Should You Buy the Mustool 7 inch LCD Digital Video Microscope?

In this episode, we unbox and test out the Mustool 7 inch LCD Digital Video Microscope.

In the past, one of my favorite things about retro gaming was seeing what sorts of mods I could install to improve the visual quality of the systems. Since my Bells palsy in 2021, however, my vision has been negatively affected and I can no longer see close-up details of PCBs. I've searched for a number of solutions and may have found something in this 7-in digital microscope.

There are a variety of these sorts of devices out there, some that have a 4.3" display, some that feature a 7" display. I wanted a larger display to see more detail so I opted for the 7-in version. There are also two variants of this device, the unit that we have here which only runs off of USB power, and one that is the exact same price & looks identical but also includes a battery.

The overall assembly was fairly straightforward. There's a large, heavy, aluminum base that you thread the height adjuster into, and then you mount the head unit into that adjuster. The retaining screws for the head unit were rubber or plastic-tipped, that way it would not dig into or otherwise Mar the plastic casing of the microscope. The cross bolt that supports where you thread the height adjuster into the base is fairly tight, so you may need to use a little extra oomph to adjust the angle of the microscope.

One of the major is the promise to be able to record to either an onboard microSD card or to your PC via USB cable. No matter what I did, no matter how many SD cards I formatted, no matter how many I bought, this would absolutely not record to my micro SD cards. That was a huge miss. When I tried connecting it to my laptop to capture footage via OBS or Streamlabs OBS, initially all I got was flickering and a distorted image. It took three different USB cables, power cycling my laptop a few times, and some other magic before I could finally get a clean signal. This is definitely not as convenient as I had hoped, and you also lose the functionality of being able to digitally zoom from the device itself.

While it was a pain to set up, and missing features, as a straight-up digital microscope, it actually works quite well. The visuals are clean and clear, although it could also use additional lighting, I was actually able to see terrific detail. I used it to check out my cartridges from Video Games Monthly, and I actually found a blob on one of the games that I didn't see with my bare eyes. I was able to quickly and easily clean that up.

Next up, my Nintendo 64. I was so frustrated when I screwed this system up trying to install a Pixel FX HDMI mod. I just couldn't see well enough and had multiple issues. Through the digital microscope, I was able to see that several pins, while touching the circuit board, were no longer soldered to the pads. I was able to touch up those pins, and I'm thrilled to say that N64 is again in working condition.

Why it Rox:
- 1080p 7-in display.
- Adjustable height.
- 4x digital zoom.
- Can be used as a webcam to record in OBS.

What could be improved:
- Does not record to microSD card.
- Multiple issues connecting to PC for recording.
- No onboard battery.
- Terrible product support from Banggood

Should you buy one?
This device has so much potential, which makes this all the more frustrating for me. I tried half a dozen different microSD cards, and no matter what I did, it would never record or even recognize that they had a card in it. It was also frustrating that it did not have the onboard battery that I thought it did, and even the manual states that it has. I have reached out to Banggood for help, and I don't know that I will ever be able to get this resolved. Using it just as a straight-up digital microscope, it actually does work very well. It could use another set of lights, but beyond that, this is pretty much what I was looking for. But due to the issues of recording, the lack of a battery, and other quirks, I have to say this is definitely a hard pass for now. If the SD card worked, if it had a battery, I would probably have a different opinion.

#Banggood #DigitalMicroscope #Soldering

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)