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Boxfish Alpha Owner's Manual

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  • Page 1 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Charging the ROV battery pack .................. 24 Receiving your ROV ....................24 How to charge your ROV battery pack ............. 24 Putting together the Boxfish Alpha system ............25 Connecting cables - connection diagram ............25 Connect Control Station to power ..............26 Assemble tether reel ....................
  • Page 3 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Apply and test vacuum on ROV pressure vessel ........... 34 Test LED illumination lights .................. 35 Inspect and test thrusters ..................36 Test scaling lasers (if present) ................37 Test Ninja V ........................ 37 Practise adding ballast washers ................. 38 Lubricate tether penetrator O-rings and collar O-ring .......
  • Page 4 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Moving the ROV ...................... 50 Piloting modes ......................51 Sea Modes ........................51 ROV Modes ......................... 51 Controls for Sea Mode and ROV Mode (non-Q modes) ......52 Controls for Quad Modes (Sea-Q Mode and ROV-Q Mode) ...... 54 Speed ...........................
  • Page 5 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 18 Updating your ROV system ..................65 Items required ......................65 Relevant buttons and labels ................. 65 How to update Control Station ................65 How to update ROV ....................66 Troubleshooting ....................... 67 Potential issues and solutions ................67 How to recalibrate ROV compass ..............
  • Page 6 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Document history ....................... 105 R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

  • Page 7: Welcome To Boxfish

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Welcome to Boxfish Congratulations on receiving your Boxfish Alpha ROV. Please read these instructions carefully before use. If you need further support, please contact us at support@boxfish.nz. We hope you enjoy your Boxfish Alpha! R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

  • Page 8: Notices

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 2 Notices This manual is part of the documentation for your Boxfish product as mentioned in our Terms of Sale (available on our website at https://www.boxfish.nz/support/terms-conditions/). Please ensure all ROV operators have read and understood this manual and accompanying Boxfish Battery Charging Manual before using your ROV.

  • Page 9: About This Document

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 3 About this document When first using your Boxfish 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.
  • Page 10 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual WARNING! Warnings are for your SAFETY so that you don’t CAUSE INJURY to yourself, any other operators of the ROV, or people nearby. LiPo BATTERY WARNING! Warnings for SAFETY so that INJURY or DAMAGE does not occur when dealing with the Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries in Boxfish ROV battery packs.

  • Page 11: Important Safety Information

    (available in our Terms of Sale at https://www.boxfish.nz/support/terms-conditions/). Battery safety, maintenance, storage and disposal The ROV uses Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries in its battery pack. Please refer to our Boxfish Battery Charging Manual. (latest version available on our website: https://www.boxfish.nz/downloads/. LiPo BATTERY WARNING! You must read the Boxfish Battery Charging Manual and follow the instructions carefully.

  • Page 12: Safe Rov Operation

    Safe ROV operation The Boxfish ROV takes at least two people to operate: one person to pilot the ROV and one person to manage the tether cable. DO NOT use the ROV below its depth rating: check the rating specified in your order or contact us if you are unsure.

  • Page 13: Boxfish Alpha Rov System

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 5 Boxfish Alpha ROV system Storage and Shipping Cases Each component of your Boxfish ROV system will be stored in a black waterproof Pelican case. A typical system is shown below. ROV case Contains the Boxfish Alpha ROV.

  • Page 14: Rov

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual The Boxfish Alpha ROV is shown below. Rear view Front and left side view Pressure vessel Pressure-rated ROV body with ports for thrusters, lights and external accessories as ordered. Depth rating of your vehicle (excluding any external accessories) is dependent on this component.

  • Page 15: Control Station

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Lighting arms Adjustable arms with LED illumination lights and LED lights Rear dome Contains water sensor, Status LEDs, rear navigation camera, rear navigation LEDs Battery balance For connecting cell balancing cable to charge each port battery cell to the same voltage...
  • Page 16 Do not block the air vents otherwise the Control Station could overheat. Control Station layout Note: individual Boxfish Alpha Control Stations may vary slightly from pictures and descriptions below, but most components will remain the same. R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
  • Page 17 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 17” monitor displaying HDMI feed from RX100 camera, telemetry and other data from the ROV. Also provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for several control features. 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 (via the tether and fibre patch cable).

