[time-nuts] Working with SMT parts.

[William H. Fite]

For me, the ideal solution is an eyeglass-mounted surgical loupe such as
this: http://www.surgitel.com/loupes/prismpro-line. There are several
manufacturers. Long working distance, superbly corrected optics, no bino
microscope or Mantis monstrosity cluttering up the bench. Not cheap but a
lifetime investment.

On Saturday, August 13, 2016, Adrian Godwin <artgodwin at gmail.com> wrote:

> I use a beautiful Wild M3Z that I got at a good price from a British
> Aerospace auction. It does have the disadvantage that there's a very exact
> spot to place your eyes, but the image is superb. I typically start at the
> bottom end (6.5 x 10 x 0.5) but often use the other zoom levels (up to 40 x
> 10 x 0.5). It has a Volpi fibre optic ring light but LEDs may be a better
> solution nowadays.
>
> I also have an illuminated magnifying lamp - I like the ones made by Lux.
>
> I've considered a video microscope for the times when a large screen would
> be desirable but computer and tablet ones are said to have a bit of lag
> that make precise movements difficult. Direct video without a computer is
> probably better.
>
> On Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 2:14 PM, Bob Camp <kb8tq at n1k.org <javascript:;>>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi
> >
> > You can get a pretty good microscope new for about $1,000. Getting them
> > used is a hit or
> > miss process. A lot of this stuff actually works very well when in good
> > condition with all the
> > parts (The Mantis is one example). Without all the parts they don’t work
> > or work poorly.
> >
> > For most of what you do, there is no need for anything fancy. There is a
> > Mantis in full working
> > condition at work. It never gets used. Magnifier lights get used a lot.
> > Low magnification
> > microscopes with really good halogen / fiber optic ring lights seem to be
> > the most
> > popular option.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
> > > On Aug 11, 2016, at 8:06 PM, Steve <steve65 at suddenlink.net
> <javascript:;>> wrote:
> > >
> > > Can anyone compare the stereo microscope to a camera/monitor for use
> > with SMT? I have a cheap stereo microscope that I would like to replace
> > with either a much better stereo microscope or a camera/monitor. Is
> there a
> > marked advantage(s) of one versus the other?  I have no "floaters" to
> > contend with.
> > >
> > > Steve, K8JQ
> > >
> > > On 8/11/2016 4:06 PM, Chuck Harris wrote:
> > >> Lots of good suggestions have already been made, but for
> > >> me, a boom style stereo microscope, with a distance between
> > >> the objective, and the focal point of at least 3 inches works
> > >> fairly well...
> > >>
> > >> One other thing that may force your decision, if you are
> > >> older, your eyes will likely have lots of "floaters", which
> > >> are debris that floats around in your eyeballs.  This debris
> > >> floats in and out of the center of your field of view, and
> > >> looks like a bunch of translucent worms, or shadows.
> > >>
> > >> Your brain, the magnificent organ that it is, tries to compensate
> > >> for your eye's degradation, and as long as your eyes can move
> > >> about in your field of view, it effectively removes the floaters
> > >> from the scenes you are viewing.
> > >>
> > >> However, if you use a stereo microscope, your eye position
> > >> is fixed by the very limited amounts of off axis motion
> > >> that will allow a through optical channel.  This lack of off
> > >> axis motion will emphasize your floaters in a great way, and you
> > >> will see *every* *single* *one*, clearly, as if it were something
> > >> you really wanted to view.  Some times, the floaters will cover
> > >> the exact thing you need to see clearly, and you will have to
> > >> move it off axis by moving it on the microscope stage.
> > >>
> > >> The only answer to this problem, is to either have perfect eyes,
> > >> or to use a microscope where you are looking at a screen, rather
> > >> than through a pair of oculars.  This way, your eyes can dart
> > >> around, and inspect what they need to see clearly, and the
> > >> floaters will be ignored by your brain.
> > >>
> > >> As far as I know, there is only one optical microscope built this
> > >> way, and it is the very expensive Mantis.
> > >>
> > >> Because of the great expense of flat screen optical microscopes,
> > >> most modern SMD viewing equipment is going to the trivially cheap
> > >> method of using a CCD/CMOS color video camera and an LCD screen.
> > >>
> > >> You can do a lot with a cheap USB camera mounted to a boom, a fiber
> > >> optic light source, or a ring light, and a laptop computer to
> > >> display the image.
> > >>
> > >> -Chuck Harris
> > >>
> > >> Bob Albert via time-nuts wrote:
> > >>> What are the important parameters regarding purchase of a stereo
> > microscope?  I
> > >>> see some on ebay for around $50; are those good? Bob
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