I just want to add that if you're thinking of buying a scope, I would definitely recommend the boom stand. When I bought this setup I thought the boom stand would be unwieldy, but it turns out to be marvelous for large odd-size specimens (a whole flower, for example, or a branch) because you can set it so you have all the space in the world between the objective lens and the table, and then hold the specimen (manually) under the lens and move and rotate it however you like. You also don't need to worry about scratching a plate in the stage (if you're playing with rocks, for example). Now all you have to do is get lucky the way I did, and pick up $2500 worth of working equipment for $400. I'm still all aglow...:-) Ellen On Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 8:11 AM, Tim Eck <teck11@embarqmail.com> wrote: > Ellen wrote: > One wouldn't - there's the rub. In this case, I was assured it could be > returned if there were any problems. I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. > As with anything else you buy on eBay (plants, for sure) you take a chance. > What more can I say? > > > Actually, one of the reasons these usually fetch a good price on the used > market is that they are relatively abuse-resistant. It's nearly impossible > to crash the objectives since the working distance is several inches > instead > of microns and even if you actually drop it, not too much is damaged since > the optical path is relatively insensitive to misalignment. > You might want to examine your amber jewelry for minute arthropods that > may > have gone unnoticed - but don't look too closely at your other jewelry. > Tim > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ > -- Ellen Hornig 212 Grafton St Shrewsbury MA 01545