  • Page 18: Tether Reel

    26. Left USB port. Has a few uses, including software updates and uploading log files HDMI In port. Not present on standard Boxfish Alpha. 28. Right USB port. Not present on standard Boxfish Alpha. Tether reel IMPORTANT! Do not drop the tether penetrator. Parts used in the termination inside the tether penetrator can be easily damaged by drops or knocks.

  • Page 19: Accessory Box Contents

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Tether cable Durable fibre optic cable neutrally buoyant in salt water. (fibre optic) Carries all control and video signals to and from ROV. Comes in 2.7mm, 3.7mm or 4.3mm standard diameters. Tether This is the brass connector containing the fibre cable at penetrator and the end of the tether cable.
  • Page 20 Standard vehicle type plug for powering the Control Station from a DC supply. 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. Fibre patch connector cable Armoured, military grade fibre patch cable.
  • Page 21 Battery charger and cables The below items are used to charge the ROV battery pack. Charging is done while the battery pack is inside the ROV. For more information see the Boxfish Battery Charging Manual. (latest version available on our website: https://www.boxfish.nz/downloads/.
  • Page 22 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Vacuum pump Manual hand operated vacuum pump used to apply vacuum to ROV body Vacuum hose Connects the vacuum pump to the vacuum port on the Ninja V 5-inch 4Kp60 HDR Monitor Recorder The Ninja V attaches to the Control Station and records video from the front camera.
  • Page 23 USB Type A end to your computer. ROV magnetic On/Off keys 2x Boxfish magnetic key used for powering the ROV on and off using the off and on pads. Can be attached to a lanyard, key ring or cable.
  • Page 24 Optional sensors for the Boxfish ROV system The accessory box may also contain items for additional sensors in your order. Details will be in the accompanying manual.

  • Page 25: Charging The Rov Battery Pack

    (15.6V). Do this as soon as you can, especially if your ROV has spent a long time in transit. How to charge your ROV battery pack For all tasks related to battery safety and charging, see our Boxfish Battery Charging Manual. (latest version available on our website: https://www.boxfish.nz/downloads/.

  • Page 26: Putting Together The Boxfish Alpha System

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 7 Putting together the Boxfish Alpha system This section describes how to put together the Boxfish Alpha ROV, and how to test some of its functions before you put it in the water. We recommend finding a suitable place, for example a large table or bench, to practice assembling your ROV for the first time.

  • Page 27: Connect Control Station To Power

    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 28: Assemble Tether Reel

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Assemble tether reel Find a place near the Control Station to set up your tether reel. 1. Open the tether reel box. Inside will be the tether reel and handle. The handle will be detached and wrapped for protection.

  • Page 29: Connect Tether Cable To Rov

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 4. Remove the red cap from the FIBRE port and remove the clear cap from the cable. 5. Insert the cable carefully, orienting it perpendicular to the connector. Attach and screw in the cable to the port.

  • Page 30: Storing Tether Penetrator Cap And Fibre Caps During Your Dive

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 2. On the tether penetrator, unscrew the knurled black collar from the black plastic tether penetrator cap. 3. Take off the tether penetrator cap. The knurled collar will remain on the tether penetrator. The brass tether penetrator will now be exposed.
  • Page 31 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual IMPORTANT! Do not force the Ninja power cable into the ACCESSORY port on the Control Station. The male pins on this connector can be broken if the cable is not aligned properly and too much force is used.

  • Page 32: Familiarity With Your Rov

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Familiarity with your ROV Now that your Boxfish ROV is put together, note the following items. We will cover these in more details later in this manual. Thrusters Check the thrusters and propellers are free of damage/debris before every dive.

