Bargain

Electron Microscope For Sale

Jack found a deal on Craigslist. The seller gives us the low down:

Take over a project I've never had time for:

Cambridge S4-10 Scanning Electron Microscope. Complete with manuals, spare parts, X-ray energy spectrometer and detector (stored at room temperature) for identifying elemental composition of samples.

May be just the thing for your socially distant summer project if you have a spare corner in your garage. Allegedly operational when put into storage. I vastly overestimated the amount of spare time I would have in the last couple of decades, and have never got it running. Now I need to down-size and clear this stuff out!

What's behind all those panels? Mechanical switches, simple circuits, and lots of vacuum tubes! A chance to put your basic electronics skills to the test. Think of it as two old B&W TVs hooked-up back to back - except one has extremely high voltage. The catch is that each of those components need to be connected to one another on the back-panel with boxes and boxes of specific heavy cables (included) that have specific resistances. It's like hooking-up the stereo components from Hell. And there may be a mouse or two to evict. I can throw in a roughing vacuum pump that will need work. The high-vacuum pumps are supposed to be in good order. Without looking it up, I think it requires about 10 amps 240VAC.

This system consists of three large, heavy cabinets. It will take several stout people and a trailer with ramp to transport them. They are on wheels so you can push them around the room. (Except the electron gun unit, which comes with bearer poles for four people to carry.)You will not get this up or down any stairs without extreme difficulty.

Mmmm, high voltage, sounds like fun, but no, I'm not buying it. I don't need another project.

Other electron microscope posts here.