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Old 23-09-2020, 12:27 PM
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My microscope has arrived.

A wonderful gift from a forum member,who will remain nameless until and if he gives me permission to publically thank him, which arrived yesterday.
It is an upright binocular unit capable of high magnification (up to 1000 times with current eye pieces.
The view seemed out so I dismantled the head to find one prism was unsecured which I fixed and now it works great ..like Markus (Stonius) I find it is USA voltage which I can sort out but being impatient took my astronomy head lamp and illuminated some moss in solution to have my first views..absolutely fantastic...heaps of little critters that I am able to name as I have been studying up on this..George Fred and Barry..and later I will be able to name their species.
I do not know why I didn't do this a long time ago.
Just so much fun.
Alex
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Old 24-09-2020, 10:10 AM
Pepper (Steve)
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good stuff mate. ive been thinking about getting a microscope. i reckon the kids would have a blast with it.
i tried a usb unit the other day at a mates house. Made interesting viewing of the cuts and scrapes and all the grubby stuff on my hands. Made me wish i didnt lick my fingers after eating kfc for lunch.
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Old 24-09-2020, 10:42 AM
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Stonius (Markus)
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Hours of fun! I never thought I'd be able to get so excited about dirty pond water! :-D


What learning resources have you been using?


I just received a book that has been helping greatly - 'Guide to Microlife' by Kenneth G Rainis and Bruce J Russel.


Have fun!


Markus
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Old 24-09-2020, 01:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Pepper View Post
good stuff mate. ive been thinking about getting a microscope. i reckon the kids would have a blast with it.
i tried a usb unit the other day at a mates house. Made interesting viewing of the cuts and scrapes and all the grubby stuff on my hands. Made me wish i didnt lick my fingers after eating kfc for lunch.
Hi Steve
I got my first microscope when I was 11 years old and I had great fun with it so do your kids a favour and get yourself one..$200 buys you a ticket but it could be worthwhile spending big.
However no need to fear them..if they want to get you they most probably will..however washing ones hands prevents many opportunity for illness...also avoid kissing on the lips.
Alex
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Old 24-09-2020, 01:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Stonius View Post
Hours of fun! I never thought I'd be able to get so excited about dirty pond water! :-D


What learning resources have you been using?


I just received a book that has been helping greatly - 'Guide to Microlife' by Kenneth G Rainis and Bruce J Russel.


Have fun!


Markus
I was up early to nail the observatory floor boards and experience further frustration trying to glue foam bats to the ceiling..because of my leg problem I have to lay on my stomach to hammer nails in the floor...well after 300 of them I again visited the fish pond for a sample. This time I selected a water Lilly leaf which was clearly decomposing so overjoyed I raced back to the van and a cup of green tea and now have spent a couple of hours watching various animals do their thing. I found a rather large worm trying to borrow into some slime, a smaller one that was very active, a few things that looked like fleas and some one celled creatures. There was just so much going on.

My only learning resource is you tube..you know of microbehunter, and there are others er voyage to the micro cosmos? funny I am not sure of the name but it is excellent..plus I have been watching various lectures out of some of the finest universities in the world on cell structure and function etc...some of it is a bit heavy but after a few various things fall into place...I don't need to watch the lecturer so I play them whilst viewing.
I have learnt a great deal in just the last 4 or 5 weeks.
But I really need to take notes and print out some photos of animals I am ,likely to see..a journal to record sessions.
And I will play around for another couple of hours and have a sleep so hopefully I get a clear night..last night looked perfect so I set up and came in made a decent meal but when I went out it was cloudy...so I packed up and looked at some old samples I have..and keep forgetting to get that copper sulphate.

Alex
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Old 24-09-2020, 03:31 PM
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Here is but one example of the fun things you can find on you tube..I dont know if University of Utah is any good but stuff like this is informative and as you tube does once they see you are up for this sort of thing suggest other lectures...and you can search..but so often something appears and you look and so other videis appear and subscribe so you get in the loop.https://youtu.be/b0pDBPJiNnc
And from Harvard which is apparently a respected University...

https://youtu.be/LQmTKxI4Wn4

Alex

Last edited by xelasnave; 24-09-2020 at 07:50 PM.
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Old 24-09-2020, 05:42 PM
Huey (Michael)
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microscope

