Puzzling out eBay ad for Olympus laser + halogen microscope

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enricosavazzi
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Puzzling out eBay ad for Olympus laser + halogen microscope

Post by enricosavazzi »

eBay item 323837297164 (I have no connection with the seller).

My interest in this item is trying to figure out how it is used. The equipment shown in the pictures consists of an LG-PS2 laser with a thinner light guide, apparently ending in a connector for an AX/BX series illuminator port, and a FV5-TD halogen illuminator with a thicker double light guide, the ends of which are not visible in any picture.

Googling for these two devices shows instead the double end of the light guide attached to the illuminator port connector to the microscope, one of the single ends connected to the halogen illuminator, and the other single end connected to a laser. This makes better sense, since it allows both the laser and the halogen illuminator to shine into the illuminator port of the microscope.

I am therefore led to believe that the items in the eBay pictures just happen to be randomly connected together, and not in the way they are meant to be used. The idea of using a double light guide to blend together two light sources would be an interesting way to combine electronic flash and continuous illumination for photomicrography, so a possible idea to try.

There is no real guarantee, though, that the individual optical fibers are sufficiently "mixed" together at the double end to provide a uniform illumination field at the microscope illuminator port, unless there is also a diffuser/homogenizer somewhere in the illuminator connector to the microscope. There is also a visible collimator lens in this connector, probably identical to the collimator found in ordinary halogen housings for the BX series. I found no information about this connector and its optics, so this is an open question. Does anyone know?
--ES

Pau
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Post by Pau »

You could ask the seller for more info like a full picture of the connected items (I believe that he is a forum member).

At the auction pictures, both sources carry laser warning stickers, so I don't think that the wider one would be a plain halogen source...who knows?

The collimator lens at the end of a light guide seems similar to the ones used with metal halide fluorescence sources.

My guess is that the parts are for fluorescence microscopy
Pau

genera
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Re: Puzzling out eBay ad for Olympus laser + halogen microsc

Post by genera »

enricosavazzi wrote:
. . . The equipment shown in the pictures consists of an LG-PS2 laser with a thinner light guide, apparently ending in a connector for an AX/BX series illuminator port, and a FV5-TD halogen illuminator with a thicker double light guide, the ends of which are not visible in any picture.
You have these switched. Should be: FV5 - laser source, LG - halogen source.
Googling for these two devices shows instead the double end of the light guide attached to the illuminator port connector to the microscope, one of the single ends connected to the halogen illuminator, and the other single end connected to a laser. This makes better sense, since it allows both the laser and the halogen illuminator to shine into the illuminator port of the microscope.

Therefore led to believe that the items in the eBay pictures just happen to be randomly connected together, and not in the way they are meant to be used. The idea of using a double light guide to blend together two light sources would be an interesting way to combine electronic flash and continuous illumination for photomicrography, so a possible idea to try.
I think the photos show part of 2 distinct light guides, a single input dual output halogen guide, and a laser guide. The FV series components are meant for the Olympus FlouView series of confocal microscopes. It doesn't make sense that the laser output would be delivered into the AX/BX fiber collimator.

Here's a relevant thread:
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/ ... ptic+guide
-Gene

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