Willy Volk of Divester.com has a remarkable ability for finding way cool and interesting diving-related posts. A little over a week ago, he posted a gem! The article is a very simple How-To, detailing the steps for building an underwater housing for your video camera. And for less than $70! I read the article three or four times, growing more excited each time I read it. Yes, it might just work! Sure, I can do this!

So, I've decided to give it a try and post my results as I progress. This article is Part I in a series. At the end of the project, I'll either have a working housing and you'll get underwater video added to DiveSpots.com, or I'll be buying a new video camera to replace my water-logged JVC!

So far, I've purchased all of the materials noted in the article except for the stainless steel screws. I could not find them at Home Depot, but I'll try the specialty hardware store down the road tomorrow. The o-rings, compression springs, and acrylic plate I ordered online. I'm waiting for those to arrive before I begin assembly.

My camera is a JVC Mini-DV, model GR-DVL920U. It's a slightly older camera than the one noted in the article, and a bit larger, I suspect. The larger size might actually be a good thing. It's very snug in the 4" PVC pipe and I believe I can do without the mounting tray detailed in the How-To.

So far, I've spent $67.71 on materials. However, when you add shipping and taxes, the total is just under $80. That's about $10 over the target, but still very reasonable.  I probably could have cut expenses by buying less PVC.  I purchased a five-foot piece even though the article actually said to buy 10 feet.  I could not figure out why that much PVC would be needed. With that much PVC, you should be able to build four or five housings!  And, I had to buy a 9-pack of o-rings, which cost me $12. I could not find any less than that.

Item	Price
PVC, 5' x 4"	$10.76
4" couplers (3)	$5.52
2 part epoxy	$5.97
PVC Glue	$5.34
Compression Spring Latch (3)	$19.32
O-Rings (9-Pack)	$12.15
PVC Glue	$5.34
Acrylic Plate (1/2 x 12 x 12)	$8.71

Stay tuned for Part II, which I?ll post as soon as the parts arrive!

Comments:

	Posted by WillyVolk, Aug-1-2006 @ 05:37 AM CDT Awesome, Raf. Glad you found the tutorial useful. I can't wait to hear about/see the final results. And even at $80, it's still a steal.
	Posted by Reborn1ce, Aug-2-2006 @ 08:20 AM CDT This thing looks cool. I am very handy at construction, so I am already excited waiting for part II. I already got the materials (Minus the O rings). Hope it works as it looks.
	Posted by BobbyM, Aug-4-2006 @ 02:46 PM CDT Hey guys, the original builder here, Bobby_M. It's funny how stuff gets propagated from site to site. A couple comments: 1. I was actually guessing on what it cost me overall. I did buy some things I didn't need as a part of the prototyping process (an assortment of O-ring sizes for example). I also bought a couple of new tools in the process. 2. Home Depot and Lowes in my area don't carry "shorts" of 4" PVC. They DO sell 5' of Cellcore PVC which is "not for pressure applications". I don't know about you, but I think 90 feet IS pressure. So, I dropped $20 on a 10ft piece and will have enough to make a few more housings. 3. I'm already working on an even more simple design and will be building two at the same time. I'll try to document the actual costs. 4. Through some research I've found that some epoxies don't hold up well with water exposure and will be using 3M 5200 urethane marine sealant in my future designs. Finally, I wanted to link back directly to Scubaboard which is where I got my inspiration from (you'll get to see the discovery process and many more of my build pics there) http://www.ScubaBoard.com/showthread.php?t=101940 Then there's instructables.com where I tried to document the how-to: http://www.instructables.com/id/EKU3DUKR8WEPA8KXRG/ Good luck with your project! Bobby
	Posted by raf, Aug-4-2006 @ 07:33 PM CDT Bobby_M, thanks for reply and the inspiration. My online items arrived today! I now have just about everything I need, except the stainless steel screws, which I'll hunt for tomorrow. Regarding the PVC... Yes, I got the Schedule 40 stuff. I think I got lucky with the purchase. Home Depot here also sells them in 10 foot spans only. However, there was a guy there (not an employee) cutting one in half. I asked him if I could have the other half and took it to the register. The cashier asked no questions and charged me for only 5 feet! I'll be starting assembly soon!
	Posted by BobbyM, Aug-5-2006 @ 09:11 AM CDT Glad you caught a deal on the PVC. I want to stress how important it is to get your O-ring surfaces smooth before you glue the latch mounting ring onto the housing body. Couplings usually are pretty smooth, but sometimes have chips or raised lettering on the edge. Make yourself a sanding block the size of a full sheet of 220 grit sandpaper (I taped the sheet on all for sides to the 12x12 piece of acrylic before it was cut) and work that coupling edge randomly for as long as you can stand it.
	Posted by BobbyM, Oct-6-2006 @ 09:51 AM CDT Sooooooo. Any results?
	Posted by BobbyM, Dec-27-2006 @ 06:22 PM CST Hey Raf, what gives?
	Posted by Dizzy, Mar-1-2007 @ 11:04 PM CST I am still interested in the underwater housing project. I hope we can see the completion. One way or the other.
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