My second LOMO microscope has just arrived! I had originally bid on the lot because I was looking for the accessories that came with it, particularly the binocular head and illuminator with power supply. This 1E was a bonus and is somewhat different from my first LOMO MƂP-1 microscope in several respects:
1. It is a hammered silver colour instead of beige.
2. It has a couple of knobs on its feet to secure the illuminator which the 1 does not have
3. It has a rather different condenser
4. It has a fixed rather than rotating table
Everything needs a good clean but a quick check of the optics seems to indicate that everything is OK. The equipment does have some issues however.
Firstly, the stand sinks after being focused under its own weight, so the mechanism appears to have too much slack. It also has an extra "knob" which is not present on my other LOMO microscope which appears to lock the focus adjustment. This does appear to be an improvised addition and does its job but I would appreciate a little advice concerning this. Does this mean that the stand focusing mechanism is worn?
Secondly, the small lever to adjust the condenser appears to be broken so the diaphragm it cannot be adjusted.
On the positive side, the binocular head seems perfectly fine, requiring only that the optics be cleaned. The 6.3VAC PSU works and the bulb inside the illuminator is good so the lamp works and is usable. A small mirror reflects the light upwards towards the condenser and there is an anjustable diaphragm between the ligh buld and the mirror. The mirror has adjustment for left/right but not up/down, but I guess this will always be a fixed 45deg. One of the alignment thumb screws appears to be missing and has been replaced with an ordinary bolt, but the adjustment works in both directions. The illuminator appears to be unbranded although the PSU is marked "Brunel Microscopes" so I am wondering whether the illuminator is generic and supplied by the same company?
I would be curious to know a bit more about the condenser and whether the lever can be repaired somehow? The rotating disc contains four filters and one blank position. Each filter seems to have a black centre and a clear edge similar to those used for darkfield microscopy. There is also a range of plastic filters that came with the unit, some rectangular colour filters and a number of colour plastic round filters as well as black "spots" of varying sizes.
The range of objectives is: x4, x10, x20 and x40.
There was a K10x eyepiece slotted into in the monocular head and I already have one x10 eyepiece, but unfortunately it is not a K10x and looks different so I may need to find another original K10x.
LOMO MƂP-1E and accessories
LOMO MƂP-1E and accessories
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- Illuminator_s.jpg (99.3 KiB) Viewed 1313 times
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- Condenser2_s.jpg (82.29 KiB) Viewed 1313 times
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- Condenser1_s.jpg (94.12 KiB) Viewed 1313 times
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- Binocular_Head_s.jpg (90.72 KiB) Viewed 1313 times
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- Stand_s.jpg (157.01 KiB) Viewed 1313 times
Last edited by Amoeba on Wed Mar 16, 2022 6:53 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Re: LOMO MƂP-1E
Some more pics including a close-up of the improvised knob I was referring to. It is made from a bold with a hexagonal head with a rubber foot pushed onto it. The alignment marks seem to suggest that someone in possession of suitable milling equipment has added the three holes. My other LOMO stand does not have them.
I also need to find some information on that "measuring tool" to figure out how to use it.
I also need to find some information on that "measuring tool" to figure out how to use it.
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- Improvised_knob_s.jpg (159.75 KiB) Viewed 1282 times
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- Measuring_tool_s.jpg (101.14 KiB) Viewed 1312 times
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- PSU_s.jpg (119.52 KiB) Viewed 1312 times
Last edited by Amoeba on Tue Mar 15, 2022 11:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: LOMO MƂP-1E
A little bit of Googling seems to indicate that the condenser is a Lomo Kf-4 Phase contrast condenser. Doesn't phase contrast require special objectives? Its a real shame that the lever is broken off!
I will, of course, be doing further research on that focusing mechanism as well as regarding optical alignment. The nosepiece does appear to be rather off centre although I did seem to get a good image in the binocular when I tried it. In any case I would like to familiarise myself with the process so that I can check it out.
The power supply seems to be a simple arrangement comprised of a transformer, the primary of which is connected to the mains via a fuse and twin pole switch. The case is die-cast metal and is earthed. The transformer primary is driven by arrangement similar to a dimmer and is comprised of only handful of components including a triac, diac (trigger diode), a capacitor and a couple of resistors plus potentiometer and switch. The transformer secondary is connected directly to the output.
I will, of course, be doing further research on that focusing mechanism as well as regarding optical alignment. The nosepiece does appear to be rather off centre although I did seem to get a good image in the binocular when I tried it. In any case I would like to familiarise myself with the process so that I can check it out.
The power supply seems to be a simple arrangement comprised of a transformer, the primary of which is connected to the mains via a fuse and twin pole switch. The case is die-cast metal and is earthed. The transformer primary is driven by arrangement similar to a dimmer and is comprised of only handful of components including a triac, diac (trigger diode), a capacitor and a couple of resistors plus potentiometer and switch. The transformer secondary is connected directly to the output.