LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

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stjepo
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LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#1 Post by stjepo » Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:29 am

Could this Illuminator be a good idea to replace the current one for the NIKON LABOPHOT 2 MICROSCOPE? It has a dimmer also.
ILUMINADOR.jpg
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dimmer.jpg
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sin foco peq.jpg
sin foco peq.jpg (46.83 KiB) Viewed 7871 times

Hobbyst46
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Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:02 pm

Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#2 Post by Hobbyst46 » Thu Dec 19, 2019 12:14 pm

Intersting. Here is a link to a "family" of similar illuminators:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Coaxial-Sp ... cdPTsF8wjQ

1. They all have a lamp aperture of 6 mm - the 13mm is external diameter, they offer several tube thicknesses.
2. Has no collimator (seemingly). Not sure what fraction of the beam reaches the mirror. Not sure that it can provide Kohler illumination.
3. The dimmer might be a PWM so liable to produce banding in camera images.
4. The LED itself is 3W or at the most 5W - I doubt that it can give anything above basic brightfield. Especially considering the distance from the lamp to the mirror.
5. Color temperature is 6500K, bluish white, so will be acceptable depending on personal taste.

On the other hand, it is a low cost option... 1/5 - 1/7 the price of other microscope LED retrofits on the market... possibly better than just sticking a flashlight into the scope base port.
I would prefer a halogen fiber optic lamp, but they are hard to find at such prices, not to mention shipping costs.
So thanks for pointing out this option.

stjepo
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Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#3 Post by stjepo » Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:48 pm

Hobbyst46, could you show me a link to the 'halogen fiber optic lamp'. Thank you.

Regads

Hobbyst46
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Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#4 Post by Hobbyst46 » Thu Dec 19, 2019 3:02 pm

stjepo wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:48 pm
Hobbyst46, could you show me a link to the 'halogen fiber optic lamp'. Thank you.
What I had in mind was, for example, a 30W halogen source like this from Dolan Jenner:
Lamp house:
https://spectraservices.com/product/dol ... e-190.html
Fiber:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dolan-Jenner-B ... SwrxpdxhpL
Lens (optional):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dolan-Jenner-2 ... Swo~dcfrBS
Used Model 190 are found on eBay. There are other quality brands but cannot remember names. many of the fibers have an internal diameter of 1/4" or 6mm.
1-2 yrs ago I borrowed and tried a quite similar illuminator (not Dolan Jenner) with my microscope and the result was very nice. They are actually aimed at stereo microscopes but are useable with compounds as well. If the light beam is less than satisfactory, the lens can be added to rectify. The outer diameter should be verified against the diameter of the port in the microscope.

Here is another option, Model 180, excellent 200W unit, I used one like this but not with a microscope :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/MVI-Dolan-Jenn ... 3232571425?

or:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323945223049
I would snatch one of those, if shipping was less costly...and I do not know if power is 110V or can accept 220-240V...

Just for fun, see this one, it is being shipped in its own trans-atlantic flight, escorted by airforce airplanes:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/193237042051

photomicro
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Location: UK

Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#5 Post by photomicro » Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:09 pm

Why do you need to replace the original?

stjepo
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Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#6 Post by stjepo » Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:31 pm

Really interesting light sources, I was recommended also the following:
recomendada.jpg
recomendada.jpg (85.06 KiB) Viewed 7816 times
recomendadad 02.jpg
recomendadad 02.jpg (128.95 KiB) Viewed 7816 times

stjepo
Posts: 317
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Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#7 Post by stjepo » Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:34 pm

Photomicro, no special reason I would like to learn about different sources of light for the DF, PH etc....

Hobbyst46
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Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:02 pm

Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#8 Post by Hobbyst46 » Thu Dec 19, 2019 7:39 pm

The ring light cannot replace the original light sources of the Labophot IMO.

