usb microscope and software

[juicer]

Any suggestions for high resolution usb microscope intended to use for pcb board analysis/soldering and software best suited for this purpose?
There are a variety of ebay $17 devices but concern is resolution while operating/motion as compared to still images.
Is there anything I can use with my phone's camera to achieve the same result?
Thanks

[BG405]

If the intended purpose is PCB inspection then the issue is going to be focal length. I have one of those cheap USB microscopes & as far as movement is concerned, no problem. It's great for close examination of PCBs & SMDs. The image doesn't blur noticeably when moving and as it's live (same as a webcam) the resolution should be about the same.

I use "Cheese", available via Software Manager/Synaptic Package Manager or using sudo apt-get install cheese. Cheese doesn't provide audio as far as I'm aware but it can take stills & video of good quality.

If your phone's camera can be accessed by the computer, Cheese will almost certainly work with that, too.

If you need software-based image analysis, I'm afraid that is presently beyond my field of knowledge.

[juicer]

Like your idea of using phone's camera but cheese doesn't recognize it??

[phd21]

HI juicer,

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.

Obviously, the usb microscope and or phone with the microscope attachment would have to be recognized by your Linux system, so read user descriptions and user comments. I am not sure that a phone with microscope attachment would allow for live viewing (streaming) via a direct USB connection (check settings), but you could record from it and then copy the video(s) to your Linux Mint system? Maybe with a phone if you started the camera or video and then attached it to your Linux system it would be recognized as a video for Linux video source, or you can add an "app" for streaming video from the phone's camera to the smartphone which would give you a web address (URL) which you could then view on any computer through your browser or multimedia player (VLC, SMplayer, etc...) using that URL address. I do not know if any of the camera tethering options like "entangle" would work with a phone or not, but you can try it.

It would help to know more about your system setup. If you run "inxi -Fxzd" and "lsusb" from the console terminal prompt with all devices connected, highlight the results, copy and paste them back here, that should provide enough information.

I also recommend "guvcview" for webcams and Video For Linux (V4L) devices for viewing video and capturing video. "guvcview" is in the Software Manager or Synaptic Package Manager (SPM) of Linux Mint 19.x, but Linux Mint 18.x or older should use their PPA to get a better version.

guvcview PPA - Stable : Paulo Assis
https://launchpad.net/~pj-assis/+archive/ubuntu/ppa

app for streaming video from the phone's camera - Google Search
https://www.google.com/search?ei=s_bNW9 ... 7vlqlyVzeg

How To Perform Tethered Shooting with a Digital Camera on Ubuntu - OMG! Ubuntu!
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/04/tet ... u-entangle

usb microscope Linux - Google Search
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp ... 5SCbyHe5kE

Amazon.com: usb microscope linux
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss ... cope+linux

Amazon.com : Plugable USB 2.0 Digital Microscope with Flexible Arm Observation Stand for Windows, Mac, Linux (2 MP, 250x Magnification)
https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Microsc ... B00XNYXQHE

Amazon.com : Aomekie 4.3" LCD Microscope Digital Soldering 1-600X Zoom Magnifier with screen, 8 LED Adjustable Light and Rechargeable Lithium Battery for Cellphone PC Circuit Board SMD Repair - Metal Stand
https://www.amazon.com/Microscope-Solde ... cope+linux

Adafruit USB Microscope – Work with Linux? Yes! « Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!
https://blog.adafruit.com/2012/06/28/ad ... linux-yes/

USB Microscope under Linux
http://www.marshalltradecorp.com/coDe/m ... linux.html

Plugable USB 2.0 USB Microscope - Plugable
https://plugable.com/products/usb2-micro-200x/


phone with microscope attachment - Google Search
https://www.google.com/search?q=phone+w ... e&ie=UTF-8

This is cool
Add-on clip turns smartphone into fully operational microscope
https://phys.org/news/2018-02-add-on-sm ... scope.html


FYI: There are various applications for "PCB" available, check the "Synaptic Package Manager (SPM)" and the links below.

linux ubuntu pcb design software - Google Search
https://www.google.com/search?ei=D-7NW_ ... DVwAzGNLp8

Hope this helps ...