Author Topic: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!  (Read 71316 times)

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Offline LapTop006

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #50 on: September 28, 2018, 02:34:58 pm »
And bring with you your bunny suit and a bottle of desinfectant. Judging on the photos someone posted this place is incredibly filthy.

I found Hong Kong no worse than some US cities (certain parts of San Francisco spring to mind).
 

Offline EEVblogTopic starter

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #51 on: September 28, 2018, 02:53:33 pm »
Make it a family holiday - dump the wife & kids in Hong Kong and head to Shenzen on the train.

I suspect you don't have a wife and kids  ;D
 

Online Brumby

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #52 on: September 28, 2018, 03:25:10 pm »
Yeah....

Go on a "holiday" and abandon the wife with the kids and see how long you spend in the doghouse - and that's after the lecture series and ... "the look".

Such an exercise could be investigated as attempted suicide.
 

Online Ysjoelfir

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #53 on: September 28, 2018, 04:05:07 pm »
MY LINK #2, 429$ US + 59$ shipping for 488$ total, choice of 180x lens or 300x lens, INCLUDES Table Stand, INCLUDES lens mounted microscope lamp.

Bought that. The seller suggested to send it via UK for free customs clearance, then redirect it to germany. Sounds a bit wonky, but hey, it's a bargain, isn't it?
By the way: Don't tell SWMBO where the 500€ from my savings went....  :scared:
Greetings, Kai \ Ysjoelfir
 

Offline Towger

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #54 on: September 28, 2018, 08:05:22 pm »
Just buy the camera and famous blue multimeter at the same time, then you only get one session of the doghouse, lecture and look.
 

Offline TheDefpom

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #55 on: September 28, 2018, 10:10:12 pm »
Just buy the camera and famous blue multimeter at the same time, then you only get one session of the doghouse, lecture and look.

And the HVP...

I just bought one, it arrived yesterday, it’s been an expensive month.
Cheers Scott

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Offline MT

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #56 on: September 28, 2018, 10:47:52 pm »
How is the Andonstar ADSM302 anyone using it?
 

Offline MT

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #57 on: September 28, 2018, 11:47:35 pm »
The us$500 "many names" camera manufacturer seams to be ToupTek.
http://www.touptek.com/product/
http://www.touptek.com/product/showproduct.php?lang=en&id=217
« Last Edit: September 28, 2018, 11:54:28 pm by MT »
 
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Offline smbaker

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #58 on: October 02, 2018, 04:19:27 pm »
So what is the soldering experience like under one of these compared to a typical stereo microscope like an amscope? My eyes being what they are, I need bright lights and magnification even to do through-hole soldering these days. As such when I work on a project, I sit hunched over the amscope for a bit and it becomes tedious. The Camera+monitor approach I assume would lessen the need to hunch over. Is a small screen closer to the eyes better, or is a large screen further away better? Does the autofocus try to refocus as one moves the soldering iron about?

Is adding an 0.5x or 0.35x barlow the way to go for better field / working distance / less magnification? or should one buy the 120X lens instead?

Also, for what it's worth I found AliExpress very difficult to navigate and make sense of. Even while starting out on www.aliexpress.com in English I would occasionally get kicked over to es.aliexpress.com and switch to alternate languages. Different prices at different times for what seemed like the same or very similar items. Sometimes it took careful reading or starting at the picture to note what is different.

Thanks,
Scott
 

Offline voltsandjolts

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #59 on: October 02, 2018, 05:32:33 pm »
The us$500 "many names" camera manufacturer seams to be ToupTek.
http://www.touptek.com/product/
http://www.touptek.com/product/showproduct.php?lang=en&id=217

I think this is the Sony IMX290 (60fps/1920x1080, 2.9um pixels ) camera we are mostly talking about here
http://www.touptek.com/product/showproduct.php?lang=en&id=217

They also have a camera using the IMX249, which has 60fps/1920x1080, big pixels (5.8um) and global shutter which seem like nice features for a mscope...but I can't find it for sale anywhere.
http://www.touptek.com/product/showproduct.php?lang=en&id=272
 

