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cheap borescope alternatives

erich weaver

Well Known Member
hey guys

I was poking around on the internet looking for borescopes to permit images and videos of cylinder walls, valves, and piston heads. There were a couple of long discussions with lots of impressive photos on the "BeechTalk" forum. They are getting good results using cheapo cameras like these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-6-LED-D...587?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19cdcd88d3

and

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_...n-camera-usb-wand-digital-camera-with-lights/

These cameras are plugged into a lap top with a USB connection. The BeechTalk group is building a nice archive of photos with discussion that is really useful. Mike Busch among others recommends frequent borescope use to detect damage before it causes a major problem, and as a better diagnostic tool than the standard compression test. For these prices, its worth a try

erich
 
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Don't bother with the boroscopes sold at Harbor Freight... you get what you pay for. Don't ask how I know...
 
We sell one that I tested just this week in a continental. The 9mm camera lets you get into the cylinder and the mirror lets you see the valve. It has a close focus of .4" so it works quite well. The mirror also screws on this model vs. the clip on so it won't come off inside the cylinder. 640x480 quality on a big laptop screen makes for a nicer display than the $500 model. Also works well for behind the panel and in the forward fuse interior area to see those things that are difficult without crawling in upside down. Makes push rod tube bolt inspection easy as well.

http://www.cleavelandtoolstore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ISG050-09

-
 
I have a small mirror on a handle that fits in a spark plug hole. I can see both valves and the entire cylinder wall with it. It has located several bad valves and a couple dozen scored jugs. No batteries, and...its in color.
 
clevtool Clarification?

We sell one that I tested just this week in a continental. The 9mm camera lets you get into the cylinder and the mirror lets you see the valve. It has a close focus of .4" so it works quite well. -

The web site link says the focus is 4", not 0.4". Which is it?

Dwight
 
I have a different take on one of the Harbor Freight items. Specifically the $199 camera/scope.

http://www.harborfreight.com/high-resolution-digital-inspection-camera-with-recorder-67980.html

The camera head isn't articulated like the $10-20,000 fiber scopes I've used in the past. But considering the price, the recording capability (video, still and audio), writes to an SD card, resolution and cordless power capability, it's a nice tool. Quality is also very good for $199.
 
Snap-On BK-6000

Mike Busch recommends the BK-6000 from Snap-On. They are going for about $500-$600 on Ebay. ($800 new) Would be good for an EAA chapter to have or perhaps to share amongst a group of owners. The BK-6000 is able to take video and pictures, store them on a SIM card for sending via e-mail or showing back at the office is needed.
Recommend listening to this webinar so that you know what your looking at through the borescope. Its called "All about cylinders" and is presented by Mike Busch. He says that if you watch the weinar you will know more than most A&Ps! Since I am one I figured I should watch it as well. Very informative.
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=991490765001

-David
 
I've caught cracked cylinders that had great compression a few times using a Lenox borescope. The cracks were hard to see even with its good optical clarity so I'm a little dubious of the effectiveness of a low-resolution camera, regardless of price.
 
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Mike Busch recommends the BK-6000 from Snap-On. They are going for about $500-$600 on Ebay. ($800 new) Would be good for an EAA chapter to have or perhaps to share amongst a group of owners. The BK-6000 is able to take video and pictures, store them on a SIM card for sending via e-mail or showing back at the office is needed.
Recommend listening to this webinar so that you know what your looking at through the borescope. Its called "All about cylinders" and is presented by Mike Busch. He says that if you watch the weinar you will know more than most A&Ps! Since I am one I figured I should watch it as well. Very informative.
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=991490765001

-David

I'm not knocking what David is saying, all good stuff indeed. Just sayin' (again) check what's being done with the cheap stuff, as posted on the BeechTalk forum. Excellent photos of exhaust valves.

