This is description of this part:
Protective glass for the iris diaphragm of the Olympus BH2-SC microscope condensers, and also for the U-SC and its variants.
The achromatic BH2-SC / U-SC microscope condensers have an upper, swing-out lens. When it is in the light path, the condenser offers N.A. 0.9. With the top lens swung out, the condenser works at a low numerical aperture of N.A. 0.16 (values from 0.16 to 0.2 are quoted on the internet). In fact such a low N.A. is achieved with the iris diaphragm alone, without any lens at all - but in these condensers Olympus fitted a protective glass (a round glass disc) protecting the diaphragm from dirt that could fall into it from above (for example from the stage) and damage it. This glass is cemented into the conical casting that forms the condenser body.
It is exactly this part that I offer here, that is the protective glass (the so-called zero glass) cemented into its housing.
This particular part was removed from an Olympus BH2-SC condenser taken out of an Olympus BH-2 BHS microscope.
I could not confirm this, but everything indicates that this protective glass will also fit the microscope condensers for Olympus BX microscopes:
- Olympus U-SC
- Olympus U-SC-2
- Olympus U-SC3
The microscope condensers listed above are sometimes referred to collectively as:
- Olympus Achromat 0.9 flip-out condenser
- Olympus 0.9 swing-out condenser
Before you decide to use this glass with its housing to repair a condenser other than the one it was removed from - compare their appearance and dimensions carefully.
This glass is damaged quite often:
- it can get scratched during cleaning
- it can crack due to stress
- it can get broken during unprotected storage or in transit
The glass protecting the diaphragm is not a spare part for a microscope. It is a part for repairing the condenser - and that condenser can sit in various microscopes.
Here are examples of microscope models in which the condensers that this glass fits are most often used:
- Olympus BH-2: BHS / BHT / BHTU
- Olympus BX: BX40 / BX50 / BX51 / BX60
The most important microscopes used with the condenser models mentioned here are listed in the "compatibility" section, but this is by no means a complete list.
The last photos show the microscope condenser that the glass with its mount offered here comes from.
A curiosity: it is possible that this part also fits the Meiji MA976 microscope condenser.
What is this part needed for?
- as a service part for repairing the microscope condenser
