Tilted CCD Sensor on my ATIK 383L+

[Gib007]

I am currently seeking RMA support directly from ATIK as my FLO invoice for the camera states 11th November 2012 and I'm still within warranty. I sent an e-mail off to ATIK yesterday so that time-stamp should be what they consider to be the request for warranty support. This post is just to share my experience. 

After receiving the new telescopes for imaging (see my signature), I spent a few weeks waiting for weather to clear up. This mid-term holiday off school has allowed me to spend a few nights out (I'm a teacher) as the weather coincidentally cleared up nicely. Due to clarity and lack of Moon, I decided to start my massive mosaic of the Orion Constellation in Luminance. Here is a sample raw image from a segment:

Notice the black stripe on the bottom. I initially thought this was a hair in the optical train and didn't really think much about it because I expected a flat image to take care of it. Thankfully it didn't seem to attenuate the light coming in as stars were still detected nicely around that region. Anyway, after I returned home I decided to capture a flat to check my optimism:

Unfortunately the black stripe seems to have moved despite keeping the optical train completely the same. In fact, since I was using the Borg 77EDII refractor telescope, being small and lightweight, I kept everything in the focuser when I transported everything home. I took nothing out, not even a filter. 

Anyway, I decided to have a hack at cleaning this out so I took apart the optical train and carefully and thoroughly cleaned EVERYTHING, from the filters to the focal reducer to the CCD sensor optical window. I even disassembled my Borg 77EDII refractor telescope into pieces and cleaned that out, including its internal tube flocking (Borg telescopes are entirely modular so easy to take apart and put back together). Everything was spot-on and I verified with a bright LED flashlight that nothing had any specks of dust or smudges. I retook a flat image to verify and unfortunately this black stripe remained, and in the same place too!

I decided to diagnose the optical equipment that was causing the issue so I took apart the optical train and put the camera straight into the telescope focuser with nothing in-between the telescope's refracting lens and the CCD sensor, not even the focal reducer. The black stripe appeared in the flat I took so I knew it was either the telescope's refracting lens or the CCD camera that was to blame. To check which, I rotated the CCD camera through multiple angles to verify whether or not the black stripe moved around the flat image. Should it move, it would be the telescope's fault. However, it remained in the same place, making me conclude it was the CCD camera that was to blame. 

Looking at the CCD camera's optical window however, it was completely and utterly clean with no debris, specks of dust or smudges. Besides, I had not had any problems with it since I bought it. On close inspection of the CCD sensor however, my heart skipped a beat. Here's a close-up:

Take a close look. The CCD sensor is clearly tilted and "fallen off" into the camera. One can even see the inner electronics of the camera with a bright light. I know this isn't normal and I know this must somehow be the reason I'm getting this black stripe, be it damage, a shadow or some other anomaly. 

What baffles me is that my ATIK 383L+ camera has been treated better than any other piece of equipment I own. It always lives in my large, padded foam accessories case and is handled with love and care each time. I therefore have no idea what has happened but I know that being under a year old and this not being "normal", I should have ATIK take a look. Hell, even if I had to pay something, it sure beats buying a new camera!!

So yeah, thank you for reading (if you got this far). Anyone else had this issue? Got it sorted out? Is ATIK support good? I'm just hopeful I receive an e-mail reply from ATIK soon so I can post it off to them and have it looked at. I'd love for them to fix it up and verify that flats produced are within normal parameters so I can have it back and get back into imaging ASAP. Orion Constellation is going to be there for millions of years but I'd preferably capture all my mosaic data this season!

[Coco]

Atik are superb at responding to this sort of issue, it looks like the shutter is at fault not the sensor..  I believe the 383 did have issues in its infancy and was upgraded, perhaps this is one of the earlier models..

My shutter failed and was fully replaced FOC outside of the standard 12 month warranty and as the second owner    Thats one reason why I will only use ATIK cameras..

Dont worry about it, contact Vince on here or email ATIK, sooner the better as they will be getting busy for the crazy season...

[NickK]

That looks like the shutter rather than the sensor itself.

[Gib007]

Fair enough, must be the shutter then.

Thanks for the vote of confidence on ATIK's support. I look forward to their e-mail reply.

[FraserClarke]

That black line is nothing to do with the sensor or the shutter. It is a little bit of fluff/hair somewhere near the sensor, probably on the entrance window to the camera. It'll be really really small, so not too surprising you don't see it when visually inspecting the camera.  Have you tried blowing off the entrance window with a bulb type blower?

If it is on the inside of the window, I'd probably be asking ATIK to clean inside of the camera for me, as that's not something you want to be doing yourself (if you can even get access to it -- I don't know the design of the ATIK cameras).

Otherwise looks like a remarkably clean flat to me!

[Gib007]

That black line is nothing to do with the sensor or the shutter. It is a little bit of fluff/hair somewhere near the sensor, probably on the entrance window to the camera. It'll be really really small, so not too surprising you don't see it when visually inspecting the camera.  Have you tried blowing off the entrance window with a bulb type blower?

If it is on the inside of the window, I'd probably be asking ATIK to clean inside of the camera for me, as that's not something you want to be doing yourself (if you can even get access to it -- I don't know the design of the ATIK cameras).

Otherwise looks like a remarkably clean flat to me!

Mhmm there's something there, and I'm sure it's inside. I've taken a facial tissue, a microfibre cloth and a proper blower to that optical window and it's completely and utterly clean (externally speaking). Mind you, I've never had this kind of issue so it must be internal. I wonder if stuff can get in on to the CCD sensor and shutter through the fan grill on the side of the CCD camera. If so, handling the CCD camera at home with a cat is not the best idea, but I have no alternative to be fair, as I capture my dark, bias and flat frames at home during daytime. 

