Reticle size?

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Pete F
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Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 10:52 am

Reticle size?

#1 Post by Pete F » Sun May 30, 2021 11:02 am

I have a Nikon Alphaphot-2 YS-2 with CFWE 10x/18 eyepieces but would like to confirm the reticle size. I don't have the instruction manual for this microscope and the only reference to this eyepiece I can find suggests an 18mm reticle diameter. This doesn't agree with my own measurements, and when I remove the push in holder on the back of the eyepiece there is a thin lip I assume would hold the reticle. I measure this to be 19mm in diameter.

I would be most grateful for any guidance on the correct diameter for the reticle. Thanks

MichaelG.
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Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:24 am
Location: North Wales

Re: Reticle size?

#2 Post by MichaelG. » Sun May 30, 2021 1:51 pm

Last edited by MichaelG. on Sun May 30, 2021 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Too many 'projects'

Pete F
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 10:52 am

Re: Reticle size?

#3 Post by Pete F » Sun May 30, 2021 10:37 pm

Thanks Michael, yes that was the only source I can find. Interestingly it says 20mm for the reticle. I measure 20.5mm so if it just drops in to the tube that's probably close enough. It's possible they've designed it with the small lip in the end of the push in plug to hold the reticle in to also take 19mm reticles, but without any instructions etc I can't be sure

Pete F
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 10:52 am

Re: Reticle size?

#4 Post by Pete F » Sun May 30, 2021 10:57 pm

Just looking through the usual sources I see that a complete eyepiece with reticle is available in the same 10x/18 specification in the standard 23.2mm eyepiece size mine uses, so I wonder if simply buying a whole eyepiece isn't a better solution. I'd read that swapping eyepieces when measuring was considered by some as a better solution in many regards also.

Scarodactyl
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Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:09 pm

Re: Reticle size?

#5 Post by Scarodactyl » Mon May 31, 2021 7:33 am

The CFWE eyepieces they bundle with the alphaphot are not great anyway--you might want to upgrade them to CFW/CFWN 10x/20s or the third party chinese 10x/22 eyepieces from eBay I love to shill.
(technically I haven't tried that on the alphaphot's head, so I guess there is a possibility the head might stop down what the eyepieces can see, but I kind of doubt it).

Pete F
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 10:52 am

Re: Reticle size?

#6 Post by Pete F » Mon May 31, 2021 11:00 pm

Scarodactyl wrote:
Mon May 31, 2021 7:33 am
The CFWE eyepieces they bundle with the alphaphot are not great anyway
Thanks very much, yes I agree. I'm a commercial beekeeper and imported the YS-2 used from Japan to Australia to use for pollen identification and bee diseases. I chose this student model as it's a lot more portable and robust in it's blow-moulded case compared to research models also available. The latter most likely would require some form of repair/maintenance, which I'm quite capable of performing, but this was a turn-key solution.

The microscope arrived in very good condition, however needed a small repair to the holder of the field iris diaphragm on the base. There was also some form of spring arrangement missing there, so the field iris diaphragm couldn't be centred properly. The spring would be specific to this model, and without a service manual I have no idea what it looks like in order to manufacture a replacement. I would imagine it would be some form of leaf spring arrangement, but I just got a spiral spring to fit in and it's now 100% functional. Hopefully one day I'll get to see an original version and can copy a replacement.

Some parts of this microscope were a tad underwhelming to be honest, and the eyepieces were certainly something that I'd expected better in order to wear the Nikon badge, even for a "student" microscope. However microscopes are very expensive here in Australia so overall I'm pleased with this purchase and I feel is better value than a new no-name alternative at double the price. I'm very grateful to have people on this forum and Oliver's excellent videos to help me in this field.

I also have a stereo microscope arriving, an Olympus SZ40. That is used for bee dissection and instrumental insemination of queen bees. Yes, believe it or not there is such a thing as honey bee artificial insemination ... and why microscopes are needed to do it :)

MichaelG.
Posts: 3976
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:24 am
Location: North Wales

Re: Reticle size?

#7 Post by MichaelG. » Tue Jun 01, 2021 8:24 am

Just to add to the pool of knowledge ... I’ve found another list :
https://www.mecanusa.com/microscope/mic ... zelist.htm

MichaelG.

.
P.S. __ Can anyone confirm [or refute] my suspicion that Nikon’s E stands for ‘economy’ ?
... my limited personal experience finds CFW 12.5/16 eyepieces give excellent viewing.
Too many 'projects'

Scarodactyl
Posts: 2775
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 9:09 pm

Re: Reticle size?

#8 Post by Scarodactyl » Wed Jun 02, 2021 12:28 am

Yes, 'E' stands for 'economical', same as the objectives. They're not bad, but you can upgrade for not much money and get a significant QoL improvement.

MichaelG.
Posts: 3976
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:24 am
Location: North Wales

Re: Reticle size?

#9 Post by MichaelG. » Wed Jun 02, 2021 5:26 am

Thanks, Scarodactyl

MichaelG.
Too many 'projects'

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