The Andonstar HDMI Microscope thread - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 08:39:42 pm
content: I'm getting into SMD work, starting with hand-soldering: acquiring equipment, knowledge, skills and supplies. I bought this inexpensive, new-on-the-market inspection microscope with LCD display so that I could see what I was soldering. I'm very pleased with it and thought I'd share my findings. Below are some comments that I've written for the forum, followed by a cut and paste of my personal notes that I've collected about the unit.--Bill============================================================Andonstar HDMI MicroscopeBF Introductory Comments, 9-JUNE-2016============================================================Brief Description:A compact, $200USD inspection-style microscope with metal stage, rack and pinion column, two high-intensity LED lights on goosenecks, nicely focusable lens, built-in LCD display. Lights and camera are powered from a single, dual-port USB power adapter. Can record video and stills on an SD card. Can send video to an external monitor via supplied HDMI cable.Bottom-Line Opinion:o I bought this for SMD hand-soldering work. Except that the stage is too small and slippery (which I imagine I can rectify with a DIY solution) I have found this to be well-built, an excellent performer and highly satisfactory -- at a very reasonable price.Camera Features:o Based on automotive dash cam technology.o 1080P max resolution.o Auto white balance (AWB).o Auto exposure.o HDR feature (what does this do?).o Digital zoom up to 4x.o 3" diagonal LCD display.o HDMI output to external display.o SD card slot.o Record video (with optional audio) to SD card.o Record still photos to SD card.Review Comments:o LED lights are bright, white, not obviously bluish.o Focus control is excellent! Smooth and precise.o Overall construction is very solid.o There is lots play in the knobs that move the camera up/down the column. But the camera stays where you put it, the focus stays where you put it, and the LED goosenecks stay where you put them.o Display is clear and colorful.o Color is natural.o Video noise is subdued and is only noticeable with the lights off or the lens covered. In normal lighting you'll never see it.o The Auto exposure and auto white balance work quite well.o The digital zoom works well, displaying sharp, detailed images on the screen.o Video is displayed on either the camera screen or an external monitor, but not both at once.o Video and still recordings are clear and detailed. Color is natural.o Video lag is very low. Noticeable only if you look for it. Close enough to real-time.o Distance from object to lens leaves enough space to get tweezers and soldering iron in to do SMD work.Issues:o No manual!!! The dash-cam-style camera has 7 buttons with inscrutable modes and functions. Lots of trial and error needed to figure it out.o The metal stage is too reflective. It's a nicely textured, silver metal. It looks great. But those LED lights really create a distracting glare. It would be better if it were very dark or black.o The metal stage is too small: When working on an 85x55mm SMD soldering practice board, often half the board would be off the stage as I moved it around to position various parts for hand-soldering.o The metal stage is too slippery. Despite the texture I found the above SMD practice board would slide around a bit, with the movement magnified under the microscope.o The HDMI feed to my external monitor stopped working after a few days. At one point I could plug/unplug the HDMI cable and the image would switch between the camera's screen and the external monitor. Then this stopped working and I don't know why. I don't completely trust my monitor, so I can't with certainty blame the microscope.============================================================Andonstar HDMI MicroscopeBF Personal Notes============================================================____________________________________________________________PURCHASEPurchased 22MAY16 via eBay from "tech-seeker" for $199 (free shipping).Titled: "New Andonstar HDMI microscope digital microscope for PCB repair tool"____________________________________________________________SHIPPINGReceived 12 days after ordering, via USPS.Item was packed in fitted foam, in a printed cardboard box, wrapped with bubble wrap, further wrapped in a clear plastic bag.Received in excellent condition.____________________________________________________________SETUPUnpacked and set up in about 5 minutes.Set base on table, attach lens to ring with pre-installed set-screws, plug USB cables from lights and camera into two-port USB power adapter, plug power adapter into 120VAC power socket.Optionally connect camera to a TV monitor with included mini-to-normal-sized HDMI cable.Press power button on lights cable to turn on lights. Press power button on lower-right side of camera to turn on camera.After a short camera boot-up the unit is operational.The only glitch is that the camera comes with the 2-minute screen saver mode enabled: so the screen will turn off after 2 minutes of use. After going into the settings menu and turning off the screen saver the screen stayed on indefinitely.There was no instruction manual. The mechanical setup is easy to figure out. The camera operation can be figured out if you have experience with Chinese dashcams, but even so there are features you might never figure out.The lack of a manual is the only big negative I have found with this product.