Author Topic: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.  (Read 65344 times)

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Offline arekm

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #25 on: April 27, 2014, 11:04:45 am »
Want to buy some camera for my amscope microscope but want to buy directly from China.

Does anyone know which chinese microscope are sensible quality ones? Looking for ~3Mpix one.

So far found 2Mpix for 60$
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Brand-New-2-0MP-USB-Live-Video-Eyepiece-Digital-Camera-for-Microscope/1056467095.html
3Mpix for 100$  (well, to expensive)
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Best-sell-USB-Microscope-eyepiece-camera-3-0M-Pixel-Professional-No-Driver-Simple-Operation/1787075453.html
 

Offline true

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #26 on: April 27, 2014, 04:47:08 pm »
What is the maximum magnification necessary for general electronic work?  Is 90x going to be used or should I just get up to 45x?
You won't use 90x for electronics. It's also just an added conversion lens; you'll keep the conversion lens that widens the view on the scope all the time anyway.
 

Online Electro Fan

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #27 on: January 17, 2015, 10:29:56 pm »
Just checking to see what might be any drawbacks or limitations of this "Simul-Focal" unit (especially vs. the AmScope SM-3B series)?  Looks to be well under the $1k threshold (although a camera is extra).

http://www.amscope.com/3-5x-45x-simul-focal-stereo-zoom-microscope-on-dual-arm-boom-stand.html
 

Offline zapta

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #28 on: January 17, 2015, 10:37:40 pm »
Just checking to see what might be any drawbacks or limitations of this "Simul-Focal" unit (especially vs. the AmScope SM-3B series)?  Looks to be well under the $1k threshold (although a camera is extra).

http://www.amscope.com/3-5x-45x-simul-focal-stereo-zoom-microscope-on-dual-arm-boom-stand.html

It should work just great and x45 is more than you need. You will need to add a good light source (e.g. a LED ring) , as is it will be too dark.
 

Offline Skimask

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #29 on: January 17, 2015, 11:01:57 pm »
Just checking to see what might be any drawbacks or limitations of this "Simul-Focal" unit (especially vs. the AmScope SM-3B series)?  Looks to be well under the $1k threshold (although a camera is extra).

http://www.amscope.com/3-5x-45x-simul-focal-stereo-zoom-microscope-on-dual-arm-boom-stand.html

This is what I bought just yesterday for $1,122USD...

1 - SM345TP (Simul-focal head with 0.5x & 2.0x Barlow lens')
1 - APC-FR (Articulating arm clamp with focusing rack)
1 - LED-144A (144 LED w/ 4 zone control)
1 - MU503 (5MP USB 3.0 Camera)

Called them up, not even 5 minutes later, done and done...
I didn't take it apart.
I turned it on.

The only stupid question is, well, most of them...

Save a fuse...Blow an electrician.
 

Online Electro Fan

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #30 on: January 17, 2015, 11:16:11 pm »
Just checking to see what might be any drawbacks or limitations of this "Simul-Focal" unit (especially vs. the AmScope SM-3B series)?  Looks to be well under the $1k threshold (although a camera is extra).

http://www.amscope.com/3-5x-45x-simul-focal-stereo-zoom-microscope-on-dual-arm-boom-stand.html

It should work just great and x45 is more than you need. You will need to add a good light source (e.g. a LED ring) , as is it will be too dark.

LED is preferred?  Any reason to consider any other light source?  Thx
 

Offline Skimask

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #31 on: January 17, 2015, 11:30:11 pm »
Might be talking out my ass here...
The fiber-optic sources make a lot of heat / noise...ok, at least the ones I used did.
Florescent ring light - seems like they'd break too easily, although the light might be "smoother" than LEDs.
LEDs - not a lot of heat, can 'steer' the light source to avoid reflections which is what the 4-zone LED ring light does (which is also the one I'm getting).  Don't know if a guy could replace an individual LED if one went south.
I'm also wondering if light temperature has any factor in it as well.  The fiber-optic ones I used were incandescent based.
I didn't take it apart.
I turned it on.

The only stupid question is, well, most of them...

Save a fuse...Blow an electrician.
 

