Reichert Microstar IV any good?

[Deesk]

found a listing from Craigslist, they are selling the microscope for 175 OBO....wondering if it's worth making an offer to them

[Charles]

It's like asking if a certain car is any good...Does it work? What does it come with? What objectives/Condenser. What is the condition? Does the focus work and the mechanical stage? But the Microstar IV did have some electrical issues when they first came out, so make sure the lighting works. Otherwise it all depends on what it comes with and in what condition.

[lorez]

Charles is correct about what he has mentioned. I will add a couple of specifics. First, I like the 410. It has some positive attributes, but it also has a few items that seem to fail with time. The illuminator and its accessories are the main problem. The circuit boards last, seemingly forever, but the daylight filter holder, the ND filter and controls, the field aperture, and the lamp socket are all prone to problems of age. Some are correctable and others are not so easy. Parts are going to be from someone's junk pile. The stage and sub-stage are well built and solid. The focusing mechanism may show some slipping that is hard to correct without a few magic tools.

The good parts are that it is a good quality instrument capable of good images, even at the base model. I think many of the problems of the 110 were corrected in the 410.

The craig's list price makes me think there are probably a few of those "don't know much about microscopes"
issues.

lorez