Offline mikeselectricstuff

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #60 on: October 02, 2018, 05:43:38 pm »
The us$500 "many names" camera manufacturer seams to be ToupTek.
http://www.touptek.com/product/
http://www.touptek.com/product/showproduct.php?lang=en&id=217

I think this is the Sony IMX290 (60fps/1920x1080, 2.9um pixels ) camera we are mostly talking about here
http://www.touptek.com/product/showproduct.php?lang=en&id=217

that's not auto-focus, this is the autofocus one
http://www.touptek.com/product/showproduct.php?lang=en&id=286
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Offline voltsandjolts

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #61 on: October 02, 2018, 05:53:38 pm »
Ah, thanks Mike.
I think I get it now, XFCAM pn's are autofocus and that one you linked is their only autofocus hdmi camera.
It's confusing because there are so many resellers with misleading info e.g. autofocus IMX290 cameras but if that is true they can't be made by this manufacturer (touptek).
 

Offline Bud

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #62 on: October 02, 2018, 07:29:02 pm »
A tip from an eBay seller: "F" in the part number means autofocus.
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Offline MT

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #63 on: October 03, 2018, 10:42:33 am »
Ah, thanks Mike.
I think I get it now, XFCAM pn's are autofocus and that one you linked is their only autofocus hdmi camera.
It's confusing because there are so many resellers with misleading info e.g. autofocus IMX290 cameras but if that is true they can't be made by this manufacturer (touptek).

Well, texts are misleading for sure from many , even on purpose perhaps, to distinguish them self's from ToupTek since i cant find anyone other manufacturer for this type of case and design, so far!
 

Offline Astrodev

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #64 on: October 07, 2018, 01:14:31 am »
For anyone that really wants some fun.

Go to the Ali website put the items on your watch list then switch to the mobile app put them in the cart and process as far as payment, if you switch back to the website to complete the order you still get them at the mobile price which is less than on the website.


Saved an extra £10 on the package doing it that way, so with the other discounts saved about 2/3 of the shipping.
 
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Offline Thetatronics

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #65 on: October 11, 2018, 09:17:48 am »
Mine has just turned up, it was on a 7-10 day delivery and took 14 days to arrive.  I ordered this version https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Autofocus-1080P-60FPS-SONY-SENSOR-IXM290-HDMI-Video-Industry-Auto-Focus-Microscope-Camera-180X-Lens-Work/32867141063.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3c5b4c4dTK5Gn2 which gives you

1 x Microscope Camera
1 x Power supply(AU/EU)
1 x HDMI Cable
1 x USB Mouse
1 x 180X Zoom C-mount Lens
1 x Camera Big Stand
1 x 144 LED Ring Light

I also ordered the other two lenses which were on a 30-60 day delivery, but I was surprised to find that they had also been packed in with the camera - so that was good.
The power supply for the camera and the USB mouse were DOA, but they looked so cheap and crappy that I was going to replace them anyway, so no major problem.
There were no documents at all for any of the kit, so it took a few minutes to work out how to assemble the stand, but it's not that difficult. 

But once powered up I was impressed by the image quality and the autofocus.  The LED ring does help to reduce noise on the video.  I had always wanted a decent inspection camera and for £550 UK I pounds I think this is a bargain.


 

Offline TheDefpom

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #66 on: October 11, 2018, 10:20:16 am »
The lens I ordered 4 days after buying the microscope has arrived, no sign of the microscope yet though, I haven’t even heard from nz customs yet about paying duty on it.
Cheers Scott

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Offline Mr.B

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #67 on: October 11, 2018, 06:42:01 pm »
Mine turned up yesterday.
The seller had packaged all the extras (lenses, light ring) in the same DHL box.
I didn't have to pay any tax on the way in as the seller had incorrectly declared the contents and value.  >:D
I will assemble and test tomorrow (weekend) and then post a pic in the 'what did you buy today' thread.
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Offline mikeselectricstuff

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #68 on: October 11, 2018, 10:35:05 pm »
Still waiting for some internal pics...
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Offline Mr.B

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #69 on: October 11, 2018, 11:09:08 pm »
Still waiting for some internal pics...

