MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Thanks for sharing your journey with us Littlejackal, you've built a very nice 'scope there!

Could the spare lens you mention be the Auxiliary Condenser? It's swung into the light path to fully illuminate field when using the lower magnification objectives (10x)?

Michael

Thanks 75RR.
BTW, the Sunshine Coast we are most often confused with is the one in Queensland.
Michael

And of course there's always a good chance that you might finding Haematococcus and . This was in a sample from a neighbours birdbath last month. The high level of astaxanthin evident from the red colour of the resting cells followed the very warm spell BC experienced that month. This sample was ima...

Thanks John, would Histo I or II make any difference as I have neither at present?
Michael

I occasionally use Brunel Numount when making permanent slides but over time it becomes too viscous, so i buy fresh. Warming the bottle on a coffee cup heating pad helps but not enough. Is it possible to thin Numount and if so what with?
Thanks
Michael

I have a pair of Olympus CDPlan positive phase objectives, an LWD CDPlan 20 PL and an ULWD CDPlan 40 PL that I rarely use these days. They are 160 / 0-2 objectives that had been used previously on an inverted stand. Both are in excellent condition and the collars move smoothly. I would like to swap ...

I only need the reflector of course, is this one interchangeable with the Carl Zeiss H-Pl one shown above?
Thanks

I’m in the process of adding an EPI illumination system to my Carl Zeiss GFL. I have the H-PL reflector already (image attached) and I’m reasonably happy with the results so far. I would really like to maximize the versatility of the system by adding the H-PR-POL and/or the Reflector D and am wonder...

Lorez, that was a dramatic announcement! I know what you mean by "accumulating microscopes" though. Do you mean that you won't keep any instruments at all? If you do proceed with the sale then an item that I'm looking for is a BH2 trinoc superwidefield head. Mine is damaged (severe mis-collimation) ...

Yes it is!
michael

Saul, that would be great, thanks. I'll PM you my details.

Michael

I'm using the same Nikon Labophot Abbe 1.25 Condenser that was illustrated in the original article.

I do have your kit for darkfield/oblique and that works very well, but I also need a standalone 20x insert for another application, hence my request!
Thanks

Michael

Can anyone tell me whether the MXA20495 33mm filter holders are still available anywhere? These are key elements in Cark Hunsingers' design of a darkfield adapter for the Nikon Labophot condensers. I only need one to complete my set but all the sites I've looked at state "No longer available". I cou...

I find this online key very useful, not specifically for the UK, but of general usefulness as many organisms are widely distributed. Created by A.L.Baker at Univ. New Hampshire.
http://cfb.unh.edu/phycokey/phycokey.htm
Michael

I have a pair of Leitz Wetzlar phase objectives that I never use, my equipment is now Carl Zeiss and Olympus and these Leitz objectives are the odd ones out. They are a Pv WE 22:1 A 0.60 and a Pv WE 50:1 h A 0.70, both are 170/- of course. The WE indicates Water Immersion and the 170/- indicates for...

Brent, I've sent you a Private Message
Michael

As I mentioned earlier, when the polariser is under the stage and the anaylser is in the trinoc head, I can get total extinction. Using the same film, but placing it in the epi light path, I get only partial extinction, almost as if a retarder plate is in the path. Same effect whether LED or Tungste...

Thanks for your responses John and Hobbyst46. I've been doing some further investigating and I now realise that in my original image I had identified the field diaphragm and the iris diaphragm incorrectly, their functions were reversed. I did look for the leaflet suggested by Hobbyst46 with no luck ...

EMMA - I still have my "evolved" version all these years later, I replaced the discrete components of the original design with a Rug Warrior MC68H system and changed the motors too but usually included the AgNO3 cell. I always turned my nose up at the "pseudo-random" digital generators in other robo...

I recently obtained a Carl Zeiss Epi Condenser/Illuminator system for my GFL body and am learning how to use its various components. The condenser I have id the H_PI and the objectives are EpiPlan HD’s. Illumination has been converted to LED. I think I have identified the darkfield slider (1), the N...

John, unfortunately scuddlebut do not ship to Canada or the US due to some insurance issues however I have been able to source the Fast Green powder from a US supplier now. As far as these stains being sometimes supplied dissolved in Cellosolve, is that an impediment for botanic staining? Thanks mic...

John, these images just keep getting better, thanks for pushing the boundaries for us!

I've been looking for a supplier for Fast Green and see that Brunel carries it in Cellosolve, is this a suitable medium for the counterstaining you do?

Michael

John, talking about intriguing lichen , there’s a good chapter devoted to Lichen in Merlin Sheldrake’ recently published book about Fungi - “Entangled Life”. In a chapter called “The Intimacy of Strangers” he explores the puzzles that are posed by the lichens. It was my reading of this chapter,in a ...

Is it possible to tighten the inter-pupillary distance adjustment on an American Optics 110 trinoc head? I have had my unit in storage for a year or two and when I tried to use it today I discovered that the two eyepieces holders will not hold the inter pupillary distance that I set and they slide b...

John, welcome to the thread, I'm looking forward to hearing about your ongoing explorations! Here's an image of the foliose lichen that I was looking at. I believe it is a Lobaria sp., a cyanolichen, common in the coastal cedar/hemlock forests in British Columbia. My sections were 1 cm pieces taken ...

Bob, I haven't tried PEG, it's not easy to get in modest quantities and I'm finding that the 100% glycerine soap works very well. Glad to learn that your soap experiments seem to have been successful too. I tried your suggestion and loaded the cover slips for 24 hrs after mounting in glycerine jelly...

Bob thanks for the glycerine soap idea> , I decided to try it out and found a random variety (BODYSENSE Jasmine) that melted in a dish on a coffee cup warmer. I diluted the soap by adding 30% liquid glycerin and poured the mix over the lichen. The lichen had been previously fixed in FAA and rested i...

Bob, you've inspired me to have another run at these lichens and I think I'll try you soap idea as part of the project! We don't have any glycerine soap at hand at present so i'll try to find some tomorrow, I'll report back on results of course. I'm interested to hear whether the Histowax did the tr...

Thanks Bob and John for your responses, I took a look at the Schoemmer pdf, it’s certainly quite a tome! Eventually I decided to use Lactophenol CB (LCB) and Fuschin-Chrysoidine-Alcian Blue (FCA) for staining the foliose lichen. I’m very much a novice at all aspects of sectioning and staining but th...

I plan on examining some foliose forest lichen sections and I'm wondering what stains are being used for this? I have seen online references to lactophenol cotton, iodine and Meltzers reagent being used and I will probably try all of these. Are there other recommendations that have proven to be part...