Guidance request: all purpose bore-scope device

[daepp]

A little help from the PPOT brain trust: anyone have experience with bores copes? At work I have large shop where we maintain (mostly) F250s, and my mechanics have had to borrow a bore scope from time to time. And occasionally I have the need to look inside of a wall cavity, or inside any other random space.

The one we borrowed an was early version of the type that plugged into an iPhone, but it was marginal to say the least. It was a while ago but IIRC it didn’t have a light.

Nothing super sophisticated required, but it doesn’t have to be a budget model either.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[herr_oberst]

I got the budget model that connects to the iphone from Amazon, 30 bucks or so. It has a light, and a hook and a magnet. Works fine for when I need it.

[A930Rocket]

I recently saw this one on a YouTube video a guy was using. It was crystal clear on the video, so I imagine it looks good in person. I’ve got it in my list at Amazon.

DEPSTECH Dual Lens Inspection Camera, Endoscope with 5" IPS LCD Screen, 7.9 mm HD Borescope, Sewer Camera with LED Flashlight, 32 GB, 5000 mAh Battery, Carrying Case, Detachable Snake Camera-16.5ft

https://a.co/d/cyEL8c3

My only complaint with all of them, is the need for a shorter optical wire. Maybe 3 to 5 feet versus 16 feet.

I bought one a couple years ago, that had promised but was difficult to set up/operate. I threw it away.

[stevej37]

When I read the title...I thought you were asking about one of these...
Laser Bore Sight.

[GH85Carrera]

I have bought a couple of the cheapo units on Amazon. They work great for a couple of years, and then the rechargeable Lithium battery goes bad. It will not keep the unit running for more than a few seconds. So you end up with an extension cord, plugged into 120 volts, "charging" the unit to use it. If you bump the USB cable it falls out and the unit goes dead before you can get the cable back into the port.

I would really like to find a unit that runs on a few AA batteries, even rechargeable AA batteries, but I am not getting anymore cheap rechargeable only units. Replacing the battery in the cheap units looks like a real challenge.

[Otter74]

I got a basic $30 DEPSTECH bore scope that worked well for what I wanted it for (peering into the gas tank and since I had it the cylinders, too.) I’m sure I’ll find regular uses for it.

[unclebilly]

My dad gave me an older usb camera with a 25’ line on it and it is ‘ok’. I’ve used it a couple times and it works.

I bought one if these this summer when I couldn’t get the hood open on my Cayenne and it is WAY better.

https://www.amazon.ca/NIDAGE-Semi-Rigid-Inspection-Waterproof-Smartphone/dp/B07DPL6WPC/ref=gp_aw_ybh_a_sccl_1/133-0853164-5477463?pd_rd_w=B9G48&content-id=amzn1.sym.dd2c5120-4314-452d-bb9f-4b98ae42dea9&pf_rd_p=dd2c5120-4314-452d-bb9f-4b98ae42dea9&pf_rd_r=7322MC4V22J99CWA9TXZ&pd_rd_wg=EO6Sf&pd_rd_r=07e90084-3dfe-4baf-9400-32343a641dcd&pd_rd_i=B07DPL6WPC&psc=1

I had a $10k one at work from RFLabs and this latest wifi Amazon one is way better. RF reached out to me today and I asked them to justify how their expensive offering is better then the wifi Amazon one in 30 words or less… still have not heard back from them and probably won’t. The RF one is steerable with a little joystick. The camera and images are worse.

[CurtEgerer]

Before I retired, we used Ridgid brand borescopes and they were very good quality and durable - we used them in the field and they were abused. Resolution and lighting were good. We bought them when they first came out at $500+. I see this new version is only $230 and has many improvements.

[Nickshu]

I have this one from Amazon. Like you I had two of the iPhone ones and they were terrible.
This one works great. I am, however, not using it professionally.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09DG73PRN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[jyl]

Depstech $30 model has been just fine for me. Long flexible snake, LED light, displays on smartphone. Not waterproof though.

[93nav]

Quite a few years ago I bought two of the 7mm lighted USB borescopes. 15 ft or so. I bought two because they were cheap and in case one quit, I would still have a working one, which is what happened. Had to plug into laptop and it came up as a webcam. Video/pic not very good quality, but did work for what I needed. Just used one of them about two months ago to see behind the washing machine.

For those who connect to a smart phone, how are you doing the connection, wireless (bluetooth), or usb port? What app are you using? The ones I bought claimed to work with smartphones and an OTG adapter, but the apps were not rated very high for functionality and security.

Thanks

[jyl]

The Depstech ones generate their own WiFi network, you connect your smartphone to that network and use the Depstech app to view the image from the borescope. It is straightforward.

[daepp]

Thanks guys - a lot! Just jumped in and ordered the Depstech - I'll circle back once I've had a chance to use it!

[fireant911]

I, too, recently found a need for a borescope and visited this thread. With the cooler weather approaching, those dang mice are looking to come indoors. My wife and I were awoken with what sounded like scratching from inside our bedroom wall... last year we had a mouse die inside another interior wall and certainly wanted to avoid that from occurring again! It can be difficult to ascertain with absolute certainty which wall cavity the mouse had fallen into - I did NOT want to start drilling multiple holes with the hope to lure the unwanted visitor(s) out. Depending upon several factors, all stud spacing can deviate from the standard 16" on-center spacing with some studs being closer and determining the mouse's exact location between two adjacent areas can oftentimes be difficult.

After looking at multiple sites describing 'removing mice from walls', it appeared that the consensus solution was to drill a nickel-sized hole (0.835") into the wall and set up a box with a corresponding hole against the wall hole. My plan was to drill a small exploratory hole into the wall, check if occupied with a mouse, repeat as required until the creature is found and then drill the larger hole to allow the mouse to exit – a small diameter borescope sounded like the right tool for the job!

Several folks here had shared their experience with the Depstech borescopes and the online reviews spoke very favorably as well. A dual lens was required for my application because just looking forward would leave most of the wall cavity hidden from view... I suppose contorting the borescope's end piece to the left and right could permit viewing the side areas BUT the inclusion of dual lens would definitely aid in its usability.

Depstech has a newer model that has a smaller diameter (5.5mm / 0.22") end piece that is also equipped with dual lens AND has its own display. My thought was that if I miss the mouse with my first attempt that it is way easier to patch a couple of 0.22" diameter holes than a couple of nickel-sized holes - so I ordered the Depstech DS380DL (at that time it was $67 but has gone up to $80 now... still, this is way less expensive than having a professional exterminator come in and do this PLUS I essentially get a free cool tool!). My only concern was with the rather short focal lengths listed in the specifications: front viewing focal length was 3 - 8cm (1.18" - 3.15") and the side viewing was much less at 2 - 5cm (0.79" - 1.97"). Given that if I drilled directly in the middle of the wall cavity, I was unsure about how good the viewability of the inside corner areas would be.

The Depstech DS380DL arrived and ALL concerns about the focal length quickly disappeared - I just needed to see if a mouse was inside the cavity, not examine the texture of its eyelashes (however, the clarity and detail beyond the maximum focal lengths listed were IMPRESSIVE!). I only had to drill one hole and, following the box-with-a-hole method, the mouse exited the wall on its own after about 60 seconds! Problem solved!!!... well, until it happens again...

[dad911]

Originally Posted by fireant911

.....so I ordered the Depstech DS380DL (at that time it was $67 but has gone up to $80 now... .....

Hmmmm, with the add-on hook it looks like it would be great for snaking wires... which I'm doing now.

Pelican cost me another $80..... Thanks