Sparky's Fabulous DIY Stylus Microscope

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Great idea, i personaly use a bell and howell vintage projector lens, looking through it from front to back, it works superb and the needle point looks huge through it, even shows dirt embeded into the needle surface.
 
HI Irdrage,
I'm sure you can see that your lens is not adequate for the problem the Stylus Microscope solves. The idea is to see wear facets. To do so you need a sophisticated set up such as presented here.

If you don't care about observing stylus wear then what you are doing is fine. Otherwise you need to go much further.

I wish I could claim this microscope as my idea but it's not. The credit belongs to Shure. All I can claim is coming up with a way for the average hobiest to convert a standard microscope to be an effective way to to observe wear.

Sparky
 
Sparky, thanks for a great post. I've used it as a guideline to adapt a scope I got off ebay for stylus inspection. I've been buying many used vintage carts mainly for the bodies, and some have styli still attached. So I needed an inspection setup to verify whether the styli were still good or doing damage to my records.



I found a scope with a zoom eyepiece (10x - 20x) and 4x, 10x, and 40x objectives, which was attractive to me because it saved me from buying extra eyepieces.



The lighting system I used was a cheap set of clip-on LED spotlights I found at Fry's Electronics. Cost me about $5. The lights clip onto the slide clips from the scope's stage.

One thing I will get eventually is a mechanical XY stage, but for now I've just been using that small piece of bubble wrap and moving by hand. It's been a little tricky as far as placement goes, but it works.

Here it is in action:



So let's look at some wear shots! All the styli below are ones I've acquired 2nd hand/used because I wanted the cart bodies. Note that The pictures below are much darker than what you'd actually see in the scope, but the wear flats look nice and bright.



This is a Shure V-15 Type III VN35MR micro-ridge stylus. Notice the long thin rectangular wear flats, consistent with what we know the profile of the tip looks like. Despite it being 2nd hand, it looks like I still have some (plenty of?) life left on this one. My best guess is that I'm at the mid-point of the life of this stylus. I wonder what these look like under heavy wear?



This is an AT440MLa. Its gotten more play time by me than my Shure V-15, and it shows it -- it looks more worn than the V-15. I think I still have some life left in that one, but I should be considering a stylus replacement soon.



This guy is an AT15Sa. During a playtest, it played fine on the outer groove but showed audible distortion on the inner tracks. The shot of the wear flats proves it -- wear flats coming very close to meeting at the tip, with a very large flat on the spindle side. Shows that the previous owner didn't set anti-skate correctly, if at all.

The inspection scope is really a great tool for the enthusiast, especially anyone that trawls the used market for vintage carts. You may be tempted to let your ears be the judge, but even that worn AT15Sa sounded fine on some tracks. HIGHLY recommend getting a cheap scope online and adapting it! :thmbsp:
 
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HI pauze,
It is great when I see someone who takes my article seriously and give a microscope a try even when they don't follow my suggestions. Thanks for letting me know.

We need some information. What magnification were you using for your pictures? How did you take your pictures (camera, lighting, set-up)? Remember, you are blazing a trail that many on this forum will read. Try to give them as much useful information as your can. Let them learn from what you have learned.

Not being familiar with your set up is a problem when I try to analyze stylus wear using others optical systems. I know exactly what to expect from my scope because it is patterned after the Shure microscope with which I have many years of experience. Yours is significantly different especially the lighting and stylus alignment with the optical axis. I notice that your pictures are not symetrical. You should try to correct this.

Also notice that the styli are not wearing symetrically. This almost certainly due to improperly compensated skating force. This is usually the first "AHA" moment a new microscope user experiences. As soon as you see this uneven wear, the effects of skating force becomes obvious. Upon seeing this a lot of people immediately go looking for a good linear tracking turntable which produces no skating force.

I don't like your lighting. I don't understand why you did not buy the suggested lights. They are not expensive and they are definitely better.

Have fun with your new toy. I'm sure you will be driven to improve it after seeing its potential.

BTW, I think all of your styli are worn and should be replaced. You should be able to hear distortion with all of them. Wear facets are bad, even the small ones. They will carve up you records. When you see facets, its time for replacement. You will learn this now that you can correlate visual wear with audible distortion.

Sparky
 
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Hi Sparky,

The magnification I used was 200x as you suggested, via the zoom eyepiece at 20x and the 10x objective. Pictures were taken with a Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera on macro setting at ISO 100, with the lens pressed right up against the eyepiece. It was all done hand-held, with the shots only cropped for posting here. As mentioned above, the snapshots don't show how bright the real life views are.

