MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Mike, . . .

On edit: oops missed Charles' post above as I had this page open for the morning. Cancel the offer. Looks like you're already good.

If you live near an industrial area, surplus equipment dealers might have incident light microscopes.

. . . Many, and probably most microscopes, made after about 1870 or so were capable of producing high quality images, with resolution approaching or equal to that of at least a good quality modern lab microscope. . .. Could be I came down too hard on the usability of $150 late 1800's scopes. But, w...

A bit depends on whether it is the antique look you want or a functional microscope. Because physicians sometimes have a microscope-collecting hobby, true 100+ year old antique scopes in good shape tend to be expensive. Also not especially optically good compared to scopes after, say, WWII. I've rec...

High quality incident light microscopes are often available at lower cost than fitting your microscope. One reason is that the semiconductor industry used them for wafer inspection. I've picked up relatively modern (1980's) Olympus BHM and Nikon Labophot models, complete with four high quality no-co...

Thanks, Apo. I was planning to use the later DIN optics.

I might add that the Leica DMLS manual lists Leica HC PL Fluotar and HC PL Apo lenses as upgrades for the C, C Plan, and N plan lenses. I assume the C Plan lenses my scope came with are semi-plan. The point of this is that the only official word I could find from Leica is that only the HCX lenses ar...

. . . I'm unclear why you would need to put a Microstar head on the DMLS, Pete? The tube lens in the Microstar IV head would have the same corrections as the tube lens in the DM head, if the AO/Reichert optics work well on the DMLS. If you want to use the short AO infinity objectives , then you wil...

A quick update, in case others have similar issues. On my scope, the rack is visible from the vents, but not accessible. After going in through the bottom (the illuminator assembly is in the way), I had an "aha." Turns out the stage height can be adjusted by running it all the way down (clearing the...

I've just acquired a new-to-me (used) Leica DMLS microscope. While the scope looks in good shape, the stage comes several mm short of raising to full height. The objectives need to get that several mm closer to be in focus. Anyone know how to adjust this? It isn't covered in the on-line manual I fou...

It's not a valuable microscope, but should be quite usable and fun for anyone who wants to understand the world at a scale 10x-1000x smaller than we'd usually see . A web search should get you information on cleaning and a $15 or so microscope cleaning kit will provide the brush, blower, lens tissue...

Unitron made a lot of toolmaker's scopes, which tend to have longer working distances.

FWIW, Akashi metallurgical lenses are 210mm and (in my experience of a 40x) of both good Japanese quality and of LWD. Might find one cheaper than the Olympus equivalent??

Another note of thanks . . . THANKS!

Just a note of thanks. I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing the results of your experiments with both LED lamps and the monochromator.

No problem . . . even the diversions on this forum are informative and welcoming.

Just to follow up, I ended up buying an Olympus CHA microscope (for short barrel Olympus lenses) for the Lomo water immersion etc. lenses. It's will be an easy modification to raise the stage, and the condenser rack looks to have enough range to follow the stage up just by altering the stop. The foc...

If what you have in hand are circular polarizers (more common for camera use) rather than linear, try flipping them. In my experience (with just one of the polarizers a cheap Chinese circular type), one orientation will usually give a linear effect. Could be a single bit of linear polarizer film mig...

What system were you wanting to put it on? Parfocal length and tube specifications? It would likely be 45mm parfocal DIN on a 160mm tube. Best possibilities include a Leitz Laborlux 11 or 12, or an Olympus BH-2. Could also do Olympus infinity rather than 160mm with an epi/transmitted adapter on one...

My own experience with a (gently used) AmScope 60x objective of the same N.A. wasn't so good. The contrast and detail seen were less than any number of decent 40x objectives (Leitz in both 170 & 160 tube length, both Olympus DPlan and SPlan 40x, Zeiss fluorite, pre-DIN Nikon and Olympus, AO plan, Ba...

Another possibility - many scopes have the stage and condenser run on adjustable ball tracks. Typically ball bearings in a plastic retainer running on trackes. A combination of messed up lubrication, wear, and the tracks going out of adjustment will leave side play. Best to disassemble the whole thi...

Thanks, ZZ.

I've acquired a number of Lomo objectives and would like to find a good-performing stand for them. Anyone know what stands can focus that close, or which can easily shim the stage up? I have an AO 4 that works and might get another. However that one already has a full complement of AO objectives. I ...

What a terrific project. Thanks for doing this, Apo . . .

Just to close the loop on this in case any one else faces a repair . . . Two of the "One-Tens" had a fried on-off switch. This is a tiny rotary switch located at the end of the dimmer pot. That may well be the most common failure mode. A quick look didn't find any replacements for the pot/switch ava...

Just to close the loop on the AO "One-Ten" transformer - there didn't appear to be an in-line fuse. The actual winding wire was surprisingly thin. Both the lead wire soldered attachment to it and the very thin gauge of the wire seemed to me to be likely failure points; and perhaps the reason this il...

Thanks, Crater E -- hadn't thought about that.

Thanks. Turns out the failure was an open primary on the internal transformer. Looks like an external power supply is the way to go.

Thanks, Apo!

Another AO 110 question. Two One-Ten scopes were donated with detached prisms. One is a normal binocular head with four detached elements and one of the prisms delaminated. That one isn't worth messing with. Haven't fully opened up the trinocular head yet, but it looks possibly repairable -- two pri...