  • Page 33: Powering On The Rov System

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 8 Powering on the ROV system Power on ROV with magnetic key Take a magnetic key and hold it to the green ON pad on the back of the ROV. The Status LEDs inside the rear dome will light up for the power on sequence.
  • Page 34 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Top and Labels to control various functions of ROV and Control bottom Station. Can be selected using the trackpad and left labels “mouse” button. Front cam Feed from the main camera in the front dome. Rear nav Wide-angle view from rear nav cam.

  • Page 35: Pre-Deployment Checks

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 9 Pre-deployment checks This section outlines the tasks that need to be done before putting your ROV in the water. It is important to practise these procedures and complete them before every dive. Apply and test vacuum on ROV pressure vessel To protect the ROV from water ingress, a vacuum is set inside the pressure vessel.

  • Page 36: Test Led Illumination Lights

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual vacuum pump and then release – this action will suck air out of the chamber. You will see the PRESSURE reading on the telemetry screen begin to fall. It will take a minute or two for the pressure to fall to 875 mBar.

  • Page 37: Inspect And Test Thrusters

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual spaces. The lights should also be rotated slightly outwards from the dome to reduce reflection from small particles in the water. 3. When happy with the configuration, tighten the ballast chamber caps to maintain position of the lights.

  • Page 38: Test Scaling Lasers (If Present)

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Front thrusters Rear thrusters 4. During the test, verify each thruster is working properly. Note: Thrusters may be slightly noisy during surface testing as they are designed to operate underwater. Test scaling lasers (if present) WARNING! DO NOT look directly into the ROV scaling lasers.

  • Page 39: Practise Adding Ballast Washers

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Practise adding ballast washers Ballast chambers are located on the eight ends of the frame tubes of the ROV. Unscrew the ends of the frame tubes to familiarise yourself with the method for removing or adding the metal ballast washers.
  • Page 40 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual If you remove an external device, your ROV will need to be re-balanced. See instructions in Section 12.7: Make ROV balanced and neutrally buoyant. R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

  • Page 41: Power Off And Pack Up Rov (From Out-Of-Water Testing)

    Make sure the batteries are not fully charged during storage (unless you will be diving within the next 24 hours), otherwise the batteries can be damaged. See Boxfish Battery Charging Manual for instructions. Power off Ninja V Recorder Power off the Ninja and detach all components from the Control Station.

  • Page 42: Disconnect Fibre Patch Cable

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 6. Put the black plastic tether penetrator protective cap on the end of the tether penetrator, and screw in the knurled nut so that it can’t come off. 7. Carefully wind tether cable back onto tether reel. Apply light tension to the tether cable to wind it on neatly.

  • Page 43: Planning Your Dive

    11 Planning your dive This section outlines some of the things you need to consider when preparing for a mission with your Boxfish ROV. It is essential that you take the time to plan how and where it will be used.

  • Page 44: Research Your Launch Vessel/Site

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Ask us if unsure what the limits of your equipment are. Research your launch vessel/site Consider the vessel or location for launching your ROV. Plan ahead for the following: Control Station placement: the Control Station is splashproof but not waterproof, so ideally needs to be indoors or in a covered location.

  • Page 45: Keeping The Rov Cool

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Misplacing items: fibre cable caps and fibre port caps, tether penetrator cap, tether port cap, items from the Accessory Box. Keeping the ROV cool The ROV should be kept cool (below 30C) while out of the water. During transport to the dive site, keep the ROV in the shade and away from hot areas such as engine rooms.

  • Page 46: Deploying Your Rov In The Water

    ROV in/take it out of the water. Assembling ROV for a dive Reference Section 7: Putting together the Boxfish ROV system to assemble your ROV. Power on ROV and Control Station...

  • Page 47: Put Rov In The Water

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Power switch to the ON position just before you put the ROV in the water. Put ROV in the water When you are happy the ROV is watertight and operating correctly, gently put it into the water. You should be able to easily reach the ROV while performing the next step: checking and adjusting buoyancy.

