MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Ah, okay, thanks! I have plenty of capillary tubes on hand, which I use along with a butane torch for stretching glass needles for my diatom-picking machine. Be an interesting change of pace around here to actually use something for its intended purpose! I can see where picking up micro-critters is ...

Man, that first image is just the thing for Mardi Gras. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

I vote for more info on mintakax's "tiny capillary pipettes" and how they're used, preferably with pix.

Sounds wise. AO stuff does go crazy cheap too, for the patient, and is extremely worthwhile equipment in the meantime. Be advised that many of us old AO jocks have acquired several inexpensive stands, picked the best parts, to build one good stand ... because it's affordable ... if we're patient. Yo...

To tell you the truth, I don't remember, sorry. And I'm afraid I can't help you much since that LED system was built for me by a friend who I have not seen in quite a while. And I had him put it together for me because I don't know diddly about electronics myself. It was fun to see this thread again...

I hope you like your TMD as much I do mine - I'm just nuts over it! It instantly became my go-to work horse scope, and still is.

Love the amoeba video, that guy really scoots along, never seen one move like that before.

While not my area of special interest (go Team Diatom!), I always find these threads fascinating, and really enjoy pictures of the process. Keep it coming!

Did the one I sent you also have a cracked collector lens? If it did, it sure escaped my inspection...

I have an AO20 hulk that appears to have an intact collector lens. (I bought it for the lamp holder to use in my AO120.) Email me and I'll send detail pix, addy below in sig line.

Glen is the reigning wizard of the planapo 63x/1.4, I can never understand how he does it.

Interesting thread, great images, really like the oblique view!

Yes, getting a look at a variety of angles is hugely helpful to understanding the architecture of these fascinating forms! Here's an article I found pretty interesting on the very subject:
https://tinyurl.com/u5bchhq

Bob is giving excellent advice. I can only add that a series of three short Youtube videos have inspired several of us to delve more into this fascinating subject.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrhSqu8YCBo

Bob, I'm with you. I've tried a couple of electric centrifuges for diatom cleaning, and have gone back to my good old hand cranked one. I also use the larger 15 ml tubes, incidentally. Love the proliferating crank items -- I still use a hand cranked can opener, also have a hand cranked paper shredde...

Jim! So good to see you - I've been wondering what you were up to lately. Congratz on the new addition, and keeping fingers and toes crossed that it arrives in even better shape than you hoped!

Thanks Glen, I'm getting more comfortable with it now. One thing's for sure - I'm not one to jump to conclusions when it comes to ID.

First: no, I don't mind you or anyone else tweaking my images ('specially you, Glen), I'm here to learn! And you're right, of course, it does look nicer. I never even thought about adjusting the levels so let that be a lesson to me. Funny, I have the same book and saw the same illustration. But I'm ...

I recently came across this very pretty bit of greenery while perusing water from a local pond sample, and thought for sure it must be some Desmid I haven't seen before. But a more experienced friend suggests it's the alga Coelastrum. I can see where he gets his ID, but it still strikes me as a Desm...

Tony Pattinson has recently released the 4th volume of his Freshwater Microscopist series, an informal common sense guide to collecting, handling, and studying the wee life forms found in ponds, rivers, and lakes. Ever wish you had a knowledgeable, experienced mentor for your microscopy hobby? Well,...

Reply sent.

Cool, thanks for posting!

(Wonder what Charles Krebs is up to these days?)

Thanks, 75 - that's perfect.

MichaelG., sorry I was less than clear, but 75RR got us covered so all is well. Thanks again, amigo.

May I respectfully request a distillation of this thread in plain English for us Earth People? Thank you.

75RR is the wizard of the Zeiss 63x/1.4 Planapo for sure. If I ever get back in my lab I may be hitting him up for advice - mine gives me fits!

For whatever it's worth, I obtained a Nikon Diaphot TMD equipped with phase and with DIC from the guy in the eBay ad in the original post, very similar to the one linked to above, and have been past delighted with it. I had tried a couple other inverted scopes but could never quite get comfortable w...

Very cool to see! I guess this means there are at least two in Texas - "Nessy the Tessy" is a marvelous monster that lives in my lab. I could use a better picture of it, however (as with the original Nessy, I suppose).

They are not zip-locked... Indeed, zip-lock bags, commonly assumed to give watertight seal, don't really. I'm an old canoe and kayak instructor among other things, and can't tell you how many sad tales of heartache I've seen and heard about people putting valuables in ziploc baggies only to end up ...

Nicely done - a lovely instrument! I have a Labophot and Diaphot TMD, and can vouch for the very nice phase contrast your Nikon is likely to deliver.

Here's a web site with Nikon info you might enjoy: https://lavinia.as.arizona.edu/~mtuell/ ... heads.html

mintakax, since you're relatively new here I'm unclear on whether you are able to swap PMs or not, so would you please drop me PM, or email? I have a Buddhism-related question I'd like to ask, that's off-topic for this forum.

Fantastic - please keep the desmid images coming! (And yes, please post a picture of the sample bag, sounds interesting.)

Now there's one I'm totally unfamiliar with. Let's look into it and see if we can tag this guy. And you only found one? What size sample and from where - benthic, planktonic, or ? Or were you in the marina scraping mooring lines again? Do keep an eye out for others.