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light. Daylight is what we use to "normally" view things. If you're like me,
and have limited color perception (a lot
of men do), you go around everyday
misjudging colors viewed under a variety of artificial lights. The more naturallooking the light, the better you can disIllumination
tinguish gradations in color, hue, conGood illumination plays a key role in trast and texture.
the sucessful use of borescopes.Very
Colors definitely look different when
little illumination may be required to observed with different kinds of light.
look into the interior of a lock case This is why quality camcordersand prothrough a small, shallow, accurately fes-sional video systems usually have
placedhole that hasbeendrilled into the some sort of white balance system to
front of a safe door. Illumination
compensate for dif-ferences in color
becomesmuch more critical when we temperature.
are unfamiliar with the lock or containWhen looking at structures on the
er, or if the causeof the lockout involves inside of a container, through a small
remotely placed locks or relockers. hole, we needall the help we can get to
Another situation where it would be identify compon-ents. Remember, we
advantageousto havelots of light would only get to use one of our senseswhen
be if you were dealing with internal looking through a borescope.The strucmalfunctions of an unknown nature in tures on the inside can be painted,made
large containersor vaults.
of different materials, and will certainThe more "high quality" light, the bet- ly be difficult to seeeven under the best
ter, in these situations. A good quality, of circumstances.Any augmentationto
high-output lightsource and lightguide our senseof sight might make the difis- desirable. I use "high quality" to ference between a smooth, profitable
describelight that is the closestto day- opening and the proverbial "opening
from hell."
Light sources
Tungsten-halogenand quartz-halogen
light sourceswith output rangesof 30 to
150 watts are readily available from a
variety of sources.New, they range in
price from $200-$600. The most common are the ISO-watt halogen variety,
but I've seen them with outputs up to
300 watts. The difference between
quartz and tungsten is mainly one of
color temperature. Tungsten-halogen
tends to produce a much whiter light.
Whiter light provides better illumination and more accuratecolors.
The lamps that are used in both these
types of units are similar to those used
in movie projectors.They are very fragile and expensive.Touching the tube of
the lamp with your hand (resulting in
the deposit of debris and body oils) c;:an
reduce its useful life. Handle lamps by
the ends when installing or replacing
them. Clean lamp fixtures gently and
regularly to remove corrosion and other
deposits.Always keep a sparelamp on
hand.
,.
The intensity of the transmitted light
Julv 2000
PaQe21
--.-:E...
Safec&Vault
FIBUOPTIC 'KOBE
able in lengths of 6-8 feet, three different diameters (6-13 rom), and two different types.The first type usesa a large
glass fiberoptic bundle. The secondis a
tube filled with a special liquid that has
fiberotic properties. (See Illustration.)
The liquid type carries light more efficiently, is less prone to yellowing over
time, and is less susceptibleto damage
(from being over-stressedor steppedon)
that would inhibit its light carrying ability. They are more expensive,but in my
opinion they are worth the extra cost.
At either end of the light guide are terminators that allow firm attachmentto
the lightsource and scope,respectively.
Adapters are sometimes required on
either end to connect the light guide to
dif-ferent brands of light sources and
scopes.The most common type of conLight guides
A fiberoptic light guide (some-times nector used in the industry is "ACMI."
called a light cable) is usedto carry the Adaptors are usually provided (either as
light from the sourceto the scope.One part of a kit or as an optional accessory)
by the various
light-source, lightguide and scope
I manufacturers, to
adapt their equipment to other
maker's
equipment.
Page22
~~
or lessis not uncommon.With the inclusion of tip articulation, you can seethat
this can be very useful in a lot of situations.
Articulation
Flexible scopesmay also contain a set
of lever controls in the head which are
connectedto thin cablesthat run within
the length of the probe. These cables
connectto and control movementof the
tip so that you can easily guide the
scopepast obstructionsand also so that
it is possibleto view objects to the side
and even to the rear without incorporating a prism or mirror to change the
direction of view.