____________________________________________________________MECHANICAL PARAMETERSCAMERA AT LOWEST POSTION ON POLEHorizontal field of view approx 9mmVertical field of view approx 5mmHeight of lens-rim above stage approx 35mmTallest focusable object height approx 8mmDepth of field approx 1mmCAMERA AT LOWEST POSTION ON POLEHorizontal field of view approx 33mmVertical field of view approx 18mmHeight of lens-rim above stage approx 146mmTallest focusable object height approx 130mmDepth of field approx 10mm near stage, approx 5mm near lensWORKING AREADistance from pole to center of lens approx 60mmStage length from front to pole approx 120mmStage width approx 80mmLIGHT INTENSITYLights as far as possible from object, approx 60KluxLights as close to object as possible, approx 200Klux____________________________________________________________GENERAL OPERATIONBasically, they have taken a 1080P dashcam, added a special lens on the front, and mounted it on a (rack and pinion) pole attached to a metal stage, and added some LED lights on goosenecks.CAMERAo Fast, high-resolution video.o Only a very short lag between object movement and video updates. Perfectly useable for soldering or inspection.o HD feed to external monitor via HDMI cable.o 3" diagonal video display screen just above the lens, titled towards you so it's easy to see.o Video recording onto an SD card (supplied by user).o Time and date stamping.o Auto exposure, white balance, etc.LENSThey've done a great job on the lens. There's a tall, nicely textured focusing ring that rotates very smoothly, with just the right amount of drag. A pleasure to use. The lens is very easy to focus, which is good because the depth of field is shallow and you'll be focusing a lot.STAGE, ETC.The stage is a thick aluminum plate on rubber feet.The two LED goosenecks are mounted securely at the back.The camera is mounted on a metal pole with a rack and pinion for moving the camera and lens up and down.The design and construction of all this is solid, attractive, and well done. An excellent consumer-grade product, but should last forever if taken care of.IMAGEThe image is clear, bright, excellent color, excellent sharpness across the entire visual field.LIGHTSThe LED lights are so bright, particularly when reflecting off the bright silver stage, that they produce a lot of glare in the lab (although not through the lens). Consider covering the stage with a matte black covering: e.g. a piece of black construction paper.There are two LED lights on separate goosenecks. As a photographer I prefer this to ring lighting because I can adjust the postions of the lights to throw profiles into relief, giving me more control over the sense of dimensionality for each object.The goosenecks generally work well. Out of the box they are a bit stiff. No doubt they will loosen up with use -- hopefully not too much. They do a good job of holding whatever position you put them in. But I do wish they were about 2 inches longer so that I could get them about 1 inch farther away from larger objects.POWERThe camera has a detachable 56" long USB cable.The stage has an attached 83" long USB cable, with an inline power button about 24" from the stage.Both plug into the supplied, two-port AC adapter.The AC adapter is a white cube, just a little bigger than the Apple ones. It has 2 USB ports. It says it is designed by "PowerBlue" and is made in China. Each port claims to deliver up to 2.1Amps. It says it can handle input voltages from 100-240VAC.EXTERNAL VIDEOThe camera image can be fed to an external video monitor with the included 60" long, mini-to-fullsize HDMI cable. The camera claims to be 1080P. Maybe the video export is too?The image on an external video monitor is good. There is noticeable noise in the image, but not it does not affect readability of the image.Note that when you plug the HDMI cable into the camera, the camera screen turns off. Unplugging it turns the camera screen back on.VIDEO RECORDINGSEach video recording is in a separate ".MOV" file. Filenames are formatted as YYYY_MMDD_HHMMSS_XXX.MOV. The camera may automatically break a long recording run into a series of (say) 5-minute recording files (as is typical of dashcams) but I didn't test this.IMAGE RECORDINGSAppearently you can take snapshots and have them recorded as files on an SD card. If so they are probably stored as JPEGs. But I haven't tested this.____________________________________________________________CONTROLS (documenting these is a work in progress...)____________________OPERATING MODESo In general, pressing the "Mode Select" button cycles through the modes. This button is on the right side, second from the top.LIVE-VIEW-WITH-VIDEO-RECORDING MODE:LIVE-VIEW-WITH-STILL-IMAGE-RECORDING MODE:PLAYBACK MODE:o Use the "Power" button (lower-right) to advance through the recordings. The icon in the upper left corner of the screen will be a filmstrip for a still image or a right-arrow for a video recording.o For video recordings, use the "OK" button (top-right) to start it. Don't know how to stop, advance or rewind.____________________POWER BUTTON (lower-right)WHEN CAMERA IS OFF:o Press and hold a few seconds: camera will boot up.IN ANY LIVE-VIEW MODE:o Click to toggle microphone mute on/off.o Press and hold a few seconds: camera will shut down.IN PLAYBACK MODE:o Click to advance to the next (still or video) recording.o Press and hold a few seconds: camera will shut down.____________________LEFT-SIDE-MIDDLE BUTTON: MODE SELECTIONo The first click gives you the settings menu for the current mode.o If you click a second time (before clicking any other button) you get the general settings menu.GENERAL-SETTINGS MENU:o Date/Timeo Beep on/offo Language (10 to choose from)o Video Frequency (50Hz/60Hz)o Screen Savero Format the SD card (if any)o Reset all settings to their defaults.o Display version number.LIVE-VIEW-WITH-VIDEO-RECORDING-MODE MENU:o Resolution (1080P down to VGA)o HDR on/offo Exposure (range of +/-2, steps of 1/3)o Record Audio on/offLIVE-VIEW-WITH-STILL-IMAGE-RECORDING-MODE MENU:oooVIDEO-PLAYBACK-MODE MENU:o Deleteo Protecto Slide ShowSTILL-IMAGE-PLAYBACK-MODE MENU:ooo____________________ALL LIVE-VIEW MODESLEFT-SIDE-TOP-BUTTON: Zoom in in 16 steps up to 4x.LEFT-SIDE-BOTTOM-BUTTON: Zoom out in 16 steps down to 1x.============================================================

