Power on ROV with magnetic key ..............31 Power on Control Station ..................31 Check feeds from ROV ..................31 Apply and test vacuum on ROV pressure vessel ........... 33 Test LED illumination lights .................. 35 Test thrusters ......................35...
Page 4
Begin launch sequence ..................44 Piloting your ROV ......................45 Overview ........................45 Safety ........................... 45 Using the Control Station and telemetry data to pilot the ROV ....45 Navigation directions ....................47 Piloting modes ......................48 Speed .......................... 50 Using the Level button ....................
Page 5
Care and maintenance of your Boxfish ROV ............66 How to clean the fibre optic cables and inputs ..........66 How to release vacuum from inside the ROV ..........68 How to replace thrusters and propellers ............68 How to remove battery tray from ROV ............. 75 Replacing the ROV Battery ...................
Page 6
Feeds coming in from ROV are interrupted ............ 96 How to restart the camera if it overheats ............96 How to calibrate ROV compass ..............96 Status LED lights are blinking when powering up ROV ....... 97 Navigation camera freezes ................... 97 Appendix VI: Document history ................98...
Congratulations on purchasing your Boxfish ROV! Please read these instructions carefully before using your ROV. We have strived to make your Boxfish ROV as intuitive as possible. It has been designed to operate under extreme conditions. It is also a complex product with...
Always supervise children around water and when ROV is operating. While ROV is running pay close attention to the thrusters. Do not touch the thrusters any time the ROV is powered on or serious injury may occur. Keep fingers, long hair and loose clothing or anything that may become entangled well clear of the thrusters when operating.
The ROV battery must be discharged to around 14.8-14.9V for shipping, but we do not recommend storing your ROV with the batteries at this level. To prolong the life of the battery, as soon as you receive your ROV after shipping, charge its battery to the safe storage voltage of 15.4V. See...
Page 10
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual DO NOT use the ROV below its depth rating: check the rating specified in your order or contact us if you are unsure. DO NOT operate in currents where control is impeded. DO NOT operate outside the water temperature range of -10˚C to +45˚C.
How to use this document When first using your ROV, we recommend reading this document from beginning to end. Once you are familiar with your ROV, you can use it as a reference or to refresh your memory. This document covers: Components and anatomy of the ROV system.
Boxfish Research will not be held liable for any damages resulting from the use of this product. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate and complete, Boxfish Research will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions.
5 Boxfish ROV System Receiving your ROV IMPORTANT! As soon as possible after receiving your ROV, sure to charge its battery to 15.4V as soon as possible to prolong the life of the battery. See Section 15: ROV battery charging and discharging for details.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Our standard ROV is shown below. Front and left side view Rear view Pressure vessel Pressure-rated ROV body Front dome Contains front camera and wide-angle navigation camera Bumpers / lifting Stainless steel lifting bars and bump protection for...
Update software and firmware for the ROV and Control Station. The Control Station attaches to the tether reel via a fibre patch cable. The tether reel in turn is attached to the ROV via the tether cable. IMPORTANT! The Control Station is designed to be splash-proof but it is not waterproof.
Page 16
Power in port. Provides power to the Control Station Fibre communication port. Used to send/receive telemetry, control signals and video between the Control Station and the ROV. Must be covered with its red plastic cap when not in use Enable button (green). Used to power on Control Station and also to enable the ROV thrusters Thrust control thumb wheel.
Page 17
33. Clean HDMI port (used for Ninja V Recorder) 34. Air ventilation intakes. Used to keep Control Station cool. Do not cover 38. Telemetry screen. Used to view data from the ROV to assist in piloting the ROV. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
ROV. The parts shown below are common to all sizes. The tether reel is connected to the ROV via the fibre optic tether cable. The tether reel also passes data from the ROV to the Control Station via the fibre patch cable, which is attached to the side of the tether reel.
To connect the AC power adapter to your local wall outlet. WARNING! ONLY use AC power adapters supplied by Boxfish. DO NOT connect the Control Station to a DC supply less than 10.5V or greater than 29.5V. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Page 20
The fibre patch cable connects the tether reel to the Control Station, passing the data from the ROV to the Control Station via the tether reel. We supply two standard lengths (3m and 5m) but can supply longer cables if required.
Page 21
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Vacuum pump and hose Used to pressurize the ROV vacuum chamber, as a way of ensuring it is watertight. Vacuum pump Manual hand operated vacuum pump used to apply vacuum to ROV body 2. Vacuum hose...
