Buy yourself a decent stereo inspection microscope, preferably an optical microscope. Something that can be magnified from 4x to 40x is great, anything beyond this range is icing on the cake. Some people claim that they can use at least 10x, but if you go there, you will eventually need a zoom lens. Anyway, get one and you will thank me.

How do I know this? About two years ago, I finally gave in and bought one. Although it is not something I use every day, it is something I use at least once a month, and there is no substitute at all.

This is Hackaday, so many of you will think that "inspection range = fine pitch welding", you are not wrong. With a gap of 10 cm or more and a piece of sacrificial optical glass ("neutral density filter") to protect the optics from the effects of tar flux fumes, the 4x stereoscope makes even the most cumbersome solder joints become possible. Of course, good lighting and sharp tweezers are also necessary. That's why I came in.

But this is only half of it, or less. When my telescope was new to me—it hadn’t been “new” since the late 1980s—we spent the entire rainy Sunday afternoon microscopically looking at anything that fits under the lens. Salt grains, grass blades, all kinds of live insects, shells, skins, textiles. Everything under the microscope became cold.

The event that triggered this article was not my son’s project of shooting dandelion seeds at school this week. No, today my wife found a bug in the basement; to the microscope! Through a very quick but unfortunately very positive identification, we now know that we have to filter all the flour to get the bread beetles and then throw them in the bag. Long live!

The inspection scope is designed for soldering stations, but it has been found to be widely used as an irreplaceable household tool. Admittedly, I also intend to use it to lure my son into the field of science, but the real fight with scope time is with my wife. This is why you need an optical oscilloscope instead of an oscilloscope connected to the display-as a general-purpose tool, portability is the most important. No menu diving, no power supply, anyone can pick it up and go.

Believe it? Are you ready to take out your wallet? The microscope is like a car. You can spend as much as you want, the cheapest will only bring you pain and torture, and the difference between the middle and high end is full of diminishing returns. Buying second-hand products, especially if you can use figurative tires, may be a good deal, and the value of high-end second-hand oscilloscopes will be much better than the new budget model. About US$200 is the new sweet spot. If you shop around, US$300-400 will give you the top products of the past. It's not cheap, but if you are a microscope type person, it's worth it. Believe me.

Personally, I don't have much use for microscopes. The only use is to check solder joints and electronic equipment, but I feel good with the phone's camera and an app that can zoom in and out. Of course, soldering is not very useful, but I can at least check the results directly afterwards.

Once you use a good microscope, you will want to know how you lived without it.

If you can use redundant medical equipment-the slit lamp has a reasonable stereo microscope that can be freed from the rest of the equipment and work quietly. You just need to take a stand

Why is it stereo? Depth perception. Video microscopes or monocular optical microscopes have no depth perception. A completely different experience. With a video microscope, when you move your head, the image will not move. I have never been too used to it. I prefer optics. Depending on the brand and model, a typical zoom microscope has a zoom range of 4:1 to 10:1. Please note that some models may have a shorter working distance. The actual magnification depends on the eyepiece and objective lens. A good lens allows the use of a negative zoom lens, thereby increasing the working distance. You can approach one foot on some models. Most of my clothes are about 9 inches. Easy to get hands, tweezers and soldering iron. Bausch & Lomb (Leica) is the old standard. Nikon, Olympus, Wild, Zeiss. They are great. You can get many different bases and support arms. Yes, you can get some medium-cost second-hand products. A good new one with a base and lamp can be very expensive. You can also find a trinocular version that allows eyepieces and cameras.

With a cheap video microscope, your working distance is usually very small. If you can't afford a stereo, make sure you get something with enough working distance. Some can zoom without changing the focal length. Some must be repositioned closer when zooming in. Also, you may need a monitor or computer that I find inconvenient. The optical microscope is readily available.

"Everything under the microscope has become cooler."

I heard that making laws is like making sausages. You really don't want to witness.

You can buy a miniature microscope on eBay for about $2. I have a few of these: one on the desk in front of my computer (when I type), one in the laboratory, and one I take to participate. There is a weekly Hackerspace gathering, and there is one in the truck with my sample pack. (Yes, the sample kit on the truck-you never know when you will encounter something interesting.)

