Seeing below deck

[Winston]

This is a "cool tool"! A friend of mine just got back from a trade show with 4 of these fiber optic "scopes". The label on the plastic storage container calls it an "Image Guide Scope". Ever wish you could see what was going on "down there"? With this device you can "scope" bow to stern, check your own tonsils, go thru the spark plug hole and check your car's engine's combustion chamber. It has its own illumination lamp and a flexible cable which "holds" in the position you bend it to. The storage box is 2.5 x 4 x 28 inches. The flex cable is 16.5 inches long and about 3/8" diameter. Batteries included as are spare bulbs and a 90 degree angle tip.

The price as described is $350. One with a longer flex cable is more. ($450 I think.)

I don't consider this an advertisement, but more like "what's new?"

If you want one, I will help you get one.

Winston Mathews

P.S. I found one of these on German ebay for a much higher price. If you can get to the starting page, the article number is 7619875. There is a picture also.

[yachtie]

Yes a "cool tool" indeed but the old motorbike mirror on its stalk is a helluva lot cheaper.

Consider the lowly NZD and its at least 600 NZD + freight [:p]

Chris
NZL1 Longtack
NZL110 Swept Away NZL128 Ketch me if U Can

[Larry Ludwig]

I first used the wireless camera on EBAY... $25.00 Put it on the end of a stick, taped my mini MAG lite to the same stick, and I can see anything anywhere I can reach right there on my 40" big screen. Made threading those nasty jib sheets through blocks and fairleads so much easier.... let the kids do it. They have skinny arms, and it's a wondeful game for them. 21st Century "OPERATION" and they get to be the goofy doctor while I am doing something else.

Next, I wanted better video than what we were getting onboard the boats with that camera, so I moved up to a "board camera" where the lense is mounted on the PCB and you get no case (they assume that you are going to mount it on something of your own, so they don't charge you for casing it) We got much improved video, beter resolution, but the price of the board cameras runs around $90+ but you get a better image. You can also use your old 9.6 volt DC (R/C car packs) batteries on them as well, and they will transmit for hours and hours. They are setup for 9v but you get better range with 9.6 nicads. You can also build a clear plexi box, and attach it under the stern and get some nice views of your tufted rudder and fairing if you are in clean water and sun shiney day.

OH MY ![;)]

visit us at www.LudwigRCYachts.com

[Jim Linville]

Larry: Is there a brand name for this wireless camera? How can I find it on e-Bay? --Jim Linville

[Rick West]

Winston,
How about some more information like the image transmission mode, i.e. Bluetooth or wireless to standard network routers. If you have a product specifications link, what is it and the like?

It is understood guys that this tool is expensive for a hobby but there are other uses. Tools are just that, tools. If you can use them in other areas they become more interesting.

I found multiple uses for a micrometer and digital caliper and have the former and two of the later in 6" and 12". All together they were about the cost of this scope.

...94

[RMDJBD]

Jim
E-Bay has a lot of them under Wireless Cameras, i have one on my Helicopter i bought from www.helidirect.com, this one is small and light.

Bob Dudinsky
R.M.D.MARINE

[Larry Ludwig]

There are many many places that you can find these, and the cheap ones are cheap and so is the image. This is a definitive lesson in you get what you pay for. They are tremendously entertaining... believe me. I put one on my wire fox terrier... and oh my... what a ride... took him to the park and waited until we found a squirrel. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. I flew the F/a-18 sim and did a cat launch.. believe me when I say a terrier does one every time it launches... Board cameras are really the way to go. You can get the cheapo wireless cameras, and with some of this and that (mostly the time is what I don't have) and yes, you can make it better. Why.... just spring for a little more dough and get something you can make some use of. The little $30 cameras are short ranged. Max is 50-75' Good quality is 25-50 feet. Board cameras, double the range and quality, but you go from $30.00 to $120.00

If you want to be a stud, get a 5.6" color monitor LCD display and mount it on your Trasmitter ($116.95). Get a view of your sail set all the way around the course. I also found that when you get to that regatta with the mark WAAaaaaay down there.. and it is DOWN wind.. so every boat in the fleet is between you and your boat and the mark... man... can you nail that rounding... oh... you can also plug the camera's reciever into the Sony Handy Cam, and tape the whole thing. Works like a charm.

Take a paddlewheel and connect it to a bicycle computer, put the computer display in front of that camera you were using to watch your marks, and now you have boat speed read out too. Some smart guy will tranfer over the new telemetry from the car radios that use GPS and give speed, RPM etc all on your Transmitter.

Then, I have a wonk here that has been using one of my test boats and he has been recording data for 6 weeks now. He is writing the software to have the onboard PC (amazing what these guys can do with an old laptop) control the winch to set the sails automatically.

Again, too many to list, but here are a couple... Have fun! they are great entertainment.

http://www.surveillance-spy-cameras.com ... eras.htm#2

http://www.maxmax.com/AXRayBoardCamera.htm

http://www.mars-cam.com/cameras/board_c ... /v1245.htm

visit us at www.LudwigRCYachts.com

[Winston]

Rick

The "endoscope" (as I think it is properly called) that I described at the start of this thread) transmits the image thru optic fiber to an eyepiece at the other end which can be focused like any optical device such as a microscope. It doesn't send any images using Bluetooth or otherwise. If you can bring up Ebay.de (German version of E-bay) there (at item number or Artikelnummer 7619875717) is a picture and all I know about this item (except that I have possession of it and have "scoped" my turning block in the bow of 4316 just fine).

I am glad to have learned more about the wireless camera's potential uses from Ludwig and Dudinsky. Thanks guys.

Winston

[greerdr]

Voyuers!

R.C.Greer