Professional_Tool_And_Equipment_News_April_2020 - 56

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

Oasis Scientific

Vividia D3145 USB
Articulating Borescope
The reviewer says "the sky
is the limit" with this tool.

The Oasis Scientific Vividia D3145 USB Articulating
Borescope features a 4.5mm diameter camera probe which
is ideal for diesel engines and can be bent from 0 degrees
to 180 degrees. The oil and waterproof insertion tube probe
is protected by braided metal layers, a configuration which
offers strong abrasion resistance. With a USB connection,
the borescope can be connected to Windows, Mac, Android
devices, and iPhones and iPads (with a separate wireless
conversion box). End users can easily take pictures and videos with the free software/app. The D3145 is also ideal for
automotive, diesel engine cylinder, aviation, manufacturing,
and instrument inspections..
Circle 87 on card, or enter at "e-inquiry" on
VehicleServicePros.com

by Kayla Oschmann,
Assistant Editor

THE REVIEW:

nspecting the inside of a small
component and being able to show
the customer visual evidence of the
repair that needs to be made presents
many benefits, especially if the technician doesn't have to disassemble that
component. Matt Fanslow of Riverside
Automotive in Red Wing, Minnesota,
enjoyed using the Oasis Scientific
Vividia D3145 USB Articulating
Borescope for this reason and
many others.
"I really like the very small diameter
(4.5mm) 180-degree articulating probe,"
Fanslow says. "It's small enough to easily
sneak in through glow plug ports to view
within the cylinder, like the top of the
piston, cylinder walls, and valves."
The borescope is ideal for diesel
engines but can be used on a variety of
jobs. He has found burnt valves, a hole in
a piston, and evidence of valve to piston
contact on various vehicles by using this
tool. Not to mention, he also used the
tool to snake up into heater housings to
find leaking heater cores and evaporators, broken air doors, and more.
"The sky is the limit with what you

PTEN

APRIL 2020

can use it for," he says.
"It's one of those tools that
sometimes you forget to use, and [then]
in retrospect think about how much
time you could have saved, or [how you
could have] simply verified a diagnosis
or suspicion."
When the tool arrived, it came in
a sturdy case for easy storage and safe
keeping. It also came with a manual.
Fanslow admits that he is one who
rarely reads the manual that comes with
tools, but in this case, he says it's needed
to understand the proper application to
view the camera image, aside from the
camera being very intuitive to use.
To set up the borescope, Fanslow says
users can simply download and install
the appropriate application, then plug the
unit into a device, and that's it. The setup
is easy, and the tool is extremely easy to
use, Fanslow says.
"It's articulating, so you do have to
sometimes work out your bearings ...

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but that's not the tool's fault or a design
fault," he advises.
In comparison to the Oasis Scientific
Vividia AbleScope VA-800 Borescope
that he owns, Fanslow says the probe
diameter is not only smaller (4.5mm
versus 8.5mm), but the clarity of images when up close is better, making the
D3145 "vastly superior" in his opinion.
The only way to make it better,
according to Fanslow, would be to make
the D3145 fully articulating; however,
Vividia does offer similar products that
have fully articulating capabilities.
O vera l l, Fa nslow fou nd t he
Oasis Scientific Vividia D3145 USB
Articulating Borescope easy to use and
said it is one of those "need-to-havetools" in a professional repair shop.

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Professional_Tool_And_Equipment_News_April_2020

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