Hi everyone! I have a 10+ year old ST8300M that needs a replacement optical window. It's a mess. I'm pretty certain that SBIG no longer sells these (lol) so I was hoping someone here has some details about it so I can order a replacement from Edmund Optics. Does anyone know if the thickness of the glass really matters here? Would it be worthwhile to get something with an NIR coating? They also have substrate options like BK7, float glass, etc. I'm totally lost. Thank you!
We still have plenty of stock of those windows and can repair it. If you still want to DIY, the window is 1.375" diameter and 0.125" thick. Material is BK-7 or equivalent. I would recommend the VIS-NIR coating. The window is epoxied in place; a heat gun should soften it enough to allow you to remove it. We use a fancy epoxy that you can't easily get. It would probably be okay to use hardware store epoxy - won't be as good but probably good enough. Use the regular epoxy not the quick-cure stuff. Obviously you don't have a clean room... you'll need to take some care to protect the sensor and window from dust while the chamber is open. You'll also want to have some compressed air handy.
Hi Doug. Thanks for getting back so quickly. I was not expecting these to be available. What is the cost for a replacement, please? I have a spare 36mm, unmounted, clear focusing filter that I was thinking of using. The filter has ar coatings, it is ir/uv blocked, and fits very well in the space in the metal housing. (I was already able to remove the old window) However, this filter is much thinner than the stock optical window. Will this affect anything? If this is a good solution, I'll be able to have the camera up and running by the weekend. Thanks again!
I'll have to refer you to @Tim for replacement cost. Certainly using a different window won't hurt anything, as long as you can mount it successfully. The IR blocking will reduce your sensitivity a bit on unfiltered exposures.
Replacement windows are $40US + shipping. If you would like to provide a shipping address via private message, I can get you a shipping quote as well.