Online Electro Fan

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #32 on: January 18, 2015, 12:25:29 am »
Might be talking out my ass here...
The fiber-optic sources make a lot of heat / noise...ok, at least the ones I used did.
Florescent ring light - seems like they'd break too easily, although the light might be "smoother" than LEDs.
LEDs - not a lot of heat, can 'steer' the light source to avoid reflections which is what the 4-zone LED ring light does (which is also the one I'm getting).  Don't know if a guy could replace an individual LED if one went south.
I'm also wondering if light temperature has any factor in it as well.  The fiber-optic ones I used were incandescent based.

Roger that, Thanks
Seems like the ability to avoid reflections with the 4 zone LED is a good thing, and low heat and low noise are good, so the main thing left (although there are probably other considerations I don't know about) is color temperature; I looked at the Zeiss site - seems like they are very enthusiastic about LED - presumably they have to care about image quality as much as price and margin, but who knows.... maybe if you get the cost low enough and the margin big enough you get enthusiastic
 

Offline zapta

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #33 on: January 18, 2015, 01:04:41 am »
LED is preferred?  Any reason to consider any other light source?  Thx

Led ring provides good lighting, is compact, cool and inexpensive. Some may prefer other light spectrum, not sure, I am happy with LEDS.   A ring can be slightly in the way of the solder iron but works for me.
 

Offline KJDS

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #34 on: January 19, 2015, 06:26:21 am »
I far prefer the light colour of a cold light source.

Offline JoanTheSpark

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #35 on: March 24, 2015, 07:49:48 am »
I got a trinocular (simul-focal, so can run cam and have stereo at same time) series microscope (0.7x-45x) with that cantilever bench mount.
Also got a 144 LED ring for it.

Both items are in the process of being modified..
The last bit of the arm is not aligned vertical properly and likes to de-adjust itself which might lead to the microscope being damaged, so I'm replacing that with a DIY part.
The 144 LED ring housing is made for all kinds of microscopes, so no ideal fit and sometimes in the way. I'm going to put the LED pcb into a lasercut stainless sheet metal piece that will snap fit onto the lower part of the microscope..



Anyhow, onto my desire to share some info on the usb camera.
The one I got from ToupTek is called UCMOS03100KPA (3.0 megapixels with USB 2.0) and the software that came with it is superb but the frame rate is not so cool .. 3-9 FPS, no matter which of the 3 resolutions I chose: 2048x1536, 1024x768 or 680x510.
The PC it's running on is an old DELL Vostro 220 (Core2Duo 8400, 4GB Ram, Win Vista SP1). I was expecting USB 2.0 to bottleneck this a bit, but I'd hoped for 15-20 fps at 1024x768 (was this illusory?).
I haven't tried the camera on a more recent machine yet, but will do so next.
Anyone got similar experience with this and knows any solutions - more fps?
Everything about Vista and USB 2.0 not being up to speed on the net is pretty old (<2010) and numbers for USB 2.0 vs fps of webcams/streams might not be comparable as I don't know how the camera/software is doing it here..

Same company also does a USB 3.0 model, which seems to have 2 times the fps at similar resolutions as the USB 2.0 model - would be the solution if the price tag wasn't that prohibitive. Maybe a few years down the road..
« Last Edit: March 24, 2015, 07:55:16 am by JoanTheSpark »
 

Offline JoanTheSpark

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #36 on: March 30, 2015, 11:08:10 am »
Well, there ya go.. new LED mount ready and already snap'd into place.




Also working a little bit longer with the usb camera I found that the fps reach up to 25 at 1024x768, which is pretty nice and what I expected. Sometimes the fps go down, but I guess this depends on usb controller hub activity (mouse/keyboard, etc.pp). So an expansion pci card is ordered and should alleviate this to nothing.

Field of view of my camera with the supplied 0.5x reduction lens is a bit smaller than what one does see through the eyepieces, but still good enough to do work through it, especially if the fps is right.
 

Offline arekm

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #37 on: May 08, 2015, 12:07:03 pm »
Is there any optics inside of tube and is tube detachable from camera itself?


I wonder how hard it would be to make DIY version of such camera. High resolution cameras are cheap, could get sensor and electronics from such. Tube is easy - 3d print. The hard part is optics... if there is any inside?

