Fwd: [sudo-discuss] scanning electron microscope

[Ryan Bethencourt]

Do we want an SEM at Counter Culture Labs? I think this was on our wish list :)

R

sudoroom is being offered a scanning electron microscope (by Dr. X).

it comes with all the stuff and actually works, but it requires a bit of knowledge to operate it.  unfortunately Mr. X is not available to train us how to operate it, however Chris Murphy may be available and knows how it works.

It would take up about 30 square feet of space including the place where the operators sit or stand.  It is not computerized like the one at Pumping Station One, it is an analog machine.  Pictures can be taken at high resolution by long-exposure photo of the CRT on the front of the machine, or we can build an analog data importer to reconstruct images at much higher resolution if we desire.

The cash price of this SEM is $10 in gas and tolls, I will provide the vehicle and movement.  The rest of the price of the machine in blood and sacrifice is in the time and energy to learn its intricicies and idiosynchracies while learning about vacuum pumps and vacuum oil, and how not to let vacuum oil contaminate your vacuum and get all over your filament.

https://noisebridge.net/wiki/SEM

ironically, one of the reasons it doesn't work as well at noisebridge is because the whole place shakes when the city buses ride by.  and sudoroom is apparently directly over the bart tunnel so i wonder how different it will be.

-jake
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[Benjamin Lack]

Um yes! I guess the only question is where to store it, right?

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[Simona Zompi]

YES YES YES!!!!!

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[Ron Shigeta]

I saw the one at Noisebridge, but i'm not sure anyone ever used it.  they take a lot of work and are a speciality unto themselves. 

The biological applications can be relatively fancy compared to material science applications that SEMs like this one are usually used for.  you fix the biological specimens by spraying/fixing them with metal -the metal shells are what you see in most SEM pictures. 

Just saying.  someone would have to keep it in their basement until we had space, which would have to be on the ground floor and may still have issues then....  its a cranky beast. 

---

From: Benjamin Lack <ben...@gmail.com>
To: Ryan Bethencourt <ryan.bet...@gmail.com>
Cc: East Bay DIYbio <east-ba...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 1:08 PM
Subject: Re: Fwd: [sudo-discuss] scanning electron microscope

[shanee stopnitzky]

all you gotta do is say stuff out loud around here and it happens!! i should be able to train people on it, depending on the gun type. keep in mind we'll also need a sputter coater and/or snap freeze chamber for most sample prep but should be able to acquire these inexpensively. 

they are a lot of work, but they are also one of the most magical scientific instruments! you get to fly through otherwise invisible structures!!

[Ryan Bethencourt]

Good point Ron, is it a large device? Anyone with a deep enough understanding of SEM's to look after this one at CCL?

[Ron Shigeta]

well the majority of voices prevail... I'm hearing more yeses than nays. 

As I recall its not too big - maybe the size of a medium desk.  and it sounds like we may have an operator, but where does it stay?  do we have a volunteer to recieve, maintain and keep it for CCL? 

Should we do a quick poll?  I'm still voting no, but won't take it hard if there's a bunch of yeses?

http://poll.pollcode.com/32cka#sthash.xUKWlASJ.dpuf

we don't have a mechanism for really making binding decisions (we have no org even), but a nonbinding poll, just for fun. 

---

From: Ryan Bethencourt <ryan.bet...@gmail.com>
To: Ron Shigeta <rtsh...@yahoo.com>
Cc: Benjamin Lack <ben...@gmail.com>; East Bay DIYbio <east-ba...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 1:24 PM

[Benjamin Lack]

What are the storage requirements?

Ben

[Patrik D'haeseleer]

That would be excellent!

Here's the user manual with all the specs:

https://www.noisebridge.net/images/c/c7/ISI_Mini-TV_SEM_Manual-Troubleshooting-Reference_Guide.pdf

It's a desktop machine, so doesn't necessarily take up any more space than some bio equipment. Wonder how easy it would be to DIY a gold sputterer...

Patrik

On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 1:15 PM, Jake <ja...@spaz.org> wrote:

I'm sure that Dr. X would be very pleased if it went to Counter Culture Labs.  He just wants it to be understood and appreciated, rather than sitting neglected.  CCL should hurry up and buy the church building before the price goes up on it, and I can help transport it.

It is basically an equipment rack and a cart of accessories, so it doesn't take up a ton of room.  But it's good to be able to set the microscope and vacuum pump on different structures so that the vibration of the pump doesn't shake the scope.  Also, to take higher resolution pictures it will be necessary to construct an analog data importer but that will likely just be a computer with a slightly modified sound card and some software.

keep in mind that to view organic (nonmetallic) things you will need a gold sputterer.

-jake

On Tue, 11 Jun 2013, Ryan Bethencourt wrote:

Hi Jake,
I'd be very happy to help transport the scanning electron microscope and if
it can't fit into Sudo Room, I'd also love to float the idea of potentially
housing it at Counter Culture Labs (the Sudo room DIY Bio offshoot) when we
eventually open up. Any thoughts?

How big is the SEM (I know some of them can be huge which might prohibit
location)?

All the best,
Ryan

Best,
Ryan

[Benjamin Lack]

It looks like it would be fine sitting in a garage for a few months, if so, I have space.

Ben

[Ryan Bethencourt]

Thanks Jake, It looks like we may have to rent a uhaul truck to move it as it looks large?

