My DIY underwater camera with recording capability

My DIY underwater camera made from car backup camera, abs pipe and connected to Android tablet with video capture card via OTG.
I choose to use a tablet rather than a LCD TFT Monitor so that I can record on my external USB.

Here's what happened today.

Filming this tiny perch and grabs the minnow then Mr White wants to be in the video.
Or
Maybe the Perch knows Mr. White wants the minnow and owns it first.

Fishing Report for Saturday, January 27, 2018 at Port Bolster:
25 Feet
Windy and Water on top
Slow Day - Managed to take home only 4 keepers.
A lot of dinks - as you can see on the video except 1

The quality on this video is not the same what's recording on the tablet.
I was recording the video with my iPhone while playing on my laptop.

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/AUH6MHbksm4[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/UpJI4aaqVYc[/YOUTUBE]

not too bad , interesting to see the whities out in Port Bolster so shallow. Never has one accidentally taken my minnow that's for sure.

Tell us about your DIY camera. Did you follow that fella on youtube ?

ABS pipe, piece of quality clear plastic , your back up camera ( where did you get it ? How much cable came with it ? ) fill it in with epoxy resin ? USB connector on the cable

Please share, wanted to try it , seeing these whities in shallow make me want to do it even more

thanks for any response

I remember this person posted his DIY camera in this forum last year. He shared on his description the parts but it's not Amazon Canada https://youtu.be/b8SzrqgIteU

I had to do my own homework on how I want to establish my target.
Items are from Amazon Canada, Dollarama and things I already have at home ( electrical tape, solder and some electrical wires 20gauge and etc..)

Found this camera with no guideline - https://youtu.be/b8SzrqgIteU
Video Capture USB - http://amzn.to/2GnWo5j
OTG Cable for Android Tabet - http://amzn.to/2nkn5Py
RCA Plug 66 ft - http://amzn.to/2rLHJ0D
LePage Marine Epoxy Adhesive - http://amzn.to/2Bzzqob
The App I use on Android and it's Free: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?...usbcamera&hl=en


NOTE: There are a lot of Androidn FREE apps you can use - I had tried all of them and all worked for me.

OK for the exterior glass - I shopped around first because I know you cannot just buy a small acrylic glass. I don't want to buy a long sheet and I have no use for it.

I end up using 1/4 inch plastic photo frame that you can buy from Dollarama. The plastic is clear and 1/4 inch thick and clear. Easy to cut with jig saw and fine it with sandpaper.


The Backup camera came with power cable for the 12v battery that I use for my fish finder and RCA cable for 12feet only ( I think ).
And the backup camera has a wired LED which is always on.

I asked the people that I know that owns the Marcum, Aqua View and other underwater camera if they ever used the LED or the IR on the camera. Majority said No and sometimes when its murky but not a lot.


So, I decided to add a toggle switch for the LED. For me to do that, I had to drill holes on the housing of the camera and ran the LED wire out then solder the toggle switch for the LED



The toggle switch has an LED so I had to tap the ground wire to the incoming ground to support it.


Here's the ABS pipe final design.
NOTE: I'm not a plumber or have experience working with water pipes and I had to learn which cement to use for this kind of pipe.

The original design was a 5 inch in length. Because it was tight squeeze inside for the wires, I extended the ABS pipe another 2 inches ( totaling 7 inches). I know it's to long but what matters to me is the output and sealed


As you can see the OTG cable hub can connect USB device. So, while I have the video running underwater, the video is being recorded in the USB external drive rather than the SD card on the tablet. Video output quality is good not HD because backup camera are not HD quality.

If you want to know what each pipe fittings I used. Please let me know and I can share that too.

Oh yhea I also bought the epoxy from Dollarama I used that for the internal bottom of the fitting where the wires comes out.

And If you want to know where I used the Marine Epoxy to seal the interior and exterior let me know. Happy to share and help.

I can share more photos if you want to give you an idea. Happy to help.

This will also work on your Android Phone not only on your Tablet. For easy carrying.


Cheers and TightLines

That's a pretty cool setup you made there. Works pretty good. Funny thing. I had mine out in Cooks Bay 30ft of water Friday and thought I was seeing things when a White fish swam by just like yours lol. First I've seen in the Bay. The P-off is I didn't have it recording at the time. Guess they're there the odd time just not feeding.

There's always a fail on a DIY project and I like to share this.

The first drop in the water was LOL because it stayed a float.

But, that tells me its tight sealed and no water was going inside. I dipped it in 2 feet down for 5mins and it float up.


I unscrewed the bottom of the housing and put some weights inside and tight the bottom again. Then it's slowly goes down to the bottom.

Nice vid and nice job on the camera. Love seeing what is happening below my feet, have been thinking about making or buying one just really for entertainment than anything else. It’s a world of its own down there! Thanks a lot for sharing it and tight lines!

The tablet recorded 2hours and 20mins video from 100% battery.

I could not find the video when this jumbo took the slab grabber. Maybe it wasn't recorded or out of view.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BegTsMIh6dR/

Wow, talk about helping a brother out !! Thanks for all the details , pictures and links. Gonna talk it out with the boss to see if I'm allowed to green light a project.

Nice jumbo too. Tight lines !!

Underwater cameras are pretty cool ... I just picked up a cheapo off Amazon and it's so cool to see what's happening down there. It's super helpful to make sure your not set up behind a pile of rocks or something blocking your bait from being seen.

Same here had to talk to the Boss.

