Magnifying glass for smd components

Jewelers' loupes. You can get a cheap set at

Set includes 2x, 3x, 5x, 7x, and 10x magnifying loupes, #3.99 US. Search Google for "jewelers loupes" to find more sources.

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David
dgminala at mediacombb dot net

Depends on how fried your eyes are! :>

I use:

- 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 diopter "illuminated reading glasses" (depending on how close I need to work) for quick jobs

- a pair of prescription eyeglasses with a *pair* of magnifying glasses that flip down on a ~3" arm for a bit more involved work -- this has the advantage that I can look up and read something in a book/monitor without being forced to try to read *through* the magnified image (but I have never encountered another pair of these glasses so you'd have to resort to something like a loupe that clips onto your existing eyeglasses -- the problem is that most of those clip on very *close* to your lenses)

- 0.7X to 30X (variable) stereoscope for more "involved" work (e.g., inspecting *all* of the joints on a board)

I have found that adequate *light* is more important than magnification (but that may just be the age of my eyes)

A 20x stereo visor is what I've used for 20 years.

--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse

I usually use one of these

with the transparent bit slid off. It has x30 and a goodly amount of "headroom" between SMD and the lens. If SMD lies right next to a large/deep lump on the pcb then a kids microscope barrel with a large notch ground into the objective end, actually ground into the plastic lens, originally used for viewing VCR heads.

D Yuniskis Inscribed thus:

I can certainly empathise with that last paragraph. Good lighting is very important. Particularly where identifying colors is required.

--
Best Regards:
                     Baron.

I like to see >1000 lux general illumination, and more for task lighting.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it's the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

I find that I need more than "good" :-/

I used to be able to read the markings on DIPs at arm's length "with a glance". Now, I need to rock them back and forth to get the light to reflect off them at the right angle before things are visible (at times, I swear they have changed to BLACK INK!! :< )

Ditto for color codes. Seems like the colors have crept closer together in the spectrum :-/

There are plenty of optical instruments, microsocopes, and magnifiers that can be used. For portable use, I have a small 10x pocket magnifier I bought somewhere. Overchoice:

However, that's not what I use on the bench. I butchered a USB camera and what's left of a childrens microscope into a nifty magnifying system. The LCD monitor displays the image and the computah can capture the image if necessary. I suggest you just play with whatever lenses you can scrounge and a USB camera and see what you can do.

What I use in my office is rather disgusting. I have a Luxo magnifying lamp on the bench. The circular fluorescent light provides really nice lighting. I put on a pair of 3 diopeter commodity eyeglasses and shove my face up against the glass lens. I don't know what magnification that offers, but it's good enough for all but the smallest components. If I want more power, I have an Olympus BH microscope.

Incidentally, I have a small camera ty-wrapped to my soldering iron. The depth of field sucks, but it's amazingly useful once I retrained myself to look at the screen and not at the work.

You can buy such USB microscope cameras on eBay or various web sites. Just search for "USB microscope". Most of them are 100x to 400x but there are a few with lower power or with zoom. For example, 10x to

200x:

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

D Yuniskis Inscribed thus:

Yes colours have definitely become harder to read. I've used the "PTFE" tape trick on IC's and SMD parts a number of times to read the markings.

--
Best Regards:
                     Baron.

I have a USB camera mounted on a gooseneck (manual focus) that I can position over (one of) the stereoscope's eyepiece. Or, use "unaided" to just examine boards/components. I can;t recall who makes it -- it was from a "science" classroom intended to let students examine bugs, minerals, anything under a microscope, etc. I.e., *designed* for this sort of purpose (instead of as a "web cam")

D Yuniskis Inscribed thus:

Veho ! Maybe !

--
Best Regards:
                     Baron.

I did a quick google.images and didn't see anything that looked like what I have. The gooseneck is *really* long. I.e., with the base sitting on the table, the gooseneck extends high enough to get

*above* the stereoscope. Stereoscope is a minimum of 12" above the table (in the full "down" position). Gooseneck easily reaches 18" above the table (if you want the camera pointed *down* -- higher if you can tolerate the camera pointed "sideways"... since the gooseneck wouldn't have to double back on itself)

I'm in the middle of packing for a trip but will try to remember to drag the camera out (it sits behind my LCD monitors and peeks *over* them so it isn't easily accessible without moving stuff) and see what the make/model is.

Shame I didn't patent that PTFE tip

I'll have to look into making a soldering-iron tip viewer , trying to use a soldering iron under an illuminated inspection lamp can be a pain in some circumstances.

But bear in mind what I said on here a few weeks ago about how hard it is to distinguish similar coloured bands under CFL light, due to the hugely discontinuous spectrum that the stupid things put out ...

Arfa

I often use my pocket LED flashing to provide extra illumination. It has a built in holder, also known as my teeth.

So, what's the PTFE trick for reading IC and SMD markings? I couldn't find anything with Google.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann Inscribed thus:

Place a short length of plumbers ptfe tape over the surface and rub with your fingernail.

--
Best Regards:
                     Baron.

N_Cook Inscribed thus:

It was probably you I pinched it from. :-)

--
Best Regards:
                     Baron.

Jeff Liebermann wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

In the archives of here as TIP: How to read unreadable IC/transistor lettering

17 Dec 2007

How to read unreadable IC/transistor lettering Yes, just like magic. I could not read 3 of the 5 characters on a heat damaged TOP66 power transistor. I wondered if a sort of "brass rubbing" would work. I just happened to have some plumber's PTFE tape to hand ( nominal 0.05 to

0.08 mm thick). Laid a piece over the power tranny, rubbed with a finger nail, and the missing characters came up like magic. As the characters remained on the PTFE, as an image , I realised you could use this technique to read IC lettering where it is impossible to read, because of constrictions and inability to introduce an inspection mirror or even just where you cannot get the illumination at just the right angle to read. You need access space enough to introduce a piece of PTFE and then rub it with the wooden end of a small artist's brush, or similar, wrapped in some of the PTFE, so it rubs easily without dragging. Don't rub too firmly because you want the relief print to show as clear and the rest of the PTFE becoming translucent rather than the original white. Remove and read with a backlight or against something matt black. Maybe a couple of attempts to get a clear image in all parts of the label. May even be worth trying on reverse-engineering-proofed, rubbed off, IC lettering. Useful for indistinct moulding logos / lettering etc on small plastic parts, gives some contrast. Confirmed - this time a SIL IC with the lettering side of the IC 2 mm from a large block cap. Would have required 3 hours taking boards apart and back together to desolder just to read. Used a 1mm steel rod covered with some PTFE tape for the "rubbing" and pulling a length of PTFE tight around the IC through the gap, and held tight while rubbing. I urge everyone to give it a try, so it is impressed on memory for when required in earnest, its just like magic

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on