USB Digitil microscope advice

@ketchup

Seriously? I got exactly the same scope a few months back and this was the BEST I could get of all angles/lighting. Depth of field on the thing was about as deep as the point on your stylus. I’d BREATHE in the same cubic yard of space with the scope and it would go in and out of focus.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/196901277@N08/shares/oU62249639

 

@normb Yep. Removing the clear protector on the front will enable you to turn the black pointy part, which I assume has a lens in it. This will change the magnification. Try it in various positions.

Aside from that, everything has to be perfectly still. You need a microscope stand that is rigid, and if your table has suspension, you have to defeat it. Minimizing vibrations are very important. Just my HVAC running would cause a blurry image. When you’re ready to snap a photo, press the button in the app, not on the cable, to minimize movement.

Lighting is also extremely important, but it’s difficult to get right with the microscope so close to the stylus. Try other sources of lighting in addition to or instead of the built in LEDs.

It is not easy.

It's the quality of the stand as much as that of the 'scope. It has to be rock steady if you are to get images that aren't blurred. A heavy chemistry lab stand and flask clamp are as good as anything, and better than the flimsy stands that generally come with cheap microscopes. I bought the Dino-Lite stand, but even that isn't what I'd like to see.

At the end of it all, I went back to fine-tuning VTA by ear. What does it matter if I get an exact SRA of 92.5° if it sounds better at some other position?

Thanks for that, @dogberry

After some fiddling and futzing around with my cell phone (Moto 5G power, $199 from the global jungle store) camera, lighting, trying to get 4cm from the needle with a Hudson HiFi VTA scale behind getting everything into focus more or less the best I could do was get close to what Ortofon shows in the user manual is how to align the needle for best VTA. I did the “cartridge level to the record/platter” bit, then tried getting the back of the needle as perpendicular to the vertical lines on the scale as possible. Per OEM drawing.

Kept thinking at any time something was going to shift, fall or I would bump into the setup with the YUGE bulky 4 diopter LED magnifier hood I had to wear to SEE any of this up close (the heck with bifocals, when I wanna SEE something out comes the hood) and I’d be crying about paying to get something fixed I couldn’t do myself.

I’m not building Rolls Royces here, good enough is good enough.

Then I proceeded to tweak the angle a bit at a time and play a couple of tunes I THOUGHT I knew pretty well.

Thorens TD125 MkII, SME V, Ortofon Verismo and this is about as good as it gets.

The sound? Awesome. This cart brings out SO much more detail than what I’ve been using (Ortofon Cadenza Black after a Benz Micro Glider SL). Thinking this is probably the LAST high-end cartridge I buy (dealer sample, about half price).

Thanks for the input. I’ll keep looking into those cameras, next generation should improve somewhat more, they went from 2 MP to 50 MP CMOS sensors pretty quickly, new models seem to come out like seasonal locust clouds.