  • Page 48: Check Depth Sensor

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Test balance with current ballast To test buoyancy with the ROV’s current ballast, hold the ROV under the surface and move it around so that all the air escapes from the frame tubes and around external components. Let go of the ROV and observe if it sinks or floats.

  • Page 49: Check Compass

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual zero the depth reading. Check compass The ROV has an internal gyro and compass. Both can be used to drive the ROV in a particular direction. To switch between gyro and compass, “double-click” the Stabilisation Hold switch up to the FN position. Wait a moment and the label under the dial on the Heading widget should change from Compass to Gyro.

  • Page 50: Piloting Your Rov

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 13 Piloting your ROV Useful telemetry screen info for piloting Note: Some items on your telemetry screen may differ from this picture TARGET ATTITUDE: shows target input from the sticks for each of: Roll, Pitch and Yaw.

  • Page 51: Moving The Rov

    Telemetry Screen – More Information. Moving the ROV Boxfish ROV’s eight thrusters allow it to freely move in six degrees of freedom: it can move along its vertical, longitudinal and lateral axes, as well as rotate on them, as shown below.

  • Page 52: Piloting Modes

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 3. Horizontal forward / back: the ROV will move forward and back along its longitudinal axis 4. 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 5.

  • Page 53: Controls For Sea Mode And Rov Mode (Non-Q Modes)

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual You must turn off Depth Hold. Joystick inputs are aligned with the axes of the ROV (not the Earth). So, the ROV will move in the direction it is pointing. (In ROV Mode) When piloting the ROV you will tend to use the right joystick in conjunction with the pitch/roll joystick to move the ROV.
  • Page 54 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Right joystick In non-Q modes, the RIGHT joystick is used to control the ROV yaw and forward and backwards movements. 1. Move the joystick away from you to move the ROV forward. 2. Move the joystick towards you to move the ROV in reverse.

  • Page 55: Controls For Quad Modes (Sea-Q Mode And Rov-Q Mode)

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 3. Move the joystick LEFT to roll the ROV to the left (anti-clockwise / counter- clockwise / CCW) on its longitudinal axis. 4. Move the joystick RIGHT to roll the ROV to the right (clockwise / CW) on its longitudinal axis.

  • Page 56: Altitude Hold

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual IMPORTANT! Heading Hold uses the ROV’s compass for direction stabilisation, and therefore requires the ROV’s internal compass to be calibrated and operational. The ROV will be difficult to control if Heading Hold is on when the compass is not properly calibrated.

  • Page 57: Rts (Return To Surface)

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual You can control the intensity of the lights with the Lights slider on the telemetry screen. In most situations you can keep the lights around 20%. Note that lights are a significant factor in using up the battery. If you wish the rear navigation LEDs to be off, use the dial to dim the lights until they turn off.

  • Page 58: Notes

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Aim to be back at the surface with 14.7V remaining in the batteries. The ROV will automatically shut down its thrusters between 14.3 and 14.1V, and will power off completely at 13.7V to preserve its battery. Avoid discharging the battery completely: it is dangerous and will reduce the life of the battery.

  • Page 59: Managing Tether Cable During A Dive

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 14 Managing tether cable during a dive Good tether management during a dive is essential for safety and performance of your ROV and to ensure the fibre cable inside is protected from excessive stress (including bending, knotting or twisting) which could cause loss of communications or breakage.

  • Page 60: Tips

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Tips At the start of the dive, you might find it easier to unspool some cable from the tether reel onto the deck to pay out as the ROV descends. When the ROV is returning to the surface, leave the excess cable on deck until you have time to wind it onto the reel properly.

  • Page 61: Rov Surfacing And Retrieval

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 15 ROV surfacing and retrieval How to bring ROV back to surface 1. Manoeuvre the ROV towards the surface: As with descending, it’s easy to do this along a fixed reference such as an anchor line or wharf pile. It there is no fixed reference, it’s often easiest to return the ROV to the launch point by...

  • Page 62: After-Dive Procedures

    Disconnect ROV components and cables IMPORTANT! To avoid damage to your ROV, carefully follow the pack down procedures from Section 10: Power off and pack off Boxfish ROV. Do not allow fibre connections to be exposed for too long: replace caps immediately after disconnection.

