Just wanted to post some a progress log of my adventures with repairing a CBHS scope I found on Ebay. I thought this would be a fun little project and something people would like to follow! Enjoy.
The Scope Specs
Model: CHBS Binocular
Serial Number: 592008
Condenser: Phase Contrast Turret Condenser BH-PC-PB (I think?)
Objectives: 4x (778518), 10x (PL10 - 420042), 40x (PL40 - 711519), 100x (PL100 - 732835)
In Service: Last known 2003 from service date sticker.
Sell Price on Ebay: $110 USD
Day 1 - Unboxing: Condition of the Scope upon Arrival. 10/24/2023
My initial impressions is that this scope has been sitting in an area uncovered for quite a while possibly. I don't really know the history of how this scope was used, but my guess would be clinically. There is a lot of dust on the stages, as well as the turret condenser. Despite this, and despite the last known service date being 20 years ago, the stage XY coaxial knobs work, the coarse and fine focus knobs work, The condenser Y-axis works, and the phase contrast turret condenser rotates to the 10, 20, 40, and 100 position.
The cage that holds the 20W lamp has a duct tape job to hold the lamp in the correct position. The 20W tungsten Lamp filament was unfortunately broken, so I will need to find a replacement for that.
Higher Resolution links for the above images: https://imgur.com/a/kGh3ZX9
Day 2 - Inspection and Integrity of Phase System. 10/25/2023
I sourced some resources to use for this project, and found this fantastic website: https://alanwood.net. I was very interested in finding a repair manual for this specific microscope.
My first interest was in the condition of the Turret Condenser and objectives since that was one of the main reasons I purchased this scope. I couldn't believe it was being auctioned for $110 USD so I suspected something was wrong with the scope.
Impressions of the Objectives:
- 4x (778518) - The 4x is in great condition, this is expected though since it is the least likely to crash into the slide.
- 10x (PL10 - 420042) - The 10x is in good condition. there is noticeable pitting in the metal around the lens itself. No major blemishes or scratches in the metal casing. The lens is intact and has no scratches.
- 40x (PL40 - 711519) - The 40x is in good condition. There is noticeable pitting in the metal around the lens, but not as bad as the 10x. Faint scratches on metal casing. The lens is intact and has no scratches. The spring mechanism is working.
- 100x 100x (PL100 - 732835) - The 100x is in okay condition. There is noticeable pitting in the metal around the lens. It's hard to tell the condition of the lens system without being able to observe a slide. Th spring mechanism is working.
- The lens is intact and has no scratches.
- There is missing paint on the body of the condenser mainly near the condenser lens.
- The annular rings are intact and only have some dust on them. Otherwise appear to be in great condition.
- The annular adjustment screws which allows alignment of the annular rings are working and can be repositioned for phase alignment.
I filmed a removal of the objectives for inspection here:
https://youtu.be/szDrl7hXaBY?si=BOx_1TKzOUjbM6NG
Condenser:
Higher Resolution links for the above images: https://imgur.com/a/L9gIRRA
Since the tungsten bulb is dead in the CHBS scope, I had no way to inspect the phase system integrity, or so I thought. Apparently I was able to fit the phase system onto my Amscope T490. I was kinda surprised. I will be filming a video shortly after breakfast and posting the results of the Phase Integrity below.
Higher Resolution links for the above images: https://imgur.com/a/yMkz2hT
Video of Testing of Phase System:
https://youtu.be/mZhFnxjEtgE?si=FNXuWyj5S0xFUInb
Higher Resolution links for the above images: https://imgur.com/a/55VvQrp
Day 3 - Cleaning and Re-lubricating the Phase Turret and Condenser Y-axis Mechanism 10/26/2023
I noticed that the phase turret "switching" to different annuli rings was a little rough, or so to say. I saw a video by Carl H which was extremely helpful in understanding the mechanism for the phase turret. I have a different model but it functions very similarly: https://youtu.be/QSjlgNyfwJw?si=ynptMwEEsvVh7hkm
I cleaned the "V"s where the friction pin would sit, and also cleaned the friction pin itself before relubricating both.
While I was in this area, I also cleaned the phase annuli rings which were noticeably dusty.
Dusty and Cleaned rings:
Higher Resolution links for the above images: https://imgur.com/a/1QwkBgf
Next, I disassembled the stage, and started working on the condenser Y axis mechanism. This REALLY needed to be cleaned and re-lubricated. there was hairs, dust and crap just filling the teeth.
Here is a video after the cleaning: https://i.imgur.com/9SNsiOm.mp4
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I will continue to update this progress log as I have time. I hope you enjoy reading through this and maybe in the future this log can be of assistance to someone.