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.
Pros: compact easy grip, semi-rigid scope head
Cons: short scope, 9v battery powered, grainy picture