Page 22
2 x ROV magnetic Boxfish magnetic key used for powering the On/Off keys ROV on and off using the off and on pads. Can be attached to a lanyard, key ring or cable via the hole (on the left side).
Page 23
Fibre optic cleaning pen Pack containing 10 x single-use fibre optic connector cleaning sticks Spares and tools We supply the following with your ROV. They are located in the same case as the Control Station. Spare o-rings Spare fasteners for thrusters and propellers...
Underwater positioning system (USBL) Sonar Altimeter Laser Scalers Grabber External cameras Power Pack for fast charging and supplying power to the ROV system in the field ….and many more! Please see https://www.boxfish.nz/products/boxfish- rov/accessories/ for details. V1.3 All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Charge the ROV battery The ROV battery will be low on arrival. Safe shipping requires the battery to be discharged to around 14.9V. Full charge for diving is 16.8V and a good storage voltage is 15.4V. Depending on how soon you’ll use your ROV, you can charge to either 15.4V or 16.8V now.
Power cable plugged in and secured with plastic collar WARNING! ONLY use power adapters supplied by Boxfish. DO NOT connect the Control Station to a DC supply less than 10.5V or greater than 29.5V.
Page 27
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Handle attached to the side of the tether reel using the thumbscrew Connect fibre patch cable to tether reel Locate the fibre connection port on the other side of the tether reel. It will be covered by a red plastic protective cap. Working quickly, remove the caps from the port and fibre patch cable.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Connect tether cable to ROV Place your ROV near the tether cable. Take care when lifting the ROV: use the carbon fibre frame tubes or stainless-steel bars. Take care not to touch or scratch the domes as this could affect video quality later.
Attach Ninja V monitor/recorder Attach the Ninja V monitor/recorder to the Control Station for displaying and recording the camera feed from the ROV. Install the SSD card into the caddy and insert into the back of the Ninja. Screw in the mount to the ¼” mounting plate (31) on the Control Station.
Visual inspection / familiarity Now that your Boxfish ROV is put together, perform a visual inspection. Take note of the following so you can practice these in the field. V1.3 All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Page 31
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Domes The acrylic domes at each end of the ROV should be kept as clean as possible. Avoid scratches that may affect visuals from the camera. Wipe clean with a microfibre cloth before use. Thrusters The propellors may get damaged or entangled by debris in the water. Check the thrusters are free of damage/debris before every dive.
Power on Control Station Press the green Enable button on the Control Station. Wait until the system boots (up to a minute). You will see the video feed(s) come in from the ROV, and the Telemetry Screen (38) will be populated with data from the ROV.
Page 33
Useful to confirm ROV and Control Station are communicating. TSUS: indicates whether the thrusters are suspended (SUS) or working (ARMD). Until you put the ROV in the water and begin the ROV enable sequence, the thrusters should be suspended (unless you are performing a thruster test).
Note that when the ROV arrives for the first time there will be no vacuum in the vessel: safe shipping requirements mean it is not allowed to be shipped with a vacuum inside.
Page 35
Hold the green end of the vacuum hose to the vacuum port so it is flush against the ROV. Squeeze the trigger of the vacuum pump to suck air out of the chamber. You will see the PRESSURE reading on the telemetry screen begin to fall.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Test LED illumination lights Set lighting arm configuration 1. Slightly unscrew the ballast chamber caps on the ends of the ROV frame tubes so that the lighting arms (10) are free to move. 2. Rotate the arms and light panels as desired. In general, keep the lighting arms out for reduced backscatter, and in closer for close-up work and tight spaces.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual The ROV will rotate each thruster for a few seconds, in sequence from 1-8 as shown in the diagram below. Inspect each thruster during the test to verify it’s working properly. Practice removing thrusters and replacing propellers If you like, practice this now to get experience before you may need to do this in the field.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Your ROV will be balanced for use before shipping, so it’s best to only practice adding/removing ballast rings at this point. A rough guide is to have 575g of ballast for sea water, and 300g for fresh water, but if you have any accessory devices such as USBL or Sonar attached to your ROV, you will need less.
ROV front dome and ensure the camera re-focuses. Safety check Congratulations! You’ve officially set up your Boxfish ROV for the first time and prepared it for use on a dive. Now is a good time to look at the whole system and think about how it might be set up at a dive location.
