Magnification for board repair work - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: vgamesx1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 25, 2018, 03:26:52 pm
content: I'm planning on doing some repair and I know this is based a lot of preference and that there's currently a similar thread about headvisors (I just didn't want to hijack it) but I'd like some suggestions on what you think is more important for board repair, magnification or working distance? Some people will claim that a stereo microscope is necessary but other say it's fine and I think I could get along with a digital one, however a lot of people seem happy enough with just a 2x-3x headvisor, I can't afford anything nice so that's out of the question but here are the four different options I'm considering, obviously I would ideally just buy all of them and decide for myself but I can't do that at the moment.You can find cheap stereo microscopes like this for about $50, which sounds like a good option however there are two immediate problems, first is what appears to be a tiny workspace on it's base and second I imagine I'll probably break my back if I need to use it more than an hour or two, but maybe I'm wrong, dunno because I couldn't even find reviews of it.https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stereo-Binocular-Microscope-Portable-20X-LED-Lamp-PCB-Repairing-Soldering-Tool/323196720162Then there's the G600 for about $40 which solves my previous concerns but it being digital of course comes with it's own issues but also adds photo/video capture.Now for headwear, you can find cheap medical loupes for $30 with a 2.5x or 3.5x zoom and supposedly 420mm working distance, these sound very promising and I like the idea of having decent zoom while being able to sit back and work on something although I heard they can be a tad flimsy.Finally there are headvisors at various prices between $10-$40 only problem here is that beyond about 2x zoom the working distance gets a bit short.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2018, 04:26:42 pm
content: Working distance all the way. You don't need magnification more than 5x-10x.For comfortable soldering you need to be looking at something like AmScope SE400-Z. It is out of your price range, but this is really the minimum as far as microscopes go.If you can't afford that, then look at other magnification options.

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2018, 09:30:32 pm
content: for any handwork you need low or no latency binocular vision at low magnification (2-4x is ideal) with corresponding wide field of view and depth of field. I found I can deal with the shorter working distance. You simply put your face all up in dat bitch and get on with it. pcb vices can and do bring the board closer to your face. Fumes can be sucked away and right out of your house with an evacuator fan, don't bother with those carbon filter recirculating jobs. Three additional benefits of visor head gear type solutions are great peripheral vision, I can see, pickup and put down tools on the bench without loosing focus on the work. Full freedom of head movement and no eyestrain, and you bring the magnification to the work, not the other way around. This gets underestimated in importance as I use my visor away from the electronics bench.One thing the low magnification isn't sufficient for is board inspection. For identifying parts and checking joints I use an adonstar 201 mounted inverted. see my post here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/electronic-microscope/msg1820534/#msg1820534See also the other threads for the adonstar, use search.To find what works for you, you will eventually have to spend some money and experiment first hand, there is no substitute for direct experience unfortunately.

author: julianhigginson
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2018, 11:16:09 pm
content: The question here, is how much time do you intend to be using this a year, and what's the value of that time?If you're going to basically be a process worker, on the thing for most of the year, then a good bit of gear that protects your body and makes you faster is worth a lot of money, and you should treat it as such.If you plan to use it for just an hour here and there, then you can get something even wildly suboptimal, just to be an advantage over unaided eyes, and it's still worth it for you as long as it's not expensive.But yes. For rework, you definately need to consider focus distance over magnification.