Wild heerbrugg m20 (images added)

Mr.Stone · Post by **Mr.Stone** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:33 pm

Good evening all. I just got a wild m20 today

its in really good condition. It has 4 objectives:

4x .10
Wild fluotar 10x ph 0.4
Wild fluotar 40x ph 0.75 d=0.17
Wild fluotar HI 100x ph 1.30

And has two 10x and two 6x eyepieces.

The head looks like it can take a camera there is a 6x eyepiece that ses 6x phot on it. Is this where i would put the camera?

The only thing i dont have is a power supply that ive seen come with this microscope.
Now if i plug the lamp into a wall outlet, something tells me that it will blow? If this is so, what kind of power supply can i use with this? It has a spare lamp but im not going to risk popping the one that is in at the moment.
The stage is also quite hard to move but seems to go smooth, same goes for the knobs that move the microscope neck up and down. can i apply some oil/grease on it?
The objectives, prisms and eye pieces are clear, but the do have some dust on them, can i clean this with a lenspen?

Thank you in advance

Pau · Post by **Pau** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:13 am

It is a highly regarded classic microscope but I never used that model.
Please provide pictures, in special of the head with the 6X eyepiece where the camera may be placed.

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 11:28 am

A gorgeously made microscope!

The stage is also quite hard to move but seems to go smooth

A few words of caution. While I am not familiar with the details of this microscope I recall there were some problems with plastic gear teeth (I believe is was in the x/y stage, but may also have been in the focus). With many older microscopes this is something to watch out for since the lubricants typically harden with age and the plastics can't take the additional forces needed to make movements, resulting in broken gear teeth. The stage gears are usually very accessible and you should be able to take care of that yourtself.

Now if i plug the lamp into a wall outlet, something tells me that it will blow?

I believe so as well. Eventually manufacturers built the power supplies into the base and the microscopes were connected to the (proper voltage) "wall outlet". Prior to that most used separate external power supplies/transformers. The manual listed below mentions a couple of different bulbs, as well as an external transformer. I suggest you look over this manual and determine the power requirements for the setup you have.

Here is some info to look over. The first being the most valuable:

http://www.science-info.net/docs/wild/W ... onsUse.pdf

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/ind ... 20-eb.html

http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/e ... matics.pdf

Mr.Stone · Post by **Mr.Stone** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:11 am

@ Pau, thank you for the reply, ive seen that there are people that really love this microscope, alot. I still need to learn how to use microscopes in the right way. I will take some pictures of the m20 as you asked, i should have them up in the next coupla days.

@Charles, Thank you for all the links!! I came across the pdf of the hospital workshop last week before i got the m20, but did not keep it as i thought that i wont get the microscope, but then my luck turned and i got it

U saved me tonnes of time with the links!!

About the gears, is there some way that one can soften the lubricant that went hard?
I think this microscope has hardly been used, it looks like it came out of the box, there are no scatches on it, nothing at all, so its been standing for a really long time, maybe that helped the lubricant harden?

I have more questions that i would like to ask, but will do that once i put up some pictures, for now im going to study them links!!

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:26 pm

About the gears, is there some way that one can soften the lubricant that went hard?

Although the proper thing to do is remove old lube and replace with fresh lube, you can usually improve things somewhat. If it is a matter of separating parts in order to clean, then sometimes mild heat (like from a hair dryer) will allow you to do so safely. If the lube is clearly accessible (as it sometimes is on stages) then you can try adding a bit of machine oil or a low viscosity lube. Give it some time to "soak in" and then carefully try the movement.

I think this microscope has hardly been used, it looks like it came out of the box

If this microscope is as pristine as you say it is, you might want to at least check around for a company or individual that services microscopes (ask for recommendations at a hospital or university if you can't find any). Explain what you have and see what they would want to do a more thorough re-lube job.