  • Page 63: Attend To Rov Battery

    Attend to ROV battery As soon as possible, get your battery pack back into storage voltage. See our Boxfish Battery Charging Manual (latest version available on our website: https://www.boxfish.nz/downloads/). R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

  • Page 64: Storing Your Rov

    The ROV batteries cannot be allowed to drain, otherwise they will be unusable. To keep your ROV in optimum condition, every month, use the monthly maintenance procedure described in the Boxfish Battery Charging Manual R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
  • Page 65 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual before storing for another month. This is also a good chance to give the ROV a once-over check for corrosion or anything unusual, and let us know. R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

  • Page 66: Updating Your Rov System

    We will regularly release updates for your ROV system. Items required A USB memory stick Computer Boxfish ROV, connected to Control Station via tether or dummy tether Update files, we will send these to you by email or other communication channel. Relevant buttons and labels...

  • Page 67: How To Update Rov

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 2. Transfer update files onto USB stick: We may send you one or both of the below update files. Move the files into the FIRMWARE folder on your memory stick. Note: don’t unarchive (double-click on) the .tgz files.

  • Page 68: Troubleshooting

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 19 Troubleshooting This section covers troubleshooting issues relating to testing and operations of your ROV. See the Boxfish Battery Charging Manual for battery-related troubleshooting. This manual is available at https://www.boxfish.nz/downloads/. Potential issues and solutions Issue Solution...
  • Page 69 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual ports and cable connections (see Section 20.4: Cleaning fibre optic connections). If you clean the fibre connections and the Rx value (negative value) is approaching -20dBm, try connecting another fibre patch cable from your Accessory Box.
  • Page 70 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Check that the Stabilisation Hold switch is ON. It is very difficult to pilot the ROV without Stabilisation Hold. If you have an altimeter, check that Altitude Hold is not on if the ROV is more than 20m from the bottom.

  • Page 71: How To Recalibrate Rov Compass

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual protective feature which prevents the thrusters from being enabled and protects the LED modules of the lights while the ROV is out of the water. While the water sensor is disabled, thrusters should not be operated while out of the water, and lights should be limited to 5% intensity otherwise the LED modules will be damaged.

  • Page 72: How To Retrieve Log Files From Control Station

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Compass calibration procedure 1. Put the ROV into the water until it is just below the surface and hold onto it, as you would when balancing the ROV. Note that Depth Hold and Stab Hold switches should be OFF and the ROV should not be armed (thrusters should not be enabled).

  • Page 73: Troubleshooting Thrusters

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual We might ask you get log files from the Control Station and send them to us to diagnose any issues. To do this: 1. On a computer, create a folder on your USB stick called LOGS (all capitals).
  • Page 74 This will not happen if the ROV has been run/charged according to monthly maintenance procedures in the Boxfish Battery Charging Manual. If the below picture appears, you will need to re-enter some settings for the main camera.
  • Page 75 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 4. From the Date/Time Setup menu, we want to navigate down to the ‘Enter’ button. Press the Cam Select button for two seconds to select the next item in the menu. Repeat two more times so that the Enter button is highlighted.

  • Page 76: Regular Maintenance Procedures

    20 Regular maintenance procedures Monthly maintenance charging To maintain optimum condition of your battery pack and internal battery in your RX100 camera, we have a procedure to carry out once per month. See Boxfish Battery Charging Manual for procedure. Dome care and maintenance...
  • Page 77 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual WARNING! DO NOT look into any of the fibre ports or connected fibre cables while the ROV is powered on. The lasers used to transmit signals over the fibre optic cables is invisible but can cause damage to the retina of the eye.

