Bino Head Retro-fit?

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rlw1138
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Bino Head Retro-fit?

#1 Post by rlw1138 » Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:10 pm

Is it possible / practical to retro-fit a binocular head onto a compound microscope?

I have a super-cheap Konus student model, and even at modest magnification my "floaters" are intrusive.

Must the microscope be designed to accept a bino, or is there a standard as with objectives and eyepieces?

What to look for when "researching" (shopping)?
RussW

PeteM
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Re: Bino Head Retro-fit?

#2 Post by PeteM » Fri Mar 24, 2023 7:17 pm

Russ, it is often possible - and sometimes not worth the effort.

You first need to know the tube distance and where the eyepieces pick up the image. The DIN standard for this was/is 160mm tube length, with the eyepieces picking up the image 10mm down into the tube. Your Konus may or may not conform to this standard - I don't know.

You can then try to find a binocular head with the same tube distance and pick-up point and a dovetail size that either matches (many are around 42mm at the widest point) or can be machined to fit and use that. You'll still probably need the proper correcting eyepieces if yours has something like a "K" or "C" in its description.

With an inexpensive microscope, it could be that the time spent finding a binocular head that fits (or can be easily modified) might better be spent finding a complete and better microscope. Often, for not much more.

Another option is to fit a camera to your monocular microscope. A cell phone camera attached to your eyepiece is often an excellent and cheap option. Even older-generation cell phones can provide very good images, allow remote releases, and often let you use external monitors for a larger view and WiFi to save images and videos.

apochronaut
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Re: Bino Head Retro-fit?

#3 Post by apochronaut » Sat Mar 25, 2023 12:39 am

Floaters can be annoying but since they are usually there to stay, learning to live with them is the best option. If you focus on the floaters and not on the microscope image, that can overwhelm you. It's a bit like looking through a screen door. Focus on the screen and that will control you but looking past it is revealing. It is difficult but possible. A bright illumination with good contrast helps. Low illumination exacerbates all kinds of defects in the field.

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rlw1138
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Re: Bino Head Retro-fit?

#4 Post by rlw1138 » Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:05 pm

Thanks for the infos!

I know from my telescopes that bino-vision helps A LOT to compensate for the floaters -- two eyes see slightly differing views and my big fat brain can filter out the stringy spirogyra-lookin' filaments.

I un-screwed the 40mm-ish tube at the top (where the eyepiece fits) and my William Optics astro binoviewer focuses with only a couple mm's of adjustment. And the view is excellent and much enlarged!

I think I'll take Pete's advice and not mod the microscope after all......I'd much rather have an actual designed-for-2-eyes scope. And I can donate the Konus to the local high school.
RussW

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