Hi everyone, we are pedro, arnalduv and candy, a group of university students from Chile who are part of a volunteer initiative aimed at bringing the study of biological sciences to schools that lack the resources and equipment needed for laboratory work. With @paola_larrauri help we were able to build the manual microscope, and the instructions were really easy to follow.
@paola_larrauri and @biodotpe help as to implement an improvement of the microscope’s power supply system. We replaced the need for electrical connection with AA batteries. This allows us to use the microscope in classrooms where the number of electrical connections are limited and optimize the use of electrical outlets.
The modification was quite simple: we only used jumper wires and jacks to connect the optical module to the AA batteries. For more information about the microscope’s power supply modification, please contact@paola_larrauri and @biodotpe
That looks great, and a really interesting project.
Did you happen to take any photos during the build, particularly anything with the C270 camera board? We have seen some issues with different component sizes that can make it difficult to fit the lens spacer, so I am interested to see what variations there are.
As a user, I started out using the first version of the 3D-printed parts for the webcam (a separate camera mount and spacer). Eventually, I replaced them with the combined version of those parts, and during this workshop, I used the camera backshell.
In that regard, it was a little tricky to fit the board by positioning the cables in the corresponding slot. The orientation and arrangement of the cables meant we had to force them toward the opposite end to get them to fit. Here are some photos:
Now that you mention it, I would suggest adding arrows in the “Step 5: Attach the camera backshell” section to highlight the notches in the spacer where this part should be fitted, as there’s little contraste in the image, making them hard to spot at first glance. Given the issue of cable placement in the spacer, it wasn’t easy to achieve the fit shown in the image.
The modifications Candy mentions refer only to the power supply for the lighting, which we (@biodotpe and me) intend to share in the forum in the following weeks.
We have been making some improvements to the Manual to give a better range of motion in merge request 530
We have also been considering instructions, partucularly around the cable management. There is a grommet on the cable in your photograph which gets in the way. In my first builds these were loose so could slide down the cable, but more recent ones seem to be glued and need to be cut off (very carefully). I think we also need a cable channel in the camera platform. If the cable is not quite in the right place it becomes almost impossible to insert the optics module, but it is also not clear at that point that the cable is the problem.
Thanks for sharing this info William!
I started taking off that piece to facilitate the cable handling on the next microscopes I’ve been assembling. But as you say, now it comes glued.
A cable channel would be very pertinent, because even though we’ve managed to fit it into the notch on the printed piece (to fit the backshell), this adjustment could affect the circuitry and the camera’s subsequent recognition by the computer. This already happened to @rubyolivaresdonoso, and it was fixed by repositioning the cable.
