MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Turns out the issue was the light bulb. I got a few different light bulbs and they worked much better. Still can't tell whether it's better with the lid screwed on the condenser or off. But it works both ways now that I got a new bulb in there.

Good deal.

Would a .7 NA condenser be a better fit for my situation?

I'm thinking the one I have might be better for someone else who has the special need.

I believe my light source could be the culprit also. The guy I got it from fabricated the light. Not sure how the original Dickson was. Cannot find much on the web for it. I may want to get a mirror back on it.

Well...I tried to do some side by side comparisons and it seemed better without that cap. But, I probably should do some comparisons using the digital camera. See if it makes a difference with that.

OK...that makes sense since there is a 2x internal element...meaning everything is pretty high power.

No lens in the stage.

The top condenser is from the new older microscope. The bottom one is from the Triocular and it has a little piece that screws on top. One issue I have is, I was having trouble centering the condenser with the centering screws. I had to shim it to get it centered. I think it needs a spacer for the c...

I had hashimotos. To help get it under control take 200mcg selenium supplement a day for a couple months, then taper off to once or twice a week, do the same with some good quality fish oil. Take magnesium glycinate before bed or whenever you want. Finally, go gluten free & lower carbs a bit or a l...

I got another microscope which has a mirror for illumination. I find I have less floater issues using the mirror and daylight. I put this new microscope on the Dickenson setup my other microscope is on and the floaters were back. So it appears to be related on how I illuminate the microscope. I'm go...

I'll take some photos of the condensers when I get home from work. I'll need to get some sort of illuminator for the mirrored microscope. But I do like it so far. I had to do some work to get smoother movements. It's still not perfect, but it's quite useable. The Triocular has pretty smooth movement...

I ended up getting another microscope (a 1930s B&L) for cheap on ebay. I'll post about that one on some other threads eventually. It made me realize that the condenser was a bit of the issue with this microscope. Unscrewing the cap thing on the condenser and removing it helped with the image. I'm no...

since some parts of my scope were not correct. I figure I should ask about the condenser. It says on it: achromat 8.9mm 1.40 N.A slide 1.5-1.6mm B&L Optics USA

Is that OK?

Don't worry, microscope technique is a wide and difficult field, but you don't have to be an expert to start working with the microscope. Your lamp base probably had a lamp socket when new, that places the filament in the right spot. They tend to get lost when power supply and microscope are separa...

My 7 year old really enjoys it.

My other thought is I have a 10x and 30x stereo microscope that covers low power. So I don't probably need to worry as much on a lower power.

It's a shame the scope wasn't properly outfitted to start with. But I do like it.

I am learning a bit, but it's a bit much to understand so far. But I am happy I have reasonable eyepieces in the 10x I got. They don't have much eye relief so no need for an eye cup. The nicer 10x 22mm are not available yet at a decent price. I've probably spent enough now as it is. But I have a few...

These are the new eyepieces. The 10x isn't as nice a wide field, but it's obviously a better fit magnification wise. Still, the 15x seems to work also. The original 10x stereo eyepieces were not giving proper magnification. They were closer to the 15x ones. I'll probably keep an eye open for others....

I am having a hard time understanding the N.A thing. With telescopes it's all about exit pupil and atmospheric conditions. Assuming perfect conditions you can push the power quite high without breakdown in image. And of course aperture plays a factor. I have 10x wf arriving today, so hopefully that ...

These are 15x wf. I got them pretty cheap...but unfortunately one of them has a tiny scratch in the middle. At low power it's fine, but at high power it's pretty obvious. I find these are quite immersive. They remind me of a telescope eyepiece called the 28mm RKE which has a similar design and a ton...

I picked up some normal 15x eyepieces (the normal ones) and they do seem to do a better job. I have 10x ones on the way also.

Only issue is there is pretty long eye relief, so keeping the image steady is a little tricky. Are there good eyecups for these normal eyepieces that can be bought?

The lamp itself is an improvised setup. The mirror is in there though. It has a 15 watt halogen bulb in it. You can adjust brightness by pulling it in and out.

Thanks for the information. Very helpful. I did notice the 43x objective seems a bit not useful. I'll look for a 3.5. I did see some of the 22mm wf for cheap but looked a bit damaged. And the expensive ones also. The 2x is a bit of a shame, but I have a stereo scope that gives 10x and 30x. So I'll u...

one sort of not great thing is it has a 2x tele-extender inside. so everything is 2x normal

The low power one is not part of the same set. But the rest look like they were original. I took an extra photo of the B&L name to give you and idea of age. https://www.cloudynights.com/uploads/gallery/album_10508/gallery_12966_10508_548257.jpg https://www.cloudynights.com/uploads/gallery/album_1050...

Yes...I was considering looking in my gutter for micro-meterorites...could be a fun thing to look for.

How can I figure out what the correct eyepieces are? Can you direct me to an image or ebay posting? Thanks for your help. I paid $200 for it, so maybe a bit much but it is in good shape in general. I'd be interested in the darkfield setup also. Below is what this one is: https://www.cloudynights.com...

Yes...it's much easier. With astronomy you need 1) clear skies 2) the right atmosphere 3) no moon (unless looking at the moon) 4) little wind 5) dark skies if you really want to see things...etc. And of course, being winter it's a bit tough to do even if the sky was clear. I think the two hobbies fi...

I am new to microscopy, but have been doing telescopes for 15+ years. I knew I had some eye floater issues when using small refractors with small exit pupils at high magnifications. One time I even thought I had a defective eyepiece, but it turned out to me my floaters. In astronomy, these are mostl...

I am new to microscopy and picked up a classic B&L compound microscope (pictured below). My question is, am I missing anything using a scope of this age? I believe it is from the 1950s + or - 10 years. Everything seems to work well so it's more about any changes in optics etc. https://www.cloudynigh...

Just started to get into microscopy. I've been into telescopes for many years, and always wanted to get into microscopy. My daughter bought me some meteorites and I decided to get a stereo microscope. It's been really cool. I figured I'd get a compound microscope also and got an older B&L triocular....