DIY under water fish cam - on a budget
Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 9:59 pm
Ive been wanting an under water video cam for years but they have always seemed too expensive for me to justify buying one. The screens you get on most of the less expensive models were also very small. Just didnt seem worth it for use on the boat. I thought about building one myself, but parts were expensive if you went with decent quality cam and a larger screen size.
Then over the last couple of years the parts have come down a lot in price and they are easily available, so I decided to give it a shot. I bought (almost) the cheapest versions of cam module and screen I could find and its turning out that may have been a mistake - at least as far as the cam module.
I purchaced a 7" TFT color monitor sold for use as a back-up camera for your auto. Cost $27
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SL ... ge_o01_s00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The camera module came from a cheap video security cam with built in infrared LEDs for low light operation - more on that later. Cost $19
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MXI ... ge_o01_s00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I also bought 25 super bright LEDs for additional lighting in murky or deep water in case the infrared didnt work so well. Turns out they are not really SUPER bright LEDs but they were cheap enough and still put out a lot of light - I thought. I mounted 21 of them on the outside of the housing. Cost $6
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JO ... ge_o00_s00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The other things needed are:
1) 1/4" plexiglass sheet for the clear end caps = $21 at Home Depot get you enough to build about 10 cams.
2) Cat5 outdoor cable to run from the cam to the surface = $.31/foot. I got a 100 ft piece for a 50% discount in the discard bin = $15.
3) Some 3M 5200 marine sealant to seal up various places in the housing
4) about 30ft of some old downrigger cable to tape to the cable to handle the weight so there was no stress on the cable itself.
5) Some mineral oil to fill the housing once its all done = $10 at your local pharmacy or grocery store.
6) solder, tape, misc hardware, etc = zero as I have all that stuff on hand from other projects.
7) Hot glue to attach the LEDs to the housing
8) Some CorrosionX or similar product to protect the LED wiring where I didnt seal it well enough with the hot glue. This is only needed if your going to operate in salt water. Next time I will seal the LEDs better before mounting them.
9) some PVC pipe fittings for the housing = $10
You will need some soldering skills and basic electronics skills to re-wire everything together after you take apart the security camera and to wire up the leds, battery connections and a switch.
These are 3.2-3.4 volt LEDs so I wired them in sets of 3 in series so they would run on 12 volts. I am getting by with no resistors because of the long wire run. I probably should gave gone with sets of 4 in series for longer life, but they would have been dimmer. These are so cheap if they burn out its no big deal to replace them. I then wired the 7 sets of 3 LEDs in parallel and ran the power to a switch. I have mine operating off of one of my small 12 volt RC batteries for testing but I will power if from the 12v battery on the boat once its all dialed in.
The entire rig draws about .7 amps with the LEDs on, so it doesnt take much power at all. The security camera automatically switches to IR mode in low light conditions.
So - how well does it work you ask?
We took it down to the dock in Gig Harbor yesterday for its first water test. It works great - if - there is a lot of light in clear water. In deep murky water not so well at all.
Part of the problem is the video monitor is very hard to see in the sun. I am rigging a sun shade now for the next testing tomorrow and hoping that will help.
I think the main problem is I just bought too cheap a camera. It doesnt have the low light sensitivity thats needed. This cam has a rating of .1 lumins. There are better units that are good for .001 lumins or 100 times more sensitive in low light. These LEDs also dont seem to make any difference at all when I turn them on in deep water. You can barely tell any difference in the image.
Im planning some more testing tomorrow at the dock and in a local lake and will report back.
Then over the last couple of years the parts have come down a lot in price and they are easily available, so I decided to give it a shot. I bought (almost) the cheapest versions of cam module and screen I could find and its turning out that may have been a mistake - at least as far as the cam module.
I purchaced a 7" TFT color monitor sold for use as a back-up camera for your auto. Cost $27
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SL ... ge_o01_s00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The camera module came from a cheap video security cam with built in infrared LEDs for low light operation - more on that later. Cost $19
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MXI ... ge_o01_s00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I also bought 25 super bright LEDs for additional lighting in murky or deep water in case the infrared didnt work so well. Turns out they are not really SUPER bright LEDs but they were cheap enough and still put out a lot of light - I thought. I mounted 21 of them on the outside of the housing. Cost $6
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JO ... ge_o00_s00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The other things needed are:
1) 1/4" plexiglass sheet for the clear end caps = $21 at Home Depot get you enough to build about 10 cams.
2) Cat5 outdoor cable to run from the cam to the surface = $.31/foot. I got a 100 ft piece for a 50% discount in the discard bin = $15.
3) Some 3M 5200 marine sealant to seal up various places in the housing
4) about 30ft of some old downrigger cable to tape to the cable to handle the weight so there was no stress on the cable itself.
5) Some mineral oil to fill the housing once its all done = $10 at your local pharmacy or grocery store.
6) solder, tape, misc hardware, etc = zero as I have all that stuff on hand from other projects.
7) Hot glue to attach the LEDs to the housing
8) Some CorrosionX or similar product to protect the LED wiring where I didnt seal it well enough with the hot glue. This is only needed if your going to operate in salt water. Next time I will seal the LEDs better before mounting them.
9) some PVC pipe fittings for the housing = $10
You will need some soldering skills and basic electronics skills to re-wire everything together after you take apart the security camera and to wire up the leds, battery connections and a switch.
These are 3.2-3.4 volt LEDs so I wired them in sets of 3 in series so they would run on 12 volts. I am getting by with no resistors because of the long wire run. I probably should gave gone with sets of 4 in series for longer life, but they would have been dimmer. These are so cheap if they burn out its no big deal to replace them. I then wired the 7 sets of 3 LEDs in parallel and ran the power to a switch. I have mine operating off of one of my small 12 volt RC batteries for testing but I will power if from the 12v battery on the boat once its all dialed in.
The entire rig draws about .7 amps with the LEDs on, so it doesnt take much power at all. The security camera automatically switches to IR mode in low light conditions.
So - how well does it work you ask?
We took it down to the dock in Gig Harbor yesterday for its first water test. It works great - if - there is a lot of light in clear water. In deep murky water not so well at all.
Part of the problem is the video monitor is very hard to see in the sun. I am rigging a sun shade now for the next testing tomorrow and hoping that will help.
I think the main problem is I just bought too cheap a camera. It doesnt have the low light sensitivity thats needed. This cam has a rating of .1 lumins. There are better units that are good for .001 lumins or 100 times more sensitive in low light. These LEDs also dont seem to make any difference at all when I turn them on in deep water. You can barely tell any difference in the image.
Im planning some more testing tomorrow at the dock and in a local lake and will report back.