I used to carry a rather large interest in the inner workings of my favorite electronic components–particularly due to a frequently malfunctioning Sony Playstation 3, to be completely honest. That thing would bug out with the famous yellow light of death far too often for my liking. So, instead of paying someone to fix it, I did what any avid Google user did, and learned how to do it myself!
Well, back in the days of doing this, I didn’t need an inspection microscope. Just a heat gun, thermal paste, and various screwdrivers. But, this isn’t a walkthrough about that (maybe another time…), so we’ll put that aside. However, for the serious reworker or reflower, a solid inspection microscope can be one of the most invaluable tools in repairing circuitry or electronic components.
When soldering or working with such tiny components, most people go way overboard on the amount of magnification they need, not realizing that for most economic inspection microscope units, you have very limited working distance at such high magnification–and it’s simply not efficient to have to put your tools at odd angles to avoid hitting the microscope while working. Also, having too limited of a field of view can hurt one’s work as well–another factor of using high magnification. So this H800-3M inspection microscope by AmScope unit is what I found to be perfect for most of my applications for it.
AmScope Inspection Microscope Review “H800-3M”
It carries 11x – 80x magnification through the camera, with all included lenses when properly installed. This is a range, so any magnification power between 11x and 80x can be achieved. The flexibility here is what is so beneficial for you as a user, so small components can be properly magnified, or if working on a larger board area, you can use less magnification to see a larger field of view. Remember, the more magnification you use, the less working distance and field of view you have in your microscope, and vice versa–they’re inversely related.
Since this is a inspection microscope that uses a camera, it must be attached to the computer. The H800-3M comes with the MU300 (note: link updated to new MU503 model), which I have reviewed before and offered much praise for its value and functionality, so I won’t go too far into it here. Once on the computer, you do all focusing and working on the inspection microscope through your computer screen. This doesn’t have a way to use an eyepiece to physically look through the microscope, so if you wanted to do that, you’d be looking a a different digital stereo microscope (which I also have reviewed before, and will continue to do so with different configurations!).
What I found is that sometimes the image doesn’t move in the direction you anticipate, which can be jarring when trying to work with this. The fix is really, really simple. In t he software, inverted the horizontal and vertical axes of the image–play with it until up is up, down is down, left is left, right is right, etc. That way you can work intuitively by looking at the screen, not through any eyepieces. Also, the camera may be rotated oddly in the tube, so make sure it’s a square 90 degrees to the board you’re using it with. It may take some practice to get used to, but your eyes, neck, and back will thank you later!
Note: I had my best success with the H800-3M inspection microscope turned so the stand was on the right, and the arm moved right to left to hold the microscope over the sample in front of me. I did this so that I can put my laptop behind it on the table, so I’m looking straight at it while working, and all the cables are out of the way.
It comes with a ring light that provides nice and even illumination, but you can always add a separate gooseneck if you need more light, or to control the light’s position (which can’t be done with this out of the box since the ring light attaches to the microscope itself, and will always encircle the area that you are viewing with the unit).
The base itself is sturdy and solid, even if it’s a bit thin in terms of size. I had no problems with it, as it was flat and wide enough to support the unit with stability. The paint’s finish was great, without any issues at all. Very clean and as expected.
All in all, this is probably one of my happier purchases, even if I don’t get as much use out of it as my other units–simply because I don’t do a lot of inspection microscope work anymore. But, this is an excellent item for more than just reworkers. I’ve had folks working on cleaning their firearms with this unit, or even letting their kids use it for rocks, coins, stamps, and a whole myriad of other things. At the end of the day, this is pretty much a single lens stereo inspection microscope, so it can be used for all sorts of fun projects.
If this sounds like what you need to get going with your hobby or trade, I highly suggest giving it a go. You can find it online at Amazon for a great price by clicking any picture of it, its name anywhere in my review, or here: H800-3M
Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns in the comments or my email! I love hearing back from my valued readers!