M-Spector 3 ft. Inspection Camera Scope Kit

The camera is fine It is powered by a 9 volt batterie I was expecting it to be a M12 product to be used with my universal M12 rechargable batteries

As a skilled DIYer, I do a lot of electrical wiring. This usually means peering inside of a wall to determine how the existing wiring behind the wall has been routed or how new wiring can be routed, and looking for hidden dangers before drilling a hole or fastener. I once borrowed an inexpensive scope from a friend, but it was connected to a computer making it very cumbersome to use. This tool is an infinitely better solution, having a handheld viewing screen attached directly to the scope. What I Like: Hand-held portable screen. It is lightweight and easy to grip securely, making it possible to use one hand to hold the tool and my other hand to guide scope. Flexible semi-rigid scope. This did a reasonably good job (no, it was not perfect) of holding its position to help guide the head of the scope through areas of limited access. Still, it took a bit of practice before I became comfortable navigating the scope – since the periphery of view will depend on the orientation of the head as it is "threaded" into position. Easy operation – three buttons (off/on, increase brightness, decrease brightness). Useful scope head attachment for navigating through center of pipe. I did not use this to navigate a pipe, but it looks like it is designed to keep the head toward the center of the pipe. Separate buttons to increase or decrease light intensity. This eliminates the need to cycle through degrees of lighting intensity to obtain the desired lighting level. However, I did not find much benefit to varying the light intensity by small increments. I think a high & low level would have been sufficient. LCD screen is recessed into handle and surrounded by rubber-like “bumper.” A design that I suspect is intended to shield the screen from damage if dropped (I didn’t perform a drop test). Compact molded tool-case to protect sensitive electronics & screen when stored. A 5-year product warranty. Suggestive of the confidence that the manufacturer has about the quality of its product. With no moving parts, unless the tool is mistreated, this warranty may actually be a valuable feature in the event of screen failure. What I Don’t Like: The 3 foot scope length. This might be a tad short for some applications, and the scope will not accept attachments that would extend its reach. Absent a supplemental light source, in pitch black conditions I found it difficult to see more than about 12” beyond the head of the scope, so the length of the scope could be an important factor in some situations. On the other hand, it can also be much more difficult to successfully maneuver longer lengths of semi-rigid scope, since they will tend to bend or move out of position as they encounter obstacles. Screen image is grainy (see pictures). When used in dark areas that lack other light sources, the scopes’ artificial illumination is only marginally effective to assist screen visibility – possibly due to the low-power design of the tool? 9V battery supply. Seems it could be inadequate to sufficiently power the LCD screen and auxiliary LED lighting to maximum effectiveness. After a short period of use (10 minutes), the low-battery indicator was already lit. Conclusion: I found this to be a useful tool for peering behind a wall, and its 3-foot length was not a limiting factor for my particular application. Using this for a recent project to add a new wall outlet, I was able to spot an opening in a stud behind a wall, through which to route a wire, something that I would not have been able to see with the naked eye peering through the rough-in hole I created.

Another great tool from Milwaukee. This flexible inspection scope is handy for a number of uses. It has a color camera and display, and variable LED lighting. I recently had to remove a bird nest from a vent pipe and was able to use this tool to inspect the pipe afterwards. I also work on guitars, and I use this scope to inspect glue joints inside the guitar body where you can't see (see pictures). Runs on a single 9 volt battery. An excellent tool, I recommend it.

It has a small camera head (9mm or 3/8”). It comes with a pipe guide that helps improves maneuverability in pipes diameter is 1”. The scope help me on the job when I was drilling and it bit wouldn’t go down any further. When I put the scope down I could see that I was hitting a two 16d nails. So I change my bit to a metal and when right through it. The LCD display is 2.7 in. The scope is 640 x 480 and the LED display is 320 x 240. The Inspection cable is 3 feet long and the camera lens it has 4 different LED lighting mode to help you see what you are trying to see. It comes with a 9v battery with a hard carrying case. It has a 5 year warranty.

