Kitz Forum
Computers & Hardware => Hardware - Deals & Bargains => Topic started by: roseway on January 15, 2011, 08:05:55 AM
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Once you've got past the sniggers about possible uses for this product, it looks as though it could be quite useful. It's an LED illuminated camera on the end of a long flexible tube.
http://www.firebox.com/product/2505/USB-Snakescope-Camera?aff=512&awc=550_1295078204_d3d3ed0b0ce526f6cc5822af7d45bf64
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I`ve had one for a while now.
I got it for work, made life easier to see into voids for inspection purposes.
For the £`s not bad, but there are better ones available at considerably more £`s.
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Cheers Eric, I've ordered one!
It's probably best to have realistic expectations of what you get for that sort of money, but as long as it works at all I'm sure it'll be useful. I can think of various times in the past I'd have used one.
- 7LM
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I'm still wondering whether to take the chance that I could get it to work with Linux.
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I'm still wondering whether to take the chance that I could get it to work with Linux.
That's what I was wondering. I've just trawled the net and found Maplin are selling the same thing for £39.99.
From what I can tell it should be recognised as a generic webcam. Still not sure though. :-\
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That's interesting Colin. I think I'll do a bit of research too.
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I intend to use mine primarily with an XP laptop, but I've several linux distro's on different boxes too... a couple of different Fedoras versions, and one proprietary minimalist diskless box.
I'll try it on these and let you know if it 'works out the box' or with small amounts of effort. But I may not volunteer to put too much effort into it of it doesn't work easily...
- 7LM
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Thanks 7LM.
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That's interesting Colin. I think I'll do a bit of research too.
I think the the biggest drawback is with it only having a range of "6cm~infinite"
£39.99
http://www.maplin.co.uk/flexible-snake-scope-camera-257206
£199.99
http://www.maplin.co.uk/ccd-snake-cctv-camera-220665?ordercode=N92CX
(And no LED's but smaller Sensor size: 1/ 4-inch )
£20.99
http://www.firebox.com/product/2505/USB-Snakescope-Camera?aff=512&awc=550_1295078204_d3d3ed0b0ce526f6cc5822af7d45bf64
(Possibly the same camera as the Maplin £39.99 camera)
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I saw one about a month ago on that BidupTv.It looked a good idea,but I thought it had to be connected to a Laptop for it to work.The advert had a bird mucking about under her car bonnet,but she would have to have her Laptop there as well.
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Obviously as part of the sales gimmick they don't want to highlight the fact of having to have a laptop connected at the same time.
The same can be said with some of the comments about spying on colleagues, "what from 6 CM" I don't think so.
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I don't really see how anybody could expect a webcam (that's what I think it is, basically) to work without being attached to a PC? Am I missing something?
RE the focus... that '6 cm to infinity' almost certainly means it's a fixed focus lens with absolutely no means of adjustment. But for finding a ball-bearing that's rolled under a heavy piece of furniture, does that matter? It won't worry me if the ball bearing's in soft focus, but if you're looking for something suited to exhibition photography, I'd suggest you pay a lot more. :(
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The advert had a bird mucking about under her car bonnet
That's one very clever and posh 'bird' ;)
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Must have been a penguin - they're certainly the smartest birds. ;D
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Obviously as part of the sales gimmick they don't want to highlight the fact of having to have a laptop connected at the same time.
The same can be said with some of the comments about spying on colleagues, "what from 6 CM" I don't think so.
My old boss had his office bugged by a devious shifty sod!
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Still waiting for delivery, I'm afraid. Can't really complain as delivery was estimated as a week, but we kind of get used to the idea that these estimates are pessimistic.
Anyway, I've checked and both my Fedora boxes have a 'cheese' application which I think is meant for webcam support. I look forwards to plugging it in to see what happens.
And - whether under Linux or XP, I look forwards to retrieving a spherical magnet that rolled under a Hi Fi unit some weeks ago, and has defied all attempts to locate it short of dismantling the Hi Fi and moving the cabinet. And various other tasks as well, including working out exactly what it is that is stopping me from pushing the dishwasher all the way back under the worktop. It used to fit until I pulled it out for a (successful) door-spring repair after which, no matter how careful I am to arrange the plumbing neatly, it refuses to go all the way home.
High hopes indeed. Ah well, maybe tomorrow... :)
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With regards to the plumbing, it is usually caused because the fill hose/s or and the outlet hose have crossed over just at the wrong point and therefore have become double the thickness.
What I used to install said machines what I used to do was to place a loop of string around each tube then keep the tubes pulled up and well apart from each other when pushing the machine back in place then just pull the string out when completed "worked every time".
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With regards to the plumbing, it is usually caused because the fill hose/s or and the outlet hose have crossed over just at the wrong point and therefore have become double the thickness.
Thanks OF, that was my theory too. I'd satisfied myself it wasn't the case this time around, but we'll see... (if the postman ever shows up).
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I'm still wondering whether to take the chance that I could get it to work with Linux.
I know I saw rhis Q&A on Maplin web site but it now does not seem to be the same comments, but I'll leave this here and if needs be you can decide for your self.
Quote from the Maplin website Q&A
Q) is this device compatible with a linux based OS? for exemple Mandriva linux? thanks
A) No sorry this product does not support that.