But I asked this question "Do you need anything from Amazon? I need $10 more to get free shipping.

I remember this person posted his DIY camera in this forum last year. He shared on his description the parts but it's not Amazon Canada https://youtu.be/b8SzrqgIteU

I had to do my own homework on how I want to establish my target.
Items are from Amazon Canada, Dollarama and things I already have at home ( electrical tape, solder and some electrical wires 20gauge and etc..)

Found this camera with no guideline - https://youtu.be/b8SzrqgIteU
Video Capture USB - http://amzn.to/2GnWo5j
OTG Cable for Android Tabet - http://amzn.to/2nkn5Py
RCA Plug 66 ft - http://amzn.to/2rLHJ0D
LePage Marine Epoxy Adhesive - http://amzn.to/2Bzzqob
The App I use on Android and it's Free: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?...usbcamera&hl=en


NOTE: There are a lot of Androidn FREE apps you can use - I had tried all of them and all worked for me.

OK for the exterior glass - I shopped around first because I know you cannot just buy a small acrylic glass. I don't want to buy a long sheet and I have no use for it.

I end up using 1/4 inch plastic photo frame that you can buy from Dollarama. The plastic is clear and 1/4 inch thick and clear. Easy to cut with jig saw and fine it with sandpaper.


The Backup camera came with power cable for the 12v battery that I use for my fish finder and RCA cable for 12feet only ( I think ).
And the backup camera has a wired LED which is always on.

I asked the people that I know that owns the Marcum, Aqua View and other underwater camera if they ever used the LED or the IR on the camera. Majority said No and sometimes when its murky but not a lot.


So, I decided to add a toggle switch for the LED. For me to do that, I had to drill holes on the housing of the camera and ran the LED wire out then solder the toggle switch for the LED



The toggle switch has an LED so I had to tap the ground wire to the incoming ground to support it.


Here's the ABS pipe final design.
NOTE: I'm not a plumber or have experience working with water pipes and I had to learn which cement to use for this kind of pipe.

The original design was a 5 inch in length. Because it was tight squeeze inside for the wires, I extended the ABS pipe another 2 inches ( totaling 7 inches). I know it's to long but what matters to me is the output and sealed


As you can see the OTG cable hub can connect USB device. So, while I have the video running underwater, the video is being recorded in the USB external drive rather than the SD card on the tablet. Video output quality is good not HD because backup camera are not HD quality.

If you want to know what each pipe fittings I used. Please let me know and I can share that too.

Oh yhea I also bought the epoxy from Dollarama I used that for the internal bottom of the fitting where the wires comes out.

And If you want to know where I used the Marine Epoxy to seal the interior and exterior let me know. Happy to share and help.

I can share more photos if you want to give you an idea. Happy to help.

This will also work on your Android Phone not only on your Tablet. For easy carrying.


Cheers and TightLines

Great job on the camera!

Thank you by the way for linking to my YouTube video, i'm glad you were able to put together your own unique design with ideas from my own build and parts list! I've got about 5 folks who reached out to me this year for help building my design, and i got to tell you it's super awesome to see what everyone else finally comes up with and it's nice to see others sharing credit for their sources, along with their own DIY tips and ideas!

Just out of curiosity, what did you end up using for the battery? Lastly, for the floating issue i would strongly recommend adding backing behind the camera and then filling the remaining camera body void with epoxy or hot glue to completely remove air and add weight. I know you mentioned it's water tight, but once you get passed 50 feet your going to have potential issues with water pressure and even the tiniest of pin holes will cause somewhat of a spectacular decompression (ask me how i know.. lol)!

Keep up the great work and tight lines!

This post has been edited by dameatman on Jan 29, 2018 - 10:54 am

Neat to see the whitty pass bye.

@dameatman Thank you for your post and video.

Putting everything together does take a long time. I had multiple designs for the housing, as small as 3 inches but I like what I have end up.
I can also use this camera when I'm trolling the boat very soon.

I started searching for a panner and i found some good ideas on the net. I didn't think it would be that easy to make a very simple panner that works.

" what did you end up using for the battery? "
For the backup camera I used my 12v battery 7amp that I use for my Garmin fish finder.
For the tablet - I used what I already have, Battery Pack RAVPower 26800 Battery Charger 26800mAh. It takes 1 hour to fully charge the tablet from 20%.


" i would strongly recommend adding backing behind the camera and then filling the remaining camera body void with epoxy or hot glue to completely remove air and add weight. "
Yes. I have a backing on the camera and I was thinking of filling the housing with marine silicone or epoxy but I will have a challenge on the LED light.

" once you get passed 50 feet your going to have potential issues with water pressure. "
That's a test that I need to prepare for.

How much cheaper is this than buying an eyoyo for 170 bucks ?

I was looking at Eyoyo, Gobing and DoCooler but the recording capability that I was looking at are priced between $170 up to $250.

I decided to make my own so I can fit everything in the rod bag and not bulky to carry.

Difference: $71.00


Things I bought:
OTG Hub cable 12.00
RCA plug with power 23.50
Car backup camera 30.00
USB Video Capture 19.99
AllABS fitting and Pipes 11.00
Dollrama Picture Frame 1.25
Dollarama Epoxy 1.25

98.99 Before Tax


What I already owned:
A 4 years old Android tablet and I also used my Boss's smartphone Samsung 6 Edge while I charge the tablet.
Marine Epoxy - I already have this handy for my boat
12v battery 7amp
Battery power pack for the tablet
64gig USB drive