Olympus BH2 Trinocular head damaged

[Tailgunner]

I ordered a trinocular head for my BH2 microscope recently through ebay.
Unfortunately it was damaged. There is a slider on this head that moves some glass around, it seems to have two positions.
The left part of the slider is okay, the right part that connects to the small handle has a crack in it.
So my only question is, what is the purpose of this glass slider?

[Tom Jones]

If it was listed as used, send it back as with a crack it's not fully functional and "as described".

The light path selection slider controls the distribution of light between the eyepieces and the camera head. The prisms that move with the slider position are what directs the proper amount of light to the selected ports.

Here's a link to the BHS manual which describes the operation of the BH2-TR30 trinoc head: https://www.alanwood.net/downloads/olym ... manual.pdf

Here's a link to Carl Hunsinger's guide for Complete Teardown, Cleaning, and Reassembly of the Olympus BH2-TR30 Trinocular Viewing Head: https://www.alanwood.net/downloads/olym ... manual.pdf

Both the manual and teardown instructions are on Alan Wood's excellent site.

[PeteM]

You might show a photo of the damage. It's not clear to me if the damage is as simple as the plastic knob on the end of the slider or deeper inside the head.

As Tom says, there's a carrier inside the head, slid one way or the other with a handle, that directs the image to the eyepieces, the trinocular port, and/or some combination of the two. It's common for this slider to have dried grease and move stiffly or not at all.

If you got a bargain on the head, the optics are good, and it's something simple to fix, you might want to keep it.

[Tailgunner]

If it was listed as used, send it back as with a crack it's not fully functional and "as described".

The light path selection slider controls the distribution of light between the eyepieces and the camera head. The prisms that move with the slider position are what directs the proper amount of light to the selected ports.

Here's a link to the BHS manual which describes the operation of the BH2-TR30 trinoc head: https://www.alanwood.net/downloads/olym ... manual.pdf

Here's a link to Carl Hunsinger's guide for Complete Teardown, Cleaning, and Reassembly of the Olympus BH2-TR30 Trinocular Viewing Head: https://www.alanwood.net/downloads/olym ... manual.pdf

Both the manual and teardown instructions are on Alan Wood's excellent site.

It's when the slider is pushed in all the way, so I guess 100% binocular tube that I see the damage. It's like a chip of the glass from the edge to about the center. I got refunded, so that's not the problem, just a pity. Have to look out for another one. I haven't set my microscope up yet (it's in bits and pieces') so I can't say how it effects the view. But the other 2 positions of the slider are okay, no damage there.