I got a secondhand Amscope a few weeks back. Haven't used it for soldering yet, because I need a proper temperature controlled iron with finer tips than my current one.
It's been great for pulling splinters out of my fingers though!
this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2024
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Soldering
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I work in an electronics plant and the optical scopes we use there are super nice. Back when I was an inspector I regularly used them to hand solder stuff as small as 0201 LEDs. I'll grab a pic and a model number on monday when I go back in. The ones we use are ancient at this point (I wanna say they were purchased in the 90s) so you could probably find that exact model second hand for super cheap.
I agree on the digital scopes too. They can be nice just for inspection, but when it comes to actual rework they're basically unusable. We don't use them at all, of course that's mainly because all of our non rework inspection is done using AOIs. If you frequently have to hand inspect small quantities without doing rework then maybe a digital scope would still be worthwhile.
Update: So I can't post pics because I forgot we have our company logo on the asset tags on all the scopes and I don't feel like doxing myself too much. But the scopes are the Meiji EMZ-5 model. Unfortunately it looks like that model still goes for $500 used at the bare minimum goes for around $2000-$3000 new. I figured they would be way cheaper than that considering how old they are but I guess not. For lighting we use Scienscope IL-LED-R2. Apparently those are also not cheap but they do work pretty well.
My bigger problem with most affordable home-use level digital scopes is that they're not stereoscopic.
True, the lack of depth perception sucks. Makes it harder to see the shape of things, solder fillets, and height of pins / pads.
I use an older stereo Leica GZ6T I fixed up. Definitely worth it - would recommend picking up a used microscope on eBay though. You can generally get them <$100 or so if you look enough. I don’t have a ton of space either but I really just shove it under my desk when I’m not using the thing.
I just use a digital one with a screen, hate getting my eyes into the "sweet spot" of optical scopes. But yes, a microscope is 1000% necessary