MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Thanks for the link. Interesting, I did not know of archive.org's "loan" function. I am now a member, and the site loaned the book to me for one hour--seems like they could do longer, given that the book is apparently out of copyright. Lots of interesting photos of vintage/antique equipment.

To answer the question as to whether the Radical phase contrast option would be any good or just a gimmick, I have no first-hand experience with Radical, but doubt very much it is a gimmick. The theory behind phase contrast may be impressive--it did win someone the Nobel--but the application is rela...

If lifting the microscope to/from the car or table is part of the problem, there are lift dollys you could use in conjunction with a case, that will let you crank it up and down. Unfortunately, most are much larger (and heavier) than what you need. You'd need to locate a smaller one made of aluminum...

Do you often have to climb stairs? Another idea might be spinner wheel luggage or similar--you might be able to find something in the right size with a hard shell ideal for protecting the scope. But luggage tends to have small wheels that are more suited to airports than stairs or varied surfaces. P...

I took a quick look, and Radical is now selling through Ebay in the US, with free shipping from India. A trinocular phase system using sliders with a cheap camera thrown in is $499, with your choice of led or halogen: https://www.ebay.com/itm/143148701465?hash=item215453d719:g:VysAAOSwv0dcV99W A pha...

Why go back 80 years? Vintage scopes from 40 years ago can have pretty good optics. And if you are buying new Amscope, I would wait for a sale and spend more like $300-400 for something with a more complete frame.

I didn't find it on archive.org--will have to try again. But I did find it on Amazon, apparently part of some reprint project: https://www.amazon.com/Microscope-Design-Construction-Bryan-Oliver/dp/1013740599/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1LKQQ87M87B0W&keywords=%22Microscope+design+and+construction%22&qid=16440913...

Glad you were able to fix the wriggle. Were you able to fix the interaction between the X-Y controls? Moving one should not affect the other--sounds like something needs cleaning and reoiling.

Very nice!

Great catches and beautiful images! I am going to have to get a plankton net and try my luck!

It's probably best not have a heavy DSLR camera+adapter tube dangling from the eyepiece tube, trying to tip the microscope. If you already have a smartphone with reasonably good camera, I would probably just use that afocally (camera lens looking into the eyepiece). The adapter to clamp the phone to...

Nice find and great imaging! I am very impressed with the quality of cell phone cameras these days, and what can be done with them afocally.

On my news.google page, I came across this article about the Nanoimager, a high-resolution microscope the size of a toaster that can show things down to the molecular level. Reading the article, though, which is mostly fluff, I still did not know how it worked. https://endpts.com/a-high-res-microsco...

I suspect it's not so much that vibration dampening products target heavy microscopes because of their weight as that laboratory microscopes tend to be heavy. Because of its greater mass/at-rest inertia, a heavier microscope is already more protected against vibration compared to a lighter microscop...

I noticed this very heavy/expensive microscope table on Ebay and remembered our vibration-dampening discussion: https://www.ebay.com/itm/224796821021?hash=item3456ef461d:g:btsAAOSwVNRh5pwa I googled "TMC air table" to find the manufacturer's website and found that, among other things, TMC makes an i...

My new Optiphot-2 (which I am coming to like) has the "T" trinocular head. I want to connect it to the full-frame Canon RP I also recently acquired, using a camera adapter from Newhoper or similar. The phototube that came with the Optiphot has a lens at the bottom so I think will not work (it was us...

Which websites sell a Nexscope with DIC? Any in the US? Some here have reported good experiences buying direct from China, but given delays, shipping and tariff situation (is it still 25%?), buying from stock already in the US would seem more certain.

You might consider buying a cheap used Windows 10 laptop to dedicate to this purpose. Plenty around. Safest is something coming off a corporate lease, where the hard drive was scrubbed and the operating system re-installed. While I didn't have your problem, since my other computers run Windows, for ...

Thanks, I'll fix. I get mixed up with the letters.

I am interested in 10x and 40x Nikon CFN (160mm) objectives--the one with the 3 knurled rings. They're intended for an upright (Optiphot).

Thanks.

PM sent.

I had some luck, of course--I didn't break anything, and it turned out the iris blades were not stuck, corroded or otherwise damaged--luck is always important in these endeavors Also, thanks to everyone for the helpful information and suggestions.

Applying some heat with a hair dryer did the trick; oil oozed out and the adjustment ring on the field diaphragm began to turn a bit. I was then able to work it up and off (I had already removed the top ring with the graduations, secured by 3 screws). That released the mirror box assembly in the bas...

On this one, the lamp housing is intact and not cracked, although I can see it could be easily damaged, as it protrudes so far--another reason maybe to prefer the Optiphot-1 with its much smaller metal housing. Fine focus seems to work fine, although I haven't used it much yet.

Thanks for the suggestions. I downloaded the repair manual. Its diagram of the top parts of the field diaphragm assembly is a bit ambiguous (and possibly for the Optiphot 1) but it shows a "retaining ring" on top, right under the adjustment ring. I also loosened the mirror box down underneath, and i...

I'm trying to get at and oil the seized field diaphragm iris on an Optiphot 2--the knurled adjustment ring won't turn at all. Does anyone know how to disassemble it? I've removed the top ring with the graduations (3 screws) but the adjustment ring won't come out. Before using more force, I thought I...

I recently acquired the Motic BA300, which looks to have the same or very similar X-Y positioning mechanism. If so, the control rod definitely should not wriggle that way. It could be something just needs tightening, or something could be cracked/broken. Also, of course, the X and Y controls should ...

Very nice!

Happy New Year!

Check Amscope's website. It offers package deals--microscope + darkfield condenser--for many of its scopes.

Out of curiosity, I googled microscope rentals, and quite a number of online dealers are willing to rent, see the first two that came up below. I'm not sure that is the low cost way to select a microscope, though, particularly if you are thinking of a vintage model. https://microscopecentral.com/pag...