This is called an articulating tip (see
photo). Four way articu-Iation (very
desirable)allows movementof the tip in
four directions (up, down, right and
left).
With the addition Qf an assortmentof
guide tubes,flexible scopescan be used
in much the same manner as rigid
borescopes and also in ways rigid
scopescouldn't possibly be used.Guide
tubes are nothing more that thin-walled
tubing with an inner diameter slightly
larger than the outer diameter of the
probe. With the proper bending equipment, they can be bent smoothly into
any needed shape to facilitate guiding
the probe to the target and then holding
it there. These can be made up in
advanceor fashionedon-site to whatever shapeis required.
Although much more resistantto damage than rigid borescopes,extreme or
repeatedflexion of the probe (especially beyond the recommended bend
July 2000
Page23
SECURITY
LOCK COMPANY-
SECURITY
LOCK COMPANY.
Page24
Safe& Vault
radius)
can
typesdescribed
result in broken
above,
frefibers. These
I quent-ly come
broken fibers
up for sale on
do not relay
the milit-ary
that particular
surplus market.
segmentof the
Brand
name
image.
This
flexibles
shows up as
including
very tiny black
Olympus,
dots in the
Schott, Wolf
viewed image
andLennoxare
View of a CKH through a flexible borescope with less than 15% broken fibers
available at less
(See photo).
. than half their
With
proper.
care, main-tenoriginal cost.
ance, and storage, these scopes can These scopesusually come on the surprovide years of useful and profplus market due to facility closures,puritable service.
chasing errors, excess stock and
changesin military specific-ations.The
Used and surplus flexibles
largest user of these types of scopesis
Although the small defects,men- the U.S. Air Force. They are routinely
tioned earlier, may be cause for usedfor disassembly-freeinspectionsof
replacementof borescopesusedfor aircraft air framt?,~,power plants and
critical medical and mechan-ical other critical systems.
inspection purposes,a few broken
A lot of these scopes have a probe
fibers here and there are not too diameter of half an inch or more.
significant when viewing the interi- Obviously, drilling a 5/S-inch hole in a
or of a safeor lock. Medical scopes TL-30X6 is going to be more work than
which have lost the ability to be is desired. Try to locate used scopes
sucessfully sterilized (due to dam- with small probe diameters (less than
age to the outer sheath), but still 5/l6-inch) to minimize the neccessity
retain their optical and mechanical for drilting larger holes in tough materiattributes,are an alternative source als. Guesswhat! Quality flexibles with
of barg-ain flexible scopes.
probe diameters of less than 5/16-inch
This is why usedborescopesthat tend to be the most expensive.
are no longer suitable for use in
If you had to aquire a brand new one
these fields make an excellent from a regular dealer, you'd pay
choice for the lock-smith or between six and ten thou-sanddollars.
safetechon a budget.Theseflawed The surplus Olympus I purchased
but perfectly serv-iceable scopes recently was only $695.00.
are routinely sold for only a small
In part 3 of this article series,I will be
fraction of their original cost. On talking about accessories,adjuncts and
the other hand, unrepairablefocus- video systemsthat are used in conjuncing difficult-ies, an excessivenum- tion with both rigid and flexible scopes.
ber of broken fibers (>15 percent), These optional items are designed to
or an excessiveamount of yellow- overcomecertain physical problemsand
ing (due to fiber age), may be a limitations that are encounteredin the
very good reason to pass on what field when using any scopesystem,and
otherwise looks like a "bargain" also to maximize operator comfort.
scope. These repairs may out- Othersenableremote viewing or modiweigh any cost advanatagein buy- fy and enhancethe image quality. .
ing "used". It may not be possible
to repair certain types of damageat
About the Author: Ken Doyle lives in San
all. The problem is what is Francisco, California. He is an establishedwriter
for S&V1:
.
repairable,and what isn't?
Brand new flexible scopesof the
I