New tool in the science area (USB Microscope)

Hello,

There is now a low magnification USB microscope in the science area hooked up to the main computer.

This tool was loaned by new member Dylan (sorry, I don’t know his last name or forum handle).

Feel free to play with this device (look at various things, etc). or use it to inspect/take pictures of smaller items.

You should be able to plug the device into your own laptop and use it as a camera – please leave it in the Science area, though.

Potential uses:

  • Circuit board/solder joint inspection
  • Reading text on impossibly small electronic components
  • Looking at your own skin and figuring out how porous it really is
  • Inspecting leaves/seeds/flowers
  • Looking at crystals (salt, sugar, etc.)
  • Assembling very small things (the microscope has a stand)
  • Live-streaming the lives of protozoa
  • Creating a poster-size image of a small everyday object (pennies and feathers work very well) using stitching software

Low magnification microscopes are among my favorite scientific tools/toys.

Oguz Yetkin

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Thanks Dylan. Now we can look at “All the small things”

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Cool - any idea what the magnification level is?

The magnification isn’t too strong, I would say around 20X. It does give some really nice sharp images though!

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We did discover that some of hydroponic plants have bugs, If you get it adjusted just right, you can see, movement inside the bug!

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Low magnification is actually a good thing for microscopes like this one, which are designed to give you a good overview of your sample. You can always blow the image up after taking the picture (to a certain extent).

Resolution is more important (in this context, resolution is the ability to distinguish between two points which are close to each other. This is not necessarily enhanced by having a high megapixel sensor if your optics are bad).

High magnification is good if you need it but will reduce your field of view (you won’t know what you’re looking at).

I usually use the lowest magnification I can get away with and am a great fan of having a couple of low magnification microscopes around.

(We also have a regular dissecting microscope which serves a similar purpose).

Oguz

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I don’t believe you!

…waits for pics…

:smirk:

“Magnification” is controlled by distance and focus with this microscope. You can get a little closer to your sample by putting it inside the LED housing, but the closer you get the harder it will be to focus.

Usage with VLC:

  1. Ctrl + C to open a capture device
  2. Change the video device name to USB smth
  3. Specify a video size. I think 1280x1024 800x600 640x480 are all valid, not 100% sure though.

To save an image: Video > Take snapshot
You might want to assign a hotkey to the snapshot command if you use it often.

Is there someone that ‘knows’ all about how to use this USB microscope and can schedule about an hour of time to meet with me and show me the functions with example stuff to view and answer some brief questions about Microscopy?

Preferably someone not prone to long drawn out, highly technical explanations… so that someone like me could understand and not get bored. :wink:

I plan to film this as an on-location interview style. The actual video may only be 2-5 minutes long, but getting setup and everything… plan to be there an hour.

I’d have a bit of time to show you how to use the scope, but my knowledge of microscopy is not near as extensive as some of the others at the space. What if we gathered all the information and you presented it? :slight_smile:

Nope… LOL

Too much effort on my part. Better to be the dumb news anchor guy doing the reporting and some expert spewing out the knowledge. :wink:

Turtles all the way down perhaps? :grin:

Oh! This is perfect for examining my tiny LEDs and their attached program
ICs to see if I can change their behavior. Thank you Dylan!

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I found out that it’s perfect for viewing the layers on 3D prints. I’ll save and print out microscopic images of 0.125mm and 0.25mm layer heights.

I also looked at a dollar bill, it’s pretty cool to see all the fibers and print up close.

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This is a very useful gadget! On a whim I used it to look at some of the machine shop end mills.

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Yeah, I was looking at sharpened edge of woodcarving tools.