Investigating possible effects of EMI on FireWire cameras

[Alex J. <al...@nu...>]

Good morning,

I am using a pair of FireWire cameras (Guppy/Guppy Pro) connected via an AVT pci controller card (TI-TSB43AB22A). I'm using them as vision cameras for an underwater autonomous vehicle. I'm facing a very weird issue where the cameras shut down when certain thrusters are fired.  The device disappears from the device list and has to be physically replugged to raise it again. 

Is anyone here familiar with this kind if issue? The cable is spliced and joined again using molex connectors and shielded with aluminum foil for extra protection. We are thinking that it shuts down because of EMI. 

Reducing the data rate does not seem to help. All thrusters firing as fast as possible on land does not seem to cause any issues but as soon as the vehicle is in water we lose the FireWire devices. 

Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks
alex