Vividia Ablescope VA-400 v5 Rigid One-Way Articulating USB Borescope 8.5mm/0.33" Diameter 42cm/16.5" IP67 Waterproof 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!

This thing is great the videos are so clear and it’s really nice being able to take photos of inside of the cylinder and sending them out right on the computer. The case is also really nice bonus.

Works as advertised, however I have not yet found an adequate app (for me) to get good clear up close pictures. (This could be a phone issue) Hence the 4 star and not 5. I use this almost every day scoping aircraft internal combustion engines. I can say without a doubt in my mind the functionality of the articulating end is the best thing sense sliced bread. I recommend this for you guys in the aviation biz, that would like to actually follow Continental motors service instruction SBO-3. And would like to show to the customer just what is wrong with the engine without taking it apart first. Digital pictures sent from your cell phone to the customer. Under 200 bucks. Priceless

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.

Works exactly as advertised and much better than my first gen LED bullet camera. Don't know where else you will find this quality, capability and ease of use at this price point, and Aviation Consumer agrees with me. Read the directions before you use and you'll likely avoid some of the problems noted in some of the reviews. Caught an early stage failure of an exhaust valve in our Continental O-470R aircraft engine. I will now scope every six months at a minimum. See pics.

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.

This thing really works! I bought 4 low cost endoscopes/borescopes with led lights that are not bright enough to get good images in dark places and are hard to point at what I want to look at. I use this for checking aircraft cylinders and it is as good or better than borescopes costing $5000. Hooked up to my computer, it provides bigger, brighter pictures than the $5000 scopes and it is easier to save pictures. It takes me about 2 minutes per cylinder to inspect both valves, the piston and the cylinder wall taking pictures as I go. Then I can share the pictures with the owner and save the pictures for my records. Since the cord is aligned with the articulating tip, I know where I am looking. I have included photos of a cylinder with good valves but where piston slap and a sliding wrist pin has worn the chrome cylinder wall plating showing that the cylinder, piston, wrist pin and rings need to be replaced long before failure. I have also included a photo of a brush (taken in a dark room) to show you the detail this is capable of. I use this with both my Windows 7 computer and my Samsung Galaxy Tablet. I recommend this Rigid Borescope.over the more expensive ViVidia VA-800 USB Flexible Borescope for inspecting cylinders because it is easier to position the probe. I still have the cheap scopes (with a bright flashlight) for inspecting hard to reach areas in wings, tails, under floors, etc. The only negative criticism I have so far is it comes in a padded cardboard box for shipping. It would be nice if it came in a padded plastic box for shipping and storage.

Buen producto 100% recomendable