[Elecraft] Swing Arm Magnifiers - OT

[Harvey, Stephen P.]

I got one of these about 6 mos. Ago.  It is excellent, with 4 interchangeable pairs of lenses in two mounts that can be flipped up or down in combination to provide varying magnifications.  The only problem is the *current* price.  When I bought, it cost $17.50, including shipping.  Maybe they'll have another special sometime.

http://www.seelarger.com/magnifiers/headvisorwc.htm

BTW, I agree about the benefits of a visor over a swing arm magnifier.  My bench is cluttered enough with obstacles and I don't need to insert another one between me and my target.

73 de NNØB

--Steve




 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Hammond [mailto:n0ss at earthlink.net] 
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2005 06:57
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Swing Arm Magnifiers - OT

Gotta agree with most of the posts here... regardless of whether I use a MagniFocuser (my personal preference) or an Optivisor, I find the head-mounted magnifier to be MUCH more suitable for my particular type of building than the swing-arm-type lighted magnifiers... T

he swing-arm maggies just always seem to be in the wrong place every time I need to use them, and always in the way when I don't need them at that instant. They also seem to tend to be 'jiggley' and never remain as stable as I need them to be. As a result, I've never found a swing-arm maggie (with all due respect to K3XS <G>) that I've liked or found to be useful in my personal manner of building.

Regarding magnification level...

I recently bought a second head-mounted (MagniFocuser) magnifier. This one was a bit 'hotter' (#10 lens, 3.50X) than my venerable older one (#7 lens,
2.75X) of about 25 years. What I found when I put it on, however was that I kept trying to solder my nose!!!  I found the 3.50X lens has a focal length of 4", while the 2.75X lens has a focal length of 6", which put the nose and soldering iron at much safer distances between each other!!!

I now use the 3.50X lens for close-up examination, and the 2.75X lens for building... MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE.

What I'd REALLY LIKE is one of those eyeglasses with the specially mounted lens magnifier which allows for relatively high magnification (say, 3.5X), BUT at a longer focal length... say 10" - 12" instead of risking more 'nose branding' by the soldering iron tip.  But all of those I've found are much too costly for my cheapskate wallet.

73,

Tom Hammond   N0SS




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