Hello all,
I wanted to introduce myself and start to contribute and learn from this forum. I'm currently a student of pathology and recently acquired a BX45 so that I can study at home.
Here is my microscope info:
Current Setup
U-TTBI ergonomic head
UPlanFlN-4x
PlanN-10x
UPlanSApo-20x
UPlanFlN-40x
Halogen Light
To Add
PlanApoN-2x
Shims on 4x & 40x to make objectives Parfocal
LED Light Source
To Upgrade
UPlanSApo-4x
UPlanSApo-40x
Circular Fixed Stage-Coated White Ceramic
My first simple modification
Since I usually use the lowest power objectives (2x, 4x & 10x >70% of the time) I prefer a fixed stage, but ended up buying a right handed XY stage as that was cheapest. Unfortunately due to the stage design it has a tendency to slide from front to back when I'm using the microscope. In order to keep the stage from moving I added a thumb screw to the right side of the stage mechanism that moves (see below).
Olympus BX45 Modification and Customization Thread
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
- Charles Krebs
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Not sure he is talking about "play" in the movement. My impression was that he preferred to physically move the slide around with the fingers instead of using the x/y axial controls (no stage clips in picture). In that case his preference is for a truly "fixed" stage.
What puzzles me a little is the:
What puzzles me a little is the:
How much do they vary? Generally with a new scope and objectives of this quality they should be very, very close (within 1/4 to possibly 1/2 turn of the fine focus). They are rarely "perfect"."Shims on 4x & 40x to make objectives Parfocal"
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Re: Olympus BX45 Modification and Customization Thread
Hi,CesarG wrote: Shims on 4x & 40x to make objectives Parfocal
Normally, that shouldn't be necessary. These objectives should be parfocal by factory setting if your cover glass and mountant are not too thick (they're designed for 0.17 mm).
One thing that influences parfocality is the position of the eyepiece diopters. I don't know if you've done this but this is the procedure for finding the right setting:
- wear your glasses if you're short-sighted
- take a sample and focus on it using the 40x objective
- switch to the 4x objective
- change position of the eyepiece diopters until the sample is in focus again
- go back to 40x
- use the microscope focus knobs to bring the sample back into focus
- go back to 4x
- use eyepiece diopters again
(maybe do this once more)
You should end up with the entire series of objectives being almost perfectly parfocal (half a turn of the fine focus knob difference was considered OK but modern microscopes can be even better).
Regards, Ichty
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- Contact:
I'm curious...what's the big deal about making a locking screw for the stage? Seems an excellent and well-implemented solution to me.Choronzon wrote:Seriously? You drilled and tapped the Y scale indicator for a lock screw rather than adjusting the Y rack to resolve play in the table when moving the slide by hand?
Yes I did. My stage was under $200 used & my alternative was to find a fixed stage, which I ultimately (sort of) did, although it was much more expensive.Choronzon wrote:Seriously? You drilled and tapped the Y scale indicator for a lock screw rather than adjusting the Y rack to resolve play in the table when moving the slide by hand?
So ultimately the shims turned out to be too thick (even the 0.001" shim). I ended up putting a few dots of thin paint on the 40x where the shim would sit, and screwed it on with light-medium force. So right now, if I focus the 40x on tissue (I look at a lot of skin, so I adjust the 40x so that the desmosomes b/w keratinocytes are sharp) then all the other objectives are in focus (for that specimen) & I no longer need to adjust focus. My objectives are pefectly parfocal, i.e. ZERO turning of the focus knob).Charles Krebs wrote:Not sure he is talking about "play" in the movement. My impression was that he preferred to physically move the slide around with the fingers instead of using the x/y axial controls (no stage clips in picture). In that case his preference is for a truly "fixed" stage.
What puzzles me a little is the:How much do they vary? Generally with a new scope and objectives of this quality they should be very, very close (within 1/4 to possibly 1/2 turn of the fine focus). They are rarely "perfect"."Shims on 4x & 40x to make objectives Parfocal"
Much appreciated advice, but I really only had to adjust the 40x so that it was slightly closer to the stage.Ichthyophthirius wrote: Hi,
Normally, that shouldn't be necessary. These objectives should be parfocal by factory setting if your cover glass and mountant are not too thick (they're designed for 0.17 mm).
One thing that influences parfocality is the position of the eyepiece diopters. I don't know if you've done this but this is the procedure for finding the right setting:
- wear your glasses if you're short-sighted
- take a sample and focus on it using the 40x objective
- switch to the 4x objective
- change position of the eyepiece diopters until the sample is in focus again
- go back to 40x
- use the microscope focus knobs to bring the sample back into focus
- go back to 4x
- use eyepiece diopters again
(maybe do this once more)
You should end up with the entire series of objectives being almost perfectly parfocal (half a turn of the fine focus knob difference was considered OK but modern microscopes can be even better).
Regards, Ichty
If I had known at the time, I probably would have gone that route. Thanks for the info.Choronzon wrote:Because that stage has a built in X and Y tension control on the knobs. You can make them so tight as to be unmovable.
So I ended up getting a white circular Leeds stage (out of production), and low & behold they send me the "Glide" stage instead of the fixed stage. When I called they said that they had no more circular fixed stages, but I could keep the glide stage if I wanted. Seeing that I could probably fix it, I decided to keep it.
The stage is actually 2 parts, the top fixed plate and the bottom part which is essentially a ring. The top plate was threaded as if it was made to receive screws, so I ended up having to tap & drill holes through the bottom ring part to make it fixed. I also had to bevel the light path hole so that I could flip the condenser.
Last edited by CesarG on Mon Aug 07, 2017 1:46 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Update-No Vignetting!
So no vignetting. If you do the math regarding area increase, going from 22mm to 26.5mm is a 40% increase. Now if only I could make the image inverted again instead of having to get used to the erect image... Does anyone know if there is an adapter that can go b/w the frame & head that will flip the image back?