1. Always carry with two hands - one on the arm and one on the base.
2. The eyepiece, also called the eyepiece, is where you look. Many microscopes may have a pointer inside. This pointer, also called a micrometer or reticle, may have a small ruler on it for measurements. Do not remove the eyepieces as dust can enter the microscope barrel.
3. The stage is the platform on which the microscope slides are placed. The microscope stage usually has stage clips to hold the slides in place. More advanced microscopes may have a mechanical stage—a device with a knob that moves the slide for you. Keep the stage clean. Immediately clean up any spills, liquids or debris.
4. Below the microscope stage is usually a rotating diaphragm. The disc diaphragm controls the amount of light from the bottom light passing through the slide. The larger the hole, the more light can pass through. This makes the image brighter. If the image is too bright, turn the aperture to a smaller aperture. More advanced microscopes may have an ABBE condenser, a device that controls and focuses incoming light more precisely than a diaphragm.
5. When cleaning the microscope, use only lens paper. Do not clean the microscope with tissues, paper towels, shirt sleeves, etc. Eyepieces and objectives should be cleaned before and after each use.
6. Your microscope will have one or two focus knobs on each side. The larger knob is for coarse focus; it has a wider range of focus. The smaller fine focus knob will fine-tune your focus. Always start with a coarse focus and work your way up to a fine focus. Once you have focus, changing different magnifications (rotating the objective) should only require adjusting the fine focus.
7. When you first place the slide under the microscope, start with the lowest/smallest objective. Objectives are 3 or 4 devices that can change magnification. These usually rotate on the turret. Once you have focused the image with the lowest settings, then move on to the next target. You should not skip targets. Proceed sequentially until the desired magnification is achieved.