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 09:18:59 pm
content: Here is a picture of the product. I'll follow with some pics made with the unit. but I'm having trouble with file sizes.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 09:21:49 pm
content: Good for inspection. But if you find it good for soldering, then you never used half decent optical stereo microscope. Regardless of lacking stereo vision, working distance is way too small for using various tools, especially hot air station.

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 09:22:22 pm
content: The microscope saves JPEG still images to the SD card that are typically 3.5MB in size. I had to re-save them at 50% JPEG quality to get them below the forum's 1MB limit, and post only two at a time to stay below the forum's 2MB per post limit. See the filenames for explanations.

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 09:23:36 pm
content: The microscope saves JPEG still images to the SD card that are typically 3.5MB in size. I had to re-save them at 50% JPEG quality to get them below the forum's 1MB limit, and post only two at a time to stay below the forum's 2MB per post limit. See the filenames for explanations.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 09:25:50 pm
content: Also stand is completely useless. If your board is anything other than tiny, you won't be able to inspect anything other than edges.

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 09:26:26 pm
content: The microscope saves JPEG still images to the SD card that are typically 3.5MB in size. I had to re-save them at 50% JPEG quality to get them below the forum's 1MB limit, and post only two at a time to stay below the forum's 2MB per post limit. See the filenames for explanations.

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 09:32:58 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on June 09, 2016, 09:21:49 pmTrue. I researched optical stereo microscopes and found that new ones are generally way more than I can afford, and I do not have the experience to knowledgeably shop for a used one.Quote from: wraper on June 09, 2016, 09:21:49 pmI've found it fine for using a soldering iron. I have also purchased an SMD rework station with hot-air pencil and a hot-air blower(?) with various tips. I find that I have to hold each of these vertically above the board. I can't imagine an optical stereo microscope (or any microscope) that could be located high enough above the board for this. What am I missing?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 09:43:50 pm
content: My microscope has 18 cm working distance. Also I don't hold hot air gun completely vertically, it's just difficult to do and of course impossible to see what's underneath. I hold it at about 60-65oangle which of course is impossible with your microscope.

