endoscope / inspection camera

I need a recommendation on choosing a 2nd hand inspection camera for looking under the floor in my house.

I had a rat problem and the dead carcuse smell keeps coming back. After lifting many floorboards and removing some dead rats, I still havent solved the smell. I think there are further dead rats under the downstairs loo and possibly a tiled floor in the kitchen, hence the need for a inspection camera.

Having got in the 'professionals' who did b*gger all I thought it would be cheaper to buy a 2nd hand endoscope and flog it on when done.

So any recommendations on a rugged piece of kit that might keep its used value?

Jon

Edited By jon hill 3 on 01/10/2020 20:39:41

Jon, if you have a smart phone or any phone that can take pictures, and enough space to insert it on the end of a selfie stick or similar under your floor in various places, you could try using that initially instead of getting an endoscope.

If there isn't enough room in certain areas to put your phone through, no crawl space to these areas from elsewhere, joists/brick pillars/pipes/cables etc. preventing the phone from getting a panoramic view from where you do manage to insert it, and you opt for an endoscope instead and put it down directly beneath your tiled floor and see a rat there, how are you going to get it out? Even a decomposed rat is fatter than an endoscope cable, isn't it? Even if it isn't, you'd still have to physically get hold of it.

One additional query: have you eliminated the cause of the rodent infestation yet?

Stanley do a budget one for £100 which seems to have some fans on screwfix, however one guy used it on his engine and part of the plastic trim came off! It ended up costing him £1000's for an engine rebuild, ouch!

Any other suggestions?

I have the Aldi one(although I bought it from Rallydesign who keep them in stock), and it's plenty good enough for occasional use. You have to spend a lot more than £45 to get a properly rugged industrial spec unit, and that's only worth it if you're using it all the time and are dependent on it.

The attachment that plugs into your phone is even more suitable for occasional use(<£10), and has the advantage you can store the pictures. Does run down the phone battery really quickly though.

I know someone who cut short a pre-buy inspection after emailing the client several photos taken by holding a digital camera inside the wing inspection panels. Thus saving the client a whole day's money on the inspection. Not to mention £150k on the plane.....

Hi Nick

I dont have a smart phone so a cheap attachment wouldn't work for me, I will keep an eye out in Aldi though.

You can buy a "USB Endoscope Camera" on ebay, Amazon etc for around £10 these connect to a android 'phone, tablet or a PC. They have built in lights and arv around 8 or 10mm in diameter. They can be had with 2 or 3 metres of cable.

I use one for all sorts includng looking inside engines

Robert G8RPI.

Edited By Robert Atkinson 2 on 01/10/2020 21:33:26

Depending on age and construction of house you may have to consider rats in cavity walls too. I had to change a plastic vent louvre for a DIY stainless one after they ate through my first ally replacement...

Just an incidental comment but you can remove larger objects via endoscopy surgically...such scopes have operating channels for a range of tools for laparoscopic surgery from fibre-optic laser guides to a range of cutters and small bags to put the bits in via a second portal. The price is eye-watering for the good stuff.. Laparoscopic kidney removal is done .. quite a big thing a human kidney.. stick it in the bag and mush it then extrude the mushed bag-full out...

pgk

THIS is the same thing, and always in stock. A bit more expensive, but you won't waste any time over the next x months trying to find one. Very useful.

I've recently purchased a ROTEK Digital Inspection Camera (Amazon UK) for just over £50 (with the 5M cable - it's slightly cheaper with the 3M one).

It works pretty well and is self-contained, having its own LCD screen, rechargeable battery and a slot for a SD card (so you can record images). I looked at the 'smartphone' versions (much cheaper) but was put off by reviews that queried the quality/security of the software app that need to be downloaded for them to work.

The accessories (right angle lens etc) are rather naff but the main camera/lights work well enough but do need some interpretation (skill/practice?) to understand what you are seeing. Also getting the end of the cable pointing to exactly where you want it can be a real fiddle. However, having tried cameras on sticks etc - this device let me look for a broken pipe that I could not have found easily without its use.

So worth the money just for what I needed it for and I'm pleased that I paid the extra to get something that will probably get used a bit more often than I originally thought.

Regards,

IanT

Another variation on a theme.

Search for "Wifi Inspection Camera" in E-bay and you will get a variety of gadgets for around £20.

5.0M cameras up to 10m of cable etc etc,

These can stream photos or videos wirelessly to computers or phones.

Toodlepip

Brian

Field of view, depth of field and lens focal length would seem to be important parameters when selecting the one that best suits your needs. Presumably it varies between different breeds although the sales data on Amazon et al is less than comprehensive. Many imply a variable focal length from 10 mm to 500 cm or more(!) which would be a good trick if explicitly true. I suspect its a more impressive description of something that is "sorta like" on agood day .

The earlier affordable ones, like the LiDL unit I got several years ago, suffered from short focal length, limited feild of view and mall depth of focus. Which made getting them pointed at the right thing in the right place something of an art. But still, for me, way better than nothing. Looking at the current market upgrading next time I want to use such a thing might be a good idea.

As ever with affordable kit you need personal recommendations as to which jobs a particualr breed is best at.

Clive

I see that Lidl have their Parkside " Inspection Camera with Display " on sale again this Thursday 15 October

£39.99 IP67 Camera with lighting on 120cm gooseneck, attached to handheld display.

Maybe useful looking into dark holes and spaces !

I looked at one once

"Do not use this product for medical purposes!" was all over the box