And last question - is the area visible with eye thru eyepiece exactly the same (or a bit bigger) than area visible on the camera? (I've played with cheap 0.3Mpix microscope camera and it covered much smaller area that it was visible by eye thru eyepiece)
« Last Edit: May 08, 2015, 12:08:52 pm by arekm »
 

Offline JoanTheSpark

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #38 on: August 03, 2015, 04:12:09 am »
Is there any optics inside of tube and is tube detachable from camera itself?
There is optics inside the tube and it's detachable.. they have different tubes. I was told only the x0.5 would work with my camera.

I wonder how hard it would be to make DIY version of such camera. High resolution cameras are cheap, could get sensor and electronics from such. Tube is easy - 3d print. The hard part is optics... if there is any inside?
Hard part is software and getting the camera data (high res) onto your screen of choice at high fps (and probably onto file for later viewing/usage)..

And last question - is the area visible with eye thru eyepiece exactly the same (or a bit bigger) than area visible on the camera? (I've played with cheap 0.3Mpix microscope camera and it covered much smaller area that it was visible by eye thru eyepiece)
View through cam vs eyepiece is not exactly the same.. eyepiece has a bigger viewing area.. maybe 10-20% more?!
Probably depends on the specific model of scope, tube and camera you get..
 

Offline DeanA

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #39 on: August 20, 2015, 09:27:06 am »
I have the SM-4TZ-80S Trinocular zoom scope.

http://www.amazon.com/AmScope-SM-4TZ-80S-Professional-Trinocular-Magnification/dp/B00552L5WA

I find the focus is going out a lot as I change zoom levels.  Is this normal?  Should I need to refocus as I change zoom level every time? I'm starting to find it quite frustrating.
Thanks,
Dean.

Offline KJDS

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #40 on: August 20, 2015, 09:31:26 am »
I have the SM-4TZ-80S Trinocular zoom scope.

http://www.amazon.com/AmScope-SM-4TZ-80S-Professional-Trinocular-Magnification/dp/B00552L5WA

I find the focus is going out a lot as I change zoom levels.  Is this normal?  Should I need to refocus as I change zoom level every time? I'm starting to find it quite frustrating.
Thanks,
Dean.

It's the one of the differences between a cheap microscope like the Amscope and something high end. All of the lower end microscopes I've had exhibited this feature, whereas an Olympus or a Leica stays in good focus when zooming. If I'm zooming in and out a lot then I  find it best to focus at maximum zoom and then cope with it not being in perfect focus at lower magnifications. Obviously if there's a big shift in focus you'll still need to change the focus but it's rare I'm using all the zoom range on a cheap microscope.

Offline SLJ

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #41 on: October 03, 2015, 11:35:36 pm »
Did finally get my Amscope set up done and just realized I did not post the finished workstation here.  Went with a computer/monitor for the camera and not a laptop.



Bought a roll around computer stand and modified it. Wound up using threaded rods/nuts to build adjustable shelves to hold the camera monitor and soldering tools.
Been using it almost a year now and it all works very well.

More info: Micro-Soldering Station

Offline KL27x

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #42 on: October 04, 2015, 12:59:30 am »
^Nice setup. I have just given in and built my workbench around my microscope.

Quote
I find the focus is going out a lot as I change zoom levels.  Is this normal?  Should I need to refocus as I change zoom level every time? I'm starting to find it quite frustrating.
Thanks,
Dean.
My sample of one Amscope tracks perfectly.

Quote
If I'm zooming in and out a lot then I  find it best to focus at maximum zoom
+1.
This applies to any microscope, no matter how well it tracks, how much it cost, or what name is printed on the box. The more you magnify, the shallower the depth of focus. Under 7X, an entire IC is in focus, plus more. At 45X, do you want to focus on the surface of the pins or the surface of the pads? Because you have to choose.

If you focus at low zoom, it's a total crapshoot if the object of interest will be in focus when you zoom in. I keep hearing about these expensive microscopes that magically know what you're looking at and autofocus for that distance when you zoom in, in a process commonly summed up as "tracking," and which is apparently scientifically possible if a scope costs about $500.00 more and has an expensive name printed on it. I'd like someone to explain how that works. I understand how optics can have better wavelength correction, clarity, and distortion. I'm not understanding how expensive microscopes read your mind. Conceded that more optimal wavelength correction can slightly increase the practical depth of focus, at least in any particular range of magnification.