Alex,
try to get some powdered wallpaper glue (methyl cellulose) and mix a small amount with your pond water. It slows the critters right down and you can observe them much better. This is a good resource: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/
and also:
microbehunter.com

All the best
Huey
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Old 24-09-2020, 07:51 PM
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Thank you Michael
Alex
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Old 30-09-2020, 10:59 AM
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The microscope has USA power and so I thought I would take off the base plate and see what could be done...fiddly..one of those things built to prevent mugs pulling them apart and getting them back together..good qualoty..made in USA...but I find there is a second condensor unit with it seems a polarising unit..flash or what...anyways I somehow managed to put it all back together and will get a step down transformer rather than play with what is there ...I have been seeing some very interesting stuff just using my head lamp but cant wait to play with the two condensor units...I ordered a cheap 5 mp camera and if that works will have a go at some videos and photos.
Alex
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Old 30-09-2020, 11:25 AM
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First photo together..second when base was off showing a second condensor.
Alex
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Old 30-09-2020, 04:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave View Post
The microscope has USA power and so I thought I would take off the base plate and see what could be done.



Have a look at the Yellow transformer - if it has any markings on it you may be able to get a spec sheet online. Even if it just tells you the output voltage, it may give you an idea what to replace it with.


Friend of mine just lent me an old 1957 Leitz compound scope which I'm just getting the hang of. The way the sample is lit through the condenser is critical, I've found and there are several controls in the chain so I had to experiment a bit (a lot).



I didn't realise but the Leitz Company was started by Carl Kellner and the original focus of the company was telescope optics. Back in the day they were rivals with Zeiss. The company still exists now (180 years and several mergers later), as Leica.


Have fun and let us know what you find! :-)


Markus
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Old 30-09-2020, 05:14 PM
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Thanks Markus
I really want to avoid taking the base off again in the short term..I should have taken notes damn it....that little arm you can see in the photo is held on by a spring washer and it is difficult both to remove and refit.a nightmare actually..the base only comes away by three quarters of an inch and you have to reach in with pointy pliers in that small gap to disconnect that arm to open it up...so if I can get an external unit I will give that approach a go...if I am forced to I will take it off again I will but in that event option two (if no success that time with a transformer fix etc) I will fit led lights...and certainly do away with that spring fastener somehow.

I don't know if I mentioned but it has a pointer in one eye piece and a scale in the other so I can record actual sizes of animals and things.

I was looking at a worm last night and one could see all his internals working away.
I know the lighting is a big deal that is why I was both happy and surprised my jury rig worked..it would be great to be a able to take advantage of the lighting set up with the polarizer...I have yet to order some slides and cover slips..I have a couple of slides but no cover slips so no high mag until I get them.

But great so far.

Alex
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Old 30-09-2020, 07:46 PM
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Sounds like you know what you're doing! Heck, I'm only just figuring it out as I go along myself!


And lucky you - having a polarising condenser - that'll be interesting to check out!


The one I borrowed has a 100x oil immersion objective, for which I'll need to get some oil for before I can use it. So far the higher objectives are proving to be a bit too fiddly for me, so I'm sticking to around 320x, but I do want to see what 1250x looks like. And my stains arrived, so I want to see if I can catch some cells dividing!


Cheers, and let us know what you find! :-)


Markus
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Old 01-10-2020, 04:12 AM
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I heard you can use fountain pen ink as a stain and I notice that a staying dish is sold but I can't see why a small jar would not do the job.
You remind me to get some oil. I have wondered if just clean water would work ...less messy...I found the copper sulphate but my lighting does it no justice.
So far the worms I find seem to be on the inside of the stalk of the water Lilly as I have not found any on the exterior parts I examined...I thought to look on the inside as seemed to me a protected environment that animals may like and attract critters that like dark...I plan to examine some yeast acting in a sugar solution see if I can see the bubbles.
I did look at a very small moth and it surprised me the complexity of the hair structures on it's leg and what I suppose we could call it's feet.
I was looking at the most powerful electron microscope and recomend looking ..to examine a needle they removed a little square section perhaps thinner than a human hair..the preparation is unbelievable.
Must go time to start work.
Alex
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Old 02-10-2020, 12:48 PM
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For those of you who are mildly interested in getting a microscope you may care to look at this video.
The guy doing the video presents many other videos both giving tips and help as well as videos of various animals or objects under the microscope.
The fact that he says this is a good microscope is good enough for me..I may get one simply because it is tri nocular and which case I can use my Nikon digital camera which really is not a good idea on the binocular..microscopes are like telescopes ..you can own more than one..
Anyways I looked on Amozon and it is $280 US I presume but that is about as good as you can get...I was looking at what you could call similar for a bit over two grand ( with a camera) of course the two grand one will be better but I bet it would be a long while before one found the cheap one unacceptable..if ever.

