Microscope for soldering, source in EU

[NivagSwerdna]

My eyes are failing me and component are getting smaller..

I feel I need a microscope for soldering, the criteria would be approx 10x, good depth of view, stereo vision, good working distance between optics and item, space for item under scope.

I am only a hobbyist so budget is approx £200

A bit of googling found the Amscope SE400Z but this is a US product and seems expensive to import to the UK.

Any suggestions for something easier to get in the UK or should I bite the bullet and pay import duties etc.

Thanks in advance

[raz221]

Do you really need a microscope?
How bout just a third hand with a good magnifier instead?
This is what I use:

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http://www.dx.com/p/193552Is has fairly good height (unlike cheaper third hands, which are too short for my liking), good magnifier, and even some LED's that can be powered by either batteries or an AC power adapter. And it'd only cost you 14 pounds (which is a huge difference in compare to the one you've mentioned!)
But they do have reasonably priced microscope's too if you insist on going that route:

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http://www.dx.com/s/microscopeAnyhow, DX has free world-wide shipping, and are very reputable.
Do note though that it can take 7-10 days until they ship some items (it depends on whether it's an MVP item or not really)
MVP means it's in stock, ready for delivery next day, if it's not in stock, then they have to order it from the supplier, which takes a few days.

[Wirehead]

EU sources is going to be hard, unless you can snag a deal on ebay. Aliexpress has some possibilities as wel. If you can buy low enough, import tax shouldn't hit you too hard.
e.g.:

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http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Portable-LED-Stereo-Microscope-AmScope-Supplies-Portable-LED-Stereo-Microscope-10X-20X/32461275679.html

[Gyro]

Ebay UK is likely to be your friend. With a bit of patience you ought to be able to find a second hand long arm stereo dissecting microscope for £100 or less. New ones tend to be in the £200-250 range. Aim for no higher than x10 mag. The option to go to X5 is useful for larger stuff. Reasonable eyepieces are pretty cheap from China (get high eye-point ones if you wear glasses).

[Lee Leduc]

I have a friend that uses this magnifier lamp for his electronics hobby. He's very happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/Signstek-White-Light-Magnifier-Metal/dp/B00KHKEV3A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1465562882&sr=8-2&keywords=magnifier+lamp+5x

[Nuno_pt]

EU sources is going to be hard, unless you can snag a deal on ebay. Aliexpress has some possibilities as wel. If you can buy low enough, import tax shouldn't hit you too hard.
e.g.:

Code: [Select]

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Portable-LED-Stereo-Microscope-AmScope-Supplies-Portable-LED-Stereo-Microscope-10X-20X/32461275679.html

The problem with that microscope is if the board is more than a few cm x cm you can see in the middle of the board.

What about this ones < http://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/Boom-Stand/1907947_504188190.html >, from what I've read about it, one zoomable (if that's an word) the x10 or x20 doesn't matter, get one x0.5 lens, there are few topics around here look for Amscope , I know that was one few weeks ago relating the lens.

Me too, I'm looking for one, will have to see the shipping cost, because here we pay, 23% VAT on top of the microscope price + shipping price + 9€ for the customs opening the package, thenn you get the final price.

It would be good if AmScope put a dealer in EU.

[NivagSwerdna]

I found http://www.microglobe.co.uk/zenith-stl-80-x10x20-long-arm-stereoscopic-microscope-p-8276.html
Opinions?

[Gyro]

That's similar to mine, they are also branded by Prior, Meiji etc. They used to be used extensively in schools for biology (hence the occasional appearances of batches on ebay). Mine is straight rather than 45' eyepieces, that might seem counter-intuitive but tilting the whole head gives a better perspective on things than having the objective vertical.

You should probably wait for other opinions too but the price doesn't look at all bad for new.

[McBryce]

Ever so slightly outside your budget 229GBP: http://www.ebay.de/itm/BRESSER-Mikroskop-Biorit-ICD-CS-Einsteiger-Allround-/151979457528

This is what I use and can fully recommend.

McBryce.

[EPLan]

I found http://www.microglobe.co.uk/zenith-stl-80-x10x20-long-arm-stereoscopic-microscope-p-8276.html
Opinions?

You can get an Amscope delivered from Amazon UK(Amscope Global) for £189.98 - only takes around five days to be delivered from California by UPS(no extra import charges to pay). 

[rosak]

I found http://www.microglobe.co.uk/zenith-stl-80-x10x20-long-arm-stereoscopic-microscope-p-8276.html
Opinions?

Did you buy it? I'm thinking of getting one, it's £189 and the cheapest Amscope SE400-Z I found on Amazon is £202 + £55 shipping to UK.
They look very similar, plus I think Zenith is more reputable company than Amscope, am I right?

[ChrisLX200]

Most of the time I use a Rolson head-mounted magnifier https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROLSON-LIGHT-MAGNIFYING-VISOR-BATTERIES/dp/B001MJ0JW2/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1511225130&sr=1-1&keywords=Rolson+magnifier although I also have a Zeiss stereo microscope if higher magnification is really necessary (fairly rare occurance to be honest).

[saike]

I have one of these generic stereo scopes sold with a different brand name, not Zenith but it is the same scope.

