MICROSCOPE OPERATION
VIEWING A SPECIMEN
Carefully place a specimen slide under the stage clips Fig.
1 (8) and center the specimen directly over the hole in the
center of the stage Fig. 1 (11) – Figure 4
area with the hole in the center and Figure 4
specimen slide centered over the hole in the stage. It will take
some experimenting to place slides or objects in the center of
the stage as the image you see is upside down and reversed,
FOCUSING & CHANGING POWER (MAGNIFICATION)
Now that the specimen slide (or object) is placed directly
under the objective lens, use the focus knob Fig. 1 (9) to
focus on the specimen. Note: for very small objects, you
should set them on the clear slide with a recessed hold in
the center.
1. Always start with the lowest power (4x objective lens) and
have the zoom eyepiece at the 10x position, all the way
counterclockwise (when you are facing the microscope from
the front) until it stops, so that the total power is 40x – this is
the most useful power for solid objects.
2. For slightly higher power, you can rotate the knurled ring
on the zoom eyepiece (see Figure 5) clockwise to obtain
powers of 40x to 80x (or anywhere in between) as you
continue rotating to the 20x eyepiece position. Note that
you will have to refocus whenever you rotate the eyepiece
to obtain a sharp focus.
3. For much higher powers, you will have to rotate the
nosepiece Fig. 1 (5) to change the objective lens to 15x
(provides total power of 150x to 300x depending on what
position you have the zoom eyepiece in or 30x provides
total power of 300x to 600x). You rotate the nosepiece by
holding the microscope above the nosepiece with one
shows the stage
a
shows a
b
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4
igure
a
but after some usage you will have an easy time centering.
Read the sections below on Focusing, Changing Power, and
Illumination before proceeding.
You are now ready to focus and view the specimen, but first
you must take some precautions so you do not damage a
specimen slide or valuable object. When using the higher
powers while you are focusing, make sure that the objective
lens does not hit the slide or object being viewed.
F
4
igure
b
hand and rotating the nosepiece with the other hand until
it clicks at the position. Be cautious not to let the objective
lens touch the specimen slide or object when changing to
higher powers. You should turn the focus knob first to lower
the stage to a low position. Note: the power range of the
objective lens you are using is shown on the nosepiece
after it clicks into position.
4. At the highest powers, your views will be greatly magnified,
but somewhat darker. The most enjoyable views can be
at the lower powers, which have a wider field of view and
brighter illumination.
ILLUMINATION
To get the sharpest and best views, the illumination (lighting)
will have to be adjusted.
1. The top illuminator Fig. 1 (3) is used only for solid objects
(not specimen slides) so that light shines down onto the
object. Push the button on the top of the illuminator to turn
it on/off. After some usage, you can determine the best way
of adjusting the light to provide the most pleasant views.
3
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5
igure