MichaelG.
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Location: North Wales

Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#9 Post by MichaelG. » Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:16 pm

Hobbyst46 wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 12:14 pm
Intersting. Here is a link to a "family" of similar illuminators:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Coaxial-Sp ... cdPTsF8wjQ

1. They all have a lamp aperture of 6 mm - the 13mm is external diameter, they offer several tube thicknesses.
2. Has no collimator (seemingly). Not sure what fraction of the beam reaches the mirror. Not sure that it can provide Kohler illumination.
.
Reference your (2) ... do you have any suggestion what they might mean by this [from the description]
Effective optical distance: 15MM
Effective optical path: 10MM
:?:

MichaelG.
Too many 'projects'

Hobbyst46
Posts: 4277
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:02 pm

Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#10 Post by Hobbyst46 » Fri Dec 20, 2019 8:03 am

MichaelG. wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:16 pm
Hobbyst46 wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 12:14 pm
Intersting. Here is a link to a "family" of similar illuminators:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Coaxial-Sp ... cdPTsF8wjQ

1. They all have a lamp aperture of 6 mm - the 13mm is external diameter, they offer several tube thicknesses.
2. Has no collimator (seemingly). Not sure what fraction of the beam reaches the mirror. Not sure that it can provide Kohler illumination.
.
Reference your (2) ... do you have any suggestion what they might mean by this [from the description]
Effective optical distance: 15MM
Effective optical path: 10MM
:?:

MichaelG.
Michael, I like your question ! My hypothesis is as follows:
I think that the "optical" distances are somehow related to the mechanical external dimensions of the "sprout". Maybe 10 mm is related to the length of the tip and 15 mm is related to the distance to the next shoulder (end of heat sink).
I believe that the LED is seated near the end (or top if you point the light beam upwards) of the heat sink. Then comes a tube of 6mm inner diameter and a selection of outer diameters. Is there room for lenses ? would they produce a selection of lens diameters to install within the tube ? that is why I guess that there are no lenses. I might be wrong.

photomicro
Posts: 207
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:28 am
Location: UK

Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#11 Post by photomicro » Fri Dec 20, 2019 11:15 am

stjepo wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:34 pm
Photomicro, no special reason I would like to learn about different sources of light for the DF, PH etc....
Hi Steve


On this model, the existing filament is fairly close to a disc of glass in front of the collector lens. I presume you have found the insert that can hold two filters underneath, further along the light path. This may have a diffuser disc in, sometimes of a honey-comb appearance that is sometimes described by some as 'fish-eyes'.

Ideally, any LED should be able to be placed close, be of a reasonable size, and not have any optics in front of it. The metal plate that is exposed when you take the plastic cover off, is magnetic, so this is often used by folk to hold the led light in the right place, and to allow some centering capability.

Not sure an LED is going to make any difference to your lighting, other than being a different wavelength. If it isn't quite right, it will be worse. I realise you can power using batteries, and they last longer, but unless your current halogen is too weak...not sure what you will gain. Also, depending on the circuit used, you can get banding on your photographs.

I have a Labophot II still, though it is soon to be sold, and have experience of the halogen lighting, a home-made LED and a commercial one for this model.

Mike

NinetySix
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#12 Post by NinetySix » Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:24 am

It doesn't look like the illuminator in the OPs link would be much fun to adapt to a labophot 2.

I had very good results converting my labophot 2 to LED illumination using a free xm-l2 u2 "star" mounted diode, I ordered a natural 4000k and cool 6000k (from memory) and much preferred the cool.

I found a significant increase in image quality with led over the original halogen that it came with, however it may have been a coincidence in that I may have inadvertantly fixed something that was affecting image quality during the conversion, which I did not long after purchasing the scope in March of last year. I have since learnt a lot about properly configuring & aligning a microscope. There may well be more reasons not to convert the halogen to led than those in favour, but in my case I can only say that after quite a lot of tinkering, experimenting and failing, my labophot 2 is performing vastly better at everything with an led compared to when it still had a halogen lamp.

If you don't mind a little diy with basic hand tools, a drill (pedestal/bench drill ideally), holesaw and of course the electronics to drive the led while keeping the smoke safely contained within the diode, then why haven't you made a start already :D

I will create a seperate thread with more details and photos soon, for what it's worth.


Cheers

photomicro
Posts: 207
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:28 am
Location: UK

Re: LABOPHOT 2 EXTERNAL ILLUMINATOR

#13 Post by photomicro » Fri Feb 07, 2020 10:12 am

Because the metal plate that houses the collector lens (shown in Steve's picture) is magnetic, you can use this fact to hold whatever is housing your LED.

Shown below is just a repurposed lamp tube (from an old Olympus I think) with a Cree LED inside. There is a small neodymium magnet glued to the from of this, making it attach strongly to the plate.

The adjustment pins on the lamp housing help centre the LED within the housing, but centring is easy enough once attached, as the magnet will slide on the plate.

Hope this helps.



labo lamp.jpg
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