Digital microscope review/first look

[@kasamikona]

I love that the only ads I ever get on this channel are for technical and industrial stuff, not any of that mobile game bs. They know what we're here for.

[@pileofstuff]

Good to know. Also, I have selected certain categories of ad that aren't permitted on my channel. I'm probably leaving money on the table, but there's a lot of crap that i don't want to be associated with.

[@OtusAsio]

Looked at your video and... made an order for it... as a 59 YO... some magnification is needed as my sight is not very good anymore...TY!

[@dnwheeler]

Just a couple of quick tips: 1) put a silicone sheet under the board to keep it from sliding around, and 2) make sure your soldering iron heats up the pad AND the component (position the iron to contact both at the same time) before adding the solder. Bonus tip: at these sizes, extra flux can help "hold" parts in place, and distribute heat (reducing the chance of overheating the board or part).

[@pileofstuff]

I do need some practice working at this scale. Thanks for the silicone pad tip, that's a good idea.

[@arcamdomain]

I would also invest in an air reworker and some wick, low melt solder and flux.

[@DM-kf1bt]

I purchased one of these a couple of months ago and find it invaluable for inspection and fine soldering. My only complaint is that it does not go high enough for some soldering jobs and catches on the iron etc. I have overcome this by purchasing a tall laboratory type stand and place the unit onto this which raises the unit to about 10 inches (25cm) from the base. Well worth the money even with the modifications.

[@lucapesce3335]

Sorry, are you saying that the "zoom factor" of this item, out of the box, is too high for soldering jobs and that I can manage to use it better if I put it away from my PCB? I am looking forward this kind of suggestions before buying it and the video does not completely answer about (I only see close-up view of 1 or two components which is not ideal for soldering)

[@thevindictive6145]

Well a cheaper alternative is just put it on a stack of novels or books, but i am thinking of getting an ipad table stand instead.

[@fumthings]

4:19 "a reset" in case it needs a "rest"

[@SidneyCritic]

It takes about 15 - 30min before your brain gets used to not having your hands in front of your eyes. I find it easier to hold the part in position, load the iron with solder, and apply to the end of the part to tack it down. You just have to drown the area in flux beforehand and that will attract/clean the solder to the part/pad. I've got 4 dead PC motherboards with 0402s'. so it quite tempting - lol -.

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

You don't need a high mag factor, less than 10 is best for soldering. The more mag you have the more you have to move the pcb about while working which is a pain.

[@ats89117]

Nice video. The microscope looks good for the price and I will get one because I think it will be easier to watch the screen than to look through the eye pieces of a stereo microscope. I would comment about your soldering, but my mother always told me that if I didn't have something nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all...

[@dennischerry4545]

Thank You very much.

[@dennischerry4545]

Just received mine yesterday. Love it. Thanks

[@Veedthetg]

I've not yet tried surface mount soldering but I have been watching live streaming lately to pick up some tips. A streamer named Syd Heresy does a lot of live SMD assembly and trouble shooting. pileofstuff would do well to clean his boards with rubbing alcohol and a toothbrush to clean off the flux when he's finished. But I thank you for this video because when I finally attempt it I will want the microscope.

[@steveneastman813]

Thanks for an excellent review and the discount good. Finally pulled the plug on this item. Howdy from Victoria, BC

[@DrexProjects]

Sooke here.

[@cognetic]

I ordered, tried, and tested a bunch of different digital microscopes from Amazon. The Andonstar AD-407 was my personal favorite, and the one I kept. They all had horrible depth of field, including the AD-407. I tried a 30mm wide angle macro lens, but did not work for me. Blurry edges, and still to zoomed in for me. I ended up making a 100mm extension tube, that worked a billion times better. It’s much more usable now. But, I still prefer my tried and true Amscope SM-4TP as my daily PCB micro soldering driver, over these digital microscopes.

[@pileofstuff]

I have no doubt that those more expensive scopes are superior. For the price, this one seems reasonable enough for my needs. Certainly beats using the optivisor!

[@johnwatrous3058]

$550 is out of my league.

[@cognetic]

@@johnwatrous3058 My Amscope is hands down one of the best investments I have made in microelectronics repair, right after my fluke 87V. I got mine from eBay used for $250. Worth every penny and then some. I suspect it last me a lifetime, as well as my kids lifetime. It's definitely one of those Thank God I made that decision moments! 😜

[@cognetic]

About a month in with the Andonstar AD-407. It’s just frustrate to use. The footprint area you have to place your component is sooo small, with the included base. Going to try doing an articulating microphone stand conversion to solve. Hopefully this will solve both the depth of field issue, as well as footprint area limitation issue. I want to love these digital microscopes. But they are just not functional for me the way they come, out of the box. Mod time!!