I'm not saying they re all the same, but they certainly do look similar, although at least one has a smaller diameter lens than the others.
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Just a thought.
What about adjustment of the actual flexible tube, is it operated by a trigger mechanism or just has to be bent manually the best you can as you use it?
edit:
Text add, re Q&A
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Thanks for that comment OF. It often proves to be the case with this kind of product that, although the manufacturer doesn't offer any Linux support, good drivers are developed independently by the Linux community. I think as said earlier that this is effectively a webcam, so it's very likely that a good Linux driver will exist.
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RE linux, assuming they're all similar and judging from this review, there is hope...
http://brizoma.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/nice-gadget-usb-endoscope/
Like some of the others, this one does look strikingly similar to the firebox device so the review is interesting anyway, quite apart from the Linux aspect. It also has a link to a possible manufacturer's site...
http://www.sinoskytech.com/sdp/999389/4/pd-4908316/6012992-1978097/USB_endscope_waterproof_snake_Video_Borescope_came.html
- 7LM
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WHeeee, it's arrived!
Installation on XP was a bit unsettling as a microsoft popup appears telling you it's not been windows logo tested, and that Microsoft strongly recommend I don't install it! But it seemed to install cleanly, the laptop hasn't crashed, and it works fine - just like a webcam.
On linux (Fedoras 12 & 14) , I just plugged it in and opened 'cheese' and there it was! It does work, but it's not much use as a video camera on these systems as it's too slow by far, refreshing maybe three or four times a second. That may be because I don't have optimal drivers, or it may just be a reflection of that fact they are very low power machines, powered by an 'atom' CPU.
First impressions are that it feels surprisingly well made for the price. The shaft is bendy enough to twist into any shape you want, but perhaps a little stiffer than I'd hoped for. It would not, for example, be capable of following the path of a pipe with a bend in it.
TBH, picture quality is probably at the low end of my expectations. It needs a lot of light for a good picture, and the LEDs are rather pathetic. They'll illuminate an object like a screw when you are right beside it, but anything beyond a few cm just disappears into the gloom. In good light, it'll focus quite well up to a foot or two, beyond which it's decidedly sub-optimal. That doesn't worry me, as I mainly wanted it for closeups of inaccessible areas such as wall cavities, but I think it may disappoint (quite a lot actually) if you plan to use it as a webcam/spycam.
It has another restriction for using as a general purpose webcam, and that is that you really don't know what the orientation of the image will be until you look at the screen.
I'm glad I bought it though. I think it's a reasonable gadget for the price of a take-away meal (I have a big appetite). I've already retrieved that lost magnet that rolled under a Hi-Fi cabinet a few weeks ago, and I'm sure it'll come in useful again. I'm not sure it'll help much with the dishwasher plumbing (too dark, and too big an area), but I may give it a go later.
- 7LM
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Glad to hear Xmas No2 has arrived (Yea I like prezzies as well)
At some stage, what's the chance of posting some pictures, maybe behind the washer (just want to see if I was right with the crossed pipe bit really) no only joking, but would be interested in seeing the quality after you have had time to play around with it a bit.
Sorry, what did you mean by not being able to follow a bendy pipe?
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Glad to hear Xmas No2 has arrived (Yea I like prezzies as well)
At some stage, what's the chance of posting some pictures, maybe behind the washer (just want to see if I was right with the crossed pipe bit really) no only joking, but would be interested in seeing the quality after you have had time to play around with it a bit.
Sorry, what did you mean by not being able to follow a bendy pipe?
Sure I'll post some pictures, maybe tomorrow if I can get around to it. Don't raise your hopes though, it may not be easy to find a picture that actually impress much!
The bendy pipe criticism... imagine you're faced with a blocked sink outlet. You can push a piece of curtain wire into a drain pipe and it'll 'follow' the path of the pipe around, say, a U-bend. But not the snakescope, at best it would refuse to go any further when it reaches the bend, at worst it would get stuck and suffer untold damage.
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Here's a couple of the device's pictures.
One is PC case-screw that, with amazing convenience, rolled down a tube of conduit that heppened to be on the table when I was playing with the camera. I really don't know how I'd have got the screw back without the camera ;)
The second photo is less contrived. The builder who built my house installed LV halogen lights in the kitchen, with transformers that are hidden in the cieling void. Each transformer feeds two lights, so is halfway between each light along the joist. I'd always wondered what the rating of the transformers were, and so what wattage bulbs I could use. By removing one of the fittings, the snakescope resolved my curiousity. Note that the 'blur' in that image is mainly a reflection of my tremor (standing on a wobbly chair).
A problem has come to light re XP... ever time I plug the device in, I have to plough through the windows popups offering to install drivers. It does work eventually, but a bit 'clunky'.
- 7LM
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Mildly impressed. The picture quality is better than I expected.
How did you get the screw to stick to the wall of the tube?
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How did you get the screw to stick to the wall of the tube?
Gravity. It was lying flat on the table when I took the photo. I could have retrieved the screw using the magnet accessory that clips on the camera but all things considered it was easier to just tilt one end and the screw rolled out. :D
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That's pretty fair quality for the low cost. Thanks for showing us the pictures 7LM.