USB Digital microscopes

[Rara]

I recently bought myself one of these from amazon.

See link for info ... viewtopic.php?p=94014#p94014

I have in the short time I have had this, found it very useful for inspecting my dead V1.3a SY77 motherboard
I bought via ebay.

This USB camera records video as well I've set mine at 640x480. As for still pictures, it captures to over 6000 pixels wide.
I have this running on my XP laptop with out any issues, except the two buttons don't work in XP, apparently they do
in win7.

Amazon had a deal going, buy the micro scope and buy the stand they offer at the same time and pay with in about 20
minutes, pay half price. $53aud for me I was happy.

The first picture of the mainboard was taken with my phone at 3200iso (looks like it was a photo taken by a potatoe)
Just to indicate where some of the problem areas are on this board.

Two close ups of the tracks in between IC137 and RA112 taken with the microscope

SY77_dm1_closeup1.jpg (98.05 KiB) Viewed 801 times

SY77_dm1_closeup2.jpg (115.56 KiB) Viewed 801 times

In between IC136 and RA116

SY77_dm1_closeup3.jpg (114.08 KiB) Viewed 801 times

In between IC136 and IC139

SY77_dm1_closeup4.jpg (104.44 KiB) Viewed 801 times

Looking at the bottom side of my other V1.2 dead DM1 board showing the same issue.
the first of the two bought online "working"
I have only taken two shots for an example.

SY77_dm1_closeup5.jpg (117.69 KiB) Viewed 801 times

SY77_dm1_closeup6.jpg (149.14 KiB) Viewed 801 times

Also handy for checking the condition of the stylus on a record player
What is seen can not be unseen

Lp_Stylus.jpg (23.97 KiB) Viewed 793 times

It maybe possible to bring these SY77 boards back to life, it'll be a lot of work.

This scope also comes with a little clear plastic calibration sheet with measurement printed
on it so it can be overlaid an object under scrutiny to indicate a scale, quite handy.
I wish I had this while poking around the floppy controller board of my FZ1

Overall a very handy gizmo with a many uses and well worth having.

Rara

[Macke]

I recently bought myself one of these from amazon.

See link for info ... viewtopic.php?p=94014#p94014

I have in the short time I have had this, found it very useful for inspecting my dead V1.3a SY77 motherboard
I bought via ebay.

....

Rara

It's indeed a quite handy little gadget. I also got one of those basically for free together with a magazine subscription a few years back.

That is a perfect usage scenario for it in my opinion.

[Saul]

Clearly shows the problem areas and it would be difficult to see these even with a standard magnifier. Money well spent I would say!

[parametric]

Yeah, they are great . . .

I bought one some years ago with no particular purpose in mind - kind of an answer - looking for a question.

Mine was called a "Venus" USB microscope - USB2. It had a switchable ring of leds around the (shrouded) lens - which is focusable . . .

even to infinity . . . .

I found drivers @: driverscape.com/download/venus-usb2.0-camera

I chose the Win10 64bit ones that were "signed" and updated just fine in device manager . . .

It's now happy as a USB3 device too . . . Toughest task is HOLDING it STILL . . . . .

Here's a quick pic I took of the inside of a 3.5mm jack socket on my Behringer Model D - showing the inner "contact" . . .

Chris

[Rara]

Yeah, they are great . . .

I bought one some years ago with no particular purpose in mind - kind of an answer - looking for a question.

Mine was called a "Venus" USB microscope - USB2. It had a switchable ring of leds around the (shrouded) lens - which is focusable . . .

even to infinity . . . .

I found drivers @: driverscape.com/download/venus-usb2.0-camera

I chose the Win10 64bit ones that were "signed" and updated just fine in device manager . . .

It's now happy as a USB3 device too . . . Toughest task is HOLDING it STILL . . . . .

Here's a quick pic I took of the inside of a 3.5mm jack socket on my Behringer Model D - showing the inner "contact" . . .

Chris

It is amazing what details can be seen now, even the scratches from the tip of a socket.

I just thought of using this on mid/late Victorian photos I have, picking out the detail in pictures,
I could use a flatbed scanner, hi res scanning is so slow in comparison to the quick snap shots with this.
Before using the scanner I can see in more detail how bad a condition a photo is before I do scan it,
in away extends the life of an already old scanner

Rara

[Rara]

I cant help nerding out with this

It's great for looking at film photos if you have a light board,
rather than giving yourself a headache using a loupe.
This setup is also great for those annoying 110 films, with this you can
finally see what's on them.

usb_microscope.jpg (92.93 KiB) Viewed 609 times

Rara

[Rara]

Updating the drivers from the included CD to the amcap drivers from the website
gave me higher resolution video (800x600 in this demo) and
zoom in function, still on WinXP.






Rara

[parametric]

THAT is a great result Laura . . . .

I wouldn't be surprised if you can actually accomplish soldering while observing using that rig?

. . . and those 110s - might as well snap them while you are "looking" - then you've got the file?

I DO like the little stand - did that come with it?

I had a need to copy stuff with my Nikon 5200, but copy stands were extortionate, so I made one.

I bought an "old" enlarger off eBay for 15 quid, I say OLD, but it had hardly been used - I threw most of it away except

for the baseboard and column.

A browse round the local camera shop found the parts I needed to firmly mount the Nikon - and it's great to use . . .

Trying to set up a tripod to do this is a nightmare at the best of times . . . .

Chris

[Rara]

THAT is a great result Laura . . . .

I wouldn't be surprised if you can actually accomplish soldering while observing using that rig?

. . . and those 110s - might as well snap them while you are "looking" - then you've got the file?

I DO like the little stand - did that come with it?

I had a need to copy stuff with my Nikon 5200, but copy stands were extortionate, so I made one.

I bought an "old" enlarger off eBay for 15 quid, I say OLD, but it had hardly been used - I threw most of it away except

for the baseboard and column.

A browse round the local camera shop found the parts I needed to firmly mount the Nikon - and it's great to use . . .

Trying to set up a tripod to do this is a nightmare at the best of times . . . .

Chris

I think soldering will be much easier with this. I wish I had seen this before I
fixed my camera lens. the ridiculous setup i had, using nothing
more than the average magnifying glass to solder in a lens standing upright,
gave me serious headache.

The little stand was part of the lightning deal amazon had going at the time.
It was extra on top of the microscope. The stand is good for small objects,
It makes using this scope so much easier.

The light board came from aliexpress, which I bought to look at negatives with.
it took a long time to sift through the listings to find a good one.
(I found one of the more expensive boards one there)

Years ago I gave away all my dark room gear, something I think was a mistake now.

I have and idea for extending the base of this stand, which will make soldering on large pcb's easier.
I'll get to work on this over the week end.


While here, This is closest close up of the screen on my phone, showing the individual pixels.
(Told you I was being a nerd ) changed the backdrop to all white.

LCD pixels.jpg (101.95 KiB) Viewed 583 times

Rara

[Rara]

I bought a shelf from a hardware store and routed out a recess
for the base of the stand to sit in. I removed the rubber feet this stand had.
The fence the router had was not wide enough so I did the best I could free hand.
Large pcb's can sit there hands free while I solder (if its possible on the tiny tracks)
with out the balancing act.

usb_microscope_base.jpg (46.77 KiB) Viewed 521 times

Rara