If you have ever wanted to build an underwater camera cheap this is a great project to reference. The Shark Cam uses a tiny security camera, some PVC pipe, duct tape and some other odds and ends.
“Last year while shark fishing off the Dumbarton Pier and recording the catch on a 20 year old VHS camera I had an idea. I thought of how cool it would be to jam a camera in the mouth of a big shark and let him swim away so then you could see what he was up to when he opened his mouth since sharks are coolest when they’re biting through stuff. Images flashed through my mind like: giant teeth surrounding the perimeter of the video while the shark opens his mouth and engulfs a cell phone or a car tire (it is the san francisco bay after all). Judging by the expression on Gillian’s face as I described my vision, I realized the idea had limitations. So I decided to do the next best thing: make a submersible camera with shark bait all over it, dunk it in the sea and wait for something cool to happen. ”
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PVC and duct tape, all that a engineer really needs.
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Don’t forget the bailing wire.
Kinda redefines megabyte camera memory cards 😛
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What about a balist tank? To remotely raise/lower it?
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He should dress it in a fish costume
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you forgot the cable ties.
would be interesting to see some video footage.
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I’d liek to grab one of those cvs 1time videocameras and taking it all the way to this, sounds like a hell of a project 😛
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Yah, good call on the cvs camera, I wonder how well it would record under water though, your gonna have to duct tape a led flashlight to it though 🙂
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For anyone looking to try this a bit more elegantly, SparkFun sells wireless color security cameras that run off any 9v power supply and easily fit inside a tube of ABS pipe.
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Oh, & if you want the shark’s tonsil view so badly, just build a fake shark mouth around it- or, y’know, use your last catch.
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I’d like to make this self sustainable and solar powered (have some kind of solar panel insulated from the water and made to float) and have it record to maybe a flash drive and have a little gps tracker on it so I could find it after letting it out to sea for a few days 😛
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What? no footage? I was hoping for like jaws style action here!
oh well sweet idea anyway.
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..the image flashing through my mind: “Judging by the expression on Gillian’s face as I described my vision, I realized the idea had limitations.” ;oD
Thanks a lot. :o)