I think it was several different barrels he was showing to illustrate how useful the scope can be?

One was badly crazed, another rusty & so on.

I heard back from the maker/importer. Its usable in a single pass for a single continuous 40" run. That's bore & breech from the breech end or a long barrel from the muzzle end.

Placed an order & I'll do a range report when it arrives & I practice a bit with it.

Well it arrived.

First impressions, unpacking setup & so on.

I thought you guys might be interested in this little goody.

US$ 50.oo Telsong endoscope review.

Unpacking:

Comes in a nice little 7” X 5” X 2” clam-she!! case with a zip.

Inside is the flex USB cable with its 2 USB & Mini USB connectors, the other has the actual semi-rigid bore-scope (good for a 40” run), more than enough, for example for a Lee Enfield No4 from the breech end, including the chamber & action. There is a lock-nut & the threaded 45° mirror attachment for sideways viewing. More on that later.

The 2 are connected by a multi pin plug & socket with a keyed alignment for use.

There are also a minimal (at best) instruction leaflet, a pack of alcohol wipes (for cleaning the mirror & lens ends, if needed) & some bumf, misc advertising & warranty cards.

Setup:

Urk! Seriously it could be better, but it does work in the end!

You go to a website & download a file & unzip it, run it, then find it (there is no shortcut its in a folder called “NTE”, probably in your “documents” folder) create a shortcut & open it. Then you manually create a directory for the app & the files created. It seems from my first impression to ONLY generate an .AVI file.

Once that's done connect the 2 halves & plug into the USB port you like. Now run the software. It says there are 2 sets, on for the camera & the other for an app that uses the camera. My Win 10 blocks the camera app so I can only use the “AmCap” file with its own setup.

USE:

“First time out of the gate” is klutzy.

You have to create a folder for the files it will generate, It doesn't do it, again its manual. I just made one called “bore-scope” in the” Videos” section of Win 10.

Now you connect the camera & turn it on. Then you turn on the lights in the head & adjust them, a simple turn a wheel setting on the cable.

Next you set the focus. This is a bit tricky you have to manually set it for every bore diameter, closer to the lens for bigger bores, further for small ones. You see a live feed on your monitor in a small window onscreen which you can simply drag to enlarge. Then lock the mirror in place with the lock-nut.

My big problem, as a new user was getting used to the head “flopping about” in the bore, it flaps about going in & out of focus as you maneuver it. I think I'm going to make some kind of sleeve at close to bore dia. to cure this, its bad particularly if you rotate the rod to look around laterally.

Software:

Overly complex for a simple video recording!

You have to create a file, store the (empty) file, set the video up & capture it, THEN you also have to save the captured file or you loose it. There are a few nice options like frame capture rate you can set to your preferences. You MUST create & store a new file name every time you do a capture or when saving a new one it will overwrite the named file. There will be no warning.

I've not found a “View file” option yet, that is done by opening the saved file in any windows video app that supports .AVI files.

What does it show?

EVERYTHING! & at close up high magnification. Its rather disconcerting at first it does look pretty terrifying! Seriously look at a known really nice bore FIRST, then you'll have a frame of reference for all the others.

My really nice No4 Mk2 looks filthy & metal plated, its my best bore & has been meticulously maintained. My No1 MkIII looks like a rusty sewer & that's after cleaning! Visually before I'd have called “Frosted”!

Conclusion:

Its a useful tool if a little clumsily executed, it does let you see things you never knew about for example I'm changing my cleaning methods & running some JB bore paste through both the No1 & The No5, something I don't normally do. Afterwards Ill run the scope through again & see what improvements I've made. The actual scope & its hardware is nice, but the software desperately needs help.

I suffer from a thing called “Primary Tremor” which makes my hands tremble sometimes, its a pain when guiding something like the scope, I did find its easier to push in fully, then pull back to record as it gives a much smoother motion & its easier to run it slowly, which is important. Rotating the scope (which you need to do because of the mirror looking sideways) takes a little practice, the flex shaft in the bore & the external USB is kind of “springy” when doing it.

Would I but it again?

YES! But I'd get some better software to run it now the drivers are installed so the computer recognizes the USB camera.

UPDATED again.

Got the second app (Endoscope camera .exe) working & can now view & Edit with my usual software (Windows Movie Maker) & even post to U-tube now as it also does the MP4 Conversion when I'm done.

This is the firs attempt at the No4 Mk2 bore, Its actually backwards (sorta) as the optic is inserted fully into the breech & fed through to the muzzle, then the recording starts as its withdrawn, so the video is muzzle to chamber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauLAud-jRo" rel="nofollow -

Hmmm let me see if I can fix that.

OK, try now I changed the default setting on U-Tube to "public"

How are these:

Good videos Shamu.  The No4Mk2 looks fresh; with a few copper deposits.

The SMLE looks quite badly pitted with the borescope. How does it look with the naked eye?

How do they compare for accuracy?

The No4 Mk2 looks shiny, spotless & mint.

The SMLE was sold as "frosted" & a visual seems to appear that way too.

Both will do 2 MOA with handloads  if I do my part.

Interestingly I'd thoroughly cleaned the bores of both with my usual M-Pro 7 bore cleaner & copper remover alternating.

The first pass with the borescope was a horror story, there were "blobs" of some kind of black tar-like residue & lots of copper & some rust in the nastier parts. But to the naked eye it looked shiny & clean!

I gave it another clean this time with J-B Bore paste a non-embedding abrasive cleaner. It removed the lot but the patches were a absolutely revolting jet black & saturated!

The main reason I did the test was to see a "good" Vs a "Bad" bore to give myself some kind of base level to judge bores. The high mag of the borescope in super closeup is terrifying the first time. Because of that I wanted a frame of reference.