Hi Everyone-

As it turns out, other scientists have been hard at work figuring this out for us, and the simplest solution is an LED flashlight and a machined fitting. No lie. The literature addresses fluorescence microscopy, but I tried it this morning on our Zeiss Universal Pol with a little duct tape and the 600 lumen light from my bicycle, and the lighting was shockingly good. There are several publications out on how to rig this up sans duct tape.

How to use a flashlight with your scope: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2751867/

Another DIY flashlight hack: http://www.slideshare.net/sdroege/how-to-make-a-microcope-light-ppt

If you or one of your students is particularly handy, here's how to build your own LED illuminator inexpensively with commercially available parts:  http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0002146

For commercially available solutions, I've been most impressed with the Retro Diode people in Kansas, as they will custom build a new fitting for you to your exact specifications, and it will run off its own power source. It will, however, cost about $300 for something that will work well with cross-polarized light. This price is much better than the $1700 option I was proposed, but I realize it may be cost prohibitive for some operations. http://www.retrodiode.com

Worst case scenario is a $20 fix for microscopes with defunct light sources. Set up your solar battery charger in the window, and you never run out of juice. For fieldwork and for those in our field who may be working in places that don't have a great deal of funding, I think these are great solutions.

Happy scanning!

Linda

On Sun, May 8, 2016 at 3:03 PM, Andrew Fairbairn <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Linda


I am interested to know what else you find out and thanks for the info. That comment about UV protection is a bit concerning.....


Andy


---------------------------
Andrew Fairbairn,
Associate Professor in Archaeology, ARC Future Fellow

UQ ALLY   ::  Supporting the diversity of sexuality and gender identity at UQ. 
School of Social Science | The University of Queensland | Brisbane Queensland 4072 | Australia| Office: Rm 331 Michie Building
telephone 61 7 336 52780 | fax 61 7 336 51544 | email [log in to unmask] | web www.socialscience.uq.edu.au

Unless stated otherwise this email represents only the views of the sender and not the views of The University of Queensland
From: The archaeobotany mailing list <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Linda Perry <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, 7 May 2016 7:01 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The new LED microscope "bulbs"
 

Hi Andy-

The one person who admitted a retrofit loves the new lighting in her compound scope - no hotspots and great light. I asked for details on luminosity measurements, and she told me she'd check on Monday. 

I'm online now with about three different companies, one of which makes large, complex LED attachments that are prohibitively expensive, but I did find an entrepreneur in Kansas who is using a 3D printer to make new fittings that he's selling on eBay to great reviews. Genius. The only drawback is you have to work with UV protected eyewear, but we were apparently supposed to be doing this with the LED scopes already. Here's the website for the Retro Diode people.


There is also a company in the Netherlands making bulb replacements that don't require rewiring. I've asked about shipping costs, but they are undoubtedly gone for the weekend.


I'm somewhat determined to get rid of the old power supply as mine has begun to make a buzzing sound. Hearing about your fire makes me that much more resolute. -L



On Fri, May 6, 2016 at 4:51 PM, Andrew Fairbairn <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Linda

We looked into this recently with a local supplier (former microscope technician) in Brisbane and he recommended against trying to convert the microscopes as it is expensive and requires new electrical fittings. He thought there was  modest gain and possibly even lower light quality in the compound scopes. For our low powered stereoscopes he suggested simply obtaining an attachable external light. His business has LED ring lights for about $200 and we are about to test some out.

Interested to hear if there is an easier fix for the compound microscopes. We nearly had a fire in our lab (makes me shudder to think about it) quite recently when one of our Olympus BD60's was left on and covered up. As well as electricity use etc the LED option would certainly cut down the chances of that happening.

Andy

______________________
Andrew Fairbairn, Associate Professor of Archaeology & ARC Future Fellow. School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Tel: +61 07 33652780
UQ ALLY   ::  Supporting the diversity of sexuality and gender identity at UQ

On 7 May 2016, at 1:51 AM, Linda Perry <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Good morning-

Has anyone who uses an older scope tried the new replacement LED lights? With the promise of 50,000 hours of operation and very low cost, I find myself tempted, but I'm curious how the low voltage and wattage might be working with the electric power supplies built to run the halogen lamps.

Cheers,

Linda Perry

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Executive Director
The Foundation for Archaeobotanical Research in Microfossils
PO Box 37
Fairfax VA 22038
www.fossilfarm.org
703-625-0361



--
Executive Director
The Foundation for Archaeobotanical Research in Microfossils
www.fossilfarm.org
703-625-0361



--
Executive Director
The Foundation for Archaeobotanical Research in Microfossils
www.fossilfarm.org
703-625-0361