Extech Microscope any good? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: paulpthcom
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 12:29:33 am
content: Dave,You've mentioned it in passing in the last couple blogs. Is that extech any good or not? If not any good products out there, like the dino lite?

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 01:11:42 am
content: It's not that great.Very expensive, one with greater functionality can be had on ebay for about $80 or something, 1/4 the cost.The only thing I've found it useful for is reading chip numbers which is does a very nice job of.Not much good for soldering inspection IMO, and the high end zoom is next to useless unless you have the object practically up inside the ring.The PC software is a joke.Dave.

author: paulpthcom
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 01:24:56 am
content: Any suggestions for ones that don't suck?

author: tyblu
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 01:29:39 am
content: I use a $6 optical microscope with manual focus.http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1328

author: armandas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 09:42:14 am
content: Quote from: tyblu on December 23, 2010, 01:29:39 amI've got this one too, but I don't like it. Too much magnification and very inconvenient. I'd rather buy a 10x or 20x loupe.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 09:51:18 am
content: Quote from: armandas on December 23, 2010, 09:42:14 amI was about to say "too much magnification", too, seeing the things 60x to 100x magnification. 3x to 6x is a good start for PCB work, 10x to 20x is for detailed inspection.If you want to go more "pro", then a stereoscopic microscope with a boom is an option. They aren't that expensive these days, thanks to mass production. E.g. the SM-2010 fromhttp://www.lakeland-microscopes.co.uk/stereo.html(scroll down a little bit) is just £165.00.

author: Balaur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 10:49:56 am
content: I have something like that:http://store.amscope.com/se305r-pz.htmland I'm very happy with it.You could go much cheaper than that of course.What you should looking for:- a Stereo microscope (not just binocular,stereo)- incident lighting- 10x - 40x magnification- long focal length

author: SnakeBite
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 12:31:43 pm
content: i'm also considered to buy a microscope but i wanted something cheap so i wanted to buy thishttp://cgi.ebay.com/5X-500X-magnification-USB-Digital-Microscope-2-0-Mega-/170535287216?pt=AU_Gadgets&hash=item27b4b1f9b0you said it's not good for electronics use and to go on the PRO stand-alone microscope instead of this one?Ido

author: DaveW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 03:32:11 pm
content: Snakebite,It depends what you want to do with it, for reading part numbers and some inspection, those microscopes are ok. If you're planning to use it for soldering under, detailed inspection or taking photos then its much better to get one on a stand with a good metal height adjuster.Having said that, for a year or so we used one of these at work for taking photos & complaining about bad soldering etc,http://cpc.farnell.com/unbranded/qx5/qx5-usb-microscope/dp/CS11723Look for a reasonable focus distance, so you're not resting on the circuit board. I'd also say that the really high magnification isn't helpful, 5-50x seems to do everything from soldering to inspection.Btw, we now use a mantis, if you can afford one, highly recommended.http://www.visioneng.com/mantis-elite-cam-stereo-microscope-with-camera-overview.php

author: JohnS_AZ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 03:49:07 pm
content: Maybe it's because my eyeballs are getting oldbut I have a wide assortment of assistive optics.- 20X stereo production microscope- Binocular "true" microscope with objectives up to 500X- A digital microscope (USB) that was sold as a toy but works pretty damn well- A little hand held scope like was mentioned aboveGiven all that, the most valuable optics, and the one that gets used the most by a VERY wide margin is a set of cheap loupes I bought from Harbor Freight.http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-loupe-set-98722.html

author: tyblu
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 05:55:35 pm
content: Quote from: armandas on December 23, 2010, 09:42:14 amEveryone should have a desk lamp magnifier, too. They are great.

author: SnakeBite
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 06:33:51 pm
content: i have a magnifing loupe -donegan OPTIVISOR it's great i love it and it enlarges upto X6 but i wanted something more for SMT work.the question is if i need one to inspecti the soldering quality.Idohere is what i have

author: SirDan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2010, 10:56:35 pm
content: While searching around for digital microscopes, I found this one:http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/9955/I have been debating whether or not to purchase it.

author: kaptain_zero
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2010, 12:00:26 am
content: I've bought quite a few different loupe type magnifiers, and I've tried those 40x - 100x black plastic microscopes, but the best unit I've found, bar none, for the least amount of money is this one:http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.51128There is a 60x version of it, but it's not worth the bother.... the 45x unit in the link is just about perfect. I use mine for checking the edges of my straight razors while honing them. You can't use it to see if it's sharp but you can see if the nicks you are trying to remover are gone and you can check the scratch pattern from the hones to make sure you are honing all the way to the edge.... I liked them so much, I bought 4 of them... one in each room where I'm likely to need one!They are not for soldering work...... you have to get too close to focus, but for reading/inspecting, they are perfect in my opinion.RegardsChristian

author: Hypernova
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 26, 2010, 10:46:06 pm
content: Quote from: SnakeBite on December 23, 2010, 12:31:43 pmBe aware that the specs are awfully inflated with these things. I have a 25x/400x version and the actual mag on the 400x range is about 100x. I measured a line my my lcd and then counted how many pix wide the resulting image was. The actual resolution of the ccd is 640x480, anything higher is software interpolation.Works great for pcb inspection for the price so just know what your are buying.