Ridgid microEXPLORER Digital Inspection Camera
Jan. 30, 2009 — To dream the impossible dream ... To reach the unreachable stair. Or crawlspace. Or that spot behind the boiler where you just know you hear something banging or — you hear that? making that "ka-dunk, ka-dunk, ka-dunk" sound? What is that? We can't quite reach our head in enough to see it, so what're we gonna do? Unbolt the boiler and move it a few inches? I don't think so.
No, at times like these, you need remote viewing. And among your options along those lines, one of the newest devices is this handheld digital camera from the Ridge Tool Company subsidiary of Emerson Electric.
The microEXPLORER — part of the 85-year-old company's Ridgid brand of plumbing, electrical and HVAC tools —has a three-foot camera cable (expandable to 30 feet with optional extensions) bearing a scratch-resistant sapphire lens and four adjustable, high-intensity LEDs that capture images on the 3.5-inch color LCD. (See below.) You can then save them as high-resolution (1280 x 1040) JPG images or as live AVI video, through the camera's USB connection and SD-card compatability.
A 3x digital zoom lets you get close to areas just out of the camera head's reach, and a pan / tilt control let you move the camera up, down, left and right. Three included attachments are a hook, to grab and retrieve objects; a magnet, to pick up metal objects; and a mirror, which allows you to see around corners. The whole magilla is waterproof up to 10 feet, according to the company, so you can use it to, say, inspect a flooded basement for the source of a leak.
Mr. Bob Vila, we're ready for our close-up!
Ridge Tool Company • 400 Clark Street, P.O. Box 4023, Elyria, Ohio 44036-2023 • (440) 323-5581 • toll-free (800) 4-RIDGID • E-mail contact form here