Greetings from 'Straya

[Kinetochore]

Heya, I've been watching Microbe Hunter info from the corner of my eye for a few years now and am really impressed at the community that's been built and the knowledge base

Kinda fell into microscopy sideways, I have a plant tissue culture laboratory in rural Australia and as we upskill and grow we are finding more and more relevant applications that need good microscopy skills

I started with an old ebay Olympus ECE-Bi, needed better visuals for a job interstate, bought an overpriced rebranded Amscope research compound with unlovely visuals ( do not recommend ), realised the staff member who was supposed to be the microscopy expert didn't know anything- then found out everything was going mouldy because our rh% here averages at around 70%

Recently gifted a beautiful trinocular Olympus EHT and a Kyowa SDZ-PL stereo with a full service history we need to find a cheap way to store away from the humidity, and a lovely Microm HM355S microtome ( which was manna from heaven for our tiny self-funded facility ) We also inherited a stacker crate full of old stains which seem to have been handed down over the generations since the 1920s

And am starting to realise we have our work cut out for us, and a considerable learning curve, as well as a responsibility to keep our lovely kit in the best condition for future generations

Currently we are looking for a way to visualise small chromosomes 3-7um, and are wondering if we should just jump straight to a good secondhand fluorescence microscope with DAPi. Pics would be nice but they don't need to be first quality as we won't likely be using them for IP

I also occasionally consult and fit out other labs, some overseas, and sometimes need to source stereoscopes for their purposes.

Main interests here are- finding ways to cheaply store, repair and maintain microscopes in a high humidity environment away from major cities and expertise, learning imaging for our specific applications

Love old microscopes and optics, there seems to be something about the care that went into them and even the basic optics seem to inspire a joy I haven't found in newer kit. That could just be a bias developed from a small nonrepresentative subset

For the first 18 months the internet and Google deluded me into thinking microscopy was entirely facile. Now I realise it's an entire skillset, more equivalent to wildlife photography than cut-and-paste MS paint you can glean data from within the hour

Now I realise I know nothing at all, and I'm good with starting from scratch

[Sure Squintsalot]

Now I realise I know nothing at all, and I'm good with starting from scratch

I've been telling people exactly this ever since I got married.

[Kinetochore]

I've been telling people exactly this ever since I got married.

Obviously you're one of the select few who read the manual before you finalised the purchase

[PeteM]

Welcome, Kinetochore.

As far as I now, the three main ways to keep humidity low (and optics fungus-free) are:

1) A proper dehumidifier. If you're in a small enough sealed room, one set to 55RH should be semi-affordable to keep running. I run one in a medium size room, about 250 sq. ft., and it doesn't add much cost (but we have solar).

2) Dessicants with the microscope stored in a smaller airtight container. Things like Rubbermaid totes with a fairly tightly sealing lid can work for this. The silica gel packs with a color indicator (purple-blue to pale) can be restored and reused. The whole thing is still a pain, and not reliable if you spend time away.

3) Possibly a somewhat small box and a 50watt or so heat source to keep the air well above the dew point. Not the best if you're in a very humid environment.

[Kinetochore]

1) A proper dehumidifier. If you're in a small enough sealed room, one set to 55RH should be semi-affordable to keep running. I run one in a medium size room, about 250 sq. ft., and it doesn't add much cost (but we have solar).

2) Dessicants with the microscope stored in a smaller airtight container. Things like Rubbermaid totes with a fairly tightly sealing lid can work for this. The silica gel packs with a color indicator (purple-blue to pale) can be restored and reused. The whole thing is still a pain, and not reliable if you spend time away.

3) Possibly a somewhat small box and a 50watt or so heat source to keep the air well above the dew point. Not the best if you're in a very humid environment.

Thanks PeterM. Option 1 isn't optimal- the room isn't well sealed and can't be. Toys are currently in a well sealed box with dessicant but we are angling for a microscope cabinet so they're easier to access and less chance to damage them when moving for use