In any case, whatever it is, the shutter seems to be faulty on this so ATIK will have to have a look themselves. In the process I can ask them to please ensure it's completely clean inside so that the images taken are only affected by whatever sits on the external side of the optical window (as it should be). 

[Uranium235]

Here is something you can try:

Set up the camera, in a place with no dust (wear a hat and head torch too).

Now, hold the camera above your head with its chip pointing down at you (and you looking up at the chip), the open the shutter (a 10s sub will do) and give it a good blast with a rocket blower before the shutter closes. The reason for it being above your head is so that anything expelled is sent away from the camera and doesnt just float around and fall back on it. The reason for the hat.... you would be surprised how much fluff comes off your bonce (unless you happen to be bald).

Finally, take a flat to see if its gone - chances are, it will be.

Edit: Just to add, if you did have a tilted sensor, you would see it in the stars - and yours look pretty round to me, so no problems with the actual chip. But, if you do want to have it serviced and cleaned then Atik offer the service at very reasonable rates - its UK based, and the turnaround time is pretty quick.

[Gib007]

Here is something you can try:

Set up the camera, in a place with no dust (wear a hat and head torch too).

Now, hold the camera above your head with its chip pointing down at you (and you looking up at the chip), the open the shutter (a 10s sub will do) and give it a good blast with a rocket blower before the shutter closes. The reason for it being above your head is so that anything expelled is sent away from the camera and doesnt just float around and fall back on it. The reason for the hat.... you would be surprised how much fluff comes off your bonce (unless you happen to be bald).

Finally, take a flat to see if its gone - chances are, it will be.

Edit: Just to add, if you did have a tilted sensor, you would see it in the stars - and yours look pretty round to me, so no problems with the actual chip. But, if you do want to have it serviced and cleaned then Atik offer the service at very reasonable rates - its UK based, and the turnaround time is pretty quick.

Thanks for the guide, I appreciate it. Just two things though:

1. Through where would I blow the air into the CCD camera? The grill on the side for the cooling system? This is the only place I would think has any opening into the inside of the CCD camera. 

2. Does the shutter look iffy to you? It doesn't look like it's sitting well on the front and I'm thinking an ATIK service might be a good idea. 

[Gib007]

Oooh, scratch what I said, look at this when the shutter's open:

The culprit is there in all its visible glory - the hook-shaped dust speck on the CCD sensor itself (to the right). Now the golden question - how on Earth do I go by removing this? I'd love to do it myself as I don't fancy paying for postage and a service plus waiting time given how easy the fix seems...!!

[Uranium235]

1) You use the rocket blower directly on the CCD window once the shutter is open - much the same way you would open live view on a dslr (or mirror lock up) to gain a clear route to the sensor. Dont worry, the sensor is not exposed as it is behind a window of protective BBAR glass.

2) Ive never really taken that close a look at my 383 shutter, but if its still working then there is no fault.

[Uranium235]

Try to keep the shutter open for as short a time as possible, you dont want to futher contaminate the CCD window. Just get the blower on it! (panics..... "dust! dust!")

[Gib007]

Hmmm, but there's the optical window that's in front of everything...I physically cannot blow air on to the CCD sensor itself even when the shutter's open because there's the optical window blocking it all. Great to prevent dust going in but it seems dust actually got in anyway! How do you blow air on to the CCD sensor? Do you remove the optical window?

[Uranium235]

Ohhh, youre saying its inside the chamber?  Oh dear

If thats the case, its off to Vince at Atik. I wouldnt dare try taking one of these apart. Its the reason I sent off my old 314L+ (dust on the underside of the CCD window), but it came back spotless.

[Gib007]

Well here's the thing, can this optical window be removed somehow and then placed back on? If so, it's an easy task. Remove window, open shutter, blow air in and when shutter closes, replace window. 

[Uranium235]

I wouldnt want to try it. Seriously, send it off and have it cleaned - that way if anything goes wrong you're covered. Plus Atik will have a "clean room" where it can be done properly.

[Gib007]

Well that was easy - I fixed it!

Refer back to my photo showing the speck of dust above. See the ring that holds the optical window? It has two notches on opposite ends. This ring is screwed on to a thread and can be easily unscrewed with little effort. Two mini screwdrivers help here as you can rotate the ring along both notches. Once the ring is unscrewed, the optical window glass is by itself and can be carefully removed by turning the camera up-side-down (it falls out so be careful!). At that point you're in the chamber. Open the shutter with a short exposure and you can blow air directly on to the CCD sensor and the chamber inside. 

It's now clean so I then replaced the optical window glass and screwed the ring back on. Clean, clean, clean!

[Uranium235]

Brave man.... I briefly tried the same thing, but I couldnt get that ring to budge. I was on the verge of slipping and scratching the window.

Good to see its sorted anyway.

[Gib007]

Brave man.... I briefly tried the same thing, but I couldnt get that ring to budge. I was on the verge of slipping and scratching the window.

Good to see its sorted anyway.

Hehe, thankfully the ring on mine wasn't screwed on too tightly. The two mini screwdrivers pushing in opposite directions to unscrew the ring helped a lot. Once loosened, I could do it with fingernails. I'm quite glad it's this easy to sort this out as particles of dust are difficult to avoid. 

[ollypenrice]

As it seems, well done. I suppose the only worry is that the contaminant is still in the chamber. Still, it may settle into a new and harmless home somewhere else!!

I'll join the others in saying that Atik after sales is excellent, though rarely needed. 

Olly

[Gib007]

I'm glad everything's sorted. Vince replied earlier and said he too was glad I sorted it (I e-mailed a status update after last night). Indeed ATIK are really on the ball with service. Cannot see myself buying cameras from someone else!