On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 11:35:11 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Thursday, March 24, 2016 at 10:51:18 PM UTC-4, wrote:
I need to purchase a magnifier so that I'll be able to do things like replace eproms and other small SMT's. I'm not looking to do LSI's with 150 pins Etc. Just mostly smaller stuff. For instance I currently have a board that needs an 8 pin Eprom replaced. I thought that I could do it with the magnifiers I have but the stuff is Just too small. I tried using a high res TV camera with a varifocal 3.5 to 8 mm lens but it doesn't make the image large enough. I was wondering what people are using to do this. Thanks, Lenny

The dentist wears a headset rig that allows him to work from at least an arms length away. I've seen pictures of doctors wearing similar magnifiers. I don't know what the magnification of these things are though. Anyone know the specifics on those? Lenny

I bought a pair of those many years ago on ebay. They are 6.5X 420mm loupes, and I've used them for inspection, but not for soldering. The working distance is at least a foot, but the image is darker than the Opti-Visors I have and I just can't get used to working at that far a distance. Between the long distance between my eyes and my hands and the jittery aspect of them I just leave them in their wooden felt lined box. Maybe if I used them more I can get used to them as a dentist would (he can't get inside a mouth after all). It's possible they may simply be too strong for what I need.