On November 17, John Foust wrote:
> I think (old) electron microscopes are regularly given away to anyone
> who wants to pick them up - or so it seems from a few months' reading
> on a microscopy mailing list.
Yes, they are. But, having gone down that road, I would advise most
people to stay away from anything *too* old...going back past
1975-1980 or so, the machines get very large and very heavy. There
are plenty of solid machines from JEOL, ETEC, Zeiss, and other
manufacturers built in the 1975-1985 range that can be had relatively
cheaply (most less than $5k, some as cheap as $1500.00) that would be
MUCH more serviceable. They'd be easier to move and maintain, easier
to get parts for (and they DO break, they're very finicky machines),
and much smaller and lighter.
Sure, a huge 60's-era Cambridge Stereoscan would be a lot of fun...but
it weighs six thousand pounds, it'll be down more than its up, you'll
spend your weekends looking for vacuum leaks, your power bill will be
astronomical. YMMV, just my opinions from very recent but limited
experience...
I'd be interested in casual correspondence with anyone else around
here who either has an electron microscope or is planning on getting
one.
-Dave McGuire
Received on Fri Nov 17 2000 - 15:18:44 GMT
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