  • Page 78: O-Rings Maintenance

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 2. Rotate pen so it is in the ‘CLEAN’ position. 3. Remove the cap from the fibre port on the Control Station. 4. Insert the pen straight down (perpendicular) into the port, as shown below. Push the top of the pen down until you hear/feel a click.
  • Page 79 Lubricate O-rings frequently, especially on parts of the ROV where they are often used, such as tether penetrator and battery charge ports Only use O-rings supplied by Boxfish. There are spares in your Accessory Replace O-rings that form seals of ROV parts that are removed or opened, such as the tether penetrator and battery charge ports, every year.
  • Page 80 OR.167N70) but both O-rings will work for the rear lid face seal. ** Note: These seals are only accessible by opening the ROV. The procedure for opening the ROV is covered in the Boxfish Battery Charging Manual. R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

  • Page 81: Authorised Repairs

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 21 Authorised repairs We have designed the repair procedures in this section to be simple to carry out in the field. If more complicated repairs are required, your ROV may need to be returned to us (unless agreed with us that these repairs can be done in the field).

  • Page 82: How To Replace A Thruster

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual How to replace a thruster WARNING! Make sure ROV is powered off before working on or touching thrusters. About thrusters We supply one thruster assembly in your Accessories Box. It is an aft thruster (with longer cable). If you need to replace a thruster at the front of the ROV, use a cable tie to secure the extra length of cable.

  • Page 83: How To Replace A Propeller

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Remove the two screws attaching thruster to its mount on the ROV 5. Carefully remove the entire thruster assembly, including cable and plug. Thruster (fore, with shorter cable) when removed from the ROV How to replace a propeller You’ll need to replace a propeller if it gets damaged, or if you’re swapping out a...
  • Page 84 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Propellers are oriented according to the illustrations below. Front propellers Rear propellers 3. CCW 5. CW 7. CCW 2. CCW 4. CW 6. CCW 8. CW Procedure: 1. Ensure ROV is powered off and vacuum removed.
  • Page 85 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 5. Slide thruster motor out of the cowling. Note: Pay attention to the location of the thruster cable on the cowling so that you can re-insert the motor in the same position after replacing the propeller.

  • Page 86: How To Put A Thruster Back On The Rov

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual How to put a thruster back on the ROV WARNING! Make sure ROV is powered off before working on or touching thrusters. IMPORTANT! Ensure that the thruster’s propeller is the correct orientation for its position on the ROV.

  • Page 87: Rov Led Lights Replacement Procedure

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Three pins in the thruster port 6. Screw on the cap of the cable until it is firmly finger tight. Before cap is screwed back on Cap should be finger tight 7. Power on ROV and perform a thruster test to confirm thruster is working correctly.
  • Page 88 ROV’s light circuit. Ensure ROV is powered off and vacuum removed. Then, remove the ROV tray. The tray contains the ROV battery, therefore instructions are contained in the Boxfish Battery Charging Manual (available at https://www.boxfish.nz/downloads/) Unplug light penetrator plug Locate the light to be replaced and follow its cable to its port on the ROV body.
  • Page 89 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Light penetrator removed from port When the penetrator is unplugged, take your circlip pliers and remove the clip from inside the black knurled penetrator nut. Penetrator nut with clip inside Removing clip with circlip pliers Slide the penetrator nut over the end of the cable.
  • Page 90 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual If not already attached, attach penetrator nut and clip. Plug lighting penetrator into lighting port. To do this, you will need to line up the metal pin protruding from the light penetrator with the hole in the port. It can help to shine a light into the port before installing the plug so you can see where the hole is.

  • Page 91: Changing Time Zone On Control Station

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Changing time zone on Control Station If you wish, you can change the timezone of the Control Station to your local timezone (if it is not set to your local time already). Timestamps appear on Log files from the Control Station.
  • Page 92 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 6. Click to select the Time Zone. 7. Click on the map to select your Time Zone and city. 8. Close the window with the red x icon. 9. Click on the Python logo to return to the telemetry screen.

  • Page 93: Shipping Or Travelling With The Rov

    Please contact us for guidance on paperwork and values for customs purposes. Preparing ROV battery Please see the Boxfish Battery Charging Manual for the procedure for getting the battery to the correct voltage for shipping or travelling. Travelling with LiPo batteries Requirements for shipping lithium batteries depend on: Your shipping provider.