It is not much money so just get one..to miss out the micro experience would be criminal.

https://youtu.be/6PWMZNf9toclex
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Old 08-10-2020, 06:48 AM
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The microscope has 110 volts so I purchased a step down transformer from Jaycar however the input on the transformer only has two holes whereas the plug on the microscope has three prongs ...an earth...I am thinking just to cut off the earth plug making the microscope plug now a two prong unit and able to plug into the step down transformer...does anyone see any problem in doing this?
Alex
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Old 09-10-2020, 01:55 PM
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Stonius (Markus)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave View Post
The microscope has 110 volts so I purchased a step down transformer from Jaycar however the input on the transformer only has two holes whereas the plug on the microscope has three prongs ...an earth...I am thinking just to cut off the earth plug making the microscope plug now a two prong unit and able to plug into the step down transformer...does anyone see any problem in doing this?
Alex

Hi Alex,


I would definitely try to get it earthed, otherwise you could be in for a nasty shock (pun sorta half-intended).


I had the same situation with my microscope - the transformer was not earthed. I think you *can get them earthed, which might be he best way. Failing that, you can get an old plug and remove or safely terminate the + and - wires, leaving only the earth and attach that to the earth pin so at least it is grounded, but it takes up two plugs (one for the earth lead, the other for the transformer). There's also the danger that it can detatch unawares, thus exposing you to risk unknowingly.


As always, be careful if you're messing with mains electricity. You want to have a continuity tester to make sure you're playing with the right wires, and know which wires are which, obviously.



The above solution isn't ideal, but it got me through until I managed to figure out what they'd done wrong inside the unit.


Cheers


Markus
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Old 09-10-2020, 09:56 PM
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Thanks Markus.
I am thinking to add an earth wire to the metal body of the microscope and run it outside to connect to a pipe in the ground.
It occurred to me just now that I need to earth my inverter and the genny.
Alex
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Old 10-10-2020, 11:58 AM
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Not that it’s of any cosmic significance really, but you might be interested to know that LeiCa is in fact a contraction of Leitz Cameras, and the lenses are still branded as Leitz.
I used both Zeiss and Leitz petrological microscopes back in my days at uni, and they are both exquisite.

Cheers,
Andrew.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stonius View Post


I didn't realise but the Leitz Company was started by Carl Kellner and the original focus of the company was telescope optics. Back in the day they were rivals with Zeiss. The company still exists now (180 years and several mergers later), as Leica.


Have fun and let us know what you find! :-)


Markus
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Old 12-10-2020, 08:41 AM
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Well a very kind neighbour bought me another transformer but without a plug but I have decided to wait sorting this issue out until I can set up my microscope desk in the new observatory... casting the part for the pier is my main priority as until that is sorted all other things must wait.

I finally talked the previous owner of the microscope into letting me mention his kindness.

So let it be known that it was our member from the USA Thomas, a member here with user name Leee, who kindly sent me my wonderful new microsope...Thomas is a retired Micro Biologist so I feel confident that I now have a professional standard microscope perhaps much better than what I would have purchased.

We had agreed that I pay the postage but when Thomas found out the microscope sustained some minor damage in the post he would only let me pay half...I would not hear of such a thing given it was no way his fault particularly the enormous care he went to with the packaging...however he was so insistent that I bow to his wishes that finally I did...I am forever in his debt.

Not only do I thank Thomas for his wonderful gift but also for enabling me to become interested in biology...which now sees me reading (watching) everything I can get my eyes on in this area.

The activity of cells and their components is fascinating ...I am absolutely taken with how motor proteins function at a molecular level and the significance of mitacondiria in our evolution...it is something that everyone should know and why we are different to bacteria for example.

Thomas I doubt if I can ever thank you enough but you have given me a whole new exciting interest that has me looking forward to all the new things that I can see and learn each day.

Thank you.
Alex
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