Mr.Stone · Post by **Mr.Stone** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 3:39 am

Thank you Charles, I took your advice and contacted a microscope technician, he told me to take apart the stage and then remove the old grease with benzene (zippo fluid?) and then regrease it. This is what he does, sounds simple enough as long as i dont loose any parts in the process

NikonUser · Post by **NikonUser** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 4:49 am

I would look for a safer solvent than benzene. Benzene has health hazards for humans. Google Benzene on the www.

johan · Post by **johan** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:42 am

Might be worth asking your microscope man for a specific reccomendation regarding the greasing agent to use afterwards. I took a microscope apart recently to regrease it and the stuff I used made it far too loose, so it always dropped.

neurodoc · Post by **neurodoc** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:18 pm

NikonUser wrote:I would look for a safer solvent than benzene. Benzene has health hazards for humans. Google Benzene on the www.

I suspect that the tech did not mean benzene, but meant naphtha (also called lighter fluid, coleman fuel, and sometimes "benzine"...), which is actually good stuff to use as a cleaning solvent. It's even used by watchmakers to clean watch mechanisms or by those who work on camersa shutters.

Nick

Mr.Stone · Post by **Mr.Stone** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 4:05 am

I also think the tech ment lighter fluid. I use that alot to clean stuff and it works quite well.
As for the grease the guy didnt say much, so im not to sure what to use there.
For the power supply for the bulb, can i use a 12v dc adapter? Those black box shaped things?
I looked through the microscope for the first time this weekend using a led torch, it looks really nice but put alot of strain on my eyes!!

So i need to make a plan with the lamp.
Any suggestions?

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:36 pm

http://www.super-lube.com/synthetic-mul ... zp-49.html

Your bulb is 6volts (not 12!) and 20 watts. You will need a power supply (transformer) capable to supplying proper power.

Mr.Stone · Post by **Mr.Stone** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:18 am

Thank you Charles

I was looking at this page :

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/ind ... jwild.html

At the part where the author wrote about the wild m20 power supply, he states :

"The power supply's simple though functional appearance belies the quality of its internal mechanism. The 220/12 volt mains transformer has a substantial copper secondary winding that has been milled flat on one side, which is 'wiped' by an ingenious contact arm articulated from the external control knob, which together with over rated components promises a very long life indeed ( 45 years so far ? ) "

Upon seeing the 220/12 volt, i thought that 12 volts would run the globe as i have plenty of 230/12 volt transformers lying around here, the tipe used for fluorescent lights.
But taking a closer look it seems like the power supply can be set to the correct voltage.

With the microscope i also got a 12.5x bausch and lomb (hope the spelling is right) eyepiece, hoping i can use this to take pictures, as the current photo eye piece is only 6x. There is how ever another wild eyepiece that simply has the wild logo on it, and nothing else. No idea what it can be used for.

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:55 am

Well... you have the scope, hopefully the bulb has some specifications on it, and that would settle it. I can only go by printed info, and the M20 users manual only mentions a 6V 20 W bulb. I do not believe it is a 12 volt bulb. Many (most?) external microscope transformers are capable of providing voltage into a "red zone" that is above the bulbs rated voltage. You can use it briefly if you really need a brighter view, but it significantly reduces bulb life.

Here's a very blurry section of an M20 transformer gauge. The quality is terrible, but it is just possible to see that it is calibrated 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 volts, with the "red zone" above 6 volts.

Take a look at the transformers mentioned here:
http://www.classicoptics.com/biological ... phase.html

http://www.classicoptics.com/parts/wild ... tr-22.html

Mr.Stone · Post by **Mr.Stone** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 10:59 am

Please excuse me, as i took way too long to get back to this, but here are some pictures of the wild.
How would i go about mounting my camera to this?

Here is a full shot of the wild:

This is the Photo tobe with a 6x eye piece on it. The silver mount like thing can be removed like i did in the next picture.

So what would be the correct way to mount my Sony a580 to the wild?

Pau · Post by **Pau** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:29 am

Mr.Stone wrote:... I still need to learn how to use microscopes in the right way...

Good idea! Before even thinking in taking pictures (difficult, I know

) you must learn the microscope work basis.
A very good star may be IMO:
http://www.zeiss.de/C1256B5E0051569F/Em ... inning.pdf

About camera adaptation, please take a look at afocal setups:
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 526#129526

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 387#128387