I will admit that the LED lighting was chosen more out of convenience -- the Fry's shop was on the way home from work, and I could spare the $5 invested if it didn't work out. In my opinion they did to a certain degree. That said, after thinking about it more, I do recognize some downsides to the lighting system. As soon as I have the time, I'll give your lighting a go. I was lucky to get the short time I had to assemble what I did!

I absolutely need a better stage interface -- the bubble wrap made my picture of the VN35MR stylus look like it has very uneven wear. The stylus is tilted to the side a bit, which makes one side look more worn than the other. This actually obvious in the real life views, but not in the snapshot.

The mechanical XY stage is already on the list of things to get for improvement.

Noted regarding your comments on the existing wear flats -- I better start saving for replacements. What was interesting to me was that my DJ stylus didn't show any wear at all, and I know I've been rough with that thing for the years I've been using it.

Thanks for your feedback!
 
HI,
Well, the bubble wrap did make for a pretty picture, the fist of your series. I like the pic.

Sparky
 
HI Reticuli,
Well, not me. Perhaps someone else. They should feel free to use the idea. To your case, do you feel the project is too difficult to make yourself? Why?

I know not many have built this very useful tool. I'm wondering why. Perhaps it could be simplified.

Sparky
 
Congratulations o an excellent project. I have a quick query about the lighting. Having used a shure stylus microscope, I wonder if it would be more effective to have the illumination pointed towards the stylus at about a 45 degree angle instead of straight across. One of the advantages of the shure was that because of the illumination it was easy to spot flats right away, and what I could see was much clearer than your pictures. Some of this may be because of the difficulty of getting a good picture. The suggestion of putting a digital camera on the eye piece sounds good - maybe running the output directly to a computer for capture or display. Steve
 
HI Steve,
Yep, Shure's lighting was very good. I agree. However, the lights I used are very wide angle and work well. I don't think point source lighting is the way to go. Shure's lights were also wide angle. The lights I used were inexpensive and easy to mount. Hell, given the few people that have notified me that they have actually built the microscope, I don't think it would be a good idea to make it more complicated. Of course, you can take what ever path to lighting that you choose. All I can say is the lights I chose work at least as well as Shure's.

The pictures I captured certainly are not as good as the real thing as I stated in the article. This design leaves no doubt about facets. Again, it's at least as good as Shure's design.

As for photographs, I don't see the point (no pun!). It was never my intent to use the microscope for photographing styli. Of what use is that? I guess for the web but I didn't care about that. If you proceed with photography be sure and post the results. Even if I don't care, it seems a lot of people do for reasons I don't understand. It might have something to do with the fact that folks are seeing the stylus tip at a level of detail they could not imagine. Perhaps they are excited and want to share with others. For me, it is very mundane given the thousands I have examined.

Are you going to build the microscope? I hope so.

Sparky
 
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Didn't see this mentioned, if it was sorry. To help with initial lineup of the stylus on the bed plate use a small flashligh shining through the eyepiece.

Brad
 
HI Brad,
Good call. I have done this myself and your suggestion can help getting things centered. However, I think you will find that if you use the magnifications I used in the article (50X and 200X), the flashlight is unnecessary and, in fact more of a hassle than it's worth. But if you only have high magnification then the flashlight is a good idea. At 200X it is very difficult to center the stylus without help. Also, beginners have more trouble centering than those with experience. The flashlight can help them.

Of course, the adjustable stage is really the way to go and makes the microscope easy to use.

The best idea is use the suggested magnifications and an adjustable stage. But experiment to your hearts content. Encouraging experimentation is one of the reasons I wrote the article. I only ask that you tell us about your results.

Brad, have you built the stylus microscope project?

Sparky
 
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Hey Sparky, thanks for this great thread. Actually I still can't believe it that I recently bought a NOS Shure scope in original box and noticed that trick in the manual.

Only put it in use for a week so far. The cool thing is I had it out on display for use at our local club meeting I hosted last night and it was a big hit.

The original docs came with a manual on the shure and it's use plus a separate manual and parts breakdown for the swift scope itself. I'm on vacation right now but can give more info or a scan of the swift if requested when I get home.

I found an identical scope on eBay, check it out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110451926524&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Of course it not setup for viewing a stylus like the shure is but is the same model.

