What NOT to do with an ASI224MC ...

[Cosmic Geoff]

I was outside last night when I tried to unscrew my ASI224MC from the back of my flip-mirror diagonal. (T2 threads). It came off, but when I tried to re-attach the 1.25" nosepice I realised something was wrong.  The red-anodised front plate had unscrewed and remained attached to the flip mirror.  After recovering the red front plate, I tried to re-attach it to the camera, only to find that a scraping and grating resulted when I turned the plate to screw it in.  On unscrewing and examining the assembly inside I found that a transparent disc and a black rubber ring had dropped out of place.  Very fortunately these had not dropped into the grass, otherwise I might be still unaware they existed. 🙁 

On reassembling the camera (with the front facing downwards) I found it still worked but I had dust bunnies on my image of Jupiter. 🙁 This morning I dismantled the camera again and with it connected to Sharpcap (to show the dust bunnies) managed to remove all of them (I hope) with a blower aerosol and a fine brush.

So be careful how you disconnect these ASI cameras if you are using the T2 thread to mount them.

[wimvb]

I've had a similar experience with an ASI120, where the front plate unscrewed from the body when I tried to unscrew the whole camera. You have to hold the camera and front plate firmly when unscrewing from a focuser/scope/imaging train.

[IDM]

Exactly the same thing happened to me this afternoon when I was trying to find the best way to fit an ASI224MC to my flip mirror. Luckily i was sitting in the kitchen and I simply had to screw the anodised plate back on. I haven't checked for dust but seeing as the  transparent disc did not come off I hope all should be ok. I was surprised how easily the whole thing cam apart though.

 

 

 

[barbulo]

Same! 
When best to check for dust traces, imaging daytime or nighttime? Which blower aerosol did you use? 
Thanks in advance!

[wimvb]

27 minutes ago, barbulo said:

Same! 
When best to check for dust traces, imaging daytime or nighttime? Which blower aerosol did you use? 
Thanks in advance!

Aim the camera at an evenly lit wall and take an exposure to get an average ADU count of 20 000 - 40 000. Load the image in  gimp/ps/pixinsight or whatever software you have, and increase contrast. Any dust bunnies will show up. This can be done any time of day.

[happy-kat]

Hand rocket blower are generally best as cans aren't just air but other weird stuff too