[@_Jamie_]

I think If I had one of these, I'd just be putting random objects under it lol. Very nice product.

[@geirendre]

I have the same microscope, and mine have a tendency to move the image sideways when i adjust the focus. I belive I could see a bit of that happening on your's too. Btw, if you use thinner solder wire then it's easier to get a proper amount of solder on the pads, and not a big blob. Solderflux is also handy :-)

[@anotherledfreak8649]

I bought a plastic stand one after watching a review (Gadget Reboot I think...). Still struggle to use it but it's definitely easier than glasses + magnifying lens. Also getting use to soldering while not looking at the item to be soldered is an art... And I'm crap at it! 😂 Good video though.

[@faamp]

Seems useful

[@RottnRobbie]

I appreciate the review, and it looks like an acceptable product - maybe even excellent for the price. I'm curious to know how it holds up over time, and whether the bench space it takes up is worth the added convenience over a magnifier. But I'm also curious about that "tilt" feature... You mentioned it in the mailbag unboxing, and again at the start of this review, saying that you thought it should help in dealing with reflections and getting the lens out of your way. And then nothing. You not only didn't show it tilted, you didn't mention it again. So - have you tried it, and is it useful, or not? Another question - How do you adjust the magnification? You never said, but from the what I saw (and ignoring the digital zoom feature) it looks like the only control is how high above the surface you have the camera? Which raises questions about the documentation and claimed specs... - @1:35 you showed and read from the fold-out 'Manual' that it had a working range of 20 to 40 mm, but I don't know what that illustration is about because @6:25 you showed it working at 13cm above the platform ... and ... - The box, fold-out, and website all say it does "1 to 1200" magnification, but that's pretty obviously nothing but marketing wank! It doesn't seem to do "1X", because when you had it at its maximum height, 27mm on your ruler filled the screen width, but 27mm at 1X magnification should only cover 27mm of the screen. It's a 7" (diagonal) screen, so the visible area is probably about 150mm wide. Dividing one into the other gives us a minimum magnification of approximately 9 point 4 something. And a few moments later, you show it "as close as possible - crazy close" with a touch over 2mm filling the screen width. But of course, 2mm at 1200X would fill a screen over 2.4 *METRES* across! It looks like the digital zoom goes to 4X, but even multiplying by 4 would still have 1/2mm filling the screen, when it should be [ 0.5mm X 1200 magnification = ] 600mm (almost 2 feet) across. Half a millimetre filling a 150mm screen width is an apparent maximum of 300 times magnification - nowhere *near* 1200! I guess they're counting on nobody checking? Of course, I'm not sure how useful 1200 times magnification would be in the real world? The smallest surface mount resistor I can find - an 0201 - is 0.6 by 0.3mm, and at 1200X magnification that would look like a 720 X 360 mm rectangle (about 28 by 14 inches)! I mean, c'mon - do you really need to see the bacteria on your circuit board? (At 1200X, a 1 micron [= 0.001mm] e.coli cell should be visible as a 1.2mm dot on the screen).

[@pileofstuff]

Yes, the magnification is adjusted by changing the lens distance from the work. I did tilt the stand *slightly* to get rid of a reflection off the PCB, but I edited out that adjustment - the video was already getting too long. Yeah the 1200 is just a marketing number. Still, adequate magnification for my application. As I said at the end, it's not a high-end piece of lab equipment, but it's also not as costly as that

[@no5x937]

Use a dual soldering iron, pre-tin both pads, clean both tips, add some solder to both tips, position smd component centered on both pads, and heat both sides evenly at the same time, and release one applying light pressure to the center of component to hold position, then release the other tip and remove the position hold tip. Touch up one side at.a time removing excess solder by swiping across the terminal.

[@fredflintstone1]

I have to say the Adonstar 407 is a better tool with the remote so you don't have to touch the Microscope to zoom and the adjustable lights at the side for angling:-) but a nice video review I did find that putting a line from top to bottom and left to right on the base to mark the centre of the scope helped with aligning pdb where I wanted to find the part

[@pileofstuff]

Ive got a small cutting mat that i was contemplating sticking on the base, just for that reason.

[@stevetobias4890]

Didn't that base come with clips for holding the circuit board down to make soldering easier? I have a cheaper model that does have the clips.

[@pileofstuff]

No, this one is just a large flat heavy plate.

[@stevetobias4890]

@@pileofstuff mine has, maybe you could print some clips or just use some kapton tape or electrical tape on the edges of the board to hold it in place to make thinks much easier.

