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Patrol the pool with this Arduino Nano-powered DIY RC submarine (instructables.com)
96 points by PaulHoule 3 months ago | hide | past | favorite | 17 comments



Rip that wireless stuff out, connect it to a nice fiber wire with a surface coating device, and you just invented a mock sub that if you improve its pressure rating could be used for deep see warfare. Sub sea internet cables, gas pipelines, or even for targeting the different acoustic sensors military have through the different ocean....


Lovely and quite impressive.

On the same topic the Brick Experiment Channel had a nice submarine build described here: https://brickexperimentchannel.wordpress.com/rc-submarine-4-...


Amazing project! As a sub fan myself, I was thrilled to also see in the project original website [1] a picture of what very strongly looks like an emergency blow.

[1] https://www.instructables.com/Diy-Rc-Submarine/.


We've changed the link above to that URL from https://blog.arduino.cc/2024/08/03/patrol-the-pool-with-this.... Thanks!


Future interrogation of an enemy saboteur:

FSB: Where did you learn how to build mini sea drones? Which school? Who was your teacher?

Saboteur: instructables.com


It would be nice to get the article link replaced by the instructable as the article is a poorly written summary that adds no information and gets stuff wrong such as falsely claiming that the RC submarine uses ballast tanks.


I love the time and energy Arduino puts into the community. Remember, it's made possible by purchasing the genuine products and not cheap knockoffs! :)


This is blogspam rewriting the original instructable


Sure it may be blogspam, but it got me to click the link to see more. If you want the goods, you should visit the site and here is the link.

I've worked with Arduino "professional" tools in educational settings, and I realize that real PROS roll their eyes at things like the Edge or Portena. However, they've made their way into some accessible PLC devices that help students learn without needing a Fanuc system.

That said, their support has been really great with the issues I've encountered and they publish a lot of original content and guides.

I'm just a genuinely satisfied customer and wanted to share this, but thanks for the downvotes.


I used to work on autonomous subs. Seeing this kid's project brought back some memories of the fun in that job.


I wonder if it can it make it down to the titanic?


Isn't a submarine that doesn't submerge just a boat?


It submerges: Four small aquarium pumps move water in and out of the ballast tanks to control buoyancy. A single brushless DC motor, which is naturally waterproof, provides thrust. Two waterproof MG995 servo motors actuate the rudders for yaw and pitch, which are necessary for diving/surfacing and steering.


Reading the Instructable, it does not appear that's the case. Instead, he uses the aquarium pumps as thrusters. There are no ballast tanks. I read through it looking for this particular answer, since I couldn't fathom any way an aquarium pump could fill that role. According to the article, some people do use pumps in conjunction with a snorkel, but obviously that limits your dive depth to the height of the snorkel.


Step 6: Rise & Sink covers this, and in Step 15 you see images both of it fully submerged in the pool (no snorkel), and doing a fast surface breach


Right, he uses rudders to start the dive and then once submerged can use the aquarium thrusters to rise and sink without having to move forward or backwards. The article does indeed misstate how the aquarium pumps are used.


You nailed it




The deadline for YC's W25 batch is 8pm PT tonight. Go for it!

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