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 10:08:50 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on June 09, 2016, 09:43:50 pmThank you for making a point of this. It forced me to go back and see how well I could do. It turns out that I can raise the microscope on its column enough to put the lens about 15cm above the stage. At that height, and given that the lens barrel is so narrow, I can use my hot air blower angled about 5 to 10 degrees from vertical. Perfectly useable for soldering/desoldering small parts -- although not vertical enough to desolder a large rectangular chip using a 4-sided blower nozzle. Also I can digitally zoom in up to 4x, which gives me a highly magnified view, yet with a crisply detailed image.

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2016, 10:11:51 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on June 09, 2016, 09:25:50 pmTrue. I hadn't the experience to anticipate this problem with I ordered it. I'll have to find some way to mount it on a longer arm over a larger stage. Maybe I can find a good used inspection microscope arm...

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 12:21:30 am
content: " Also stand is completely useless. If your board is anything other than tiny, you won't be able to inspect anything other than edges.microscope has 18 cm working distance. Also I don't hold hot air gun "Both totally falseThis microscopes works far a way from that ignore post's from Latvia always negative for good products pointing only for the 50K plus products that very few people can buy, it's ridiculousCheck this video

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2016, 03:48:21 am
content: ebclr:What a great idea, mounting it upside down! Thank you for sharing that.I watched your video and saw your question about aspect ratio. I have a true 1080P monitor, and it displays images with the correct aspect ratio and does not have the problem you showed. So maybe as you surmised it is your monitor.

author: altaic
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 01:46:41 am
content: Would you kindly post some pics of the camera from various angles? Also, is the imaging section detachable to, for instance, get access to an SDI interface or some sort of raw image data?I'm thinking of getting two of these, running it through a dual SDI -> HDMI 3d converter, and using it on a passive 3d monitor/tv. It would probably take a bit of rigging to get it to work well, but ~$900 (3d converter is ~$500 from quick googling) wouldn't be too bad for such a setup.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 02:04:58 am
content: Quote from: ebclr on June 14, 2016, 12:21:30 amRidiculous is BS you like to write. First of all I don't own and never wrote about 50K equepment. Secondly your imagination is beyond shameless. Like baselessly saying I'm keysight ebay seller (therefore should be biased) or giving a hint I'm being Nazi. You actually already should be banned for that. Although your previous post had some useful info (finally) instead of just diluting the treads. Mostly you produce a lot of useless posts, and although your account is old, 95% of your shitload of posts is produced in less than a month. Also I didn't say that product is useless, just pointed out what it is good for but for what not.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 03:22:57 am
content: Let's suggest together to implement a function on the forum that you can't see post from a specific user , i will be glady to block you, And I'm sure you also be gladly to block me.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 03:35:35 am
content: FYI, I've had the microscope for some time, and am thinking of selling it along with some custom improvements.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 03:41:40 am
content: FYIField of view is 36mm at the maximum stand working distance of 160mm (it can go higher, but the stand can't)

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 06:34:54 am
content: Tks

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 07:09:23 am
content: Has anyone tested it with a cheap HDMI to VGA adapter?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 08:30:20 am
content: Quote from: EdoNork on June 16, 2016, 07:09:23 amIt's VGA to HDMI adapter on the picture.Edit: it is, have almost exactly the same. The only issue can likely appear, such adapters consume current, expect 100-200 mA. Therefore the device must be able to supply it.

