For those trawling ebay the magic search terms seem to be "hdmi microscope imx290", I got mine for ~US$520 including Australian GST, with the 180x lens and a ring light.
I just use 2.5 reading glasses and x20 magnifier for SMD work and they cost me $10.
I just use 2.5 reading glasses and x20 magnifier for SMD work and they cost me $10.
That is pretty much what I linked:
https://www.qsl.net/k9ac/solderScopeIt uses a cheap ($30 usd or so) magnifying visor like dentists use (but cheap) that has a 420mm focal length then the linked article (
https://www.qsl.net/k9ac/solderScope ) made a cardboard tube (or old 35mm film canister) as a tube that has the lens (cut to match your cardboard or film tube) from a 2x or 2.5x cheater glass. Because it has a 420mm focal length they are easier to use than my Nikon SMZ645 microscope that has to be too close to the business end of my soldering iron for my comfort!
My Eakins microscope broke 2 times - first they have replaced the PCB for free - second time we had a closer look ourself. The memory chip wasn't soldered properly (so watch out if you get or start to get glitches on the hdmi screen).
The first PCB shows up the same symptoms, I also tried to resolder some chips but didn't touch the BGA memory chip back then... so this might be a common issue.
Now I have a question about the power consumption, my microscope needs around ~5W can anyone confirm that? (no USB or SD Card attached).
i read this camera uses a rolling shutter. how good is it when moving around objects? are the objects deformed or bent noticeably? can someone provide a video sample demonstration? thanks
You wouldn't notice it's rolling shutter (at least I did not).
You can pay all sorts of silly money SMD kit.
I use £15 soldering iron, £20 hot air gun and £1.50 2.5 reading glasses, £3 tweezers and a £2 magnifying glass.
Strange thing is I have few problems with that kit.
You can pay all sorts of silly money SMD kit.
I use £15 soldering iron, £20 hot air gun and £1.50 2.5 reading glasses, £3 tweezers and a £2 magnifying glass.
Strange thing is I have few problems with that kit.
Nigel is correct. You can pay silly money for smd tools and equipment...or you can go cheap. A Hakko 858D clone hot air station is about $40usd and up to about $60usd. With that and a magnifier you can do what you need to do. I use a 2" UltraOptix 7x lit magnifier to check the work. It helps if you can get a solder mask template (stencil) for your board. That makes applying solder paste a snap. Then place all the parts. They do not have to be exactly aligned and hot air will mostly pull them into place. You can go cheap on the hot air gun too as a stamp embossing gun that sells for about $10usd at places like Hobby Lobby will work too. The 858D allows setting the desired temperature though. Just be sure to make sure the air output is not set too high or the smd parts will go into outer orbit never to be seen again. Places like Harbor Freight sell a "jewler's loupe" set for about $5 usd. I use the 10X from that set. I do also have the cheap dental student magnifiers that have the 420mm focal length and they work well and are about $30usd. So you can spend lots of money or a small amount.
Good luck.
Sorry for the thread necro.
I just have this bare camera for use in my stereo microscope eyepiece socket but I would rather use it standalone, so the question, which stand and lens should I pick up for this, to use as a soldering inspection scope?
Thanks.
Sorry for the thread necro.
I just have this bare camera for use in my stereo microscope eyepiece socket but I would rather use it standalone, so the question, which stand and lens should I pick up for this, to use as a soldering inspection scope?
Thanks.
If you read the thread you can find lots of lens suggestions. Around 120x seems to be common. Although if you go with the very cheapest 120x lens it does not have a zoom adjustment, you have to manually move the camera up and down to zoom.
For a stand I used a microphone boom arm stand w/ 1/4" mount. Pro is that its very easy to move around and reposition, but, it can shake if you don't have it solidly mounted or buy a cheap one.