Arichard:Protocols/Microscope bulb change

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Changing and aligning the mercury bulb on the IX-81.[edit]

  • Notes from August 14, 2013, with Craig Rappaport (craig.rappaport@olympus.com) from Olympus.

Changing bulb[edit]

  • Two people would be ideal for this job. One person uses the wrench and the other holds the housing.
  • The only tool you need is the Allen wrench that came with the microscope (white T-handle).
  • Some of the screws are NOT locked in, so take care not to lose them.
    • There is no need to fully remove the screws. Just loosening them should be sufficient.
  • Make sure that the power is off and disconnected, and that the bulb is not hot (leave off for maybe 30 min. or so).

Protocol[edit]

  1. Power off and disconnect power cable from the power supply box.
  2. Loosen two screws BEHIND the collector lens, on each side of the housing.
    1. Look for these two screws inside slots in the housing.
    2. All the steps after this will be easier if you take the bulb housing out of the plexiglass housing and place it on the bench.
  3. Loosen screw on top of vent.
  4. Pull up on the vent to remove the bulb fixture. Lay the fixture on its side. Make sure the bulb is not hot.
  5. Loosen the thumb screws on either side of the bulb.
    1. Be careful not to apply torque to the bulb itself as it breaks easily. Hold the fixture while turning the screws.
  6. Remove the old bulb and insert the new one. Note that one end is fat and one end is skinny. The skinny end fits into the heat exchanger (fins).
    1. DO NOT TOUCH THE BULB ITSELF. Use gloves and hold it near the electrodes, not the bulb. A cloth is included with the bulb to wipe off any smudges.
    2. Smudges on the bulb will create imaging artifacts.
  7. Reverse these steps to reassemble.
    1. Only finger-tight on the bulb screws.

Alignment[edit]

  • Find a sample that will fluoresce evenly.
    • Cardstock works well (cellulose is autofluorescent).
  • The sample illumination comes from two sources:
    • The bulb.
    • The mirror image from the back of the bulb.
  • Alignment involves putting these two sources (bright dots) on top of each other as much as possible.
    • They cannot align perfectly, but you can get close.
  • There are three knobs used for alignment:
    • The collector focus knob, located on the cylindrical housing.
    • The horizontal alignment knob, located on the bulb housing, parallel to the bench.
    • The vertical alignment knob, located on the bulb housing, diagonal to the bench.
  • Alignment should be checked periodically.

Protocol[edit]

  1. Power up, select 4X objective and GFP. Position sample under illumination.
  2. Adjust the collector focus until the two illumination sources are resolved as much as possible.
  3. Adjust vertical and horizontal alignment knobs until the two sources are on top of each other as much as possible.
  4. Back off on the collector focus to spread the illumination over the whole sample.
    1. The sample should fluoresce evenly if alignment was done properly.
  5. Remember to burn in the bulb, 2-4 hours. Overnight is also OK.