It works well. 10x magnification is about the maximum limit before the field of view gets too narrow to be useable.

The lamp supplied with it is a filament bulb and makes everything look very orange but easy to change to a led light.

I use it for hand soldering 0.5mm ssop chips on boards with no solder mask.

[paulca]

I found I cannot read the print on ICs or transistors, so I bought one of these:

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/22w-fluorescent-magnifying-craft-lamp-a29ff?cmpid=ppc:pim_products:pla:google&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7P3kz5bP1wIVhhXTCh3dpQ1VEAQYASABEgK_7fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Pretty amazing.

The only downside is the switching plays havoc with circuit noise.

[bd139]

Most of the time I use a Rolson head-mounted magnifier https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROLSON-LIGHT-MAGNIFYING-VISOR-BATTERIES/dp/B001MJ0JW2/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1511225130&sr=1-1&keywords=Rolson+magnifier although I also have a Zeiss stereo microscope if higher magnification is really necessary (fairly rare occurance to be honest).

Another vote for the head mount magnifier. I got one of these off ebay for £15: http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/headband-magnifiers/0606989/

That and a couple of good lamps and you're sorted. I'm working everything down to 0603 with that.

Got a couple of these as lamps - they are awesome: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M7YLKQ3/

[saike]

Being a cheapskate, I got the 13 quid one from RS http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/headband-magnifiers/8771741/
Works ok for me down to 0805 stuff, but age and arthritis dictates a lot of what I can do now.

[agehall]

I started with a magnifying glass, upgraded to one of those lamps with a built-in magnifying glass and finally graduated to a full scope with all the bells and whistles.

You can do things with almost naked eye sight down to about 0604 but it is much more comfortable to have visual aids. If I couldn't afford any tools, I'd probably stick to 0805 just for convenience but as I can afford to spend some money on my hobby I opt for good price/performance tools that help me. If I was to do this for a living, a scope would be a requirement as soon as we are talking about 0805 or smaller.

[NivagSwerdna]

I found http://www.microglobe.co.uk/zenith-stl-80-x10x20-long-arm-stereoscopic-microscope-p-8276.html
Opinions?

Did you buy it? I'm thinking of getting one, it's £189 and the cheapest Amscope SE400-Z I found on Amazon is £202 + £55 shipping to UK.
They look very similar, plus I think Zenith is more reputable company than Amscope, am I right?

I did buy it and it works well for me.  I picked mine up from the shop next to the British Museum.

If I had a bigger budget I would have gone for zoom and possibly trinocular but I'm happy with it.  Makes SMD very easy whereas previously it was a blur.

Previously I did use a headband cheapo thing and that also works although you do need to get very up close and personal when using it... not so good with hot air.

[rosak]

Thanks NivagSwerdna, and everybody else.
I finally bought this one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-Shipping-3-5X-90X-Double-Boon-Stand-Simul-Focal-Stereo-Zoom-Microscope-14MP-camera-144pcs/2100001_32802304276.html
Pity there is not much places in UK where you can just see them and choose. Closest to me is 2hrs driving, and I'm in the centre of the island.

[ironcurtain]

Got myself the Andonstar off Banggood when it was on sale... I'm really happy with it, though it might be nice to modify the stand or get one for your specific workbench. It's killer with an ext display.

[NivagSwerdna]

Thanks NivagSwerdna, and everybody else.
I finally bought this one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-Shipping-3-5X-90X-Double-Boon-Stand-Simul-Focal-Stereo-Zoom-Microscope-14MP-camera-144pcs/2100001_32802304276.html
Pity there is not much places in UK where you can just see them and choose. Closest to me is 2hrs driving, and I'm in the centre of the island.

That looks great.

[jmelson]

Thanks NivagSwerdna, and everybody else.
I finally bought this one:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-Shipping-3-5X-90X-Double-Boon-Stand-Simul-Focal-Stereo-Zoom-Microscope-14MP-camera-144pcs/2100001_32802304276.html
Pity there is not much places in UK where you can just see them and choose. Closest to me is 2hrs driving, and I'm in the centre of the island.

That looks great.

Yes, this is essentially the same unit we have at work, it is quite good.  One note is the ring light extends below the objective lens, and reduces the all-important working area under the microscope.  I made my own ring light for it.
It is a ring-shaped piece of PC board, with a circular groove making two concentric, isolated copper rings.  I put 8 white LEDs with 1K series resistors on the rings, and power it from a 12V wall wart.  The LEDs are behind the nose of the lens, so it adds NO length to the assembly.  I drilled and tapped 3 tiny holes in the nose of the microscope (just a cosmetic shield over the works) and soldered thin wires to the PC board to loop over the screws.  I removed the ring that the ring light fits onto, that also takes up working distance.

I have an old Olympus microscope in my home shop, I did the same thing for the light on it.

Jon

[jmelson]

I found http://www.microglobe.co.uk/zenith-stl-80-x10x20-long-arm-stereoscopic-microscope-p-8276.html
Opinions?

DON'T get this one, it does NOT have zoom!  I suspect you could work with it, but I find the zoom to be a REALLY helpful feature.  Some stuff you want to see the whole area (like when aligning a chip to its pads) other times you want to really zoom in, when inspecting solder joints, for instance.

Jon