seldom used

Status
Not open for further replies.
Location
NE (9.06 miles @5.9 Degrees from Winged Horses)
Occupation
EC - retired
I bought one of those cameras a few years ago that has the lens on a 3' extension. First one went TU within a month or two. It was replaced by mfg & hasn't been used for a year or more.

Went fishing for the local cable provider in 2 story apt house. One of the old RG59 cables had failed and needed to be replaced. Owner informed them no additional cables or conduits exposed on the exterior of the building. That left the cable installers at a loss. To make it short we dropped fishsticks along the edge of the dryer vent that went from attic to basement laundry room. It didn't quite make it down to where we had hoped so I cut a 4" hole in a soffit made for the water lines. Stuck camera in past the water lines, through bat insulation to far corner of duct, had attic man raise rod and turn it until I could see hole in end of rod. A 2' piece of 12 solid went in and after a verbal encouragement or two hooked it right thru the eye. Felt like a surgeon doing microscopic surgery. We could not see the rod and could not have gotten our hand through the maze of pipes. The camera finally was worth the cost. We also used a TDR to find the original cable fault. A nail through it.

Three guys, 5 hrs each plus a couple hours patching & cleanup. Hope they think the cost was worth it.
 

dhalleron

Senior Member
Location
Louisville, KY
Good story.

I work with some security system installers that keep telling me they can't get a wire somewhere, so they use wireless devices. I guess since they don't make a wireless duplex receptacle I never believed I couldn't get a wire somewhere. I always tried even though sometimes it just didn't work out. I'll use pipe or wire mold as a last resort.

I?ve used mirrors plenty of times. If I had a snake camera I would be a wire fishing fool.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Felt like a surgeon doing microscopic surgery. We could not see the rod and could not have gotten our hand through the maze of pipes. The camera finally was worth the cost.

they are cheap enough now at under $200 for a basic one, that there really is no reason not
to have one.... i dropped the dime on a ridgid micro explorer that can accept extensions up
to 30' or so, and can do a seesnake up to 200'. it's at the upper end of the price range, but
has saved my butt on a couple occasions. i've got 30' of extension, and a small camera head
that will fit thru a 3/8" hole

the thing i want that nobody makes, is an insulated one that can be used to inspect inside of
live gear. i'd give some decent folding money for a cat IV 3' camera to fit on the micro explorer.

i haven't figured out why someone hasn't made a bluetooth camera that you could tape on
the end of a snoodle stick that would stream the image directly to a smart phone......
 

K8MHZ

Senior Member
Location
Michigan. It's a beautiful peninsula, I've looked
Occupation
Electrician
See Snake is one of my favorite tools.

HO Complaint: No power to basement receptacle in one area. Much of the basement had a dropped ceiling so I could physically trace the NMS for the most part. I got to the wall and would could see no farther because of the structure. I knew I was close because I had power just about to where I was.

I fired up Snaky and followed the cable. When I got over one wall, I saw part of the cable chewed through. There was also a crayon, parts of plastic toys and other odd things.

I got the HO and told him I located the break in the wire, but I was curious as to how all the other stuff got in the wall space and showed him the image on the camera's screen.

He got kind of a pale look on his face and said, 'The hamster'.

I guess one of their pet hamsters escaped a couple months earlier and hadn't been seen since.

:p

I was using it to check my furnace intake ducts for dirt one day and got to a point where I was looking at storage shelves in the basement. Huh??? Sure enough, part of the ductwork was open to the basement and not visible from there.

What I don't like is having to use three hands. It would be nice if you could sit the monitor down and use both hands to maneuver the camera. Sometimes I'll have an assistant hold the monitor end for me.
 

George Stolz

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
Occupation
Service Manager
I prefer the $2 solution in most cases:

558459_lg.jpg


I've played with a couple of cameras, but never really got the same results. I can imagine there's quite a few times they come in handy. :)
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
I prefer the $2 solution in most cases:

558459_lg.jpg


I've played with a couple of cameras, but never really got the same results. I can imagine there's quite a few times they come in handy. :)

yep... got one of those.... use it.... discovered something that works well too, for those who
have smartphones ala the iphone with facetime chat.

that front camera on the phone makes a pretty awesome dentists mirror.. has a light, and if you
want a picture, there is that too... as long as you don't drop your $400 dentists mirror down the
wall... :happysad:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top