Olympus BH2 Condenser Mount

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Microman2
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Olympus BH2 Condenser Mount

Post by Microman2 »

I have just recently acquired an excellent Olympus BH2 Microscope, unfortunately, the Swing Out Condenser that came with the scope does not allow for Rheinberg or good Darkfield. I do not have access to the regular Abbe condenser either. I was wondering if it was possible to find a source for an adapter that makes a circular mount microscope compatible with a dovetail? The adaptation can be found in this post: http://www.microbehunter.com/microscopy ... .php?t=619

Ichthyophthirius
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Post by Ichthyophthirius »

Hi,

Do you mean a circular mount condenser with a dovetail mount carrier?

Microman2
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Post by Microman2 »

Yes, a circular condenser to be fitted on the BH2's dovetail

dolmadis
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Post by dolmadis »

Design might be of some interest although the listing ended some time ago...................

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Olympus-BH2-hol ... 1943500106

BR

John

Alan Wood
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Post by Alan Wood »

I have something similar to the adapter from eBay:

Image

It is designed to accept 39mm diameter condensers, but when I tried it with the condenser from my Watson Kima the top surface of the condenser was 3 cm below the slide, far too low to be any use.

However, there is a design for Nikon microscopes with a similar condenser dovetail that puts the condenser in a better position:

https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/ ... hp?t=38631

Alan Wood

Microman2
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Post by Microman2 »

I would just like to confirm some things Mr. Wood. The Labophot's dovetail is similar to the Olympus that dovetail condensers between the two could be exchanged right?

Alan Wood
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Post by Alan Wood »

The Nikon condenser dovetail is slightly smaller than the Olympus one.

I have used 2 Nikon condensers on my Olympus BH-2, and they can be centred.

I have not tried Olympus condensers on a Nikon microscope.

Alan Wood

Microman2
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Post by Microman2 »

Mr. Wood may I get an approximate distance of the your Watson's top lens to its filter holder if possible?

Alan Wood
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Post by Alan Wood »

I gave away my Watson Kima when we moved home last year, so I cannot measure the condenser.

I know it was much shorter than an Olympus BH-2 condenser.

Alan Wood

dolmadis
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Re:

Post by dolmadis »

Alan Wood wrote:
Fri Jun 12, 2020 9:35 am
Image

It is designed to accept 39mm diameter condensers, but when I tried it with the condenser from my Watson Kima the top surface of the condenser was 3 cm below the slide, far too low to be any use. Alan Wood
Hi Alan,

I would be really indebted to you if you could let me have some of the main dimensions on this piece because you could really help me create an adapter which would place alternative condensers at the right height on a BH2 stand.

The dimensions on the dovetail would be very helpful to compare with my own measurements of a BH2 dovetail and also to see how and where the 39mm opening has been accommodated on what seem to be very fine tolerances on the dovetail. ( I have failed to solve this so far and luckily it is only on paper !!).

Thanks Alan if you can.

Best


John

Alan Wood
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Re: Olympus BH2 Condenser Mount

Post by Alan Wood »

Hi John

My micrometer calipers are cheap plastic ones, but here goes:

maximum diameter of dovetail: 46.7 mm
minimum diameter of dovetail: cannot measure, the caliper arms are too short and too thick
height of dovetail: 7.75 mm
internal diameter: 38.8 mm (seems too small, but I checked several times at different locations, the only condenser that I have is 38.6 mm diameter)
height of adapter: 16.8 mm

Here are 2 more photos:
olympus-condenser-39mm-adapter-top-2019-acquisition-700.jpg
olympus-condenser-39mm-adapter-2019-acquisition-700.jpg
I hope this helps.

Alan Wood

dolmadis
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Re: Olympus BH2 Condenser Mount

Post by dolmadis »

Hi Alan

Yes, very helpful.

Is the internal diameter constant all of the way through?

I have a digital caliper which has flat blades which can just get into and around the short dimension of a BH2 dovetail if I am careful. The measurements are described as + or - 0.2mm. Not the very best I am sure but came out value for money in critical reviews.

So on the BH2 1.25 condenser I get 46.5 mm and 39.5mm - height 8mm.

Enrico got the following;

38.8 mm narrower diameter
47.0 mm wider diameter
7.9 mm height between flat mounting flange and bottom(bottom is the wider end of the bayonet)

Here...........https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/ ... 2612e132f4

Commenting "There may be minor size differences among the different Olympus condenser models, but all these condensers are supposed to fit the same attachment size."

My own requirement is a mount opening of 38.6 mm for a 38.2mm diameter condenser.

That might be a little generous but a machine shop has warned me not to go below a 1.0 mm wall thickness relative to the short dimension on the dovetail.

It seems that your adapter achieves what I want.

But the risk issue is whether the short end of the BH2 at 39.5 mm is correct amongst variation because it is so hard to measure !!

Thanks again Alan this gives me encouragement.

I wish that I had taken technical drawing and engineering rather than biology sometimes.........like now so if anyone can chip in please do.

BR

John

Macro_Cosmos
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Re: Olympus BH2 Condenser Mount

Post by Macro_Cosmos »

Maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't it be easier to just get a regular bh2 Abbe condenser? They pop up on ebay from time to time for $40-$100.

dolmadis
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Re: Olympus BH2 Condenser Mount

Post by dolmadis »

Macro_Cosmos wrote:
Sat Jul 04, 2020 11:39 am
Maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't it be easier to just get a regular bh2 Abbe condenser? They pop up on ebay from time to time for $40-$100.
My OCD with this is my desire to mount a Reichert Polyphos which came to me as a gift a while ago. :D :D :D

BR

John

Alan Wood
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Re: Olympus BH2 Condenser Mount

Post by Alan Wood »

Hi John

Yes, my adapter is the same internal diameter all the way through.

You will need to make sure that you can get the top of your Polyphos condenser close enough to the slide. When I tried an old Watson Kima condenser in my adapter, its top surface was 3 cm below the slide, far too low to be any use.

Alan Wood

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