Origin: A Night of Barbecue
One ordinary evening, I went to a new barbecue place near home. The AC happened to be down for repairs. Luckily, I didn't end up drenched in sweat. As they say, when you lose some, you gain some—while waiting for the shishamo to grill, I scrolled my phone and saw the post “Advanced Epi-Fluorescence Module signup, 70 units until full” pop up.
Within just a few minutes—from seeing the post, typing a comment, to queueing—I had already become No. 17 on the waitlist. I was a bit discouraged at first, but seeing comments that said those before No. 30 would likely get a microscope rekindled my hope.
Sure enough, I actually got it!
The Challenge Begins After Receiving the Parts
Because I received several sets of parts in succession, I first had to figure out which parts were needed to assemble the “Advanced Epi-Fluorescence Module.” I had no idea where to start, so I asked in the Science Maker group (here), and sure enough, people quickly replied with reference links, like “here” and “here”.
After getting the links, I started searching online for photos shared by the teacher and other friends. I found that very few people were willing to share pictures of the microscope's exterior, and such photos weren't easy to find (maybe I wasn't searching correctly). Even if I found some, they might not match the materials I had on hand and couldn't be assembled the same way. For first-time builders, just preparing the materials is already a challenge.
Assembling the Objective Lens
Many people may not have a microscope at home, so they won't have an objective during assembly. The teacher provided objectives in the group; you can just install them directly.
I didn't use the objective from the group because I already have a microscope at home, so I planned to unscrew the 10x objective from it and use that.
I naively thought the diameter of my home objective would perfectly match the Scimage parts, but it turned out to be significantly smaller than Scimage's. That meant I had to do a bit of modification to the objective.
The modification is simple: just a roll of masking tape, a 10x microscope objective, and the Scimage parts—that's enough to make it work.
Many friends in the group used putty, but since I didn't have any at home, I used masking tape instead. It doesn't look pretty, but it still works just fine. Don't worry—go ahead and tape it on!
Assembling the UV Lamp Base
Note: Do not look directly at UV light for extended periods. Use proper eye protection, such as tinted safety glasses (orange or red).
Years ago, when I first signed up for the phone microscope, the kit included a metal sticker to attach to the bottom of the battery. This time, that part wasn't included, so I had to think of an alternative.
It happened to be Teacher's Day, and the teacher sent everyone who had registered in the group an extra light source—so everyone should have received two light sources. (When they arrive, the UV LEDs are fixed on the unit. Be careful when removing them. Don't be like me—one of mine “passed away” before it ever lit up. Cry!)
Each light source comes with a strong magnet. Install two batteries, stick one magnet on the front and one on the back, and the UV light will work properly.
The UV light requires two batteries at a time. It'll feel a bit tight when inserting them—that's normal.
An Assembly Detail You Might Miss: Yellow Filter
In the kit, you'll find “3 yellow filters + 2 white hollow rings.” You need to apply all 3 filters. The white rings are actually pre-applied double-sided tape. Use a utility knife to carefully lift the edge and peel off the top white paper. Then you can stick the yellow filters on. For the angle of the filter, refer to “here”.
It seems the yellow filters are easily contaminated. I haven't solved that issue yet—still thinking about it.
Note: Do NOT peel off the thin film on the yellow filter. See “here”.
Because everything was trial-and-error, I worried that I might need adjustments later, so I temporarily fixed things with masking tape first, and only secured them permanently after confirming it worked. (All-purpose masking tape!)
Key Operation 1: Inject Parallel UV Light
Note: Do not look directly at UV light for extended periods. Use proper eye protection, such as tinted safety glasses (orange or red).
The entry point of the UV light is critical—it must be in the exact center of the black box, otherwise the light will be misaligned. If the lamp base isn't tall enough, stack some books underneath.
Key Operation 2: Keep the Phone Camera Level
Place the light source under the microscope, then align the phone camera with the eyepiece. Many phones today have protruding cameras, and some models are quite large. When placing the phone, make sure the phone camera is level with the eyepiece. You can place something underneath to keep the phone level. This will give you a wider field of view and a clearer, nicer image.
To prevent the phone from shaking during adjustments, I just taped it down with masking tape, which helps avoid accidentally moving it while focusing.
Did We Assemble It Successfully? A Quick Test
After assembling the light source, to check whether it's successfully set up, first use the “small plastic disc” from the kit and the “white light base” to test. If it works, you should see an image like this.
Observe the Fluorescent Fibers in Banknotes!
Note: Do not look directly at UV light for long periods. Wear yellow-tinted safety glasses when using it.
First, shine the UV light on a NT$100 or NT$1000 banknote and pick a fluorescent fiber you want to observe. Since the area of a banknote is quite large, you obviously can't “cut off a corner to observe”—that's not allowed! When choosing an area, try to select clean background regions near edges or corners. This makes it easier to place on the stage and observe.
After finding one, lightly mark it with a pencil using a “circle + arrow.” That way, even without UV illumination, you'll know where the fluorescent fiber is.
Next, fix the banknote onto the stage. Because the stage is small and the banknote is large, it tends to curl up when placed. Just tape it down with masking tape and try to keep the observation surface level. After observing, gently peel off the tape; it won't damage the banknote.
Once you grasp the points above, you can happily explore the fluorescent fibers embedded in banknotes or paper!
What You Might See at First
At first, I didn't know what fluorescent fibers looked like under the microscope and stayed on this view for a long time. But seeing this “green glow” is the first sign of success!
The View After Finding Focus
If you see this image, it means you've successfully located the fluorescent fiber!
NT$1000 banknotes contain fluorescent fibers that glow “blue” and “green.” If you want to see red fluorescent fibers, check if you have a KRW 1000 banknote or any paper that uses anti-counterfeiting features. Shine it with UV light—you might discover something fun!
Overall Appearance
When you first start assembling, a full-view image like this is exactly what you need. Once you've seen it, you won't feel like the blind touching an elephant—haha!
