Omax Trinocular Compound LED Microscope: FirstLook

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We once passed on buying an electron microscope (either on FB Marketplace or Craigslist, we forget which) because, while it was free, we would have had to move it…and it was “room size.”

BUT, we could not pass on an Omax trinocular compound LED microscope!!!

This new-to-us microscope was complete, in excellent condition, AND came with a digital camera, so now everyone in the office will have a chance to refresh their memories on the difference between a monocot and a dicot leaf, only this time around on a really big display. 

The RainyDayInterns are thrilled!! (not.)

Assembly

The Omax microscope came disassembled, and was housed in a large aluminum custom-foam-fitted carry case. The section on the left housed the main body of the scope without the eyepiece.

The section on the right consisted of three separate custom-cut foam trays for the other components: eyepieces, turret assembly, and digital camera. There were also extra cutouts in the foam for additional accessories.

Putting the pieces together was a quick, obvious, and straightforward process:

1. Place the viewing head onto the microscope body (above).
2. Tighten the screw on the right to secure the head.
3. Insert the eyepieces into the viewing head.
4. Screw on the photo tube onto the top of the viewing head.
5. Insert the digital camera into the photo tube.
6. Insert the USB cable to the rear of the camera.
7. Insert the USB cable into the port on the laptop.

FirstLook

The thing about buying on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace in COVID times is that we don’t really feel the desire to spend all that much time conversing with the buyer. If the item looks clean and complete, then we are willing to risk the small amount we are paying to just take it and go.

The first thing we did when we got it back to the office was to set it up and see if it turned on. And it did! Could we see anything? Yes we could! Awesome 🙂

The next item to figure out was the digital camera. Hmmm….no directions or disks came with the scope. Fortunately, both the manual and software were on the Omax site. We downloaded what we needed and got it up an running on the first try. Easy peasy.

The software was pretty intuitive to use. Being able to see a live image on the monitor brought an entirely new dimension to the experience of looking through a microscope. We can now share what we see in the eyepiece in real time with everyone else in the office! Grabbing a photo of what we were seeing was also a simple task. Amazing!

Large Screen

Being able to see a live image on a 24″ screen was pretty cool, but there was no reason why, with the right port adapter, we couldn’t put the same image on the 46″ LCD TV!

After a bit of scrounging around, we found an adapter with the right USB end for the computer and an HDMI port for output to the TV….and Bob was our uncle!

Seeing the image on the 24″ monitor was eye opening, but having it up on the 46″ TV was damn near a religious experience (as much as one can be for the atheists around here). You get the idea.

We are going to spend a few weeks playing with this new piece of gear. Our plan is to restart the Backyard Biotech series and see what we can see with this bad boy.

We will have more info in future posts on the specs of the microscope (once we learn more about what we’ve got), along with details on how to prep specimens (once we relearn how to do it), and what the software can do (once we read the manual).

Fall is going to be fun!!!

Links to items mentioned: 

• OMAX trinocular compound LED microscope
• OMAX 18.0MP USB3.0 Digital Microscope Camera
• USB-C port adapter
• USB-C cables