I took this scope and stuck it into every place where it might be useful to me, and I really couldn't see much of anything. The problem is not the 320x240 resolution, which is adequate, although in 2016 it is kind of a joke. The problem is that the camera has very poor low-light sensitivity, the LED illumination has a very limited useful range, and the places you are likely to use this are not well-lit. The illumination has multiple settings, but it is so weak that only the highest setting is useful. Trying to look under the shed for critters, I could see nothing at all. Maybe that is too big a space to expect it to work, but looking inside walls and under floors gave the same result. I tried to look around a blind corner in the attic, with daylight streaming in through a vent, and saw nothing but pixellated gloom. This scope is apparently only useful in very small spaces. Maybe I am expecting too much, or the wrong thing. All of the features, or lack thereof, are driven by the power supply - a single disposable 9-volt battery. Everything from the display to the illumination is crippled by having to run off what seems to be an unrealistic power supply for a device like this. The auto-shutoff is very aggressive, and the unit turned itself off numerous times while I was using it. Battery life is poor, and I stopped testing it when the battery died. A warning about 9-volt batteries: inside are six tiny cylindrical batteries, so six times the likelihood of leaking, or basically, guaranteed. Never leave a 9-volt battery inside any idle device, especially a Duracell. Other features this camera lacks include any kind of record or snapshot capability, zoom, and display rotation. Without the last one, you end up looking at everything at crazy angles, which is very disorienting. I could not find a pdf version of the manual online, something that I always look for. Also, Home Depot needs to update their product listing, which says the display is 640x480. The probe is attached, so at least you don't need to worry about buying expensive accessories. There is no mention of the camera head being waterproof. It seems to me that all performance has been traded away in order to run off a 9-volt battery. The truth is, I found this scope to be fairly useless. That is not to say that it doesn't work at all, but even at this price point you can get much better models that are not hobbled by having to run off a single 9-volt battery. Given the state of modern electronics and manufacturing, I don't see $99 here, and I would not call this a good value for the price.

There comes a time when you drop something into a place so narrow or so deep that you cannot see where it went. This little tool will make it easy to find. Milwaukee has built a nice optical scope with an LCD screen and flexible shaft that allows you to place this small camera into very tight quarters to see what's going on. From something lost down a drain, to something behind something larger, for me a look inside a model to see if there are any maker's marks. Camera head contains LED lights for illumination along its path. Three foot length is sufficient in most circumstances. The hard shell carrying case is a great plus. Lightweight and easily portable.

I'll cut to the kill on this review. When you order something online you expect to get what you ordered, an item with the advertised specifications. Unfortunately this was not the case with this tool. The Home Depot web page: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M-Spector-3-ft-Inspection-Scope-Kit-2309-20/207191773?keyword=M-SPECTOR+3+FT.+INSPECTION+SCOPE+KIT says the screen on this model is 640 x 480. However, when I received the tool I noticed a sticker had been placed over the "Display Resolution" part of the Specifications box on the outer cardboard wrapper. The sticker read 320 x 240. Half the advertised resolution (see photo.) The description portion of the wrapper still showed 640 x 320 resolution and further claimed "Best-in-class image quality in tight spaces" I'm not sure what that even means in plain english. What is a tight space? What class does it represent, the "Less than $100" class? And what difference does a tight space have to do with resolution? But I fired it up to see what a 320 x 240 screen looked like. Granted, if I'm putting this thing somewhere I can't get my head or a mirror, or my cell phone it is better than not seeing at all. But if you are going to pay money for this and you expect to get what the Home Depot web page says, then be warned. You won't.

I received this scope kit for plumbing and electric inspections. I live in an old home and running wire can be bear. This device helps find studs and the best path for wire. I have used sharkbite fittings in some areas of the house that are not that accessible. I also have some old galvanized drain pipes which I inspect from the inside and outside with this. This allows me to check in them from holes in the basement ceiling. Finally, the pipe attachment let you smoothly run it down pipes. The 3 ft. doesn't do much but you can certainly inspect the area well. The scope kit comes in a durable and convenient case. There isn't much set-up and operation is simple. The light has about 5 brightness levels and when you reach the brightest, it doesn't switch off when you hit the brightness button again; it stays on letting you know that you are at the brightest. I find this very convenient as opposed to cycling through the brightness levels until you are at the brightest. The camera is crisp and clear. The camera is 5/16" wide so a small 3/8" or 1/2" hole is all you need for a quick vertical inspection. In my basement it runs easily up through the existing conduit holes, next to wire, as well. To inspect through drywall and down into a wall you may need a larger hole and to bend the scope wire first. A few considerations; 1) Dust within walls can collect on the camera quickly, somewhat obscuring the footage. 2) It is s learning curve with knowing how to bend the scope wire before entering the hole to see what you want. It takes some learning. 3) Inside the darkness of walls, the camera doesnt have much of a wide visions and often you can only see what is within six or so inches directly in front of it. This can make finding a pipe or wire a bit tricky. Overall, this is one of my favorite 'toys' which gives me peace of mind and helps eliminate the many unknowns before running wire.

needs image taker function.

Be careful judging the size of plumbing pipes using this camera. I was looking for a 4 inch pipe and twice cut into a wall only to find a 1 inch pipe.