[mgalusha]

No question about it, the little USB microscope was purchased for inspection of SMT work and is ill suited for looking at a stylus. It has 4 white LED's built in to providing lighting and they are OK for a flat surface but not so much for looking at a stylus. More of a problem is the lack of magnification, as you mention, it won't allow you to see wear.

I think Mikes photos show that it is extremely difficult to get proper lighting to see stylus wear facets, and that 50x magnification with digital zoom ain't gonna get it.  I'm afraid a good lab type 200x microscope with proper lighting is necessary.  Look again at the results on the micrographia site.

[analognut]

woodsyi-
Sorry I missed this post yesterday when everyone was checking in! Yes, please keep us updated when you get your new scope!

[analognut]

mgalusha-
Thanks for taking the time to post the pics. Which scope do you have and what model, so I'll have a better idea specifically of what to avoid? Thanks!

[mgalusha]

It's pretty much this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-1-3-Mega-Pixel-USB-Digital-Microscope-Zoom-10-200X_W0QQitemZ110435608316QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Audio_In_Dash_Receivers?hash=item19b679a6fc&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

For the purpose I bought it for it's fine and for the price I'm happy with it. For something like looking at a stylus, not a good option.

mgalusha-
Thanks for taking the time to post the pics. Which scope do you have and what model, so I'll have a better idea specifically of what to avoid? Thanks!

[analognut]

Thanx for looking that up mgalusha. Very helpful. From the pic you wouldn't realize it doesn't work well on a stylus.   

[jqp]

Great effort with the USB scopes. You could probably get better results by working with lighting and angles, and figuring out depth of field, but obviously not going to be as good as a real microscope.

Fascinating article from Micrographia, I think I'll stick with CDs...After seeing the crud and damage from wear, I personally would have to spend more time cleaning and caring for the vinyl than listening   

[chosenhandle]

for those in the Minneapolis area, The Audio Society of Minnesota will be having a meeting on Oct. 20th featuring turntable set-up and the use of USB microscopes for setting SRA and general inspection.

http://sites.google.com/site/audiosocietyofminnesota/

[orthobiz]

woot.com had a USB scope on sale a few days ago, but I didn't buy one...

Paul

[neobop]

I used to set up tables (among other things) for a high end shop. They had an Audio Technica microscope for examining stylus wear. The scope was 100, 300, and 500 X. It had high intensity lights on the sides, on little goosenecks. You'd position the cart on a blob of mortite so the sides of the stylus were facing the lights on the sides (the front of the cart should face the front or back of the platform). Then you position the lights for the stylus. You have to be careful with focusing the scope, cause the lenses are practically touching the stylus.

For wear, what you look for is the bright reflection off the sides of the tip. When the cart is new, those reflections are little dots, almost points of light. As the tip wears that bright reflection spreads. AT had a guide to judge the amount of wear.