Erich
 
Agree with this HF camera/scope

I have a different take on one of the Harbor Freight items. Specifically the $199 camera/scope.

http://www.harborfreight.com/high-resolution-digital-inspection-camera-with-recorder-67980.html

The camera head isn't articulated like the $10-20,000 fiber scopes I've used in the past. But considering the price, the recording capability (video, still and audio), writes to an SD card, resolution and cordless power capability, it's a nice tool. Quality is also very good for $199.

I bought this and had the 20% off coupon plus they had reduced it to $179, so about $154 after tax. Very good image/resolution and good focus down to about .5 inches. Used it during my condition inspection and the A&P doing the sign off was impressed even though he has access to very expensive equipment used on jet engines etc.

We had a clear view of the valves and top of the cylinders/bore.
 
Not quite the same result

Very good image/resolution and good focus down to about .5 inches.

I have the same HF unit and it seems to need more focal length and the light for the image doesn't seem that great.

Just another $.02 - looking for a better solution.

Dan
 
Picture?

hey guys

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-6-LED-D...587?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19cdcd88d3

These cameras are plugged into a lap top with a USB connection. The BeechTalk group is building a nice archive of photos with discussion that is really useful. Mike Busch among others recommends frequent borescope use to detect damage before it causes a major problem, and as a better diagnostic tool than the standard compression test. For these prices, its worth a try

erich

Got a direct link to some pictures taken with the above camera? Sound interesting.
 
We sell one that I tested just this week in a continental. The 9mm camera lets you get into the cylinder and the mirror lets you see the valve. It has a close focus of .4" so it works quite well. The mirror also screws on this model vs. the clip on so it won't come off inside the cylinder. 640x480 quality on a big laptop screen makes for a nicer display than the $500 model. Also works well for behind the panel and in the forward fuse interior area to see those things that are difficult without crawling in upside down. Makes push rod tube bolt inspection easy as well.

http://www.cleavelandtoolstore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ISG050-09

-
Your website says 4”, you say .4”, I think it must be .4 right? 4” would never work for inspecting valves thru a sparkplug hole. It says it comes with 3 accessories, what are they, is the mirror one of them?

I’m kind of interested in this unit but wanted to be sure first. Also can the video be recorded using this unit or is it just for live viewing?
 
We sell one that I tested just this week in a continental. The 9mm camera lets you get into the cylinder and the mirror lets you see the valve. It has a close focus of .4" so it works quite well. The mirror also screws on this model vs. the clip on so it won't come off inside the cylinder. 640x480 quality on a big laptop screen makes for a nicer display than the $500 model. Also works well for behind the panel and in the forward fuse interior area to see those things that are difficult without crawling in upside down. Makes push rod tube bolt inspection easy as well.

http://www.cleavelandtoolstore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ISG050-09

-

How do you get 640 x 480 quality when the camera spec on your website is 320 x 240?

Camera Resolutions: 320 x 240 pixels (video)
 
Got a direct link to some pictures taken with the above camera? Sound interesting.

here is a video YouTube video done with one of the dental cameras that is really interesting. Note how the valve slides sideways slightly just before closing. Apparently that is symptomatic of a worn valve guide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0pGPXYCXw&feature=youtu.be

A bunch of photos and discussion are on the BeechTalk forum, although you have to register before using it - no big deal though. I was approved within an hour of requesting it. Here is the link to the thread though:

http://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=51426&hilit=valve+photos&start=20

and here are some photos:

1zcib9w.jpg


2prs5eu.jpg


Last photo below is obviously not from the inside of the cylinder but is a good example of what a bad valve looks like. Note the asymmetrical color pattern, indicating a hot spot where exhaust gas was leaking out.

24nk02w.jpg


Cool huh?

Guys, we should all be taking photos of our exhaust valves. Compression checks are SO last decade....:)

erich
 
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I like it

Im about sold on the dental camera. I'd like to see a sample video from the one being sold by Cleveland Aircraft Tools. Anybody got a video inside a cylinder?

Thanks Erich!
 
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