Homebrew PCBs

The camera ones suck! I have access to a really expensive one at work
but all the good optics are wasted on a low resolution camera.

Even a cheap stereo microscope will have _a lot_ more resolution than
any camera.

Also, don't forget the benefit of a stereo microscope specifically is
that it provides two parallel optical paths one for each eye, so you
see in 3D. This is a huge advantage over just a 2D image. You need to
rotate items a lot under 2D magnification to make sense of what you
see, while with a stereo microscope you can immediately see the shape.

Personally, I would suggest a stereo microscope with two magnification
settings on a revolver. It really helps to get a wider view at first
to find what you are looking for, and then switch to the higher
magnification for inspection. Changing eyepieces isn't really a good
option since it takes long and you open the optics up to dust.

Another thing I find practical is the rod/tube type vertical support.
The very cheap import units have done away with that and replaced this
with a fixed flat support which is cast with the base. The round
column allows you to swivel the head around and work on large items.
Also it has generally more flexibility in terms of working height.

Most useless to me is the through-light from below. For electronics
work this really seems pointless. I always work with light from above.

If you do a lot of soldering under the microscope I would suggest to
install a glass plate to cover the optics. It is difficult to clean
the lenses, at least compared to just wiping off a flat plate.
Personally I have rarely soldered under the microscope (only really
really small stuff such as bridges on the AMD processors or tiny wires
from earphone speakers membranes). It is a lot more use for inspection
since you can be really certain about what you see once PCB traces
look like huge wooden planks.

ST


On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 7:20 PM, mcjonster <mcjonster@...> wrote:
> I'm looking for suggestions on a decent stereo microscope.  There are many options on ebay but I have no idea what is good for SMD PCB work.
>
> It'd be nice to be able to solder or fix stuff as well as inspect.
>
> Also, I was thinking that maybe a good option would be a digital microscope like this one: http://www.carsonoptical.com/Pocket_Microscopes/Pocket_Microscopes/MM-480B
>
> I always seemed to have problems looking through a microscope lens as whenever I blink I'd see my eyelashes and stuff but I probably just didn't know what I was doing.
>
> Anyway, it sounds like a good idea to get a digital one which I could hook up to my netbook.  Any experiences/suggestions?
>
>
>