Although not stereoscopic inspection microscopes, these microscopes have been invaluable in the past few years. Able to read tiny chips on the circuit board, or check for cracks and breaks, carefully check for traces-I use it about once a week.

Search on eBay: Handheld Mini Pocket Microscope Loupe Loop Jeweler Magnifier

You can buy ordinary magnifying glasses on eBay, but these are usually rubbish-the sides are opaque and opaque.

My high-quality magnifying glass (from previous work) has transparent sides and markings with various rulers-with the markings you can measure the size of things (such as the width of traces) to several you. They are very good for random measurements. Search for "magnifying glass ruler" on eBay.

The following is a measurement example of laser spot size:

https://hackaday.io/project/5283/gallery#c85d04c33c698b43a7123423c25ebd64

When you reach a certain age, reading glasses or bifocal glasses become a fact of daily life, and there is always a 4-inch magnifying glass on my desk. Recently, I sold some "watchmaker" magnifiers with 10x to 25x lenses, and they have proved to be very useful. Stereo microscopes would be great, but there are also cheaper options.

(I gave the Tasco monochrome microscope from my childhood to the neighbor’s child. He is now grown up... I want to know if I can get it back...)

I have an old student stereoscopic anatomical scope, but the object must be quite small to fit. Then I use Oroscopic binoculars like a dentist, but as my eyes change, I need new lenses. About 12 years ago, I finally bought a nice large telescope on my arm that I saw on eBay. It had an LED lighting ring. I use it 5 or 10 times a day.

The optical effect is not good, the minimum magnification is too high, and I have to refocus when moving the zoom. If I use a camera tube, the left side stereo lens will be cut off by the mirror, which makes it impossible to be so precise when making videos. However, there is nothing similar to read the part numbers on chips or similar components. And used for fine welding and inspection. The various adjustments to rest my hand somewhere when using tweezers make me very good at the placement of 0604 and 0402 parts.

this. https://www.amazon.com/AmScope-SM-4B-80S-Professional-Microscope-Magnification/dp/B005EDBMVE

If you have to refocus while zooming, your eyepiece settings are incorrect. This manual describes a setting algorithm. It is similar to "always zoom in, focus, adjust right eye, always zoom out, adjust left eye, rinse, repeat". Can't remember the details.

"Reading glasses" is completely underestimated in terms of welding. Buying some is really too strong (4?), they are like a magnifying glass tied to your eyes. The disadvantage is that you have to be close to things to concentrate. But for $4 from the pharmacy, you can do the experiment. I also have a pair of 2 that I use frequently.

I also have a pair of Chinese dentist glasses, which I bought for $30. They are essentially two small 3.5x telescopes: they zoom in at a very comfortable working distance. My complaint is that they have a small field of view, which is bad when you have to walk around. (Binoculars.) I want more expensive telescopes to use more glass and have a better FOV.

I also have an old jeweler's magnifying glass, which was given to me by my grandfather when I was young. Again, you have to be close to the object, but it also makes a great macro lens for the camera.

These are not inspection microscopes. This is my point of view.

Picking fragments/fragments (depending on which part of the country you are from) is where my performance is absolutely incredible value!

I found the stereo microscope to be very helpful for this exact purpose. A few years ago, I accidentally installed a small (too small, invisible to the naked eye, but enough to become very sore) metal strips on my fingers. It was painful all weekend, but when I went to work on Monday morning, I was able to solve the problem within a few minutes under the microscope of the electron laboratory.

For those stubborn small fragments that are not available with microscopes and tools, here is a tip: put a little peroxide on them, because gas and liquid are sometimes enough to remove and carry the fragments out. Verification by microscope.

Another tip-strong silver band-put it on the debris area, press lightly...pull quickly. Repeat if necessary.

Good method for items such as fiberglass, fine cactus thorns and nettles.

love it! The article on the microscope becomes Debris 101. :)

However, I also use my scope to deal with debris. Sharp tweezers for SMD work are also very convenient in this case.

@Corry, I can confirm this. I bought a stereo oscilloscope for electronic reasons, but in the past 10 years, half of its use has been to help remove cactus needles.

Get a stereo oscilloscope and you will want to know how you live without it, especially if you are middle-aged.

I bought Amscope SE-400-Z from Amazon for double welding and sliver.

