The Bodelin Pro Scope Digital Microscope

At SCVi Charter School We needed a couple small microscopes for our 8th grade science learners.  We decided to try out the Bodelin Pro Scope Mobile Microscope.  These can be purchased for around $400 each and must be used directly with an iPad iPhone, or iPod Touch.

If you decide to try one of these, configuration is a little bit tricky so let me walk you through it. 

1) Install the AirMicroPad iPad application from the iTunes Store.
This is free to download and install from the iTunes store.  Once it is installed, you'll see the icon for it on your iPad.

2) Determine Static IP Address Of Your Device
Each microscope comes pre-configured with a specific IP address.  This was written both on the box and on the microscope itself.  To find it on the microscope, look at the sticker on the bottom. Here is what it looked like on ours. You can see the IP address where it says "IP Addr:" as 192.168.239.1

3) Connect and Configure Your iPad
The microscope will create its own wireless network. You need to connect to it with your iPad. To do this, go to Settings and choose the Wi-Fi option.  The Pro Scope will show up as an available network. In this example, it is "AirMicro239".  Click on the network to attach to it.

OK,. now comes the tricky part. You need to configure your iPad to use a Static IP address. Click on the AirMicro239 network (or whatever your microscope's network is named) and click the "Static" tab. You then need to set the "IP Address" and the "Subnet Mask".  For the IP Address, choose something where the first three numbers are the same as your microscope, but the last one is different. The numbers can be in the range 2-254.  In this example, I chose 192.268.239.100 since my microscope is 192.268.239.1. Also note, that no two devices on the network can have the same IP address. So, if you connect multiple iPads to this scope, they each need to have a different number.  i.e. 192.168.239.100, 192.168.239.101, 192.168.239.102, etc.

You also need to configure the "Subnet Mask". This will be the same for all devices as 255.255.255.0.

Note: While you are attached to the microscope, you will not have access to the internet. Your  iPad will be completely dedicated to using the microscope until you are done.  When are are done using your microscope, you'll need to reconnect to your original network.

4)  Have Fun!
You can now start the AirMicroPad application on your iPad and start looking at things.  Here are some images I captured.

 Lincoln memorial from a penny.

Titanium watch back.

Titanium watch bezel.

Hamilton's eye from a $10 bill.

Lincoln memorial on a $5 bill.

Detail from a $20 bill.