Boroscopes/endoscopes - aircraft inspection

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rogcal
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Location: South Lincolnshire Fens

Boroscopes/endoscopes - aircraft inspection

Post by rogcal » Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:30 pm

Hoping to pick the brains of those of you that may have purchased or used the cheap (£30 approx) boroscopes/endoscopes that plug into a laptop via the usb and used to inspect the less accessible locations in an airframe.

Do they provide good images?

Are the LEDs bright enough to illuminate the target areas?

Are there any software issues?

I've read a few online reviews on the product but there is very little in them to help me decide either way, so some honest opinions from fellow members would be welcomed. Thanks.
Roger Callow
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John Clarke
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Post by John Clarke » Mon Aug 15, 2011 12:52 am

If you've got a mobile phone that takes video, tape it to a stick and use that to take a movie. I've done this and got excellent results. I realise that this method may not be able to reach every nook and cranny!

tnowak
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Post by tnowak » Mon Aug 15, 2011 8:03 am

My friend has one and they provide reasonable quality images (at least good enough for my purposes). The biggest challenge was to manipulate the flexible probe to point at the thing we were trying to view. Not as easy as one thinks it is going to be, especially if you can't physically see the item of interest yourself! Illumination levels were okay as well.
Tony N

rogcal
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Location: South Lincolnshire Fens

Post by rogcal » Mon Aug 15, 2011 10:40 am

John, thanks for the tip regarding mobile phone camera but not being able to see the target on a screen as you move the phone around would be a problem but I suppose for less difficult locations it's a handy alternative.
Roger Callow
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Rich Collins
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Post by Rich Collins » Mon Aug 15, 2011 11:10 am

An ordinary webcam (of the sort you stand on top of a PC monitor) taped to a length of garden cane and connected to a laptop works a treat. :D

JimCrawford
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Post by JimCrawford » Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:27 am

I saw a 'camera on a stick' boroscope in Maplins for about this sort of price and snapped it up because I needed to inspect inside a glider wing with minimum disruption to the fabric. The head end is about 8mm diameter and the LEDs do provide enough illumination for viewing inside closed structures. It can be a bit tricky to know exactly the orientation you are viewing, but it is a super bit of kit and I now use it all the time. The picture quality isn't exactly HD but it is generally sufficient and you have the interesting capabilty to display it remotely via Skype!

Jim

rogcal
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Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:30 am
Location: South Lincolnshire Fens

Post by rogcal » Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:06 am

I've bitten the bullet and ordered one via Amazon and at £23.99 including p&p, it seems a fair price.

Thanks to everyone who offered ideas on how to use such things as mobile phone and web cameras. I'll remember those ideas just in case I'm away from base and ever have a need for an emergency inspection device!

I'll let you know how I get on with my "new toy" when I've used it.
Roger Callow
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davemgill
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Post by davemgill » Sat Aug 27, 2011 7:49 am

Aldi have a standalone unit on special offer for tomorrow (28th Aug). http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/sp ... _20474.htm Costs 69.99 but has a built in monitor so no PC required.

rogcal
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Location: South Lincolnshire Fens

Post by rogcal » Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:18 am

Aldi have a stand alone unit on special offer for tomorrow (28th Aug).
In the immortal words of Victor Meldrew "I do not believe it"!

I've been asking Aldi for the last couple of months if there's any prospect of this item (or similar) becoming available soon and the answer even as late as last week was "NO".
Roger Callow
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