Auto-oscopy— In Color!!

Sam Bell called the other day and told me that we ought to be doing an article on a borescope called the VOscope. It
has a live LED color display instead of an eyepiece viewer. The Slammer says he uses his more that he thought he ever
would, and that we ought to check it out.

Be warned: a VOscope in your hand generates a chorus of “whatizzits?” from passersby. Let’s face it, handheld color
video display and a tiny camera mounted at the end of a three foot cable is not a common sight—even it you’re the Mr.
Gadget Type who spends weekends at Best Buy. In fact, a passing neighbor arrived just as I was removing the borescope
it from its box, and once I gave him the 20 word overview, he immediately dragged me over to his house to locate the
source of a water leak staining his hall ceiling. Instead of making a large hole, we drilled a small 5/8 hole on the ceiling
drywall, and scoped upward to find the leaking drain in his upstairs shower.
(Not exactly what we had in mind for a trial run article in an automotive magazine, but effective, just the same.)

VOscope in its carrying case. The small plastic bottles contain: a magnetic pickup; and mirror attachment for right angle
viewing.

Hey, watch where you point that thing! Instead of the spyglass viewer found in some borescopes, the VOscope has
a color LCD display, similar to the ones found in digital cameras and video recorders. My ugly mug is shown here for
demonstration purposes only: your face will undoubtedly look better.
For big screen viewing, there’s an RCA jack in the body that
connects it to a monitor or TV with a matching RCA video port.

Here’s the VOscope, taking a picture of itself and

Abe Lincoln, then displaying the scene on a portable
television.
 The four AA battery power supply is located in the
scope handle.

The tiny camera lens and LEDs are cleverly

packaged into a 10mm diameter tube at the
working end.

The only user input is a simple on/off toggle switch.

 Lighting is provided by a pair of LEDs in the probe tip.

The snap on magnetic pickup tip can lift small ferrous items.

The angle mirror snaps onto the camera neck for right angle viewing.
 Inspect radiators and condensers for bent fins, leaks, and ac-
cumulations of debris.

Inspect accessory drive belts buried in tight quarters for cracks

and chunking.

Here are a few of the common uses for a shop borescope:

• Checking a/c condensers and radiators for damage, bent fins, or obstructions
• Inspecting poly v-ribbed belts for wear and cracking
• Pulling identification numbers from the sticker on the back of a radio without having to actually remove the radio from the
dash. (This is really helpful if you need the number to get anti-theft access codes from the dealer when radio memory has
been erased.)
• Inspecting disc brake pad thickness without removing the road wheel
• Peering inside engine cylinders through the spark plug hole.
• Inspecting a water pump weep hole for a coolant leak.
• Finding the exact location of cylinder head or intake manifold coolant leaks.
• Locating electrical connectors in dashboards.
• Checking heater cores for leaks.
• Checking carbon clogged EGR tubes.
• Looking for smoke at the top of a fuel tank during an EVAP leak smoke test
• Retrieving a part number or identification number from an inaccessible component.
• Identifying manifold bolt locations in tight quarters.
• Locating hard to find timing belt cover fasteners.
• Examining door interiors, including hard to see lock and window mechanisms.

Feel free to log in and add your own borescope uses for all of us to share.

Features
The VOscope has one control: an on/off switch. Our model has a 36-inch cable, fitted with LEDs and a small camera at
the working (distal) end. The camera/cable diameter is 10 mm, so it will fit into a standard spark plug hole. A version with
72 inch cable is available, although for most automotive applications, we suspect the three-footer will do nicely. The longer
version is probably favored by HVAC technicians peering into long air ducts.

The cable is semi-rigid, but flexible, and can be bent to fit or follow the shape of the vehicle or component being viewed.
The manufacturer recommends that you limit the bend radius to three inches, however, to prevent cable damage. Need to
see around corners? Snap the angled mirror attachment onto the camera neck for a right angle view.

There’s also a small magnet attachment, good for picking up small, relatively light ferrous objects.

Using the VOscope

The VOscope display is surprisingly clear, even in moderately bright light, and, since there is no focus adjustment to fiddle
with you just point and shoot. I’ll admit that it took me a while to coordinate my brain and hands to get the best image, but
I quickly learned a few tricks:

• If you see a bright white screen, you probably have the camera lens right up against a reflective surface that is bouncing
the LED light back into the camera, creating glare. Pull the probe back a bit.

• If you are working inside a contained area with little or no ambient light, remember that the LEDs are providing the
illumination. Moving the camera tip in and out a bit can improve lighting on the object for the best screen display.

• When using the mirror for right angle views, clean the mirror glass carefully with a lint-free cloth. Small specks of dirt and
dust and fingerprints degrade the screen image.

American Made
When we logged on to the company website, we discovered that Visual Optics, maker of the VOscope, is an employee-
owned American company in Oklahoma. Pretty cool, in these days of outsourcing and globalization.

Specifications:
• High resolution remote color camera
• Autofocus (Viewing distance: 0.4” to infinity)
• Distal tip diameter: 0.42” maximum (0.46 with accessories)
• Cable diameter: 10mm
• Resolution 320 x 240 pixels
• 2.5” full color viewing monitor
• 10mm shaft diameter
• Shaft material: High-density polyethylene (HDPE)
• Housing material: Nylon
• Waterproof, Flexible Staylok shaft
• 36” standard shaft length ( 72” also available - part number VS72-10ww)
• High output LED illumination
• 5 hrs operation on 4 AA batteries (included)
• Mirror and magnet accessories included
• Video out for optional recording
• Poly pro storage case
• 1 year warranty
• Video out port: RCA jack - NTSC signal
• Light source: (2) white LED’s in tip
• Viewing angle: 55° (without clip-on mirror)
• Minimum bending radius: 3”
• Power: (4) AA batteries
• Battery life: approximately 4 hours

Kit includes:
• Padded hard case
• Operating Instructions
• Batteries (4) AA alkaline
• Clip-on 90° mirror
• Magnetic clip
• 1 year limited manufacturer’s warrant
Manufacturer Information:
Website: http://www.voscope.com/

Visual Optics, Inc.

105 Sunset Road
Wynnewood, OK 73098

PH: 405-665-9000
Fax: 405-665-9003

Business Hours: Monday thru Friday

8:00am till 5:00pm (Central Time)