Page 40
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Replace plug into the tether port of the ROV. Do this step first because it is the most difficult connection to clean if any water/dust gets in. Replace fibre cable cap on the end of the tether cable.
During transport to the dive site, keep the ROV in the shade and away from hot areas such as engine rooms. At the dive site, avoid leaving the ROV in the sun – if this is impossible, cover with a wet towel. Also avoid leaving the ROV powered on while out of the water.
Control Station placement – the Control Station is splashproof but not waterproof. It also needs to be close to its power source. It is not necessary for the ROV pilot to be able to see the ROV before it enters the water; good communication with team members is more important Tether reel placement –...
Section 7: Test ROV functions until you are happy that your ROV system is in good working order, the ROV is safe to enter the water, and the recommended amount of ballast has been added. Turn on Sensor Power switch...
While the ROV is upright briefly let go to see if it floats or sinks. Take it out of the water several times to add/remove ballast washers until it is balanced and sitting just below the surface of the water.
ON once the ROV is stable and level. At the end of the launch sequence, the thrusters should be keeping the ROV suspended in a fixed position just below the surface of the water. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
This section describes how to use the Control Station, telemetry screen and tether reel to move your ROV through the water. At all times, you also need to: ensure the tether cable is managed effectively to avoid excess drag, being...
Page 47
ROV: target Roll, Pitch and Yaw Heading according to the ROV’s internal compass Wide angle front camera. This is the best option for piloting the ROV. The 4K camera gives you clarity but the wide-angle camera provides an additional view for distance from objects, nearby objects, hazards Wide angle rear camera.
Horizontal forward / back: the ROV will move forward and back along its longitudinal axis Pitch forward / back: the ROV will tilt up (so that the nose is up) or down (so that the nose is down) on its lateral axis...
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Yaw left / right: the ROV will turn left and right on its vertical axis Roll left / right: the ROV will tilt left and right (“bank”) on its longitudinal axis. Piloting modes Available modes Press the Mode button to cycle through the four available piloting modes: Sea Mode, Sea-Q Mode, ROV Mode, and ROV-Q Mode.
Page 50
Move the joystick toward you to increase depth / move the ROV vertically down Move the joystick to the left to move (“crab”) the ROV left (to port) along its longitudinal axis Move the joystick to the right to move (“crab”) the ROV right (to starboard) along its longitudinal axis.
The central joystick controls the ROV pitch and roll movements. Move the joystick away from you to make the ROV pitch up. The ROV will rotate on its lateral axis. The front of the ROV will move up while the back of the ROV moves down.
(16) to OFF when you begin your dive. This will ensure the ROV will return to the surface after 10 minutes if it loses contact with the Control Station. V1.3 All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
ROV Mode (or ROV-Q Mode) can be useful when working relative to sloped surfaces such as a ship’s hull or sloping sea floor. In ROV Mode, you will tend to pilot the ROV with mainly the central and right joysticks. To move down a slope...
The trend line will give you clues as to what functions are draining the battery faster than others. Note that it takes practice to become accustomed to how the ROV functions affect how much time you get out of a full battery charge.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Battery storage Keeping the ROV batteries at an appropriate voltage during storage is essential for optimising your Boxfish ROV battery life. See Chapter 15.3: Prepare batteries for storage. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
ROV descends. Try to keep the tether under light tension: just long enough to allow the ROV to move freely, but also short enough to reduce drag and risk of snagging.
Page 57
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual When the ROV is returning and you have a lot of tether cable to wind on in a short time, it’s best to leave the cable on deck until you can take the time to wind it onto the reel properly. This will avoid birdsnest/making a mess of the tether on the reel.
Before the ROV breaks the surface, disable the thrusters by pressing the Stop button on the Control Station. Lift ROV out of the water and turn off by holding the magnetic key over the OFF pad. V1.3 All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Check thrusters for debris. Direct water to flush out any debris and salt from the pressure sensor at the rear of the ROV (14). Use fresh water at a minimum, and if you can, use warm soapy water. Hose down tether cable and tether reel with fresh water as best you can to remove salt, dirt and debris picked up during operation.
7. Do not bridge the battery charge ports on the ROV with a conductive object. 8. Do not place the battery charger, power supply or ROV battery on a flammable surface or near a combustible material while in use.
