An Aid to Failing Eyesight

[atferrari]

What about this type? Locally we can buy the usual variations including the rectangular ones which I presume, will distort a lot.

Thinking of buying something like those but fearing to buy the wrong thing.

Besides needing glasses and a magnifier for soldering or selecting small resistors (color coded yet) I find myself suffering the lack of light. Everything looks darker to me and that's why if I move it will be to place where LOT of light comes through the windows.

 

[Musicmanager]

Good Morning AT

I looked carefully at the magnifier on an anglepoise arm type but I found them difficult because I wear bi-focal glasses which means the work has to be viewed through the magnifier at 90 deg. or the bi-focal causes distortion. This sometimes means standing directly over the work, a recipe for backache !

The USB camera has 4 adjustable white LEDs around the camera lens that provide excellent light.

S

 

[atferrari]

Basically I am not doing SMD for the moment so it is assembling something on the protoboard or soldering on a PCB, veroboard or perfboard.

For soldering I still find no serious difficulties using this magnifier (inherited from my father) with the lens staying more or less horizontal.

When inserting things in the protoboard instead of looking at it, standing over it, I find easier keeping it inclined, maybe some 30º and adjusting the position of the magnifier accordingly.

 

[Tony Stewart]

The best thing I found useful for SMD hand soldering with bad eyes was an expensive Zeiss stereo microscope with a 100W fibre optic light source.

Then I felt empowered like microsurgeon. speaking of which they use a headset with high beam power and stereo optics, probably 20x.
The cheap plastic headset loops were pretty useless. The more you magnify, the brighter a light source you need.

Although in the '90s I had assemblers who could solder 603 SMT's for prototypes, without a scope by hand and do about 10 boards in a day. I arranged bins with film containers to hold the parts and a table of part numbers for the pick list. they would place & tack one end by solder of SMT's then go back and solder the other side. Temperature or power controlled clean tips were essential and then scope inspection afterwards.

It's amazing how much better at soldering you get with good vision aids, then like binoculars, you dont use your bifocals.

But these days and OLD USB Cam with a good focus ring on the lens can focus to zero length and go full on the monitor with an effective zoom up 100. So with a good 10W PAR LED lighting and a cheap USB Cam, I expect you can get pretty good results. Avoid the Cams with autofocus and no Lens adjust, as they usually cannot do macro length focus. ( meaning micro ) Adjust lens ring CCW for closer in focus.... like the details on a coin @ 1cm away can fill the monitor. But it takes good optic$ to shoot at arm's length overhead.

 

[atferrari]

Hola Tony,

Maybe I am understanding things wrong. It seems not intuitive to inspect something flat on the bench by looking at the monitor. I imagine you get used to that.

 

[NorthGuy]

Maybe I am understanding things wrong. It seems not intuitive to inspect something flat on the bench by looking at the monitor. I imagine you get used to that.

I doubt this too. It might give you a good vision, but poor hand-eye coordination.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I found them difficult because I wear bi-focal glasses which means the work has to be viewed through the magnifier at 90 deg. or the bi-focal causes distortion.

Get some cheap prescription near distance glasses, order them on-line using your existing prescription - I've got near vision ones, computer use ones, plus more expensive vari-focal ones for normal wear.

I also add something like this:

**broken link removed**

Although mine are only one magnification, and no light - I've had them a long time now - great for SM work.

 

[Tony Stewart]

I found a good CAM & monitor, as good as a single microscope and easier to use, but both require some learning curve.

The best is a Stereo Microscope with depth perception.

I chose my trifocal lens at 3 common distances so I wouldn't have to move my head up and down for different objects.
iPad 12-14" , LCD/ TV 20-60" , for top part, distance.

I think macro view down and micro view onscreen is easier than it sounds. I don't think it takes a surgeon, but not for everyone, I guess.

For simple inspection, a good glass 10x eye cup works great to look at solder imperfections.
Dental Crown & Bridge workers need high acuity and hand coordination in 3D so they use 5 ~10x glass stereo head mounted loops. For the most part soldering in 2D is ok, but if challenged, 3D is best with high optic quality and good light.

 

[Musicmanager]

Hi Guys

Yes, I take your points with interest. I do have some near distance glasses and some bi-focals. In my original post I mentioned the frustration of always having the wrong pair in use, or having the near distance on and dropping something - unable to see where it went !

However, I'm only a novice and a good distance yet from doing anything like SMD. Tony is right when he says that there is a learning curve in using a cam & monitor to see what your doing and the hand coordination takes a while to get used to, but having achieved that coordination I've found it a useful means to an end for little cost. Also I do tend to use it more for inspection than actual installation work.

Either way, the frustration of always having the wrong pair of glasses on is a thing of the past. Each to his own ?

S

 

[dr pepper]

Nope I dont wear glasses, maybe I should, last time my eyes were tested less than a year ago I didnt need them.

I found a stereoscope in the skip, but they wouldnt let me take it home, they smashed it and put it back.

AT, if you buy a circular mag lamp then get one with a circular tube, or circular leds, the ones with a bulb at one end in my opinion are not great - shadows, and I dont mean the guitar players.

 

[throbscottle]

I found a stereoscope in the skip, but they wouldnt let me take it home, they smashed it and put it back.

That's just plain evil.