flexi camera/ endoscope

[middy]

Hiya guys and girls .
Does any one know where I can hire / buy a good inspection camera?
It has to be no thicker then 10 mm , and have about a metre in lenth flexi with lights.I need one for a one off job , and only need one for a day.
Please don't say Machine Mart or HSS. I'm not interested in those prices .
Cheers Middy .
I live in Derbyshire , near Matlock.

 

[Wedg1e]

The hire rates reflect the fact that when these things get broken, they cost an absolute mint to fix - and they often can't be repaired economically (which insurers know so they charge accordingly or won't cover them).
We used to have a hire fleet of Olympus IF8D fibrescopes, single and dual axis articulation to 3m long. Every single one was written off by some clumsy monkey (dropped, crushed, burned, electric arcing, water ingress...).
Now the only ones we have are short, unarticulating things made in China. They cost a few hundred quid which is peanuts compared to the £16,000 that the Olympus items were.
Interestingly, some of our 'scopes came from the Bomb Squad - they were modified to be handled by a robot for remote inspection of suspect cars, packages etc.
We also had two Videoprobes, basically a fibrescope with a CCD camera at the tip. They were 6mm diameter and 6m long... cost £24000. One written off, one sold before it could be.
Ashtead Technology in Aberdeen hire them but they won't be cheaper than HSS.

Fibrescopes still come up for auction every once in a while but the last time I saw one was... er, well actually it was in my hand a couple of weeks back, being poked into a Rover V8. I scrounged one of the write-offs which, while being well below par (lots of broken fibres), is still usable. The only other one I know of belongs to a local dive shop who use it for inspecting air cylinders.

Not a lot of help I know, but at least you know why they charge what they do!

Edit: have a look at this; similar to the ones we use now...

http://optimaxonline.com/remote-visual-inspection/58/Lightscope-cut-out

Edit again: lots of options on Ebay if you search for 'borescope'...

 

[penfold]

cheapy ones from northern tool?
here and here. Never used one but could be worth a try. As for the price you'll have to pay handsomely to buy or hire; at least buying you can flog it afterwards to recoup some of the money.

 

[knoba]

Snap-on are punting out a Blue Point one quite cheaply.

 

[Shox Dr]

I have a 36" snakescopic or whatever its called. Cost about £450

I did see a company selling a new Video scopic with very good res, at the Autosport show for £225 it was only 18" long ISTR

 

[chiefdruid]

Have you had a look at this one from Maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=259804
I have now idea how good it is but the price is right

Steve

 

[Highway_Star]

I have one of those Maplin ones, got given it for Chrimbo. I've yet to use it though.

 

[Alex.]

http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=9550&frostProductName=36 inch Endoscope

 

[middy]

Cheers Guys , Middy.

 

[droopsnoot]

Got a laptop? You can pick up USB endoscopes for way under £50 on eBay. I haven't tried one so I don't know how good they are, but that's not so much to risk.

 

[Porschemaniac]

They're not bad, droopsnoot.

Got one a few months ago from a seller called Dart Systems. Cost about £40 all in.

The quality is not stunning, but it's good enough to see fixings in the dark nooks and crannies at the back of an engine bay.

 

[Tigman]

I saw one in our local Pipeline Center (Wolsley ) I think it was a Rothenberger nice looking bit of Kit but not sure on price

 

[jugs]

Have a look at this one -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/200x-USB-Digi...rofessional_Video_Cameras?hash=item3efd507ee6

 

[Howburn]

We use a Snap On one at work (I forget the product name), about £2-250, the fibre optic cable will be nearly 1 meter long and 4-5mm dia and is flexible, it can also be removed if you break it and you just change this peace. The viewing end is like a small TV screen about 3" square, the battery pack is also here. You can put a mirror on the end to see round corners it also has a light and you can connect it to a computer monitor and even save pictures on the PC.
It is loads better then the Sealy one we used to use with a thick cable and small eye piece.

They are on eBay sometimes, or if you did find one to borrow/hire at least you know you can replace the bit you damaged.