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Questar Telescopes |
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QUESTAR LONG DISTANCE MICROSCOPES AND REMOTE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS
Our Long Distance Microscopes are designed for use only on targets that are very close to the instrument, but not as close as a traditional microscope would require. The Long Distance Microscope is most often employed for research applications, quality control in manufacturing, and for performing periodic inspections of materials under development including new medical materials immersed in saline baths, molten metals splash patterns, process quality control, and more. These Long Distance Microscopes can be employed for the long distance inspection of fine detail with an eyepiece however, these are most commonly used for imaging with an optional CCD integrating or real time video camera, or with 35mm format film cameras. However, if there are any auto focus functions of a Digital SLR or other camera then note, these functions can not be controlled on the Long Distance Microscope by the camera although we do offer some automated Step Zoom models that automatically adjust brightness and focus as magnifications are changed.
Right: QM 100 Long Distance Microscope with lens cover aside at Company Seven (29,309 bytes). We make three basic models of Long Distance Microscopes: QM-1, QM-100 and QM-200. Each is available with the choice of varying degrees of automation or remote control capabilities. The basic QM-1 and QM-100, and the larger QM-200 model require manual operation to adjust focus or to change magnification. The MK III Long Distance Microscopes are offered with the customer's choice of either manual or electronic focus control. And the Step Zoom versions of the QM-100 Long Distance Microscopes provide degrees of automation to change focus, field of view, and filtering with continuous automated focus capability so that as one changes magnification the focus and filtering will change automatically to keep from saturating or underexposing a CCD or film camera. Our Long Distance Microscope differ from one another in terms of:
Each instrument is constructed around one of four optical tube assemblies: the QM
1, the QM 100, the
The "Mark III" Series: a specialized barrel design with optimized boresight retention over the full focusing range - a capability necessary for very critical alignment applications. Since the housing of the Mark III is a simplified version of the Step Zoom (described below) the Mark III is available with options including motorized focus, and the spacing of the optical elements may be encoded to provide feed back for measurement along the optical axis. Furthermore, over time it is possible to return the unit to us for upgrade of the Mark III to have full Step Zoom capabilities.
The "SZ M100" Step Zoom microscopes incorporate programmable remote control of five magnifications, four in line filters, and focus. A microprocessor will adjust focus of the microscope when required as a result of changes in magnification or filtration. And all control functions can be addressed via an RS-422 port. All motorized functions are stepper driven, and a status report of lens function is displayed in an LCD window on the hand control. The barrel design is based upon the Mark III and shares the focus characteristics of that instrument; it is possible to upgrade a Mark II to full Step Zoom.
The determination of working magnification and resolution depends on many variables including the dimensions and resolution of the CCD or film camera. We invite you to contact us to let us help you choose a comprehensive suitable solution for your requirements.
* The QM-100 with optional PowerPak optics set can provide sub micron resolution at distances as close as 10cm
Remote Measurement Systems |
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History: In 1983 Questar Corporation developed the original Long Distance Microscope, the QM 1. This instrument was distinguished by "Industrial Research Magazine" as one of the 100 most significant new technical products of the year. For the first time microscopic images could be made of subjects or objects in enclosures, in hostile environments, in process, and on-line. Microscopic resolution could be achieved from a longer distance without cluttering the work area with instrumentation.
At a working distance greater than a few millimeters, no optical system will match the resolving power and magnification of these Questar Long Distance Microscopes. In the past years since the introduction of the QM 1, the Questar microscopes and remote measurement systems have received two "IR 100" awards, and a "Photonics Magazine" Circle of Excellence award. In one of the more amazing successes, during the Fall of 1993 NASA personnel with the on site support of Company Seven staff employed a Questar QM 1 in a last minute efforts at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and at Cape Canaveral to certify the focus of the "Wide Field Planetary Imaging Camera 2". This work was accomplished just prior to loading it into the Space Shuttle for the first NASA Hubble Space Telescope repair mission. This was an effort praised by project evaluators for its implementation of the best commercially available "appropriate technology" to help solve a crisis. The team supervisor commented to Mr. Cohen of Company Seven "an off the shelf $5,000 Questar may have just saved a $127,000,000 space flight component".
Right: QM 100 Long Distance Microscope set for Co-Axial illumination with Zeiss AxioCam HRC CCD camera, all supported by the Questar Camera Cradle at Company Seven (51,200 bytes). All our microscopes optics are manufactured (at a facility very near to Company Seven in Maryland) with hand-figured, matched optics, with final assembly done using the same care that is put into our space-qualified telescopes. All systems are designed for their specific purposes however, they all share some common features:
* Company Seven also offers optional filters and specialized lenses that complement our Long Distance Microscopes for ultraviolet and infrared applications. Our offerings include the famous Nikon UV-105 F4.5 Lens, a limited production conventional and macro lens with high performance spanning from 220nm in the ultraviolet to 900nm in the infrared. Please contact Company Seven for additional information.
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