Electrical — Tether Design
The tether is the single physical link between the topside control station and the ROV. It carries both Ethernet data and DC power.
Tether Specifications
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Length | [INSERT DETAILS HERE] |
| Cable Type | [INSERT DETAILS HERE: e.g., Cat5e, Cat6, custom composite] |
| Conductors | [INSERT DETAILS HERE: Number and gauge of power conductors] |
| Data Pairs | [INSERT DETAILS HERE: Ethernet pair count] |
| Outer Diameter | [INSERT DETAILS HERE] |
| Buoyancy | [INSERT DETAILS HERE: Positive, negative, or neutral] |
| Strain Relief | [INSERT DETAILS HERE: Method at both ROV and topside ends] |
Design Rationale
[INSERT DETAILS HERE: Why this tether construction was chosen — trade-offs between diameter (drag), conductor count (power capacity), flexibility, and cost. Any custom fabrication vs. off-the-shelf cable]
Connectors
| End | Connector Type | Waterproof Rating |
|---|---|---|
| ROV-side | [INSERT DETAILS HERE] | [INSERT DETAILS HERE] |
| Topside-side | [INSERT DETAILS HERE] | [INSERT DETAILS HERE] |
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Bandwidth Budget
| Traffic | Protocol | Estimated Bandwidth |
|---|---|---|
| 6× Camera MJPEG | HTTP | [INSERT DETAILS HERE] |
| MAVLink Telemetry | UDP | ~50 kbps |
| RealSense (not live) | N/A (local recording) | 0 (tether) |
| YOLOv8 stream pull | HTTP | Shared with camera feed |
| Total | — | [INSERT DETAILS HERE] |
The tether carries standard Ethernet — theoretical throughput of 100 Mbps (Cat5e) or 1 Gbps (Cat6). Actual utilization is dominated by the MJPEG camera streams.