[@pileofstuff]

@@stevetobias4890 I tried some tape while making this video, but it quickly became inconvenient every time I wanted to rotate the board, so I edited that part out.

[@stevetobias4890]

@@pileofstuff maybe you could find some clips and either screw them on or use small rivets. They really do make so much of a difference, I actually used mine tonight as I am designing a secondary bench power supply using a 48v 5a DC board I got from eBay. It was in a case like a laptop charger and I opened the case to find a Poe board with an input and output poorly tacked on. I made the connections much more secure and it will have dual adjustable power outputs. Another I will make with a larger 50v 8.5a power supply. Maybe I should start making some videos and post on KZbin.

[@helmuthschultes9243]

Much prefer the larger distances available from the Andonstar models, also the redirectable dual lights on those. Space under the lens easily allows soldering/desoldering underneath, 40mm is really too narrow. Adjustable light direction and intensity is very good too.

[@pileofstuff]

Yeah, having lights from an angle does help with reflections and also judging depth while only using one optical path.

[@patprop74]

I think I have the same amount of trouble getting uses to the perspective and working with it also. for china goods, it's a tad on the expensive side, nonetheless looks like a nice little introduction toy-like unit for trouble-shooting joints or for kids that want to get into micro soldering.

[@pileofstuff]

I'd say it's also acceptable for hobbyists who don't need to go full binocular microscope.

[@patprop74]

@@pileofstuff I Still don't know why no one has done wired FPV style glasses or goggles for those sorts of microscopes. Unless someone has and it didn't work all that well lol

[@pileofstuff]

@@patprop74 That's an interesting idea. The only downside is what you'd have to take it off to find things on the workbench outside the microscope's field of view

[@VideoBite]

I love that beer intro :)

[@matambale]

I get the impression it needs a little something to hold the board in place while you solder. Perhaps some double-sided sticky tape? & thanks for the review.

[@pileofstuff]

I tried some tape, but that made it harder to move the board when i wanted to.

[@matambale]

@@pileofstuff perhaps a grippy thin rubber sheet then. I think you mentioned that, or something to that effect. It was early, before coffee.

[@pileofstuff]

@@matambale Another commenter suggested a silicone mat (like the one I use with my hot glue gun).

[@jbrian8618]

I've used a blob of blue tack (thanls Julian !) which also allows a degree of movement

[@frankowalker4662]

Wow that's awesome. I could realy do with one of these. I'll have to start saving. :)

[@blackpaw369]

Which version of Linux and desktop environment are you running? I like the clean dark theme look

[@pileofstuff]

Lubuntu Bionic Beaver with (mostly) the default desktop. I probably should upgrade to the current version, but it's not a priority for the light duty work i use if tor.

[@taranagnew436]

what tip do you suggest for smd components and can you buy it on amazon?

[@pileofstuff]

Not sure. I don't usually buy from Amazon.

[@DrexProjects]

I made this for holding small parts. www.thingiverse.com/thing:2772207 The spring I used is from a clothe peg clip like this ca.neatfreak.com/products/20-pack-non-slip-clothespins-clips But don't buy it there, go to the buck store. The pointy bit was from a solder dispenser plunger thing. I had to cut the sharp part down to adjust the height. You should print one. Oh, and I used my old crusty solder paste.

[@pileofstuff]

That's an interesting solution. Thanks

[@markfergerson2145]

For under-a-hundred-bucks it looks like a pretty good deal. Particularly, the image on your computer monitor showed more detail (slightly ragged edges on the silkscreening) than I'd ever need. The optics are surprisingly good- no pincushioning or blooming at the edges. The baseplate seems to be fairly grippy- I didn't notice the scope or your workpiece sliding around much. If I was still doing field inspection and repairs I'd really like the portability- does it feel rugged enough to handle a little bouncing around in the toolbox? If not, an old Makita box and some foam would fix that, I imagine. All in all, fine review. Not-too-anxiously awaiting six month update. ;>)

[@pileofstuff]

The base is quite heavy, and has some rubbery feet under it. But there is nothing to hold the workpiece in place - I'll have to experiment with some of the suggestions from the comments. The microscope itself, I'm not sure how well it would stand up to "bouncing around in a service truck" unless you built a custom foam padded case for it.

[@MichaelMoody324]

God give you eyes for a reason Lol 🤣😂😂 keep up the good work

[@helmuthschultes9243]

13 cm not 13mm

[@pileofstuff]

I made unit mistskes a few times. I thought i caught them all... Talking unscripted is harder than it looks.

[@Jkauppa]

digital sem nano microscope

[@mohamadasriabdulazid4784]

You just need a very good tweezer, and some practice.

[@pileofstuff]

Yes, lots of practice.