Cheap eBay borescope- any experience?

Kelpie

Kelpie

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 May 2005
Messages
7,766
Location
Afloat
Visit site
Following ongoing problems with fluid retention (in the boat, that is), I have concluded that something very odd is going on with the internal layout of my Wayfarer's sealed (ha!) buuyancy chambers.
I'm thinking of spending a few quic on an eBay USB borescope and shoving it up the bung-hole (again, I'm talking about the boat here) to try and see what is going on inside.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5M-6FT-4-..._Equipment_Instruments_ET&hash=item417228d22a

Just wondering if
a) I'm likely to actually understand what I'm seeing
b) if anybody's used one of these devices and can testify that they do what it says on the tin
 
IP66 rated - means OK against dust and jets of water but not immersion

The advert says cable length 5 metre and USB cable length 6 foot - how long is the camera lead?
 
A great idea but !

I bought a very similar one off Ebay - the CD supplied ( supposedly ) with drivers was blank and the Chinese gentleman was slow to respond and send another one.

Eventually got it working and used it as suggested to check my prop anode etc only to find it leaked. Returned ( eventually ) for a refund.

IP66 rated it may have been - but the construction relied on a dob of glue around the cable to hold the cable and make it waterproof.

Caveat Emptor - or in Ebay speak you need to ensure that even when they say it is shipped from the UK, that the seller is actually in the UK and not in China.
 
The camera in the link has .3 megapixel which may be fine for what you want. I imagine it will work as expected however...
Whether it helps you solve your problem is another question altogether. You may however find other uses for the gadget. It is hard enough to find small leaks in any area of a boat without trying to do it through a drain port.
Perhaps you could do better by putting water in the tank and see where it comes out. I am imagining a largish dinghy out of the water. (might be wrong) good luck olewill
 
William_H said:
The camera in the link has .3 megapixel which may be fine for what you want. I imagine it will work as expected however...
Whether it helps you solve your problem is another question altogether. You may however find other uses for the gadget. It is hard enough to find small leaks in any area of a boat without trying to do it through a drain port.
Perhaps you could do better by putting water in the tank and see where it comes out. I am imagining a largish dinghy out of the water. (might be wrong) good luck olewill
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replies, I may give the borescope a go.
Just to clarify, I'm not expecting to actually find the source of the leaks this way. I'm aiming to identify the boat's internal structure which is currently baffling me by holding on to large amounts of water (blocked limber holes perhaps?) and, subsequently, determine safe locations for hatches to be cut.
 
Mavanier said:
Thanks for all the replies, I may give the borescope a go.
Just to clarify, I'm not expecting to actually find the source of the leaks this way. I'm aiming to identify the boat's internal structure which is currently baffling me by holding on to large amounts of water (blocked limber holes perhaps?) and, subsequently, determine safe locations for hatches to be cut.
Click to expand...

Go to the Wayfarer association http://wayfarer.org.uk identify your model from the download available here http://wayfarer.org.uk/wayfarer-versions/ and then ask them questions on their forum. You will have to join to get answers, useful lot, very knowledgeable about the boats.
 
I bought one. £ 12.69 and it arrived this morning.

Packaged in a tin box (like tobacco box) together with a mini disc.

The latter shows lots of pictures including a gentleman buried in a car engine but the operating software will not load to my Mac.

Neither does the USB camera appear on the desktop. The instructions are in passable Enbglish.

It's probably a Mac thing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top