Now, if you focus at high mag and the object is out of focus when you zoom out, then yeah, you have a problem. Check out these instructions for tuning the scope for your individual eyesight.

http://meijitechno.com/how-to-parfocal-your-stereo-zoom-microscope/
« Last Edit: October 05, 2015, 05:43:16 am by KL27x »
 

Offline Howardlong

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #43 on: October 25, 2015, 10:16:53 pm »
Here's my newly finished Amscope setup.



It's an upgrade from a pretty old fixed zoom setup I've been using for about 15 years - http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/microscopes/4718828/ . The old one still worked OK, but I found the single light, the mount and the fixed magnification to be limiting. It was time for an upgrade.

The new microscope is part number SM-8TW2-144S. I am not using the LED ring, or the x0.5 or x2 Barlow lenses. The 2x lens is useless for rework, there's no room to work. The 8" afforded when using the 0.5x sounds great, but I found that the distance between bench and eyepieces didn't work comfortably for me, and during a rework session I can be at it for several hours at a time. Without either Barlow lens, the working distance is 4". If you add the LED ring, you can take another half inch off, but more importantly, you can't reasonably get the desolder hot air iron in there at a reasonable angle with the LED ring on. So you'll see I've jury rigged a couple of LED goosenecks from the local cheapo store for now, and they work reasonably well, although I might have a go at pimping them up a bit for a few more lumens, they're not running that hot. Prices for "proper" microscope goosenecks are horrendous.

I am only using the 10X eyepieces, so as the zoom range 0s 0.7 to 4.5, and I'm not using any Barlow lenses, the actual range of the scope is x7 to x45 in this configuration. This is fine with the eyepieces, but a bit close in with the 0.5x C mount for the camera. Hopefully the 0.3x C mount will help here.

The monitor is a 13.3" 1920x1080 resolution HDMI monitor designed for roof mount in car entertainment systems: I affixed it to the underside of my shelf. The camera is a 1080p 60fps unit from ebay with a C mount. I used a x0.5 C mount adapter from Amscope, but I've since ordered a 0.3x as the field of view between eyepiece and camera is too much. It's not clear until you really read up a lot that although it's trinocular, the left eye piece is switched to the camera port, although this feature is noted elsewhere in this thread. I don't use the camera unless I'm shooting a video or documenting: despite the near zero latency afforded by going direct to a camera rather than through a PC, it's still not as good as using the eyepieces.

The arm mount is substantial, and best of all I can easily swing the unit out of the way, folding up as I go. I have the mount pivot directly between two desks, so it can be used on either.

The biggest visible difference between this new Amscope and my old microscope is that the field of view can be adjusted with just the knob. Getting the microscope set up so you can simply zoom in and out without having to re-focus takes a minute or so, but there's a knack to it (http://www.visioneng.com/resources/articles/how-to-correctly-set-up-and-focus-a-stereo-microscope)! I've also found that I can get both the camera port and the eyepieces to maintain focus throughout the zoom range, but it takes a couple of minutes of patience to get it right.

I'm still getting used to it. I will be honest and say that at first, I found it difficult to get used to. It's a bit like climbing into a new car, the controls are subtly and sometimes not so subtly different. Even getting used to the new eyepieces was not without its initial doubts, but I found I adapted quickly. Indeed, I almost put my old microscope back on the bench while I was figuring how to attain a comfortable posture posture, getting the lighting right, the magnification right and being able to get the tools in there. My work rate at first was much slower for a while which was frustrating. Now I've figured out my way around it and become comfortable with it I'm much happier with the setup.

If I bought again, I'd forget about all the extra lenses, just go for a basic 7x to 45x unit, everything else is superfluous to me for day to day use. Changing lenses and working heights to get the 3.5x to 225x range is just to much of a hassle. Not knowing the right questions to ask and not being able to try before buy also means inevitably I wasn't going to make all the right decisions.
 

Offline KL27x

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #44 on: October 26, 2015, 12:23:46 am »
What kind of digital camera are you using?

I likes the 0.5 Barlow and the LED ring, personally. If you can adjust the forward tilt of your scope, you can bring the eyepieces down significantly with a small adjustment. And get a better frontal view in the process.
 

Offline Howardlong

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #45 on: October 26, 2015, 01:10:06 am »
What kind of digital camera are you using?

