CONTROL GLANDS FOR UNDERWATER CAMERAS

Ever since publishing the two pages on how I made camera housings, I have had a number of requests concerning the control glands that allow one to operate the camera from outside of the housing. Over the years I have used a number of different glands. In the late 50's the first one I used was a machined Plexiglass rod with a slightly larger than 1/4 inch hole drilled through it. Along the hole there were two grooves holding o rings as seen in this crude cross section illustration.This gland was glued to the Plexiglass wall of the housing in line with a hole in the housing. A well lubricated 1/4 inch brass control rod was used through the control gland. I never had a leak with one of these glands but in truth, I did not dive very deep in those days.

The glands that I usually recommend are made by Ikelite. I have used these for years. Ikelite glands are well made and reliable. They are available from any diveshop that sells or can order Ikelite housings.

Ikelite glands look like bolts with a hole drilled along the length as shown by these three on the left. The head of the bolt screws off to reveal an replaceable "o" ring as shown on the bottom gland. The top upper left gland is fully assembled. The housing wall goes between the "o" ring and tightening nut. The upper right gland illustrates a different length of gland. Pick the gland that will provide enough length to go through the housing, hold the nut, and not be too long to fit in the camera or operate the control.

There are other sources of fittings that can be used for control glands. I have used Cajon vaccum fittings shown on the right when I could not get Ikelite controls. These are normally used to create a vaccum seal around a tube but work great for housings. Again I use a 1/4 inch fitting and control rod. These are available from companies that sell high quality fittings and valves.

At the bottom of the list are the standard compression fittings where you substitute an "o" ring for the compression ring or a flare fitting that has been modified in a lathe. In the past I have used a number of those, but shy away from them now as good fittings can be purchased easily.

Good luck with your fittings... If you live in an area where there is no Ikelite dealer you have several options for getting Ikelite glands. One is B & H Photo another is Ebay. I often purchase a used Ikelite housing with a number of controls for less than the value of the controls alone. I find the housings using this Ebay search criteria. I do not buy the standardized housings for things like Aquashot cameras with molded in glands but the bulkier custom lexan housings. Some housings have as many as 5 controls with the housing and controls going for under 50 bucks. I pull the controls I need and often am able to use the housings.

For example if you are going to house a small digital movie camera look for one like this that housed a Kodak super 8 movie camera. It will have from one to three glands plus a handle assembly. Most cameras only need one. Just, rotate the housing, move the glands and handle assembly, plug the holes and head for the pool for testing. These housings usually go for under 100 bucks and only require a couple of hours to modify for your camera saving you hundreds of dollars. As I write one is available on Ebay and will probably sell for less than 100 dollars. A new one comes up every several days. Just don't bid against trose@nc.rr.com or you are itching for a fight....seriously if you see me bidding on the same camera contact me off line...I may be just trolling for parts and stop bidding against you...



Have fun tinkering...and send me some photos....better yet some video footage of that house sized seahorse...

Tom