Borescope review

[Joe R]

Hi Guys,
I have seen many postings regarding borescopes. Many people are still recommending the traditional Hawkeye borescope, but I just wanted to make people aware that there are much cheaper options in todays digital era. Last December I decide to buy a borescope and after some research I ended up buying one. I have been using it now for 3 months and I thought I'd share my experience with you.

First a disclaimer, I'm not promoting or selling any product. I'm not affiliated with anyone that sells these products and no relatives of mine derive any benefits from the sale of these products. Yada, yada,.... I'm just a buyer and user of this product and gun junkie.

Now days you can buy an very nice fiber optic borescope that can not only look down the bore, but can take pictures and HD videos of your bores and then watch them on your big screen TV or computer. Mine uses a micro SD card, like many smart phones, to store the pictures and movies. Then you remove it and insert it in your computer for viewing or transfer to a different media. I have both a 1 meter and 3 meter cable. It use 4AA batteries.

Mine has a 90 degree mirror tip, but to be honest, I find it pretty useless. I tried using it a couple of times but it brings nothing to the party. The tip of the optic cable is 5.5mm without the mirror tip with the mirror tip it is 5.72mm. I'm certain that before long I will be able to buy another cable with 4-4.5mm tip. I've already seen some by different manufacturers. I'm also certain that eventually the resolution will equal and exceed that of traditional analog borescopes. Since I haven't used a Hawkeye I can't make a comparison.

One of the big advantages of a fiber optic cable is that they are semi rigid and rugged. The Hawkeye have a glass rod that can easily break.

Here's links to a borescope like mine that are for sale on eBay and Amazon. I'm sure you'll have questions and I'll be glad to respond as time permits.

Regards,
Joe


http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-LCD-Inspection-Camera-Slim-5-5-mm-Borescope-Endoscope-Zoom-Rotate-1M-Cable-/310888852385?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item48626b6ba1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FGRTFTY/ref=s9_simh_gw_p60_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0QMMK3FC8GWVX6XVHKCV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

 

[jrm850]

Is it tough to get down a 6mm bore? Any chance you could post a bore pic without the 90 degree mirror?

 

[dragman]

very interesting. I am gonna have too look into this

 

[eww1350]

Good idea...I purchased a used endoscope 4mm (7" long) off ebay for $149 and made and adapter for my mag-lite it is a 70 degree head..works great..I use it to inspect chamber, throat and lead. I can look into the bore about 7"...it does not work without removing the action, but price was right...longer ones can be bought for about $200, all are fixed focus usually...

Eddie in Texas

 

[Joe R]

jrm850 said: Is it tough to get down a 6mm bore? Any chance you could post a bore pic without the 90 degree mirror?

I don't have a 6mm rifle yet, but I should within the next month or two. Been on order since October 1.

Any chance you could post a bore pic without the 90 degree mirror?

Here some of my .308 Savage, 2 straight ahead and 2 side views. The pictures are not good, the best recorded view is the HD video. The best overall view is when I'm looking on the 3 1/2 inch screen in real time. If you want to see a couple send me an e-mail and I will upload a couple of movies to my skydrive and you can download them from there and watch them. Each one is around 70-100MB.

 

[James EPS]

I have the exact same scope that I find many uses for in my shop and elsewhere. It works ok for gunsmith items but is not a replacement to my borescope. For the money they cant be beat, they are water proof and you can get long camera heads for sewer and drain work. Very useful for mechanical work also, spark plug hole looking and such.

James

 

[cncmill]

I just saw this in a sale flyer. Looks to be about the same with a 4.5mm end. A little more expensive.

http://www.flexbar.com/shop/pc/Flex-Bore-II-Micro-Diameter-Videoborescope-125p6944.htm

Erick Crouthamel