if you have a 30x magnifier then you will be much more accurate knowing when its time. the trichomes will be a nice amber color but still fairly straight. they begin to bend as they decompose and the bud begins to reduce in quality. if you dont have one of those little toys, its a guessing game. dont get me wrong, it is possible to be right on with the timing but that usualli takes some experience. i mainly use the thc hairs to read the ripeness. i shoot for half to three quarters of the hairs being orange/golden to harvest. good luck and remember, harvesting a little early or a little late wont be total disaster. its still good smokeable herb just not at its full potential.
radioshack has a good, cheap 60-100x microscope for 11$. this is what i bought and used, works great. http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...kw=microscope&kw=microscope&parentPage=search