If I don’t buy a stereo microscope every day, I feel incomplete. 1 Used to remove debris. Sometimes I find fragments that I don't know, and I see a rusty little drool under my skin. For electronic products, it is perfect. I will definitely buy it this weekend. I don't want to wait until Monday to go to work

Maybe someone working in an MRI laboratory can help. :-)

Yes, you definitely want stereo! This is why we recently started a new project: Stereo Ninja! This is a digital stereo microscope, because it is DIY, so it doesn't need to be expensive. Especially if you already have a monitor that supports 3D. It is still in progress, but it looks promising. Excellent stereo view and good working distance. Check it out at https://hackaday.io/project/180044-stereo-ninja

I have an operating microscope with a magnification of up to 60 times and a detachable zoom lens that can reduce the magnification to a maximum of 20 times and extend the working distance to 12 inches. Under any zoom setting, the image it generates is very clear from edge to edge. I don't have a stand, so I put it on an old drill press stand so that I can move the sample table up and down to accommodate objects of different sizes. I designed and printed the adapter to install my phone and camera.

It is very suitable for viewing small things, small details of big things, removing debris, soldering surface mount parts, etc.

IKEA NÄVLINGE spotlights are very suitable for use with stereoscopes, but the light is a bit "warm". The ring light presents invisible texture details, which can be enhanced by aiming the spotlight at the object being viewed.

I have a Zeiss OPMI1, which is great. It has an ultimate goal, which can be replaced for different working lengths. The goal I have is 200 mm, which is almost perfect for welding. This is taken from an old LASIK machine.

We have cheaper stereoscopes at work, but they are hardly useful. They are actually a bit bad.

I have an Amplifier stereo microscope. 9 inches working distance. I like.

I am the prototype of my company. For 5 years, I have been using this oscilloscope (assuming you are using a 10x) to build hundreds of circuit boards with SOT323, 0603, and very fine pitch chips.

With stereo sound and so much work space, I use hot air pencils on lead-free and underfill chips better than our SMT production line. This also means that I can find small flaws in relatively large items. Even putting the stranded wire into the circuit board is more tidy and reliable, because you can see where the solder absorbs moisture.

Stereo sound means that I can find a few clear glass shards in my hands that I can't find any other way.

You almost sold me the upgrade! But I still use the $30 webcam-grade digital microscope that someone gave me for Christmas a few years ago. Even in a device that you can't really use in real time, a little bit of zoom is very useful, which is really surprising.

I want to know how difficult it would be to combine two of these cheap digital oscilloscopes with LCD shutter glasses or a lenticular lens screen into a stereo pair to display a 3D view. Um. I feel that another project is underway...

It's not too difficult! Check out https://hackaday.io/project/180044-stereo-ninja

Sometimes the curse of -6D myopia is a blessing. Without my glasses, I am a walking stereo microscope. With them, I am a walking beam splitter (thanks to the dispersion of the high refractive index glass).

However, the magnifying lens strap (with glasses) helps keep my nose away from heat welding.

Me too. It is very interesting by looking at the spectrum of street lights etc. outside the corner. The eyepiece of an old camera is a good inspection lens.

I use a real analog Zeiss stereo microscope 2x-8x, which is cheaply obtained from garage sales, and installed on a flexible lamp holder for welding, welding inspection, etc.

I don't like USB cameras, there is always a smooth delay, you need additional computer hardware, and the optics are always bad.

With experience in fine welding, I always swear by numbers rather than optically. Looking up at the big screen is far more pleasant than bending over to look at the eyepieces. I also recommend a USB output that directly provides ordinary HDMI or VGA output instead of a USB output that requires a computer to interface between it and the screen, so you can connect it to the monitor and turn it on without having to fiddle with software.

Elliott, as the bread beetle invasion in the summer of 2005 told us, don’t just assume the origin of the critter’s name. After cleaning up any edible things in my apartment (for those particularly annoying little animals, including but not limited to: coffee filters, sealed pastries and medicines. They seem to be able to chew the plastic packaging easily.) Finally it closed. The vents proved successful in the bathroom. Anyway, throw away anything that contains starch, or keep it in the refrigerator for a long time.

Yes! This is where we are. Now all the flour is in the glass or in the trash can. The pasta has been kept in a plastic storage container, and it looks okay.