Page 61
Remove the plugs from the three battery charging ports on the rear of the ROV. They are joined by a single cover to keep them together. To remove them, unscrew the black collar from each plug. When you have unscrewed each plug enough you can pull the plugs out one by one.
Page 62
The three battery charging ports on the rear of the ROV. From left to right: red (positive), black (negative) and blue (balancing).
Page 63
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Boxfish 12A DC Charger controls: “Channel 1” button and dial wheel for scrolling/selecting items from the menu. Use the dial wheel to the right of the screen (labelled with “2” above) like a mouse wheel to scroll through the menus on the charger. Press the dial wheel to select and item, and push the wheel to the left to go back.
Prepare batteries for storage If you will not use your ROV for several months, its battery should be charged/discharged to 15.4V before storing in a cool, dry, stable place. Procedure for preparing ROV batteries for storage Follow steps 1-8 from Section 15.2: Battery charging...
Prepare batteries for shipping Note: discharging a full battery module will take some time, so plan ahead if you have to travel. It may be better to run the ROV until the batteries are closer to 20-30% (between 14.8 and 14.9V).
Page 66
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual iii. Check Cells Voltage and Task iv. Click ‘Yes’ (the cell balancing are correct, then select ‘Start’. cable is not necessary here). Wait until the charger has brought the battery modules to its appropriate storage voltage. Note: discharging a full battery module will take some time, so plan ahead if you have to travel.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual 16 Care and maintenance of your Boxfish ROV How to clean the fibre optic cables and inputs Clean fibre optic cable ends This process is for cleaning the ends of the fibre optic cables at the following...
Page 68
Clean fibre optic port on ROV You will use the cleaning sticks for this, instead of the pen. Take the plug (or tether cable, if ROV is connected) out of the tether port of the ROV. Insert one cleaning swab into the tether port. Ensure the swab reaches all the way down into the tether port to the connector inside the ROV.
Removing or replacing any penetrator ports into the ROV pressure vessel (such as thrusters, lights or accessories). Unscrew and take off the cap of the vacuum port on the rear of the ROV. Keep the cap in a safe place while you are working.
Page 70
Make sure ROV is powered off before working on or touching thrusters. Before you start: Release vacuum from the ROV, otherwise you will not be able to remove the thruster penetrators Get your Allen Key set from the accessories case.
Page 71
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Remove the two screws attaching thruster to its mount on the ROV Carefully remove the entire thruster, including cable and plug. Thruster as it looks when removed from the ROV How to replace a thruster propeller Note: You will need a 2mm Allen Key and a No.
Page 72
2. CCW 4. CW 6. CCW 8. CW Ensure ROV is powered off and vacuum removed Remove thruster from the ROV The thruster has a mounting plate on the outside of its cowl/shroud. Remove the mounting plate as follows: a. Unscrew the 4 x hex head screws from the mounting plate b.
Page 73
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual c. Slide thruster motor out of the cowling towards the side with the motor cable. Remove propeller a. Use a 2mm Allen Key to remove the 2 x hex head screws securing the propeller to the motor b.
Page 74
Ensure thruster cable is not trapped and is in the correct orientation to allow it to be plugged into the thruster port c. Slide the 2 x hex head screws through the ROV mounting point into the thruster mount. Tighten with an Allen key.
Page 75
Perform a thruster test to confirm thruster is working correctly. For instructions see Chapter 7.6: Test thrusters. Check ROV can hold a vacuum. See Chapter 7.4: Apply and test vacuum on ROV. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual How to remove battery tray from ROV You should only need to remove the tray from the ROV if you are replacing the battery or if you need to change any of the settings for the front camera.
Page 77
When the tray is completely out of the ROV body, place it on a clean, dry surface. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Page 78
Hold the top bar with one hand and support the tray with one hand underneath the tray. b. Align the tray with the ROV. You will see two internal rails that the tray will grip onto. c. Slide the tray forward until it grips the internal rails. Keep the tray aligned with the ROV body to prevent bending.
Page 79
When the tray is inserted far enough for the bolts to almost engage the threads, stop and check o-ring seals are correctly positioned. e. Ensure alignment pins in the ROV tray are aligned with the holes in the ROV body, and push the ROV forward until you feel resistance from the o-ring seals.
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Replacing the ROV Battery IMPORTANT! Make sure ROV is powered off and vacuum removed before attempting to replace battery. Note: You will need a 6mm Allen Key to do this task. How to remove ROV battery from tray Ensure ROV is powered off and vacuum removed.
