hot shop for a friend (huge thanks to Neal Chism)

http://diverlaura.smugmug.com/OpenROV-26-build/

Cool project, maybe when I retire :p

What's the depth rating going to be?

Main body End cap flanges supposedly fail around 100m, main tube shortly after. They are looking at ways to improve this

If folks are curious and interested in seeing some OpenROV's in action, Wednesday, late morning, we will be ‘flying’ some at Seacrest (likely cove 1/2). I will be diving with Erika Bergman (a nat geo young explorer) and Christine Spiten (OpenROV summer intern) and shooting some UW video of the OpenROV’s (technically i'll be diving, they'll be on the surface) while we test the efficacy of surveying sea star wasting disease and recruitment with OpenROV's.

You can get an up close and personal look at the ROV's, ask questions, maybe even drive one!

Just for giggles I may even have my iPhone microscope on hand so we can look at a few drops of seawater and try to identify some plankton. A maker-space extravaganza!

This won’t be your only opportunity, my personal OpenROV build is almost complete (I’m just waiting for batteries)
and will try to get it out with some regularity for Sea Star Wasting syndrome surveys, and will try to post them on the calendar!

ljjames wrote:If folks are curious and interested in seeing some OpenROV's in action, Wednesday, late morning, we will be ‘flying’ some at Seacrest (likely cove 1/2). I will be diving with Erika Bergman (a nat geo young explorer) and Christine Spiten (OpenROV summer intern) and shooting some UW video of the OpenROV’s (technically i'll be diving, they'll be on the surface) while we test the efficacy of surveying sea star wasting disease and recruitment with OpenROV's.

You can get an up close and personal look at the ROV's, ask questions, maybe even drive one!

Just for giggles I may even have my iPhone microscope on hand so we can look at a few drops of seawater and try to identify some plankton. A maker-space extravaganza!

This won’t be your only opportunity, my personal OpenROV build is almost complete (I’m just waiting for batteries)
and will try to get it out with some regularity for Sea Star Wasting syndrome surveys, and will try to post them on the calendar!

How did it go?

ljjames wrote:If folks are curious and interested in seeing some OpenROV's in action, Wednesday, late morning, we will be ‘flying’ some at Seacrest (likely cove 1/2). I will be diving with Erika Bergman (a nat geo young explorer) and Christine Spiten (OpenROV summer intern) and shooting some UW video of the OpenROV’s (technically i'll be diving, they'll be on the surface) while we test the efficacy of surveying sea star wasting disease and recruitment with OpenROV's.

You can get an up close and personal look at the ROV's, ask questions, maybe even drive one!

Just for giggles I may even have my iPhone microscope on hand so we can look at a few drops of seawater and try to identify some plankton. A maker-space extravaganza!

This won’t be your only opportunity, my personal OpenROV build is almost complete (I’m just waiting for batteries)
and will try to get it out with some regularity for Sea Star Wasting syndrome surveys, and will try to post them on the calendar!

Curious -- How did it go?

I have completed the first round of bathtub sea trials with my OpenROV!!!!!!!!! So excited to get it out in the open water! Had a slight delay with a controller board issue but as soon as I got a new one we were IN BIZ!

Sea Trial #1

Very cool! It would be awesome if it was wireless. Perhaps in version 2.0. :-)

stphnmartin wrote:Very cool! It would be awesome if it was wireless. Perhaps in version 2.0. :-)

Later this week when I get my battery powered wifi router, the ethernet will plug into that and can then pilot it wirelessly with iPad.

Not to many land marks, any way to add a compass to the mix?

It has a compass, you can see it at bottom of control screen

You are so right, I was looking at the info on the right.

For my next sea trial I'll do it on a lower tide so I can follow the rocks out to the little outfall

SeaTrial #2 complete..