I will see what I can do over the weekend.
I approach the thinking of all of my posts using AI in the first instance. (Awkward Irregularity)
 

Offline Finbarry

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #70 on: October 12, 2018, 02:29:57 pm »
I've received mine just yesterday and I am very satisfied with it.

I threw out the metal base plate and mounted the vertical column directly to my bench. The camera is a lot more stable this way.
I managed to play the video files with VLC no problem. The camera takes a FAT32 (must be FAT32) formatted 64GB micro SD card without a problem.

I am trying to figure out a way to get more out of the firmware. It must be linux based. The mainboard is based on the Hi3516A SoC made by HiSilicon (Datasheet: http://www.hisilicon.com/-/media/Hisilicon/pdf/Surveillance_mobilecam/Hi3516AV100.pdf)
This chipset was originally designed for IP-Surveillance cameras and seems to be quite powerfull.
There is a set of three pins names J50 that are not populated, maybe they are some kind of debug output or even a linux console. I'll probe them later.
The HDMI transmitter is a SII9022ACNU made by Lattice (Datasheet: https://datasheet.ciiva.com/26836/getdatasheetpartid-368235-26836796.pdf)


I've attached a couple of photos of my setup, the main PCB and a few sample shots to this post.

Images:

Main PCB
Top: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.hog-duske.com/manual/microscope-camera-2018-10/images/board-main_top.jpg
Bottom: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.hog-duske.com/manual/microscope-camera-2018-10/images/board-main_bottom.jpg

Motor and sensor assembly
Whole assembly: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.hog-duske.com/manual/microscope-camera-2018-10/images/assembly-motor_sensor.JPG
Sensor board inside the assembly: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.hog-duske.com/manual/microscope-camera-2018-10/images/board-sensor.JPG

My setup
Full setup: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.hog-duske.com/manual/microscope-camera-2018-10/images/setup-full.JPG
Mounting arm: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.hog-duske.com/manual/microscope-camera-2018-10/images/setup-mounting_arm.JPG

Sample images
Lowest magnification: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.hog-duske.com/manual/microscope-camera-2018-10/images/samples-lowest_mag.jpg
Highest magnification: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/cdn.hog-duske.com/manual/microscope-camera-2018-10/images/samples-highest_mag.jpg
The samples were captured directly on to the SD card using the camera. Working distance was about 100mm.
 
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Offline mikeselectricstuff

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #71 on: October 12, 2018, 02:48:04 pm »
Thanks!
Wonder what that unpopulated FFC connector is for - LCD?
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Offline Finbarry

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #72 on: October 12, 2018, 02:52:48 pm »
Thanks!

Sure, no big deal.


Wonder what that unpopulated FFC connector is for - LCD?
It could well be an LCD connector.
It might also be an alternative connector for the sensor when using a different enclosure.
 

Offline Carrington

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #73 on: October 12, 2018, 03:02:22 pm »
I am trying to figure out a way to get more out of the firmware. It must be linux based. The mainboard is based on the Hi3516A SoC made by
Just find a serial port, J50 maybe. I have the original Hisilicon SDK somewhere.

Edited to clarify some things:
Even though is easy to find new SDK versions on the Internet, additional drivers will be needed to get something functional.
For example, to my knowledge, even the latest versions come without a driver for the IMX290/291.

« Last Edit: October 12, 2018, 05:54:23 pm by Carrington »
My English can be pretty bad, so suggestions are welcome. ;)
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Offline mikeselectricstuff

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Re: EEVblog #1125 - Amazing $500 Soldering/Inspection Microscope!
« Reply #74 on: October 12, 2018, 03:15:43 pm »
I wonder if it can load firmware from a USB stick
Youtube channel:Taking wierd stuff apart. Very apart.
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