Stereo Microscope

[thessler]

Hi

Anyone use these ? It's just a small camera on a stand that plugs into your pc and gives a visual on the screen.

They are pretty cheap but then again you get what you pay for.

I see a lot of guys use the stereo microscope, just wondering which way to go. I cannot see jewels  or inspect a jewles whole with my current visor. And more immediately I have again dropped the balance cock and tangled the spring wich I will again destroy trying to untangle if I can't see it !

Thank you for any advice, Tom

[jdm]

I think there is one other thread or two with the specifics of what people have bought and how it works for them, try searching.

[szbalogh]

2 hours ago, thessler said:

Hi

Anyone use these ?

You mean that 6-8 USD microscope with 200x amgnification and 2MP resolution? I am using one. Excellent for checking pivots and making some lathe work without squinting and stooping over the workpiece. I have some videos on Youtube. Check them and decide!

But it is inconvenient to have another PC or notebook next to the lathe. It can be used however with an OTG capable tablet or phone which is movable. I have not tried this yet. 

[vinn3]

Thessler ;i use 9 power  magnification with eye glasses for small work.   the dentist has a hand held didital probe with even higher resolution sent to the screen.  you have me wondering if this would be a good way to send  photos to the forum?  thanks vinn

[SteveFitzwater]

you should be able to find a usb scope camera, most are ~100 us, the good high resolution ones, you simply exchange the eye piece for the camera, the key factors for getting one is knowing the circum. of the eye piece to make sure the camera will fit.

As far as a good tri scope, the key factor you need to look for is working distance, ideally you want about 8 inches,  which require better optics then the minimal working distance scopes. do a google search for AmScope or a scambay search there are a lot of options out there. The reason I mentioned a tri-scope is the camera stays in it the scope and if you need or want to use the it the old fashion way, you do not have to find the second eye piece, mess with the focus. Unless you are doing some serious micro movements, a 40x is the most you should need, and the higher the magnification, the smaller the working distance..

[jdrichard]

Jewel closeup with new cheap but good USB microscope camera. Good for examining jewels and gears for damage

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[WileyDave]

OMG.... I'm going to have to look in to one of these, cheap or otherwise. Not often you run into 'bad' jewels. (unless watch has been dropped or knocked real hard), but this would help diagnose pivots and misalignments... thanks, will check them out!

[jdrichard]

This was the camera



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[matabog]

What is the working distance at the maximum magnification?

[szbalogh]

I am using this type:

All ok with it.

[matabog]

So I got myself a sorry-state russian microscope (4x-100x) (I believe it's been dropped, so I fixed the broken stand, I cleaned it and I aligned the glass prisms the best I could - work in progress). For more details on the microscope model, checkout http://microscope.modelengines.info/.

Samples below. The pictures are taken with a phone by putting it on an eyepiece. The subject is a beat-up balance wheel from a Poljot 2209. Looking through the microscope, the image is clearer, with better contrast and, most important, stereoscopic.

 

 

 

Thank you,

Bogdan

[wls1971]

I've had one of these microscopes for quite a while I bought it second hand as a kit with 3 sets of eye pieces. I paid £65.00 for it off ebay they are built like a tank. The russian objectives are very good on these microscopes well worth seeking out as a cheap stereo microscope.

The only draw back is that the standard lens has only about 90mm working distance below it, I am trying to source a reasonably priced 190mm as this would give a much greater working distance.

[jdrichard]

What is the working distance at the maximum magnification?

Maximum magnification you are only mm from the object, however, you can easily have it up 2 inches and you are still pretty close. You could use it to project on a computer and then operate on the patient (watch).


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[matabog]

What do you use to clean the lens? I read somewhere that ether70%/IPA 30% mix would do.

Also, I was searching for a service manual, but I think there isn't anything out there. I am having some problems with the rack/pinion assesmbly - it's a bit too loose.

 

[wls1971]

I use Lidl lens cleaning wipes that come in a pack of 100 these are alchol impregnated wipes.

The tension on the rack and pinion is adjustable via the knob on the right hand side,this is a instruction/maintence manual I found online,

http://www.lzos.ru/en/pdf/MBS-10_manual.pdf

I did take mine apart to clean and regrease it as all the old grease had hardend

[matabog]

I was wondering where did you grease the rack/pinion assembly knobs/nuts/washers .

 

B

[wls1971]

When you take it apart it becomes fairly obvious where the old grease is it will have  hardend so clean it off, mainly on the threads of the friction adjustment and on the rack. The only grease I had at the time was a grease I use for my mountain bike gears so I used that.I did this about two years ago and its still silky smooth on the focus adjustment.

The only other thing I have done is replace the light with a L.E.D one the old one being a tungsten light powered by a transforner the size of a electricity sub station ran very hot, I dont know how good russian electrics are but I got the distinct impression that the best place for this was the bin.

[matabog]

first of all: HA HA!! nice one with electricity sub-station :)) True....

I am waiting for a cheap chinese 144 LED microscope Lamp myself to replace the "Heater", but I am a bit skeptical about it being as strong as the original light.

About the rack/pinion, I wasn't referring to the rack/pinion itself but more at the pinion axle and the knobs at it's end. Those are slipping, meaning the knobs are slipping on the axle - so I am thinking maybe I put too much grease and in the wrong places. 

So to reiterate the question: where did you grease the pinion axle? For example: did you grease the washers near the knob? How about the wood piece that resembles a champagne cork material?

Sorry if it's a dumb question. When I disassembled the thing, there was hardened grease everywhere. Also I struggled about 2 hours (from 2AM to 4 AM) because when I replaced the flange form the left side (from the rack-pinion assembly, the one that is fixed in 3 screws), I put it upside down - so the pinion didn't slide smoothly on the rack. Dumb, dumb, dumb....

[wls1971]

No just grease the axle. I think the wood piece is some kind of hardend leather in mine I did not put any grease on, thats what provides the resistance to stop the focus being too loose and moving from the weight of the head. If the knobs are slipping on the axle have you tightend the two nuts that hold the knobs to the axle enough I know they where a pain to do being so far down in the knob.

[wls1971]

I have now cobbled together a eyepiece adapter for my MBC made from a old canon extension tube and a turned aluminium tube that fits over the eyepiece.

Using it I have found the 8x eyepiece to be optically better than the 14x at low magnifications the fall off around the edges is very pronounced with only the central portion of the frame sharp as in the example below

 

But this improves as the magnification increases,

Contrast and sharpness are good Russian optics have always been good, having taken a lot of equipment and manufacturing facilties when germany was split after the war, but there is no depth of field to speak of so focus is very shallow in all these pic I have focused on the top of the centre wheel pinion,

The scratches on the top of the pinion are pin sharp but focus falls off on the screw heads,

 

 

 

[matabog]

could you add a photo of the whole assembly? Microscope + adapter + camera?

 

Thank you!

Bogdan

[wls1971]

Hi,

This is the set up I have attached a cheap L.E.D ring flash on to the lens this was bought very cheaply off Ebay for £10.00 including postage it can be used as a flash or a constant light source and comes with a number of adapters to fit various lenses.

The eyepiece adapter is a old Canon fit cheap chinese extension tube with a aluminium tube attached which fits directley over any one of the eyepieces.

These adapters can be bought ready made off Ebay for various D-SLR cameras or compact cameras.

Edited November 1, 2016 by wls1971

[matabog]

Thank you!

[Watchtime]

thanks for sharing, ordered on right away.

[szbalogh]

Bergeon USB camera... with wifi and with 1.3mp resolution... 420 USD