Goodwill Olympus

What equipment do you use? Post pictures and descriptions of your microscope(s) here!
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civich
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:25 pm
Location: Central Oklahoma

Goodwill Olympus

#1 Post by civich » Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:03 pm

I'm new to the forum and have to show off my Olympus CHB which I found in a local Goodwill store of all places. To the non-USA members who may not be familiar with the organization - Goodwill is a non-profit company which sells donated stuff and provides job training and employment to people facing employment challenges. Their stores sell the sort of things which you would expect - clothing, toys, household goods and everything else people get rid of when they have no further use for it.
So I was walking through the Goodwill store when I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of this Olympus microscope! For several years I had been hankering for a good microscope and Olympus was the brand I was focused on for no particular reason other than I had their cameras in the past and had seen their microscopes in use in various labs I had built back in my construction days. To find the scope in a Goodwill store was surprising to say the least! The price was $200 so some employee had done the research because that is a very high price point for a Goodwill item. The scope has seen very little use as there are no scratches or worn areas on the stage or body and all the controls work smoothly. I did my own research after the purchase :roll: and came to realize that it was not such a smoking good deal since current microscopes from China with modern optics and light sources are surprisingly affordable, but hey - it's an Olympus trinocular and it ain't bad! The optics are clear and bright and open up that fascinating world of pond scum! I'm curious to know what that bright chrome piece of hardware's function is which fits on the vertical trinocular tube. Any thoughts?
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MichaelG.
Posts: 3976
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 8:24 am
Location: North Wales

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#2 Post by MichaelG. » Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:26 pm

Nice buy !!

The shiny part is the bottom section of a camera adapter … Sorry I can’t identify the Make or Model

Unless you hit very lucky [again!], the easiest thing would be to just un-clamp it, and start afresh.

MichaelG.
Too many 'projects'

Hobbyst46
Posts: 4277
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:02 pm

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#3 Post by Hobbyst46 » Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:43 pm

Congratulations!
It appears to be very well preserved.
If the mechanics of the scope are OK and moving parts move smoothly, you got a fantastic deal.
Much better than any modern mass-market Chinese microscope, certainly for that price.

Note that the objectives have a ~36mm parfocality length, so not compatible with common 45mm objectives. Might check the alanwood site of Olympus lenses for CH-type microscopes.
Last edited by Hobbyst46 on Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

MichaelG.
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Location: North Wales

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#4 Post by MichaelG. » Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:47 pm

There is even a Repair Manual available here, should you ever need it:
http://www.alanwood.net/downloads/olymp ... manual.pdf

MichaelG.
Too many 'projects'

PeteM
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Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 6:22 am
Location: N. California

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#5 Post by PeteM » Sat Sep 18, 2021 12:53 am

It's a well made scope. And while the "long barrel" Olympus objectives are a tiny bit better at each level, you are far more likely to find affordable add-ons for phase contrast, high power darkfield, plan apo objectives, etc.

civich
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:25 pm
Location: Central Oklahoma

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#6 Post by civich » Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:20 am

I appreciate the input and the links - thanks! At this stage I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the various terms (parfocality, long barrel objectives etc.) and how they apply to my CHB but the MicrobeHunter.com and YouTube sites are a fantastic resource and I will learn. I will be looking at a means of capturing images and see a camera which will fit my scope in the future.

PeteM
Posts: 2982
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 6:22 am
Location: N. California

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#7 Post by PeteM » Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:51 am

A quick and affordable way to get photos would be to get an extra eyepiece and a cell phone camera holder.

1) Attach 3rd eyepiece to holder/cellphone. You could try it out with one of the existing eyepieces and just hand holding the phone camera.

2) Drop eyepiece into top of trinocular tube, using your silver add-on to get the height right.

3) Take surprisingly good pictures.

civich
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:25 pm
Location: Central Oklahoma

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#8 Post by civich » Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:46 pm

I'm definitely going to look into a phone holder for taking pictures. I've actually already held a phone up to an eyepiece to photograph an insect (attached photos) which was infesting a friend's pecan orchard - with a little bit of external side lighting and low magnification I was surprised at how well it did. She identified it as an aphid larvae. I may eventually look for a dedicated digital camera for my CHB - the USB camera which Oliver reviews is interesting. Upon casual inspection of eBay listings even for just objective lenses I find that the terms "36mm/45mm parfocality" and "long barrel/short barrel objectives" are not mentioned in the descriptions. Perhaps it is obvious to an experienced observer just looking at the pictures of the items - but searching for accessories correct for a specific, older microscope may be challenging. I see that the allanwood.net site gives much info, so that will be my go-to for reference. It's interesting that the Olympus 1978 catalog price list shows adaptors for taking 4x5" film images. That took dedication, perseverance and not a small amount of knowledge I would imagine!
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Hobbyst46
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Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:02 pm

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#9 Post by Hobbyst46 » Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:40 am

civich wrote:
Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:46 pm
... Upon casual inspection of eBay listings even for just objective lenses I find that the terms "36mm/45mm parfocality" and "long barrel/short barrel objectives" are not mentioned in the descriptions....
Indeed. Sellers of new Chinese objectives sometime state that they are D.I.N., so expect 45mm. Sellers of 2nd hand objectives either do not know or do not care to inform.
Perhaps it is obvious to an experienced observer just looking at the pictures of the items - but searching for accessories correct for a specific, older microscope may be challenging.
When looking for 40x-60x-100x objectives, you can ask the seller to measure the length of the objective from the front lens to the shoulder (start of the thread). Namely, the length of the objective minus the length of the thread. That length is very close (within a ~mm) to the parfocality length.

civich
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:25 pm
Location: Central Oklahoma

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#10 Post by civich » Mon Sep 20, 2021 5:42 pm

Good tip Hobbyst! I've also seen Oliver explaining the different parfocal dimensions on YouTube videos. I'm probably fine with the existing objectives unless/until I move on to phase contrast - which would take some serious research to make sure of the proper fit for the CHB - not to mention luck in finding someone offering it.

civich
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:25 pm
Location: Central Oklahoma

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#11 Post by civich » Mon Sep 20, 2021 5:54 pm

And by the way, I discovered this blue filter on the bottom side of the condenser and am curious to know it's function. Does it have something to do with the tungsten filament lamp? Or perhaps for photography? Both?
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MichaelG.
Posts: 3976
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Location: North Wales

Re: Goodwill Olympus

#12 Post by MichaelG. » Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:17 pm

Yes, that's what is known as a ‘Daylight Conversion Filter’ … as in ‘it converts the spectrum from a tungsten source to a reasonable approximation of daylight’

a.k.a. Wratten 80B

MichaelG.

.
Ref. https://www.wexphotovideo.com/tiffen-82 ... r-1599323/
Too many 'projects'

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