IT WAS JUST A TOY

Everything relating to microscopy hardware: Objectives, eyepieces, lamps and more.
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Greg Howald
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IT WAS JUST A TOY

#1 Post by Greg Howald » Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:32 pm

I KNEW IT WAS JUST A TOY WHEN I BOUGHT IT. BUT IT IS PORTABLE, COMES WITH A CASE, AND I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE IDEAL FOR FIELD WORK WITH SOME MODIFICATION.

IT HAD NO CONDENSER. JUST A SINGLE LENS. ONE OF THOSE DISCS WITH HOLES TO ACT AS AN IRIS, AND IT WAS A LITTLE DIM. I ADDED THE LOWER HALF OF AN AMERICAN OPTICS CONDENSER WITH SWING OUT LENS AND IRIS. THE LENS GREATLY IMCREASED BRIGHTNESS AND THE IRIS WORKS FINE. THE SWING OUT LENS HOLDS ONE INCH DIAMETER FILTERS AND THE DARK FIELD SPOT WORKS AT 3/8 INCHES IN DIAMETER. POLARIZATION IS GOOD.

I ADDED THE EYEPIECE ADAPTOR TO INCREASE TO 30MM EYEPIECES. THAT PERFORMS WELL AT 10X.

AND I ADDED A MECHANICAL STAGE. IT WASN'T AN EXACT FIT BUT THAT'S WHY THEY MAKE EPOXY.
I WOUND UP WITH A VERY SMALL BUT VERY USEABLE FIELD SCOPE AT NO ADDITIONAL COST BECAUSE I HAD ALL THE ADDITIONAL PARTS ON HAND.

I ALSO HAVE A BINOCULAR HEAD WHICH WILL FIT IT.
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JUST A TOY.jpg (60.46 KiB) Viewed 1506 times
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CONDENSER.jpg (33.53 KiB) Viewed 1506 times
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EYEPIECE.jpg
EYEPIECE.jpg (54.12 KiB) Viewed 1506 times
STAGE.jpg
STAGE.jpg (55.72 KiB) Viewed 1506 times

BramHuntingNematodes
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Re: IT WAS JUST A TOY

#2 Post by BramHuntingNematodes » Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:24 am

It's like microscope of theseus
1942 Bausch and Lomb Series T Dynoptic, Custom Illumination

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zzffnn
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Re: IT WAS JUST A TOY

#3 Post by zzffnn » Tue Sep 21, 2021 1:57 am

Greg, I did almost the exact same thing to my "toy scope" and converted it to a field scope:

https://www.amazon.com/My-First-Lab-Duo ... B000NOU54O

Mine did not even come with a single lens condenser. I added a no-name Abbe condenser onto it (using epoxy putty) and darkfield stop.

Mine has 23mm diameter eye tube, which I did not modify.

Which "toy scope" is yours?

Do you think a single lens condenser can provide an illumination cone as wide as NA 0.65?

I did not know you can fit a binocular head on it. Which head did you use?

I thought about gluing a mechanical stage as well, but haven't done it. Because in the field, I rarely go above 40x NA 0.65 and my fingers work reasonably well at that magnification.

I have been searching for one fo those dedicated field microscopes with proper condenser and high magnification objectives, such Tiyoda MKH, Nikon H and TWX-1, but haven't found any.

Greg Howald
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Re: IT WAS JUST A TOY

#4 Post by Greg Howald » Tue Sep 21, 2021 2:18 am

Swift puts out a high quality field scope at about $2000.00. No thanks.
I put the stage on it because my fingers don't work well at all.
This scope is from Amazon. It is cheap, under $100.0.
Brand name says BNISE. Battery operated, But I was able to get good results after alterations were complete.

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zzffnn
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Re: IT WAS JUST A TOY

#5 Post by zzffnn » Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:03 am

Greg, which binocular head did you use for the BNISE scope?

With monocular head, how much does it weight, with and with your modifications?

Swift used to sell an inverted pocket scope for about $400 USD, but I am not sure it has an effective condensing lens.

Greg Howald
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Re: IT WAS JUST A TOY

#6 Post by Greg Howald » Tue Sep 21, 2021 3:50 am

I put a "no name" binocular head on it, but just about any of the smaller binocular heads will do. One modification that I made was that the set screws holding the head on were much too short for modification, so I removed them and tapped out the holes to accommodate longer standard screws. I use 8/32 thumbs screws 3/4 inch long that worked fine for both heads.
With monocular head the scope is just under five pounds. The binocular head adds about 3/4 pound and it makes the scope somewhat top heavy.

DonSchaeffer
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Re: IT WAS JUST A TOY

#7 Post by DonSchaeffer » Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:40 pm

I love this kind of innovation!

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