USB Microscopes

[Nevol]

RE: Out of $150 of change
I'm thinking I need one of these USB toys. Is there much difference between them?

Well, now that you ask, I believe that the majority of them come out of the same factory in China, are bought in bulk by Electronic Supply Companies, branded and sold as XXX.  

So far, I've had 3 Kaiser Baas which does 20 - 200x Magnification, and the only reason for the 2nd and 3rd is that I got the 1st one from Harvey Norman ($69) and got it replaced when it failed, then got another replacement when the 2nd one failed.  Read about them here:
http://www.kaiserbaas.com/cameras/digital-microscope

Dec 2011, May 2012, and approx Oct 2012 were the dates I got them.  The first 2 lasted about 5 mths each before they failed, they were used quite a lot and both suffered the same problem.  It appears that an inner component overheated and melted something.  So far #3 is going OK.  

There are many brands available, I also have a Digitech QC3247 bought from Jaycar, approx $80 -$90, which magnifies 40- 400x, but it's way too strong and very touchy to focus.  I would not recommend it.

There are heaps available on Ebay for around $30, mostly in HK or China, I don't know if they're any good or not.  Plenty of people use them, so others might post here what they use and what they think of them.

There is an absolute plethora of info about them on CCF.  I see you’re a member there, but haven’t logged on for a few years.

If you can get back on there, look through some of these threads, but be prepared, there are 422.

http://www.coincommunity.com/numismatic_search/results_cc.asp?cx=014400843908979905410%3Ao5evforsuag&q=+USB+MIcroscope&sa=Go&cof=FORID%3A9&siteurl=www.coincommunity.com%2Fforum%2Fmembers.asp%3FUserName%3D%26FirstName%3D%26LastName%3D%26INITIAL%3D1%26link%3Dsort%26mode%3Dsearch%26M_NAME%3DF%26method%3Dnamedesc&ref=www.coincommunity.com%2Fforum%2Fmembers.asp%3FUserName%3D%26FirstName%3D%26LastName%3D%26INITIAL%3D1%26link%3Dsort%26mode%3Dsearch%26M_NAME%3DF%26method%3Dnameasc&ss=6797j5936943j15

Good luck!

[robbiegal]

I got mine from aldi
a couple of years ago
still goes strong
but I hardly use it and when I am using it I do switch the lights off and only have them on for use

[humpybong]

Likewise...got mine from Aldi a couple of years ago but do not use it much.

Bit strong for some of my coins...good for details though.

[trout]

[align=left]i bought a cheap as chips one from China a year ago.
It is still going strong :ok:
I use it all the time when I grade my coins or have the odd
Squizz at an error. [/align]

[Fulvio]

Hmmm.. Never knew Aldi sold them.

So it sounds like they're much of a muchness, and to be treated as disposables. $30 is fine for that, $90 isn't, so I might check the webstores and see what they offer.

As for CCF, yeah, life's a bit too short for forums. I'm only really back here because of these mountains of accumulated coins I'm noodling, so I have the page open all the time. That said, I'll see about catching up over there soon as I get the chance.

Thanks heaps.
Hmm, that Kaiser-Baas could be a problem for me:

"Yes, the provided software for the Mac is compatible with Snow Leopard (10.6) and Lion (10.7) operating systems"

My main machine is 10.5, and I have no wish to upgrade it as it would break other things. That means the MBP, or maybe a dedicated box, maybe a Mac Mini with a big screen...

Guess I'll see what the others have for system specs.