I recently added LED illumination to my Orthoplan to increase the light output for my Smith ICT system. There are a couple of commercial places that provide LEDs for Orthoplan like Nanodyne but the systems are quite expensive, and I am not convinced that placing an LED on the input port without using any of the designed lamphouse optics was the best option. Perhaps if anyone has used these kind of options they can respond in the comments section with their opinions. I contacted Stephan Hiller in Germany who for many years has manufactured many different LED options for various brands of microscopes. Not only does he make the LED inserts, he also designs and manufactures the current-controlled linear power supplies that run them. His insert design for the Orthoplan simply replaces the mirror housing in the Lamphouse 100 so that the LED is in the same position as the filament would be. All you need to do is focus the lamp. I had one of the old original black Orthoplan illuminators that was missing the socket. Lo and behold, the socket is exactly the same dimensions as the mirror assembly so I was able to add the insert to the old black illuminator assembly. It is self-centered and has a focusable condenser lens. The power supply is design with two ranges: low and high. My initial testing reveals that at 50% power, the LED generates an equal amount of light as the 100W halogen at 12V. At 100% power, the LED generates twice the light output. So this is nice increase. The lower range will also be useful with lower magnification objectives so I won't have to use neutral density filters. I also checked the output with the 450nm narrow band pass filter to compare it to that generated with the 100W halogen at 12V. The LED generates 4 times the output of 450nm light at 100% power. I have only had the system for a couple days and I am extremely please with it. Even with shipping and tariffs, Stephan's system was substantially less expensive than the Nanodyne. His workmanship is first rate.
Greetings,
Bill
Here's some more images
Bill
Hi Bill,
yes, Stephan does indeed a great job with his LED-solutions for all kinds of microscope stands. I use it since 7 years with my ORTHOPLAN, but with the standard 100W light housing which allows centering and perfect adjustment. I hate wires and extra power supplies on my desk, therefore I have integrated Stephan's electronics into the foot of the stand, and I'm very happy with it. You can find pic's here (https://www.mikroskopie-forum.de/index.php?topic=33600.0).
Best, Olaf
Hi Olaf,
Yes, your post about your conversion is what convinced me to ask Stephan to make me one!
Best,
Bill
Genau so bin ich auch vorgegangen. Ich habe die 50-Watt-Halogenlampe von Leitz für mein Mikroskop umgebaut.
Sofern man zu Hause eine Drehbank hat, lässt sich das gut umsetzen.
(https://i.postimg.cc/fRJWpK9N/IMG-0545.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/181ZNDBC)
(https://i.postimg.cc/K8RcwNMF/IMG-0547.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/3kQHD21b)