MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Not yet, but I will, more frequently I'll use a drop of water on there. I think I need to make a 3D printed part that holds this rigidly to replace this dovetail kludge. Having lateral play is a bit of a pain as the condenser often moves when I am adjusting it's diaphragm. I can use it right now, bu...

Yowza, Pete, that's a really good idea. Funny how it didn't occur to me to print an extension to the Nikon condenser dovetail instead of trying to change my current carrier. Actually I can do one easier as a test case. I removed the dovetail from my abbe (remember, I don't use it) and what do you kn...

Yeah, it is a nice condenser, and could be sold if for some reason it doesn't work out for me and I don't modify it. Maybe I should be focused on replacing the carrier with something I design and 3D print. The problem is, I'm not that great at 3D designing. I can put plenty of time into this, though...

I see that you are using a .90 condenser. Did you not get an oil condenser with the DIC or is that still in transit? I don't use this abbe condenser. Just using it as a reference. I normally use my DIC or Phase contrast condensers, both if which can be oiled. I have a flip top I can use as well. Th...

My microscope does not have a aplanatic/achromatic condenser available for it. I have a Nikon NA 1.4 aplanat/achromat condenser that I would like to use. The dovetails are almost the same, but not quite. The Nikon fits almost all the way into my condenser carrier, but near the back there is a lip th...

I unhooked the spring from both things it was connected to and removed it. Now the diaphragm works no matter which position the condenser is in. That was easy. I don't know how many people will be in this circumstance, but now we know how to address it. I'm thinking about removing the centering scre...

Here are the naughty bits. https://i.imgur.com/rRrc2Lwl.jpg There is just one diaphragm, which is on the left piece here. The little screw goes around when you dial the diaphragm. It's attached to a spring that's attached to a lever, that is held in place by another lever-thing if the condenser is n...

In this forum, Chinese manufacturers are primarily known for their inexpensive mass-market microscopes. However, they do make higher-end scopes. I bought one of these. It's a BestScope 2081. The same scope is sold under the names AccuScope EXC-500, Nexcope E900, and Euromex Delphi-X Observer. Radica...

I purchased a microscope that has DIC capability and I am just getting familiar with it--I'm a beginner with DIC. DIC seems to be working at all magnifications but I have questions about its proper usage. One thing about its build surprises me: the condenser that houses the Nomarski prisms is exactl...

Looks like the wiki has been taken over by spam bots over the last couple of days. It needs to be reverted and perhaps the security improved?

I think you are right. I see references to Swift being a member of the Motic Group alongside National Optical. I had heard they were the microscope world house brand and this site seems to imply some kind of relationship, but that evidence doesn't seem very strong. Probably just a partner or distrib...

I believe Richter Optica is the house brand of Microscope World. I wouldn't expect to be able to contact them separately.

EDIT: I take it back. I guess "Swift" is the house brand of Microscope World. I don't know about Richter Optica. Maybe they both are.

That was just a smartass roundabout way of saying it sounds like nonsense. Where did that reference come from? I can't see how a blanket statement that cheap abbe are more likely to be infinity and achromats are more likely finite makes any sense at all. Both are used on the same microscopes, so if...

That would make sense if it had the prefix non attached. Can you help me understand what a prefix is in this context? To make sure I'm following correctly, I would imagine that a microscope with a built-in illuminator and with an infinity focused condenser would require a lens within the microscope...

Sounds like I have some fun experiments to run tonight.

Also found some more information and experiments here. That link also seems to suggest that cheap abbe type condensers tend to be infinity corrected, while the expensive aplanatic/achromatic ones tend to have a finite focus. Interesting.

The Eclipse D-CUO 1.4 DIC condenser is 2800.00. ....just the condenser. Yeah, that's a pretty good reason to do some research on fitting condensers from other manufacturers or older models! By the way, I opted for the water immersion 100X (NA=1.1), not the 1.4 fluor oil. So the difference between 1...

With regards to your scope farnsy, I think the intent of the planfluor objectives was DIC, so the DIC condenser is probably a 1.4 achromat, is it not? That is my resding of it. They weren't thinking that too many customers would opt for the planfluor or planapos outdide of the DIC application. Than...

Curious as to which new microscope and what high-performance objectives you are referring to. I am currently testing the hypothesis that the Chinese do, in fact, make good quality higher-end microscopes, you just have to pay for them. I will provide a review of the system to the whole forum soon, a...

Aside from the physical compatibility (right size of dovetail), are there any other considerations when using a condenser that was made for a different microscope? For example, assuming I can make the dovetail work, is it just fine to use an achromat/aplanat 1.4 condenser made for 160mm Olympus or a...

Anyone have a cool solution for collecting samples from water without having to step out into the mud? It is a small enough job that a little container on the end of whatever cheap telescoping rod is around seems like the right solution, but I have not yet figured out the right kind of rod or contai...

dtsh, thanks for posting this. I printed it out and it's working great with my cycloptic. I don't need to use the tightening piece because it stays on very well by friction. I put a little 12V dimmer on its power source and now it's dimmable. Nice! I think I agree with you that it could be brighter....

I would assume that this aliexpress listing is the item in question. If you search for "wf10x/22mm," you will see lots of possibilities. Looks like it comes in a few colors, too. I might need to hot rod out my scope with a red one. There are lots of (non adjustable) 30mm mounting diameter products t...

My problem is that I'm just really terrible at getting rid of the extras. Buying microscopes is fun, and fixing them up is even funner. However, when you have microscopes that work but you don't use, the right thing to do is to sell or give them away. I'm terrible at that.

Thanks, dtsh! After my scope shows up I'll give this stuff a trial and see where we stand. Really appreciate you sharing your hard work with me (and anyone else who wants it).

I just picked up a cycloptic myself on ebay. Hasn't arrived yet, and I'm in that place where I'm thinking about what kind of lighting would be best--this is a really nice idea. It's 12V, so have you rigged a cheap dimmer to it? I would definitely be interested in your stl file (or better yet, your f...

I had a great deal of sticky adhesive residue in a non-microscopy project that didn't respond to solvents or acids and was extremely difficult to remove mechanically. Stronger and stronger solvents mostly started attacking the plastic that was part of the project without doing anything to the adhesi...

1-Are the phase contrast microscope objectives removable? If so, which brightfield objective is compatible with this microscope? Phase objectives will screw right out and you can replace them with regular objectives. The most compatible objectives will be those sold by Motic. However, there is very...

For slides, I use a basic holder that cost $6. The dispenser seems like a great idea, but it doesn't double as a drying rack. For cover slips, I did not find a great commercial solution, so I made my own that works just the way I want it to. These days I put a small square of paper towel at the bott...

Many microscopes (especially higher quality ones) stay put for many years, so the weight of the scope doesn't matter. Moreover, better microscopes are generally going to be heavier for reasons that have been mentioned above. It sounds like you have the idea that microscopes are stored away in cabine...

I've seen a lot of battery conversions, but this is the first one with a recharging unit that I've seen. I'm also interested in the components. How long will the scope run on that single battery?