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
A
shows the stage
area with the hole in the center and Figure
4
B
shows a
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 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.
MICROSCOPE OPERATION
3
F
IGURE
4
A
F
IGURE
4
B
F
IGURE
5
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 that 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
hand and rotate 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 irst
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.
2. The bottom illuminator Fig. 1 (10) is used for specimen
