This is an interesting job. I happen to have similar equipmentmicrocosmos wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 6:11 amThe time has come. I'm now considering this full UIS-infinity-compatible conversion that Pete suggested, and it is actually not that difficult as long as the appropriate parts are CAD-designed and CNC machined.PeteM wrote: ↑Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:10 amIt might also be interesting to try a full UIS-infinity-compatible conversion. I don't know much about the polarization analyzer, but I'd assume the tube lens in another f=180 epi head could be removed and then something like a U-TLA tube lens added in place of a trinocular head for direct imaging to a camera. Cost, at least on US ebay, would be around $200 for a spare epi head and a U-TLA tube lens. The glitch would be that costly analyzer. If it's a finite type, the matching lens would have to be (carefully) pulled out to give this a try. If simple polarization is all that's needed for the photos, a good extinction polarizer could probably be fitted under the U-TLA -- just removing the analyzer.
This is the plan:
- remove the existing BH2-era tube lens from the MA2 epi-illuminator. This is simple - just unscrew the upper part of the epi-illuminator, which holds the tube lens, and ditch it.
- design and machine a connecting dovetail to connect the bottom of the analyzer assembly to the top of what remains of the epi-illuminator.
- remove the finite matching lens of the analyzer assembly. We thought this was going to be tricky but actually it's not - the mount holding the lens is actually just screwed onto the rest of the analyzer assembly, so all I have to do is to unscrew it! And machine a replacement mount without the lens, as the mount also contains the female dovetail connector needed to connect stuff above the analyzer.
- machine a dovetail mount to take the SWTLU tube lens, which is sold individually with a M41 threaded mount. Stack this tube lens assembly on top of the analyzer assembly.
And on top of the new tube lens goes the trinocular head, and it's done. The one thing I'm not yet sure of is whether the 151.3 mm focal length of the new tube lens matches distance to the eyepieces of the BH2 head.
I would be grateful for any advice.
I'm just a pure hobby, so I can't give you any useful advice
But please let me bother you with a few questions
1. Is the tube lens of "MA2 epi illuminator" (RLA) green or red?
2. Since the focal length is 180mm, is there any difference between "BH2 era tube" and "SWTLU tube"? Why replace it?
3. I think "fine matching lens" is only used to compensate the pipe length. Why should it be removed?
4. What interests me most is, before that, was the working distance of your UIS objective lens (greater than 40 times) normal?