Operating Procedures and Precautions for Upright Microscopes
① Placement Grip the microscope arm with your right hand and support the base with your left hand to keep the instrument upright. The desktop shall be clean and stable. Place it near a window or in a well‑lit area. Monocular microscopes are generally placed on the left side, 3–4 cm away from the table edge.
② Cleaning Check the microscope for faults and cleanliness. Wipe mechanical parts of the body with a clean soft cloth. Use lens paper to wipe optical lenses. For adhesive or stubborn contaminants, apply a small amount of xylene for cleaning.
③ Light Alignment Raise the barrel to 1–2 cm above the stage, and align the low‑power objective with the aperture. Adjust the diaphragm and mirror. Use the plane mirror under bright light and the concave mirror under dim light. Turn the mirror with both hands. If the microscope has a built‑in light source, skip this step and adjust the brightness knob instead.
④ Specimen Loading Put the slide on the stage with the coverslip facing upward. Secure the slide with spring clips. Turn the stage mover knob to center the target specimen over the aperture.
⑤ Focusing When focusing, slowly lower the barrel by turning the coarse focusing knob while observing from the side until the objective is close to the slide. Then look through the eyepiece with your left eye, and turn the coarse focusing knob with your left hand to raise the barrel until the specimen image appears. Fine‑tune with the fine focusing knob for sharpness. Operating notes: Do not focus directly under high magnification. Watch the clearance between the barrel and specimen during downward movement. Be aware of the critical working distance. For binocular microscopes, use the diopter adjustment ring if the two eyes have different vision. The two barrels can also slide horizontally to match the user's interpupillary distance.
⑥ Observation For monocular microscopes, keep both eyes open naturally. Use the left eye to view the specimen, and the right eye for recording and drawing. Meanwhile, adjust focus with the left hand to sharpen the image and shift the specimen field of view; take notes and draw with the right hand. During inspection, move the specimen in a consistent direction to scan the entire sample, so as to avoid missed or repeated examination.
