Vividia Ablescope VA-400 USB Rigid Borescope Endoscope with 180 Degree Articulating 8.5mm Diameter Probe

I purchase this borescope after watching the EAA webinar titled Borescope Ascendancy, which talks about the huge benefits of using a borescope to view the inside of your cylinders, over just doing an engine compression check. The borescope arrived very quickly, in good condition, and in a fantastic metal storage box with the instructions printed right on the front. It was also packaged in a cardboard box which I will also use to store it and keep the dust off the metal box.Luckily, it was annual time, so I got to use the borescope soon after it arrived. It connected easily to an old Samsung Galaxy III phone that I had laying around. I just used the phone to go directly to the company website and downloaded their app. Opened the app and plugged in the borescope and it worked perfectly right out of the box. It is simple to use and I was amazed at the clarity! The articulating tip makes it easy to see in every direction inside the cylinder. I was able to take lots of still pictures to document the condition of the inside of the cylinders and even tried a little video (not sure why you'd need video, though).After its impressive results inside the engine I used to it view inside the inspection openings all over the plane and took more still shots for documentation. I absolutely love this borescope. Simple to use and you can't beat the price! The only negative I've found is trying to replace the small blue rubber cover. There is a tool and good instructions, but it does take a little practice to get the hang of it.

Outstanding, especially for the price. Includes everything you need, even several replacement sleeves for the flexible end, along with a special tool to easily install them! It provides an excellent image, and depending on the software you choose, many additional features.I use it on an airplane engine, and it's near perfect. It works great on my laptop, but on the phone, it seems to disconnect intermittently. Since it works on the laptop, I attribute this to my phone's microUSB port being a little flaky. (I sometimes have charging issues, so I'm pretty sure that's all it is.)But in any case, it does exactly what I need it to do as an aircraft mechanic.This was recommended by many people, including my own engine guru, Mike Busch. If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. I love it!

I purchased this for my annual inspections of my Lycoming airplane engine (Vans RV-7A). It was a great tool and I loved how it worked (only minor issue was the small-format pictures, but that's ok as it's a tiny camera).I recently opened the case to find that the plastic sleeve had 'melted' (see picture). When I went to take off the protective red camera cover, the entire end pulled off. The light still works but the camera does not. The articulation action no longer works. I'd used it about once a year since my purchase in February of 2020.If I'd reviewed this a year ago I'd have given it 5 stars, but something at this price point should not fail in storage *in the provided case*. I'm very careful with my tools and electronics.I've contacted the company about a repair/replacement, so I'm hoping they do right by me. I will update this review either way.

I Use and enjoy the borescope camera because it gives me insight into the condition of the airplane engine. The camera and picture quality seems like they are from a couple of decades ago. It’s still very useful.

Great product. Allows inspection of inside of combustion chambers, engine cases, etc. Have used it to diagnose compression problems, look at cylinder wall condition, and even inspected inside of the crankcase. Saves a lot of time and money. I accidentally dropped a small piece into the crankcase of an engine I was rebuilding. This allowed me to located the piece by inserting it through the oil drain hole and determine it was lodged between two oil baffles. I could then extract it with a magnet taped to a chopstick (yeah I know). Saved me from having to split the cases to locate the part. Allows for making movies and also to take snap shots.

I really wanted this to work out and give it 5 stars, but super disappointed that the scope came broken from the factory. The package was perfectly fine (no damage), but the articulating head came smashed to pieces. I'm waiting on a replacement and will update after getting it.For now, it is worth calling out the following cons:- Articulating head is super fragile and made of plastic. Very tiny pieces of plastic stacked kind of like vertebra- If the articulating head gets damaged, it can send small pieces of plastic inside the engine. My application is for an aircraft engine. Pieces falling in is absolutely unacceptable.Ideally, the blue condom would prevent pieces from falling, but in my case the plastic had punctured through and the head was crumbling in my hand before I even got a chance to use it. When I get my replacement, I will double up.Looking at the pictures in detail, I think mine may have been used prior (look at the brown smudges on the blue cover)?! What a disappointment.Update: I received the replacement in early September, this time not broken. The articulating head functions fine and is very nice to use inside the engine. The replacement unit also had brown spots on the blue rubber which rubbed off with a damp paper towel. Image quality is good, although I've noticed (like others) that the camera stutters very badly and drops frames if the light level gets low. I suspect this may be the camera's exposure compensation algorithm.For those who care, or are wondering, this camera works well on Linux. It just shows up as a compliant webcam. You can use applications like "Cheese" to record images and videos. Both work out well. Tested on Fedora 24.