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 08:34:37 am
content: That's a generic image.I think those adapters have a USB port to be powered.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 08:40:36 am
content: Quote from: EdoNork on June 16, 2016, 08:34:37 amThey don't.

author: rolycat
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 11:36:18 am
content: Quote from: wraper on June 16, 2016, 08:40:36 amSomeof them do:The inset photo shows the micro USB power port and 3.5mm audio out.USB power is generally optional and is used if the source computer doesn't have enough capacity.

author: billfernandez
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2016, 02:39:23 pm
content: Quote from: altaic on June 16, 2016, 01:46:41 amThe one professional product photo I posted shows all there is to see from the outside.Quote from: altaic on June 16, 2016, 01:46:41 amIt's basically a car dashcam with a really good, focusable lens on the front. So there's no way to detach the imaging section. You'd have to buy one, tear it apart, and do a lot of detective work on really tiny circuitry to see if you can find what you're asking for.

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2017, 07:50:11 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 16, 2016, 03:41:40 amI just bought one of these with the intention of mounting it inverted as in the video linked by ebcir. At 20 cm working distance the field of view is about 5cm long axis on 1080p. The extra benefit of extending the working height is that the minimum effective magnification of 10x is further reduced to something more reasonable. The only negative I can find is that there is some noticeable latency, perhaps 300msec or less but it is there. I have however quickly adapted to it. I am very happy so far.I saw that you (dave) have started a new thread concerning a stand for this and other usb style microscopes:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/survey-usb-microscope/But I necroposted here since I wanted to reassure others that have a specific interest in the andonstar HDMI that it isn't limited by the impractical aspects of the stand.

author: promacjoe
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2017, 12:01:40 am
content: , Hello, Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents On the subject. I recently purchased the Andonstar ADSM201 microscope. As others have said it is a nice little microscope which seems to be perfect for my needs, that is other than the stand. I thought I would show my solution to the problem. I have added a DRO to my lathe, And tried to use one of these, to mount the display head.https://www.amazon.com/VIVO-Monitor-Mount-Adjustable-Screens/dp/B009S750LA/ref=pd_bxgy_229_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B009S750LA&pd_rd_r=1GXNBNB0P5RF0TTZ5FEY&pd_rd_w=xhtD9&pd_rd_wg=eNMAA&psc=1&refRID=1GXNBNB0P5RF0TTZ5FEY]https://www.amazon.com/VIVO-Monitor-Mount-Adjustable-Screens/dp/B009S750LA/ref=pd_bxgy_229_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B009S750LA&pd_rd_r=1GXNBNB0P5RF0TTZ5FEY&pd_rd_w=xhtD9&pd_rd_wg=eNMAA&psc=1&refRID=1GXNBNB0P5RF0TTZ5FEYAlthough it worked good, the post was a little short so I had to go to the four monitor version. So I had parts left over. I decided it might be easy to mount the microscope stand in an inverted position on the left over parts. I mounted it on my bench, and sandwiched the microscope base plate between two visa mount adapters. It works perfectly. I can get any size board under it. And have plenty of room to work. When I'm done I can swing it out of the way, under a shelf. Also the microscope can be tilted and rotated to any position. I didn't have to drill or modify anything. It seems to be a great solution for my needs.Joe.

author: asmi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2017, 03:15:12 pm
content: I'd advise to buy a stereo microscope instead. SE400 (or SE410) from AmScope is $150-200 (+shipping) depending on configuration, and it will be 1000 times more useful than camera. I used the camera before I found out about that microscope (before I had impression that stereo microscopes cost a fortune, so I didn't even bother to do a research), but now I only use it to make photos (AmScope has some affordable trinocular microscopes too, but they have at most 10 cm of working space from the board to objective, while SE410 have 15 cm, and SE400 has whopping ~23 cm). Being able to see 3D picture makes working MUCH easier.

author: ironcurtain
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2017, 05:20:34 pm
content: Anyone have suggestions for an alternative stand? I would like to mount mine hovering over the table attached to a little level I have on top (like a shelving system). Also screens... looked at the Elecrow ones and converting a laptop screen with one of those driver boards.

author: lmaokore
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2017, 07:45:28 pm
content: Quote from: promacjoe on December 06, 2017, 12:01:40 amCould you post a picture on how you did this? Thinking of picking up this but the stand is turning me off...

author: ironcurtain
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2018, 02:52:44 am
content: Anyone has experience using the Amscope LED rings? I'm thinking about getting one of them.