  • Page 94: Packing The Rov Components

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Attach all documentation about batteries that are required by your shipping provider. We can supply Materials Safety Data Sheets and other paperwork if required. Please contact us at support@boxfish.nz if you need assistance. Packing the ROV components To avoid damage: Ensure the ROV is clean and dry before packing.
  • Page 95 Your best option for removing weight from the ROV is to take out the battery pack, which weighs around 4kg. Please see our Boxfish Battery Charging Manual for instructions. LiPo BATTERY WARNING! If not handled according to our instructions, LiPo batteries could leak corrosive substances, emit toxic gases, catch fire or explode.

  • Page 96: Appendix I: Control Station - More Information

    17” 4K monitor. Displays video feed from front camera POWER: Power in port. Provides power to the Control Station, via: Boxfish AC Adapter (15 Volts 13.4 Amps), OR Directly from a DC supply capable of supplying 10 Amps with the Boxfish DC Power Cable.
  • Page 97 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual ETHERNET: RJ45 network port. Can be used to connect a laptop/computer to the Control Station to view data from certain accessories on the ROV (eg sonar, USBL, fluorometer). Usage will be detailed in the accessory manual.
  • Page 98 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual centre line of the ROV. If the ROV is pitched up, then the ROV will move forward and up at the same time. 3. Sea-Q Mode: The same as Sea Mode except the yaw and lateral controls (horizontal movements on the left/right joysticks) are reversed.
  • Page 99 HDMI In port. Not present on all Alpha or autonomous-capable vehicles. No function on Boxfish Alpha. 28. USB right port: Generic USB 3.0 port. Not present on all Alpha or autonomous-capable vehicles. R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

  • Page 100: Appendix Ii: Telemetry Screen - More Information

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 24 Appendix II: Telemetry screen – more information This section explains labels not covered in previous sections. Labels for the buttons and switches located above and below this screen on the Control Station. Sensor Power: Turns power to external sensors/accessories on the ROV (eg USBL, altimeter, sonar, grabber) ON or OFF.
  • Page 101 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Laser: If lasers are installed, will turn on or turn off the lasers. Video: Press this button to restart the main camera. Useful if the camera overheats, although camera will likely not stay on for long once overheated until cooled down.
  • Page 102 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual TARGET ATTITUDE: Currently selected attitude for the ROV to attempt to achieve TEMPERATURE: Current ROV temperature in degrees Celsius and a trend line to give an indication of the temperature over time STEERING: In development HUMIDITY: Current value and trend line over time...

  • Page 103: Appendix Iii: Rov

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual 25 Appendix III: ROV Front and left side view Rear view Pressure vessel Pressure-rated body of hard anodised aluminium alloy Front dome Contains front camera. 6" diameter toughened and polished acrylic dome Protection bars Stainless Steel bars integrated into the body for...

  • Page 104: Status Indicator Leds

    Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Lighting arms Adjustable arms for balanced lighting with minimized and LED lights backscatter on camera housing Rear dome Toughened and polished acrylic dome. Contains Status LEDs, rear camera and rear navigation LEDs Battery balance Port for connecting the ROV to the battery charger...
  • Page 105 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual Amber (Blinking) Control system is OK White Rear navigation LEDs Normal condition of the Status LED's (without optional accessories fitted) is 1, 2, and 3 will be ON and 8 will be flashing. LEDs 4, 5 and 6 may be on depending on which accessories you have installed and/or if the Sensor Power switch is set to the ON position on the control station.
  • Page 106 Accessory Box additions. 8/11/21 Branched document from Boxfish ROV Owner’s Manual and customised for Boxfish Alpha. Initial release. p105 R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
  • Page 107 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual p106 R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
  • Page 108 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual p107 R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.
  • Page 109 Boxfish Alpha Owner’s Manual p108 R5. All rights reserved. Information and specifications may change at any time without notice.

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