Well, I solved my problem of needing one more Radio Shack 9-18VDC motor for my SeaPerch.  And, thanks to eBay, I didn’t even have to leave my house.

I found a seller selling 4 lots of 3 brand new motors.  Each lot was $3.99.  So, I got two lots.  Shipping was about $5.00 and my grand total came to about $13 for 6 motors.  Not bad since the motors go for $5.50 each.  My cost came to a little more than $2.00 each!

I now have a few spares!  I’m still gathering a few more 35 MM film containers, and will start working on the thrusters (hopefully) this weekend.

My trip to the hobby/craft stores wasn’t as successful as I had hoped.  I did get some parafin wax that I need to make the thrusters.  I also looked at the Envirotex Lite potting compound I wanted to use for waterproofing the camera.  Unfortunately — that stuff is expensive!   So I’m considering some other options.

I also stopped at Radio Shack and got two out of the three motors I needed.  They only had two and were getting more in this week.

I dug out my old Panasonic Egg Cam (specs here) that I purchased about 13 or so years ago.  I had many fond memories of Video Conferencing with people during the wee years of the Internet.  I never could part with it and was hoping I could use it for something.

The camera is just a camera.  It features NTSC video out, Audio Out, and a 6V D.C. power input.   The camera came with a PCI Video Capture card that attached the camera to the computer (As well as other cameras, VCR’s, and other video sources).  These were the days before USB and USB cameras!

It still works!  Enjoy some pictures of it coming apart.

Armed with a 50% off Coupon from Michaels Craft Store, and a 40% off Coupon from Hobby Lobby, I’m going shopping.

Today I’m buying some Wax and Motors needed for my thrusters.  Also, I’m hoping to get the Epoxy Potting compound so I can waterproof my Video camera.

So, I gathered up some material to start building the frame of the SeaPerch — my first ROV.

RIght now, I just have the frame done. I’m going to hopefully start working on the thrusters this weekend if I can find some time to make it to Radio Shack.

It was recommended by my friend Steve at HomebuiltROVs.com not to use Pipe Insulation which I did because I passed it at Home Depot and it was cheap. Apparently the pipe insulation is formed with open cells and will eventually soak up water. This will affect your buoyancy.

Enjoy some pictures of my progress so far.

I have also been fascinated at the underwater world.  So many things have ended up there only to seemingly be lost forever.

Enter the ROV.   Wonderful devices that can conquer depths that our frail bodies will never be able to do. The ROV, to me, is a tool which will allow me to satisfy my curiosity of what lies under our bodies of water.

In addition to exploring, building a ROV also allows me to build something using other interests that I have — such as Computer Hardware, Electronics, Programming, and Robotics.

A year or two ago I picked up a copy of Build Your Own Underwater Robot by Harry Bohm and was excited to find the time to start one of the projects in this book.

I’ll post my progress as I journey down something new and share with you my thoughts, and ideas. Hopefully you can benefit from my successes and failures.