HackSpace_-_April_2020

USB

endoscope

Peer into nooks and crannies

ndoscopes have a scary reputation

because of their medical applications.

However, they are just cameras that

are easy to get into places that are

otherwise difficult to reach. In

medicine, that’s the internals of the

human body but, for makers, that can mean

enclosures that are hard to open, complicated

assemblies, and other nooks and crannies.

We bought an Antscope 7 mm/5.5 mm 1M Mirco

[sic] USB Endoscope 2m 6LED Endoscope Camera

Android Waterproof Pipeline PCB PC Inspection Mini

Camera from Antscope Camera Store on AliExpress

for £3.33, including delivery to the UK.

Using the endoscope was entirely straightforward

for us on Windows. We just plugged it in and the

system detected it as a USB webcam, and we could

use it with any webcam software. There’s a scroll-

wheel on the side of the USB plug that turns the

LEDs around the camera up and down in brightness,

but otherwise, there are no controls.

Our endoscope came with a two-metre cable (a

one-metre option was available), and a full-size USB

plug (micro USB is available for use with phones).

This is a 0.3-megapixel camera – incidentally, it’s a

nice surprise to see a camera accurately claiming its

Using the endoscope was

entirely straightforward for

us on Windows

”

”

E

By Ben Everard @ben_everard

Above

The ring of LEDs

seemed well-matched

to the needs of the

camera, and we were

able to take good

images in both dark

and light situations

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