But the point. When good things are no longer available, they may eat whatever starch they can find...

I have three ranges. Zeiss OPMI 1, Nikon Optphot 66 and old Hitachi S-450 SEM. Zeiss is by far the most useful, followed by Nikon. Nikon has EPI DIC's epi-illumination and transmission illumination, which is very neat.

The warning to re-share the use of classic microscopes may be for this. In my e-teaching career, this Newtonian classic has been widely used for circuit inspection, etc. Despite alarms and tissue wipes, infectious conjunctival pain often occurs. With the advent of video types, I bought a basic one for less demanding classwork. It also allows group image sharing/saving and alleviates eye infections.

I bought the entry-level Amscope from their website for about $100. It has 20x and 40x magnifications, and there is not much space under the scope to place objects before hitting the bracket. I like it for micro soldering, so that I feel uncomfortable when soldering through-hole components without this magnification. I use 20x for welding and sometimes 40x for chipping.

Watching Louis Rossman repairing the circuit board under the microscope on YouTube made me eager to try and got one.

I will share my own discovery of using a microscope to identify mysterious bugs:

When looking from the back instead of the front, errors are easier to identify by 10,000%. Each photo or any other reference material is a view of the back. So don't abduct bugs by touching its back with tape, you can only check its belly and legs, but you (or any bug expert you consult) really want to see its back.

This guy is entangled in some furry things. Another advantage of stereo is that I can actually clamp it there with tweezers and gently flip it over. What actually surprised me was that I could manipulate a tiny (living, moving) bug so well.

All those gentle treatments just let it be buried in the sea soon (cough cough).

If I had read this article beforehand, the second-hand visual engineering mantis I bought this morning might be inspired: D

One thing I find useful for a good stereo microscope is to look inside the small openings, especially the connectors. I don’t know of any other way to see damaged or corroded pins deep in the groove or in the pin-sized openings. I have two microscopes. If you can afford it, I suggest you buy a microscope with variable zoom. Use bright LED ring lights instead of hot halogen or fluorescent lights. If the focus is too close or too far, please use a cheap 2X or 0.5X adapter lens for adjustment.

Olympus SZ51 shocked! But if your budget is tight, then amScope has many options.

I have a B & L stereo zoom 4 microscope-I am using it on a watch lathe for about 10/15 years now, but it is also used for many other tasks. Remove the debris, check the tool, sharpen the small drill (less than 1 mm), rotate and rotate on the lathe! I bought mine for £200, but it's worth buying. I use it most of the time, but I rarely use it now-1/2 week, but it's well worth the bench space. Try to use an adjustable long arm stand and arrange some kind of LED lighting for inspection. The blue tone does help improve eyesight. The only problem I encountered when using B&L was setting it to maintain focus over the entire zoom range from 4 to 30x magnification. It's still not perfect, but you have to be very picky to worry about it. Using various diopter lenses can change the overall zoom range and focal length. The magnification and zooming of the model is carried out through a prism. For those in the UK, the Brunel microscope is worth talking about.

I like the lenses fixed on the glasses. 2 lenses, if you use them together, you must be very close to see, which makes things look big and easy to solder. It is not recommended to use both for welding at the same time, otherwise you may burn your nose, haha. Both are used for inspection after soldering with one of the other two, depending on how close the pads are. You can put them out when you don’t need them.

A few years ago, a HaD article (no pun intended) had many comments mentioning LOOMIS. So far, I haven't seen any comment mentioning one.

Hacking into a microscope might be interesting to Hackaday people? This website is in Italian, but the pictures are universal: http://www.funsci.it/ The biggest one IMHO: http://www.funsci.it/files/schede_61-65.pdf Some 3D models ( Scrolling PDF): http://www.funsci.it/files/Schede-tecn.-151-155.pdf How to align the objective lens with a hammer (page 12): http://www.funsci.it/files/ 49 -centratura.pdf Technical culture: http://www.funsci.it/microscopia-ottica.html More technical articles: http://www.funsci.it/schede-tecniche.html More than just fragments: http: // www.funsci.it/sezione-biologia.html Enjoy!

"How can I live without it"...Mobile phone microwave oven air conditioner driver's license (and car) Internet connection e-mail oscilloscope multimeter soldering iron wife

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