A pressure tolerant TV camera

The pressure tolerant TV (PTTV) camera is a significant advance in underwater TV cameras. Pressure tolerant means the camera is not protected from the ambient pressure, no matter at what depth it is operating. All the electronics, including the imager, and the lens are exposed to ambient pressure, though protected from the water in a fluid filled case. Though the PTTV camera is small (less than 7.5 cm diameter by 15 cm long), it is but the first step in the evolution of smaller (less than 64 cm³), lighter (less than 100 g), inexpensive underwater TV cameras. The PTTV camera began as a commercial charge-coupled device (CCD) imager TV camera. The electronic components were either modified for operation as pressure tolerant components or replaced with components that were known to be pressure tolerant. A liquid filled housing was fabricated for the camera as was a liquid filled lens. The completed PTTV camera was then tested to a depth of 6500 m and found to operate as well at this depth as at the surface.