For those doing their own repairs, what are you using for magnification???

Jeff my almost 61 year old eyes ain't the best either and I discovered in my age my arm must of shrink also I bought a elcheapo thing from harbor freight ( don't waste your money ) I need to get something better I've been thinking one of them swing arm lamps/magnifier I have seen as it would really help and I believe do the job here is a link to some on amazon to give you an idea what is out there now not saying buy from them as others may have the same for same or even less price but this gives you an idea of the types out there ( and me sense you brought this up I'm glad you did

Bill

I have a Proskit's Industries MA-1003MA.  It's small enough to move around easily and includes a light source to help as well.

http://www.proskit.com/magnifi...-lighting/inspection

Tony

Jeff,

I prefer my visor type w/three sets of lenses. Micromart has a excellent selection. There are also many sellers on eBay offering the same.

At 74, my bifocals work just fine. For extreme magnification/close-up work, I have a 10X eye loupe.

I have one of these, but I'm getting one of the hoods with interchangeable lenses.  I find these don't give me good depth perception.

Interesting opinions. I have a pair of the often touted Optivisors (40 bucks for one lens) both at home at work. Then I picked up a pair at Harbor Freight (5 bucks with three levels of magnification) and have a second set at home. The Harbor freight ones are the ones I now use all the time. I have removed the lights on both sets as they are useless and only add weight. Get a coupon and they will be even less.

Pete

I use the same sort of magnifying lamp as Gunrunner John. Mine is a bit different but basically the same idea. I bought it on sale at my local electronics store, but I'm sure Amazon has something similar. 

Most of the time ones of these cheap soldering iron holders. The alligator

clips help. All the arms move in just about any direction you want. It's good for small items IMO.

Larry

I Just started using my iPad mini 4 on an upside down glass as a magnifier

If I need to see something close up, I just take off my glasses!  It helps if you're nearsighted though. LOL

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I have one of these, but I'm getting one of the hoods with interchangeable lenses.  I find these don't give me good depth perception.

Have you had any more improvement after your cataract surgery?

I have an Ott light my wife got me a few years ago and I got about the same results with it as you did with this one, it was difficult to use at best. I suppose it was ok for some things occasionally, but I couldn't use it for long or for all things. When I first got it I thought it would be much better than it actually it was. I have never tried a visor or hood.

handyandy posted:

If I need to see something close up, I just take off my glasses!  It helps if you're nearsighted though. LOL

I used to do that with great success, then I had cataract surgery.  Now I can drive without glasses, and I can't see anything up close!

This is what I use, too.  But mine has a much larger lens.  (John's appears to have a fluorescent ring inside; mine has an incandescent bulb at one end).  I use it all the time - couldn't work without it.  I wore out the flex joint on the first one (plastic), then my lovely wife found a good one at a yard sale.

I just set this one up , replacing the incandescent bulb with LED equivalent. $20 at Northern Tool.

i use 1.25x reading glasses for the computer screen,
1.75x to read the paper and do the crossword
and 2.50x for iPhone games.

i also use a Donegan OptiVisor type magnifier which i believe is 2.5x though the advantage of this type is that it allows room enough to wear a pair of glasses underneath.  wearing the 2.5x reading glasses underneath the Optivisor is the only way i could have ever focused close enough to recently add the lighting upgrade to an N-scale Kato Morning Daylight train.

cheers...gary

A couple Optivisors of different magnifications.

But only the glass versions....not the less expensive acrylic lenses.  Reason?: The acrylics are prone to scratching if they come in contact with other harder surfaces/objects....like the floor!

OK, so they're pricey.  IMHO, they're worth every penny.  But that's one man's opinion.  TEHO.  And, BTW, my dermatologist, dental tech., and local jeweler/watch repairman all use Optivisors.  Again, that's their preference, not everyone else's.

Oh, and the last I checked with Donegan (manufacturer), they're made in the good ol' US of A.

FWIW, always....

KD

I was just looking at the Donegan Optivisor linked above and found they are located very near where I live. I was going to get something like this before I had cataract surgery. I ended up only needing 1.0 reading glasses for close up. A huge change, as I couldn't see with 3.75 reading glasses before (I think about 4.0 is the highest they go?). Not sure if I need it any longer, but I would still like to try the Optivisor to see what kind of difference makes now. May stop by their place one of these days and see what they have.

I was using a magnifying visor with flip-up lenses for years. This past October, I treated myself to a Dazor illuminated magnifier. 42 inch arm, 5 diopter (to match my visor), clamp mount. Incredible. I absolutely love this thing. It's not cheap, but sometimes you get what you pay for and I find that I would be lost without it now. Below are two pics of the illuminator......the first shows it in position next to my Dazor 3 bulb desk lamp (also a wonder) and the second shows a typical view of some train work. Both lamps I purchased with the optional full spectrum bulbs.

Roger

I use a visor with different magnification lenses built in that can be flipped up or down to get different magnifications. They can usually be found for less than $20.

The bench mount, illuminated magnifiers are good, but they are expensive, bulky and can be a pain to work with. I use them at work from time to time and my experience with them at work is why I bought the visor for use at home.

Well, they ain't cheap.  But these "Dental Binoculors" do the trick for me:  

Aphrodite 3.5x420mm Dental Surgical Binocular Loupes and Head Light Lamp

These loupes certainly work well for my Dentist,  and his aging eyes -- which gave me the original idea.  I also employ several Dental picks and prodders in my modeling work.  The dental industry surprisingly has some of my favorite tools for model railroading work.

- timbo

handyandy posted:

If I need to see something close up, I just take off my glasses!  It helps if you're nearsighted though. LOL

Yup, same here.

I'm using one of the opti-visors with interchangeable lenses, nothing fancy or expensive.  I haven't changed lenses since I got it, I use the strongest one of the 3.

I also use a LED lamp that has a clamp on the end I got from Lowes:

http://images.lowes.com/produc...1/022011613901lg.jpg

I had 2 of those lamps with the arms and springs, but the dang things kept getting in my way.

I recently got a LED OttLite for my desk:

http://images.lowes.com/produc...2/761712003085lg.jpg

Both these LED lamps put out pretty good light, you almost need an operating room light, helps our old, tired eyes see what we're doing

I use an Intertek brand desk lamp from Office Depot that clamps on the edge of the desk and has an articulating arm to adjust it's position. It's a ring of LEDs around a 4 or 5 diopter lens. I like the level of the light and that it's in a circle to illuminate the work from all angles. The only issue with it is sometimes screwdrivers are too long and make it difficult to work under the middle of the lamp when needing the magnification.

Roger1, where did you purchase that Dazor magnifier?  I have been using reading glasses, but that thing looks like it would do a much, much better job.  LOL, 20 years ago I could see a gnat a mile away, but something happened.  I woke up one day and the letters on the news paper were fuzzy...dang!  I just don't understand it!!!

Works great!!! 

Clint,

Here's the link for the Dazor Illuminated Magnifier I bought......http://www.qsource.com/p-20577-dazor-mc200-5-wh-circline-magnifier-wclamp-base-22w-5-diopter-42-reach-white.aspx                Plenty of other models, by the way.

They've apparently had a price increase since I bought it in October. I bought it on that site for two reasons. I got a real good price and.....it's nearby, so I drove over to pick it up when it came in (didn't have to pay ship).  You can do a search on the internet to see if you can do better price wise (after the increase). At the time, they had the best price.        Dazor is a very good name. 

It's really precision.....smooth operation, big lens (clear and sharp edge to edge), bright with no shadows (because of the circular bulb). I absolutely love using this thing and my visor is collecting dust.   The only downside was the clamp mount. I have a big Costco table I use as my train work area. The edges are plastic and it was impossible to clamp it without bending the edge in (fault of the table, not the mount) So.......the clamp mount has screw mount capability and I bolted it down. Good to go.

Thanks, I will check it out.  Yep, I learned along time ago, it's best to pay more for quality up front, so you don't have to repurchase another, when the bargain breaks.

Clint,

Better price.......http://www.all-spec.com/products/8MC2005W.html

gunrunnerjohn posted:

handyandy posted:

If I need to see something close up, I just take off my glasses!  It helps if you're nearsighted though. LOL

I used to do that with great success, then I had cataract surgery.  Now I can drive without glasses, and I can't see anything up close!

John,

I seldom have to use any magnifiers when working on small stuff, but do have a magnifier with the fluorescent light as you and others have for the really tiny stuff. I need prescription glasses to drive, but not to read or for up close work.

However, my optometrist keeps telling me that soon I will have to have cataract surgery, that I won't need the glasses to drive, but will need them for reading. You went through the same procedure, and your comment concerns me. How well can you see up close with prescription glasses now? With the glasses, can you see up close as well as before the surgery without the glasses?

Thx!

Alex

Jeff, good to know that I am not the only 59 year old with that problem!!!!!

I used this one from Hobby Lobby

http://www.hobbylobby.com/Art-...er-Desk-Lamp/p/41780.

We used it Sunday to look at a tiu circuit board.  My 30 year old son had problems seeing the board. 

It has a usb port on it too. 

Ingeniero No1 posted:

John,

I seldom have to use any magnifiers when working on small stuff, but do have a magnifier with the fluorescent light as you and others have for the really tiny stuff. I need prescription glasses to drive, but not to read or for up close work.

However, my optometrist keeps telling me that soon I will have to have cataract surgery, that I won't need the glasses to drive, but will need them for reading. You went through the same procedure, and your comment concerns me. How well can you see up close with prescription glasses now? With the glasses, can you see up close as well as before the surgery without the glasses?

Thx!

Alex

It's not even close!  I never needed any visual aids for close work before, now I need them for most close work.  I have yet to get the "final" real prescription glasses, but any strength reading glasses I try are not nearly as good as my close vision used to be before the surgery.  Prepare to learn a new way to work.

Yeah, like Andy, I'm nearsighted - and I'm older than he - I'm 67. So, when at the workbench I have no glasses on at all. I can see clearly very close up, and even my bifocals get in the way. I do put on safety glasses when cutting/grinding with my Moto-Tool.

More than 3 feet away, though...lots of fuzzy shapes, getting fuzzier with distance.

I't's like living in a world painted by a French Impressionist, such as Degas. O-o-o-o - pretty colors...!

I had cataract surgery several years ago and the same thing happened - my distant vision was corrected nearly to 20/20, but the closeup vision I had from being extremely nearsighted was gone. I still wear glasses, which are progressive (like bifocals but with a graduated close-up correction). I had my ophthalmologist write a prescription for extra-strong reading glasses so I could see little details on the workbench. However, I've found that with the close-up part of my progressive glasses and a magnifying bench lamp, I seldom need the super-close-up glasses.

That's good information. I like the price from Northern Tool.   

Thanks, John