Innerspace Loupe

Create a magnifying loupe to inspect your soldering, look at your hangnail or really small bugs, or just get up close in your buddy's ear and pretend you're Dennis Quaid cruising around inside Martin Short!!

Step 1 Materials

I gathered up some things I had lying around... A 3V rechargeable lithium battery from a laptop a workmate tore into, a tiny magnifying lens from a copy machine that I tore into, some amber LEDs (white would be better, if you have them) and a pushbutton from an old VCR that the interns at MAKE tore into, and some 5 minute epoxy, which I have learned to stop using to brush my teeth. Good luck finding all of this stuff!!

Comments

[monkeysocks]

This a great instructable, but I have one problem: no 3v rechargable lithium battery and no tiny lens. Im assuming I could use any battery, but having a small battery does make this project so portable. Any Suggestions?

[now]

That's a pretty big problem! Seeing as I got all of these parts from dismantled electronics, I would suggest that that be your first step: Find someone who is getting rid of some electronics, and dismantle them. If I recall correctly, the battery came from a dead laptop, the lens from a dead photocopier, and the button from a dead VCR, so... you could start there. Remember, though, that electronics, especially PCBs, are toxic waste! I don't know how it is where you are, but here in California we have places we can take them and drop them off so the don't end up in a landfill leaching nasty chemicals into our groundwater. So be aware when you take in these orphaned electronics that you are also taking on a responsibility to dispose of them properly!

[Johenix]

Mr. "NOW":
In this case PCBs stands for PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDs not the notoriously toxic POLY CHLORINATED BIPHEYNALs found in such things as transformer cooling oil.
In the future will so called "enviromentalists" please close the pie hole and make all their noxious emmissions through the 'donkey' hole? At least until they find out what the real facts are.

[now]

My bad, Johenix. Populated PCBs are considered e-waste, which is considered toxic in California. The PCBs themselves are not considered e-waste. Thanks for the clarification.

[monkeysocks]

Hey, thanks for the update. I guess Ill need to start dumpster diving to get the parts or heading to the ComputerWorks store. thanks for getting back to me so quickly!

[le-Sid]

You can find easily one on a old computer, anything under a pentium 2 would do the trick

[monkeysocks]

Thanks, but are you referring to the battery or the lens? The lens is the real problem now.

[le-Sid]

dunno for the lens taked about batteries.... you could also adapt it for a magnifying glass, easily findable at your local 1$ store...?

[dworden16]

Is there an easy way to recharge the battery? or what happens when the battery runs out? :-( Build a new one I guess!

[saabstorey]

yes, I'd really like to know this myself...

[Shane1163]

printing plants use little magnifiers that can magnify to see the color dots on the page to make sure they're aligned.. my dad works at a magazine plant and I used to work there too

[purduecer]

Very cool, very original :-)

[trogabird]

You can solder leads th the battery and charger it with an old cell charger that puts out 3.4 volts. clear miniature Christmas tree lights work if you cover them to the edge of the little tip to direct the light forward. Probably paint with silver nail polish,let dry then black marker over polish to seal off all leakage if necessary.

[eeeXsmart]

awesome idea! :) great!

[Neodudeman]

Like seriously, the most excellent idea ever.

[Neodudeman]

Wow. that's a great idea!

[puffin_juice]

This is an awesome idea and it looks cool

[abbtech]

Cool project! I agree though white LEDs would be a bit better, or how about blue?
http://alan-parekh.vstore.ca/index.php/cPath/4

[now]

I felt the same (see the materials step), but the challenge here was as much to use things I had on hand as it was to make the object itself. I was positively dreaming for some white LEDs, but no such lucky thing was living in the parts bin. I even tried a combo of red and green; it came out amber, just like the ones I used. So much for color theory!

[radiorental]

effing awesome idea, I have some komplikated wiring coming up and was goingto 'borrow' something from the lab at work, one of those big desk mountet face sized magnifiers, this will be perfect - any clues on good sources for the loupe glass itself? photographers shops?

[now]

You know, one of the best sources for lots of good weird project stuff is an old broken copy machine... components, optics, mirrors, DC and AC motors, IR indexers, sheet metal, ABS plastic, the list goes on. That might have been where this lens came from... I generally hoard optical electronics like copiers, scanners, faxes, etc. for their awesome parts.

[yawfle]

Well, here's where one person found one:

http://www.diylive.net/index.php/2006/03/11/diy-macro-photography-with-disposable-camera

Read that article right after reading this one... weird.

[zoic]

I've been shooting with a loupe for a few weeks now. Here's a link to the mount I made for my Canon lenses:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whybesubtle/sets/72057594060807989/
The pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whybesubtle/sets/72057594051271168/
I'll have to add the LEDs!

[andorphin]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47995

[radiorental]

thanks