Again thanks for starting the thread it was the motivation. Now I'm trying to get some of the guys in our group to build one.

Brad
 
HI Brad,
That's an amazing stroke of good luck. NOS Shures must be as rare as hens teeth. Even used Shure scopes are rare. Where did you find it? I'm really happy for you.

When I finished the scope in the article, I took it to a club meeting and demonstrated it using both my styli and those that belonged to some of the members. Upon first viewing, they could not get a handle on what they were seeing. The stylus shape at 200X is totally different from what they imagined. I had to explain several times what they were actually seeing. Once they understood the view, they were very excited about the possibilities offered by a purpose designed stylus microscope.

Unfortunately, most of our club members have transitioned to digital long ago. Most don't even own turntables any more. But, maybe that's changing.

The ebay scope is nothing special compared to other scopes. Swift does make a competant scope but there are many others that are in the same performance range. The secret to the Shure scope or the one in my article are the special features specifically designed for stylus viewing. That is where the magic happens.

Sparky
 
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Actually on eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/SHURE-SEK-2-STY...pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item20b212dd9b

All I can see is that they are so rare that not a whole lot of people are looking out for them. It's kinda weird because this was the second one I saw over the last month. The used one which I bid on sold for more than the NOS one I bought. The one I bought had a buy it now and reserve price and I was the second to highest bidder and niether of us met the reserve. The seller offered me a second chance even though the reserve did not meet since the highest bidder had poor feedback and I had 100%. I got it for what I bid which was less than the link shows. Price was still high but fiqured in this condition it was more of a investment knowing the rarity.

Our club members are mostly all about analog and are at ages that know it's worth. Not saying we don't use other sources but vinyl is usually the #1 source. They too were like what the hell are we looking at. The shure manual helped allot with the pics in it, this thread was also referanced for those that wanted to know more. One of the docs at the meeting took control of the scope for most of the night which helped me host the rest of the meeting. I offered my limited outlook to help, hope to gain more experience for the years to come. This sure is a great tool to have in the toolbox which I figured will mostly be used to verify what your ears are hearing, don't see me ever selling this one off.

I just received a usb microsope yesterday that I will try and mod to do the same, might be a cheaper alternative. Could possibly be used as a eyepiece camera to view on a monitor, we'll see.

Brad
 
HI Brad,
I don't want to discourage you from trying, but I think you will find the USB scope to be totally inadequate for the job for many reasons. At this point in your stylus examining career, I don't think you realize how special and specialized the SEK-2 is. Or how lucky you are. The same is true for my design in the article. If you read this entire thread, and the linked threads in the article, you will find that a few people have experimented with a computer based scope and failed. They were trying to save money by avoiding having to invest in a real instrument. As with most things, you get what you pay for.

I'm encouraged that you were willing to spend the money to buy the SEK-2. It means you are a serious budding stylus expert. It was not cheap. But it will get the job done and that's what counts. BTW, the SEK-2 was always expensive relative to value of the dollar when they were still being built by Shure. Because of the expense,I don't think they were big sellers which is why they are so rare.

Sparky
 
Hey Sparky,

Not discouraged I actually bought the usb scope for other reasons. I played with it just for kicks last night by putting in place of the eyepiece tube, see attachment for pic.

This pic actually showed the wear better than my eye could see. I was able to dial in on the image by looking at the laptop screen. I know you weren't interested in taking pics of a sylus with the intention of this project but seeing this one may make it warented if not just for illustartion purposes.

I may look into buying a usb eyepiece camera which comes with adapter for the existing eyepiece. This would be much better than the rig I had to adapt the usb scope.

A couple example of some not to expensive ones.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190426761228&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230359323185&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


Regards,
Brad

PS you got mail
 

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What Do You Need?
The following basic things are needed to duplicate the instrument in this project. All of these items are covered in detail below. Some will have to built.

1. A basic laboratory microscope.

2. A set of the proper eyepieces.

3. The correct objective lens.

4. A good and appropriate lighting fixture.

5. A mount for your cartridge, head shell, or arm wand.

No special tools are needed other than normal shop tools. Nothing complicated.

