DIY Video Housing a success...

[moneysavr]

My case= $30.00 total
sch 40 PVC
2 -4' couplings " one cut short lens end"
1 cap 4"
1 4"sewer cap test plug
2-5" hose clamps
2 -handles
2- o rings 4" diam
1 tube household contact glue clear flexible sealant,
*not silicone this seams to peel after several dives
3lbs lead shot to make neutral
1 can fiberglass liquid
3/8" THICK lexon lens store cut $5.00

*I now use the remote to start and stop cam=remote in ziplock bag on boat to start / stop video,
*controls or holes in case seem to be the failure points,thats why you pay $500 for a good case with all the controls,I just dont need them!

Set 4" o ring in cut short end of coupling,light amount of sealer / Glue lens in
pour lead mix with glass mix in saftey cap end with some glue /sealer to keep it in place.
I grease the weight cap end with oring so I can pry it on off

put parts on / clean and glue.
Light's are done with LED"S will post

and your done,have had it too 100' and will take it down to 135fsw
See My Video with it,NO lights at 55fsw at Boyntonbeach! in my photo gallery.
doing one out of Sch 80 PVC and 1/2" lexon for 165fsw wreck dives!

 

[HowardE]

I've seen Moneysavr's rig and it's a good one (for DIY) -

Also... PADIPRO (whose rig I have also seen, and was VERY IMPRESSED with his craftsmanship) suggests Neutral bouyancy for the camera, but I would go with a slightly negative setup... IMO - It helps make your video more stable, if you're just SLIGHTLY negative.

 

[genxweb]

very nice plans. I have the model 75 of your cam, the vs below yours. I might have to try some of these suggestions out. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[ChillyWilly]

Sorry,


The site is www.mcmaster.com but at least I gave you a place to stay too, LOL. I just ordered some spring loaded latches and O rings, great stuff and they ship same or next day.

I was cutting plastic yesterday as soon as I got back from work, the hardest thing is to cut the circles for the lenses, I'm using a rotozip with a circle cutter but you have to work fast so the plastic doesn't melt. So far I got one that is usable and need to recut the other one. I have to find a better way to rest the need for the circle cutter that won't move. If anybody has any suggestions I would apreciate it. I will probably use like a self stick plastic piece like a chair leg plastic foot or something that I can stick and drill so the needle would stay in place and the remove.

Anyway this is a pretty cool project, I had to use 6" pipe because my Canon ZR 45 won't fit in the 4" which makes the housing pretty big. But I think this is a comon size used.

List so far:

2 feet of 6" Schedule 40 PVC pipe ( Only need like a foot) Call a plumbing supply or Lowes to see if they have a cut piece laying around, little pricey. Most places sell 10' piece minimum.
2 6" Coupling, The ones at lowes have a good lip in the middle for resting and gluing the lens.( This is important, some other brands have almost no lip (Caution)
3 Draw latches (mcmaster p/n:1794A43)
1 6.5" ID EPDM Oring (mcmaster p/n: 9557K393 Pack of 6)
1 Locktite Marine Epoxy for gluing the lens 1900psi of bonding strengh (Home Depot)
1 3M Marine silicone (Not sure if I'll be using this yet) Maybe to be on the safe side
1 piece of 1/4" plexi or lexan 18x24
I will let you guys know if it works and if it doesn't leak LOL, if so I will post some pics.

Thanks moneysavr for the inspirational idea, I'm hard at work my friend !!!

 

[Jorbar1551]

That is awesome... After reading all of these posts, i want to build one for my dv camera. The only problem is that i'm currently building a diy scooter(which will probably never work), but maybe ill try to switch projects.

How long did it take you to build it?

Jordan

 

[moneysavr]

ChillyWilly
My harware bud used a band saw with a fine blade clamped to a piece of plywood so he cut both at the same time and the wood kept the lexon from breaking, then just gave it a quick edge sand to bring it in to shape.
If you need one cut let me know exact size he has a total tool shop=tool maker for 40 years!
I'm going to get some thick stuff for my deep cam rig next!
The Glue can not be silicone,it will not work on plexi or lexon=it peels! And a hard glue will crack after several dives! it needs to flex so I used a sealant glue / clear like shoe goo or household sealant /glue it sticks to all and has some give.
Man this was one fun DIY and good luck on yours!
Brad

 

[Larry Horne]

Willydiver

how are you assembling the spring clips to the side of the houseing? screws? without penitrating the PVC right?

LAr

 

[Padipro]

Anyway this is a pretty cool project, I had to use 6" pipe because my Canon ZR 45 won't fit in the 4" which makes the housing pretty big. But I think this is a comon size used.

Hey Chilly,

Just FYI, PVC gets like rubber when it's heated say to 400 degrees for 5 minutes and can be molded into whatever shape you like or it can be streached slightly by sliding a heated piece over another non-heated piece of the same diameter. I had to do this for the first housing I built as well as for the first canister light. Both the camera and the battery for the light were to big to fit inside a standard 4 inch piece of PVC and a 6 inch diameter tube was way to big. I heated a section pipe and streached it over another 4 inch diameter piece slightly longer then the first. Once it cools it's slightly larger then it was to start with. It's a PITA to get the two apart but a little effort and a hammer they will seperate.

Larry,

You asked how to assemble the latches without penitrating the PVC for the housing. You can use this same method to add a ring around each end of the housing which will double the thickness of the wall and allow you to attach the latches to the housing without putting holes in the main tube. Just cut two pieces of tubing about 2 to 3 inches long, heat them in an oven and then strech them over the ends of the housing body. When they cool you can glue them in place and double the thickness of the wall in that area. This is also how you can make the O-ring groove on both ends. Just use a roughter with a 1/4 inch straight bit set to cut 1/8 inch deep and run it around the ends of the tube before you glue the rings on. Once the rings are attached you'll have a nice 1/4 inch wide, 1/8 inch deep groove for an O-ring to sit in.

If you haven't been to my DIY site take a look. There are lots of great ideas as well as pictures and plans on how to build lights, housings and even an O2 analyzer.

DIY Site

 

[unfix8r]

Just bought a canon dv recorder so I can follow in your footsteps.
Question: Buoyancy. Positive? Negative?

I am definitely going to build something similar, if not exactly, like what you've done here. Expect to hear more form me in the future!

 

[Padipro]

Some say slightly positive so it will float to the surface if you loose it, others say slightly negitive which makes it easy to handle, me I say neutral. Before I installed the dome port and lights my housing was exactly neutral, I could let go of it and it would just float there right in front of me. It's not easy to get it neutral but if you play with the weighting it can be done.

Let me know if you need help with anything when you start the new project.