Fathom-X Tether Interface Board Set

The Fathom-X Tether Interface Boards provide a high-speed, long-distance Ethernet connection to an ROV or other remote platform. They’re designed for use with the Fathom tether, standard Cat5 cable, or even a single twisted pair of wires. This board uses the Rak Wireless LX200V20 module, which leverages the robust HomePlug AV (IEEE-1901) standard for sending Ethernet through powerlines. It has the following features:

• 80 Mbps Ethernet over two wires (per our own bandwidth testing)
• 300m+ tether length capability (published capability of 2000m)
• Plug-and-play with no setup involved
• Onboard switching power supply with 7-28V input range
• USB Mini-B connector for powering directly from a computer on the topside
• Indicator LEDs for power, link, and data
• Included 6″ Ethernet cable for connection to onboard computer

Unlike our Fathom-S Tether Interface, with Fathom-X the exact same board is used on each end of the tether. One on the ROV and one on the topside. You can even connect more than two of these boards to the same tether lines. (Not sure why you’d want that… two ROVs on one tether?!)

The Fathom-X Tether Interface Board Set is open-source and open-hardware, so the schematics and board files are free to view, modify, and reuse. The electrical schematic and board layout are open-source and the design files are available below. If you do choose to make your own version, we sell theLX200V20 module alone to assist with that.

Contents

• 2 x Fathom-X Tether Interface Board
• 2 x LX200V20 Module
• 1 x 6″ Ethernet Cable

Resources

• Documentation
• Specifications
• Dimensions and Diagram
• Schematic/Layout Design Files (Github)
• LX200V20 Datasheet
• LX200V20 Page at Rak Wireless