The Microscope
I started with an Olympus CH binocular student laboratory scope. This instrument is serious overkill but it was what I had on hand. A binocular scope is not necessary. If you have one, it will not be used with both eyes at the same time. But a binocular scope does have some advantages. I mount the 5X and 20X eyepieces at the same time. This lets me position the stylus in the view field using the 5X and then move to the 20X for critical examination. It’s very easy to use but not absolutely necessary. A single tube scope would work just fine and is much cheaper. You would simply switch out the eyepieces.

My Olympus scope has a variety of objective lenses on its four lens turret which included a 10X. The 10X is the basis for the projects optical system. With the 5X and 20X eyepieces, magnifications of 50X and 200X are available which are perfect for this job.

Do not discount the micro-adjustable stage. I consider this to not be optional. Most modern microscopes are provided with one. If not, you can buy one at microscope suppliers like Edmonds Scientific. Do it! This is a bad place to economize.

Since the cartridge or stylus must be positioned directly under the 10X objective, you must find a way to cover the hole in the stage through which the normal scope illuminator provides light. I just use a sample glass slide with which the slide clamp works perfectly. I then set the cartridge on top of the slide. Of course, the normal illuminator is not needed and is turned off.


The Eyepieces
Searching on Google to find a zoom eyepiece, I found nothing. I thought this was strange because I was sure I had seen them in the past. I gave up on finding a zoom eyepiece. I settled for using a combination of low and high magnification eyepieces. This is probably not a bad situation because the eyepieces are inexpensive. If I insisted on Olympus brand lenses, it would have cost hundreds of dollars. Olympus lenses would have been optically faster and better but, for this project, what I bought are perfectly adequate. If you can find a better solution, go for it and let us know. The only constraints are the size and magnification of the lenses. Do not be tempted to go to higher magnification. It will not work as well. Links are provided below to purchase the eyepieces I used.

Be careful when buying eyepieces. The diameter of the stock 10X Olympus scope eyepieces is 23mm which is pretty standard but there are other diameters. Measure yours and buy the proper one. On my Olympus, the eyepieces can be interchanged by simply pulling the eyepiece out of the tube and slipping in a replacement. Be sure to check that your scope can interchange eyepieces.

Here is an ebay link to the 5X eyepiece (Brand Name: AmScope Model No: EP5X23-S):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ONE-COMPOUND-MI...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

Price: $29.99

And here is the ebay link to the 20X eyepiece (Brand Name: AmScope Model No: EP20X23-S):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ONE-WF20X-EYEPI...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

Price: $24.99

CONTINUED

[Quote-wtaylorbasil]
Hi Karma16,

I want to buy a microscope to examine vinyl stylus wear. Will the one on ebay be suitable?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-0-Mega-USB-...UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_Equipment_ET
Regards
William
 
HI,
I'm no expert when it comes to examining grooves. The best examples I have seen use laboratory electron microscopes which are usually way beyond the means of most amatuers.

The scope you linked me to will be very tricky to use because there is no mounting or lighting system. You will not be able to hold it steady to get any meaningful results. Additionally, the inexpensive computer based scopes I have seen are totally inadequate for stylus examination. For grooves, well, I am very skeptical.

If you do purchase it, you should report back with your results, either good or bad.

One more thing. Why are you going after the groove when stylus examination offers the shortest route to knowledge? Build the stylus microscope then worry about the groove.

Sparky
 
Microscope for Stylus Inspection

HI,
I'm no expert when it comes to examining grooves. The best examples I have seen use laboratory electron microscopes which are usually way beyond the means of most amatuers.

The scope you linked me to will be very tricky to use because there is no mounting or lighting system. You will not be able to hold it steady to get any meaningful results. Additionally, the inexpensive computer based scopes I have seen are totally inadequate for stylus examination. For grooves, well, I am very skeptical.

If you do purchase it, you should report back with your results, either good or bad.

One more thing. Why are you going after the groove when stylus examination offers the shortest route to knowledge? Build the stylus microscope then worry about the groove.

Sparky
wtaylorbasil said:
My fault. I was not clear enough. I want it purely for stylus inspection. I did have a look at som microscopes on the link provided on this thread. It was confusing that they talk about eye piece and then the microscope body etc. I thought I could use the USB scope so I could even take snap-shots of the views. I could make a holding mechanism to be able to rotate the stylus head to get the angle of the tip. About the lighting I am uncertain what I would do. May be someone in the forum could suggest. I did want to know if the
2Mp resolution would be sufficient and the range 50X to 200X seems to fit what is required for a good examination.

Would you have any more comments to add to your already good response?
Regards
William
 
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