Page 81
ROV unless the battery assembly is correctly fitted. Check battery and battery compartment: a. Place ROV tray on a clean level surface where you can easily access the battery compartment. b. Check the battery assembly is clean and dry and there is nothing in the battery contacts.
Page 82
Rotate handles to connect battery: a. Gently rotate both handles down together making sure the fingers on the handles engage the rails on the ROV tray. As you rotate both handles down, the fingers on the battery assembly will pull the battery assembly into position.
17 Software and firmware updates When updating the software and/or firmware on your Control Station, and/or the firmware on your ROV, the below areas of the Control Station will be used: Updating Control Station firmware and/or software Copy the ControlStation*.hex and/or ControlStation*.tgz file into a root folder called FIRMWARE (all caps) on a USB stick.
Below is a full list of functions and descriptions of the Control Station. 17” 4K Monitor: Displays images from the main camera in the front of the ROV. May also be used to display images from additional sensors or accessories (if supplied), for example Sonar.
Page 85
Turn off Depth Hold if using ROV Mode – In ROV Mode thrusting forward will cause the ROV to move directly forward relative to the centre line of the ROV. If the ROV is pitched up, then the ROV will move forward and up at the same time.
Page 86
1. ON – The ROV will hold the current depth set relative to the surface. Depth can still be changed using the Left Joystick. 2. OFF – The ROV will not attempt to keep its current depth, eg If the ROV is pitched down and you move forward the depth will increase.
Page 87
2. OFF – With the switch OFF the RTS function is ENABLED. If the ROV loses communication to the Control Station for more than 10 minutes the ROV will attempt to return to the surface automatically.
Page 88
20. Scaling lasers On/Off switch: If the optional scaling lasers are fitted this switch will turn the scaling lasers on and off. 1. ON - Turn on the scaling lasers. DO NOT look directly into the ROV scaling lasers. The scaling lasers emit Class 3R laser light.
Page 89
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual Level button: Press the Level button to return the ROV attitude to a neutral (zero) Roll and Pitch state. Pressing the button will cancel any current roll and pitch settings. Target Attitude display on the telemetry screen be zeroed for Roll and Pitch.
Page 90
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual 32. Accessory port used to provide power for the external Ninja Recorder unit 33. Clean HDMI port: This is a HDMI feed of the video directly from the Main Camera. Normally connected to the Ninja Recorder to allow capture of main camera video 34.
While it restarts the telemetry screen will go blank, but video will still appear on the 17” 4K monitor and you can pilot the ROV using the controls as usual. Pilot and Sonar buttons: Use only if a Sonar accessory is installed.
Page 92
Displays current ROV temperature in degrees Celsius and a trend line to give an indication of the temperature over time Steering: Currently in development Humidity: Displays the current ROV humidity and a trend line to give an indication of the humidity over time Thruster Speed: Currently in development...
Two (2) 8mm diameter x 460mm long parallel rails accessories with a 52mm spacing centre to centre on both the top and bottom of the ROV. Used for mounting additional sensors such as USBL. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Positive and negative ports (terminals) for connection ports x2 to the Battery charger for battery charging. DO NOT put in water or submerge the ROV without the battery terminal port covers in place Depth sensor Port containing ROV Depth sensor used to detect depth.
Page 95
Control Station so that the lighting intensity falls below 30% and the rear navigation LED's will turn off. Note: All status indicator LED's will turn off when the ROV is in the water. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
(clean) fingers to lubricate it before insertion. Don’t use too much silicone grease – it does not form part of the seal. Only use o-rings supplied by Boxfish. If in doubt, please call us at Boxfish for assistance.
The feed from front camera in dome will drop out when it gets hot. This happens if the ROV is left out in the sun (around 30C). Try not to leave the ROV in the sun, or cover with a wet towel if it cannot be kept in the shade.
ROV just under the surface of the water. Roll the ROV while rounding the corner. If part of the ROV pops out of the water or you pitch the ROV a little this is fine, and the exact pattern is not critical.
Tips for keeping ROV cool Software updates chapter. 1/7/2021 Added Control Station and ROV updates: Rx Signal loss value on telemetry screen New navigation modes Sea-Q and ROV-Q. V1.3. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Page 100
Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual V1.3 All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
Need help?
Do you have a question about the ROV and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers