Magnifiers and Inspection Aids

This page covers aids to seeing better.

Summary

Many faults are identified visually, but some are hard to see with the naked eye. A good light and some form of magnification makes it a lot easier.

Safety

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When working under a magnifier your face will usually be considerable closer to the work. Take extra care with sharp tools, and to avoid breathing fumes when soldering.
Also, when working under a magnifier your peripheral vision may be restricted, limiting your view of nearby hazards.
LED lamps are often extremely bright. Try not to let them shine directly into your face as they may cause temporary blind spots.

Introduction

Young people with normal sight can often focus on objects at a distance of 5 or 10cm, but our "near point" (as it's called) receeds with age. This varies from person to person but typically might start to become noticeable around the age of 40. The near point for a person with normal sight is generally considered to be around 25cm. Once your near point exceeds that your optomotrest may recommend reading glasses, but well before then you will benefit from some form of aid for very close work.

The simplest aid is good light, whether natural or artificial. Under strong light the pupil of the eye reduces in size, increasing the range of distaces that are in focus. Photographers will be familiar with the effect of reducing the aperture to increase the depth of focus, which is exactly the same effect.

The other simnple


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