Sounds like Ben has a place for us to store it and we have another Counter Culture labs co-founder/member (Shanee) who knows how to use it and said she could teach us :)

[Ryan Bethencourt]

Great thanks Jake, we're working on the space thing for CCL and hoping to have one in the nearish term... it's kind of like the early days of Sudo Room when we talked on and on about getting a space... until we finally got one :)

On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 3:16 PM, Jake <ja...@spaz.org> wrote:

it is currently in a relatively safe place, especially considering that moving it is the most dangerous thing to it.  So it should stay where it is until a new place is chosen for it.

Since Sudoroom doesn't have enough room for it and CCL has NO room yet, moving it will have to wait.

However, i know of a pickup truck that can be used to move it if and when the time comes.

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[Patrik D'haeseleer]

On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 3:29 PM, Jake <ja...@spaz.org> wrote:

get the church.  2439 adeline, oakland.

Marc - want to update us on what's happening with the church? It's sold, right?

Patrik

[Patrik D'haeseleer]

Jake - is that the same SEM you were talking about as well? Two SEMs is definitely better than one. ;-)

Patrik

On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 8:29 PM, Chris Murphy <chrisnoi...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi guys,

 Instead of taking the Noisebridge SEM, I have a great idea...

Let's get another SEM! 

One of the problems with the Noisebridge SEM is that the community of SEM experts is too small. So let's enlarge that community by getting another. 

If you do get the Noisebridge SEM, NB will be out of a significant resource and its repair and operation are likely to fall on the same exact shoulders. You will also encounter ALL of the same problems that NB has encountered and will need to go to extreme effort to build infrastructure around the microscope (which we haven't completed). 

I have a lead on another SEM that would be free. They aren't as rare as you might think. 

In my previous e-mail, which may not have been posted to the sudo room list yet (I'm not a list member), I didn't understand that there was a plan afoot to take the NB SEM (which technically does not belong to NB anyway, it's on loan). I thought that someone named Dr. X was going to donate another SEM to sudo room. I generally disapprove of dismantling Noisebridge resources. 

Chris

Sent from my iPhone

[Nina DiPrimio]

Late to this thread. I have done a lot of EM. Mostly TEM, and I agree with Shanee's thoughts! I can help train and maintain as well. The machine is different than what I used but we'll learn. 

Very very cool. Perfect for phage projects. 

Sent from my iPhone

[Patrik D'haeseleer]

We've mentioned this before, but we'd *love* to host the SEM at Counter Culture Labs in the East Bay, once we have a lab space. And we should have a few people who can run it and teach others - and lots of interest in putting it to good use!

Let us know if you need some help with safe storage in the mean time...

Patrik

On Tue, Sep 17, 2013 at 3:16 PM, miloh <frogg...@gmail.com> wrote:

LOL no. No need to get sensational. (you're just placing yourself in good company with instigators like WR Hearst).  Just because they don't know how or won't learn how to use the SEM, Noisebridge is not a hackerspace?

Anyways, since there are only 2 or 3 self founded hackerspaces on Earth that I've heard of even having access to a SEM of their own, I'll just take a step back to say it will take longer for the use of these kind of tools to take hold and find use in the hackerspace movement. There are probably a ton of miniSEMS out there waiting in garages until cadres can take on the responsibility of their care and use. Until then, I won't stand by if I can prevent these tools  from getting damaged.

I already identified the majority of the SEM parts and help is appreciated, but please don't make a big thing of it. The mini-SEM is intact in the front of Noisebridge by the welcome desk (!), and there are boxes of equipment in the East end of the space on the floor by the stairs leading up to the overseer's closet.

Dr X is ahead of his time, who knew?

Back to your regularly scheduled activities.

On Tue, Sep 17, 2013 at 3:05 PM, Jake <ja...@spaz.org> wrote:

perhaps you heard

noisebridge is no longer a hackerspace and is emptying out the science room (where the SEM was) to make room for a radio studio or dj booth or something.  ball pit.

miloh will be moving the SEM to a safe location but if you want to help make sure no pieces get lost maybe you can help.  there are tiny boxes with filaments in them and an ultrasonic cleaner, probably scattered around the trash pile thats forming at nb now.  they are doing a dump run thursday.  the SEM got moved out of its safe place without a single email about it to anyone that i know of.

so help miloh find all the SEM pieces before its too late!

-jake

On Tue, 11 Jun 2013, Chris Murphy wrote:

Hi guys,

 Instead of taking the Noisebridge SEM, I have a great idea...

Let's get another SEM! 

One of the problems with the Noisebridge SEM is that the community of SEM experts is too small. So let's enlarge that community
by getting another. 

If you do get the Noisebridge SEM, NB will be out of a significant resource and its repair and operation are likely to fall on
the same exact shoulders. You will also encounter ALL of the same problems that NB has encountered and will need to go to extreme
effort to build infrastructure around the microscope (which we haven't completed). 

I have a lead on another SEM that would be free. They aren't as rare as you might think. 

In my previous e-mail, which may not have been posted to the sudo room list yet (I'm not a list member), I didn't understand that
there was a plan afoot to take the NB SEM (which technically does not belong to NB anyway, it's on loan). I thought that someone
named Dr. X was going to donate another SEM to sudo room. I generally disapprove of dismantling Noisebridge resources. 

Chris

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 11, 2013, at 15:25, Ryan Bethencourt <ryan.bet...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Ryan Bethencourt

Tel: (415) 825 2705
ryan.bet...@gmail.com

www.bamh1.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bethencourt
www.logos-press.com/books/biotechnology_business_development.php