New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

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b1gzak
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New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#1 Post by b1gzak » Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:26 am

Hello Everybody,

This is an amazing forum you have here, so much information and so much to learn.

I inherited a handful of microscopes, and I was hoping you could help me out with this particular one.

I am brand new to personal microscopy, but I would like to get much more familiar with the hobby. I also teach middle school science (mostly biology) so I figure knowing more about microscopy could definitely benefit my students as well.

All I know about this scope is that it is a Spencer AO 1036A and it has 4 objective lenses (Cat. 1075, 1076, & 1166, and one unmarked.) The head also appears to have an option for a photo tube. I am particularly interested in this because I have a couple Nikon DSLR cameras, and I think it would be really cool to be able to share some photos with my students.

This particular scope was used in a reference lab for hematology work. Would it be a good scope to use for general purposes? Perhaps looking at various tissue samples?

Here is an Imgur album with some pictures of the scope.

https://imgur.com/a/mSfnzfL



I want to thank you for any information or guidance that you can offer me!

BramHuntingNematodes
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Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#2 Post by BramHuntingNematodes » Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:49 am

Whoa looks r ally rad can we those objectives a little better?
1942 Bausch and Lomb Series T Dynoptic, Custom Illumination

b1gzak
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Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#3 Post by b1gzak » Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:17 am

I updated the album with more clearer pictures of the elements. I also see that the condenser has a moveable lens and some sort of diaphragm that I am not familiar with.

Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

https://imgur.com/a/mSfnzfL

apochronaut
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Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#4 Post by apochronaut » Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:27 am

That's a decent condition older series 10. It dates from about 1970, likely earlier. Those were haemotology workhorses and saw a lot of use in labs as a go to microscope. They had a wider field of view than other similar scopes in their day , which is an asset for various lab chores. They were often fitted with a specialized slide called a haemocytometer for blood counts.
The haemocytometer has an unusually thick coverglass of .40mm . The first achromat objective set released by AO for that scope was the 1075 4X, 1076 10X, 1077 20X, 1078 45X and 1079 100X. The objective of choice for using the haemocytometer is in the 40X range but the #1078 45X objective was slightly tight for working distance and was a little sensitive to the overly thick .40 cover glass. They quickly designed another 45X achromat , the #1116, which is more haemocytometer friendly.
Many series 10 microscopes can be found sporting any of 1075, 1076,1077, 1079 objectives along with a 1116 instead of a 1078, indicating the microscope's past use. Cat.#1116 45X objectives outnumber cat.# 1078 45X objectives around 10 : 1, more or less indicating how many if those scopes were used in haemotology.
As a result of the 1116s tolerance for thicker coverslips it is an ideal objective for the routine viewing of cheaper prepared slides, many of which have cover slips so thick that some 40X objectives have trouble focusing on the subject.

The unmarked objective is a mystery and is almost for sure a 160 or 170mm tube length objective. Since your microscope requires a specific infinity corrected type of objective, it is unlikely to give a very good image.

Zuul
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Location: California

Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#5 Post by Zuul » Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:51 am

b1gzak wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:26 am
All I know about this scope is that it is a Spencer AO 1036A
Welcome! A bit of trivia perhaps, but as Apochronaut said, this is an AO Series 10. 1036A is actually the model of Illuminator.
apochronaut wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:27 am
That's a decent condition older series 10. It dates from about 1970, likely earlier.
Are you basing the age estimate on the serial number or something else?

PeteM
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Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#6 Post by PeteM » Thu Jul 16, 2020 2:10 am

The unmarked objective might well be an object marker.

As others have said, it's a nice scope and you do have a trinocular head - near ready for camera use.

BramHuntingNematodes
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Location: Georgia, USA

Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#7 Post by BramHuntingNematodes » Thu Jul 16, 2020 2:19 am

PeteM wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 2:10 am
The unmarked objective might well be an object marker.

Yeah look it's the reappearance of that gruff, workman's knurling.
1942 Bausch and Lomb Series T Dynoptic, Custom Illumination

b1gzak
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Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:01 am

Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#8 Post by b1gzak » Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:01 am

Guys thank you so much for the information. That very likely is an object marker. I am having flashbacks to being in the family lab as a kid and now I totally remember those extra thick slides, some of them marked with circles.

You guys are the best.

Please feel free to share more information if you have it, I need to dig our some old slides and take a peek.

Zuul
Posts: 212
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Location: California

Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#9 Post by Zuul » Thu Jul 16, 2020 4:30 am

One other resource you need to know about is P.S. Neeley’s AO “encyclopedia”. Have you seen it?

https://user.xmission.com/~psneeley/Per ... oscope.htm

apochronaut
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Re: New (old) Microscope (Spencer 1036A)

#10 Post by apochronaut » Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:27 pm

Zuul wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:51 am
b1gzak wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 12:26 am
All I know about this scope is that it is a Spencer AO 1036A
Welcome! A bit of trivia perhaps, but as Apochronaut said, this is an AO Series 10. 1036A is actually the model of Illuminator.
apochronaut wrote:
Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:27 am
That's a decent condition older series 10. It dates from about 1970, likely earlier.
Are you basing the age estimate on the serial number or something else?
Based on a few things. 1970 is the most recent I would put it at. 1966 the oldest. The illuminator was phased out in the early 70's, the serial# is in the 600,000s and the #1116 objective is in there. Probably to be more accurate, it would be 1967 or so.

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