NEW! – BHT/U_LED Illuminator System for the Olympus BHT / BHTU Scopes
Welcome to the Empire of Dirt Workshop site! This site is dedicated to the BH-2 series of microscopes, which were manufactured and sold by Olympus in very large numbers from 1980 through about 1993. Because of the large market share the BH-2 enjoyed in its day, there are a great many BH-2 scopes available on the used market at prices affordable to amateur microscopists. These scopes are several decades old now, so there is a good chance that any BH-2 you buy will need a comprehensive service to return it to its original performance. However, if you purchase a BH-2 and perform the necessary service (or have somebody else perform this service for you), you will be rewarded with a high-performance scope that absolutely eclipses the generic re-branded commodity microscopes manufactured and sold today. These are professional quality microscopes which were used extensively in research labs, veterinary offices, doctors offices, and pathology clinics, in their day. They are in a whole different league, in terms of build quality, expandability, and optical performance, than the low-cost scopes sold today for the amateur and educational markets.
This purpose of this site is three-fold: 1) To educate amateur microscopists about the BH-2, so that they can decide if a BH-2 is right for them. 2) To help BH-2 owners who wish to service and maintain their own microscopes. 3) To provide those who do not feel comfortable tearing into their BH-2 a low-cost option for obtaining service for their scopes.
Many of the original Olympus brochures, operating manuals, and service manuals for the BH-2 scopes are available on this site in PDF form. Additionally, there is an extensive collection of PDFs and videos produced by the Empire of Dirt Workshop for BH-2 scopes available here. The quality of the PDFs aren’t too bad. I put real effort into their development. The videos? Let’s just say that was a whole different level of effort. These were shot quickly on an ancient Samsung S5 cellphone, without the benefit of studio lighting or even a real microphone, and put together with minimal editing. To be frank, the production values are pretty bad, and that’s OK with me. My goal was to get the information out there, for the small group of people who may benefit, and I think I succeeded in that. Just take them for what they are. Me, working on scopes, talking about how I do that, with a camera pointed in the general direction. Believe me when I say I would never want to be a “real” YouTuber.
So now, a few words about the Empire of Dirt Workshop. Don’t fall for the hype. As you may have already figured out, the Empire of Dirt Workshop is kind of a “royal we” thing. In reality, it’s just me (Carl Hunsinger), alone in my dungeon of a basement workshop, with an ultrasonic cleaner and a few 3D printers, doing what I love to do, while my wife and our two dogs, Wally and Lokai, wonder what the heck I’m doing in that hell-hole. Actually, I take that back. Susan may wonder, but Wally and Lokai don’t really care, so long as they get to come down now and again for “basement treats”. The place totally creeps Lokai out, but nonetheless, he powers through for an occasional Milk Bone or two. Believe me when I tell you that if you saw the cramped, cluttered shop, you would totally understand the “Empire of Dirt” name. “We”, at the Empire of Dirt Workshop, do not take “ourselves” too seriously. So, how did I get into this as a hobby? Click here to see my story.