I likes the 0.5 Barlow and the LED ring, personally. If you can adjust the forward tilt of your scope, you can bring the eyepieces down significantly with a small adjustment. And get a better frontal view in the process.

I'm still experimenting: on my old microscope, tilting forward was exactly what I did. Now I have this articulated arm (by the way, I removed the first section, it's unnecessary for my setup), I just realised that you need to set up the articulations just right to allow a tilt as you describe. My main concern is the field of vision, it is very narrow, so tilting will inevitably be a compromise visually.

I'll give it another go in the next few days, I have a stack of rework to get through on units that failed my final testing that's been backing up over the past six months, so it's a good time to get familiar.

Thanks again for the tip, I'll report back. Rework is a bit like having to do homework back when you're a kid, the thought of it abhors you, but once you get in to it, it's no big deal, and actually quite therapeutic. Plus, the customer gets a unit that's been tested and retested to the nth degree. 98% of the time it's a single part: the very few that remain I generally write off, life's just too short! I guess not many outfits can be bothered with part level replacement these days though.
 

Offline JoanTheSpark

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #46 on: October 26, 2015, 01:37:45 am »
...
If you add the LED ring, you can take another half inch off, but more importantly, you can't reasonably get the desolder hot air iron in there at a reasonable angle with the LED ring on. So you'll see I've jury rigged a couple of LED goosenecks from the local cheapo store for now, and they work reasonably well, although I might have a go at pimping them up a bit for a few more lumens, they're not running that hot. Prices for "proper" microscope goosenecks are horrendous.
...

I was wondering, how does that work with potentially fixing the off-the-shelf LED ring onto that cone-shaped black lens cover of this particular scope?
Is there a cylindrical part at the end of it?

Mine had a cylinder with a groove that I did use for my DIY snap in place LED ring, so it' doesn't use more space than the scope itself down there. Still got like 3 of those stainless pieces :-)

« Last Edit: October 26, 2015, 08:34:34 am by JoanTheSpark »
 

Offline Howardlong

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #47 on: October 26, 2015, 08:16:44 am »
The LED ring comes with a screw in adapter with a groove around the circumference to accept the ring that fits below the stock microscope or the 0.5x Barlow. I believe the 2x Barlow has the LED groove already on it so no need for the adapter.
 

Offline Howardlong

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #48 on: October 28, 2015, 08:49:44 pm »


What kind of digital camera are you using?

I likes the 0.5 Barlow and the LED ring, personally. If you can adjust the forward tilt of your scope, you can bring the eyepieces down significantly with a small adjustment. And get a better frontal view in the process.

It is this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141504824195?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
The main requirement was for 1080p >=25fps and minimal latency. There is some wobble effect when things move rapidly in front of it, but to be fair that's not what it's for. There is also a just noticeable amount of latency.

I have now tried again over a few sessions different set ups. I keep going back to 1x. I can't seem to tilt the head forward. It will go back, but not forward.

I've also tried several different methods of illumination. The LED ring just gets in the way, so I've gone to trying a number of gooseneck clip on options.

Things to note about these types of lights are:

o Check the clip opens widely enough.
o Is the light itself small enough to not be a hinderance?
o I prefer white light to warm light.
o Is it a spot light or wider angle or diffuse? You probably want a spot.
o Choose a spot with an appropriate size at a reasonable distance so that doesn't get into the field of view.
o CFLs take a minute or so to warm up.
o Is the gooseneck long and slender enough?
o You may well want two to fill in for each other.
o I found many lights flicker on video, including CFLs, LEDs and even halogen.

Of the four goosenecks I've tried, this one is by far the best I've tried http://www.lloytron.com/categories/products/lighting/desk-hobby-lamps/product/3w-led-apollo-hobby-study-clip-on-lamp-silver/L1507SV~L1507SV It's a small spot, two can be clamped onto the microscope fairly easily, and the business end is small, affording easy access for tools. There's also no video flicker.

Two photos, the first is over exposed so shows a wider spot than is apparent in the flesh, the size is reflected better in the second photo.





 

Offline joeqsmith

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Re: My Amscope microscope camera experience & microscope mods.
« Reply #49 on: October 31, 2015, 03:40:35 pm »
I like the laptop stand.  Very nice setup!


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