Fan vibration

And is there any compatible low vibration fan in the market? I could try a different fan.

 

I had the same problem on a STX. I replaced it with the same fan to keep it the same but it vibrated also. I ended up using a piece of 1/2" thick Sorbothane and longer screws between the camera body and the fan. I cut the Sorbothane to resemble a gasket. It took out all the vibrations.

 

Thanks!

This does seem a common issue. Actually I joined a remote team and their 16803 started to show similar issue, and they suspected it was from fan too.

I will give it a try. My last resort would be getting a low vibration fan.

 

Doug,

I will check again.

Could you also provide the spec of the fan? I am looking for alternative on the market.

 

Sorry to bring this back from the dead, But I'm encountering the same issue with my STT camera. I could feel the vibration just by touching the filter wheel.

I went ahead and replaced the fans, but the vibration is still affecting the image. I'm going to try the Sorbothane gasket to see if it resolves the issue.

For context, my imaging train goes RC8 -> Moonlite Focuser (no extensions) -> CCDT67 -> STT8300 w/ FW8G, all connections are threaded. I assume i'm just hitting some sort of resonance.

Ive attached images of the issue. These were both 1 second exposures, fan off and fan on.

 

Hi Mason

Can you see what your camera cooler output is (in MaxIm it shows up in the camera status window) ? In my experience with my STXL camera, if the cooler output stays over 75% for more than a few minutes, the cooler fan kicks into high speed with the same effect as you are seeing on the image quality.

As Doug says, you can manually clamp the cooler output, but I have never felt the need to do so. I just make sure that the temperature setpoint I am using is such that the cooler output stays at or below 70% at steady state.

This is only a problem when the ambient temperature is above 20 Deg C and I am trying to cool the camera too much. My STXL camera will not cool below -35 Deg C, and someone once commented to me that there isn't any point in trying to go below this temperature anyway. In the winter, I can reach -35 Deg with the cooler running at about 50% output. In the late spring when the nighttime temperatures are in the 15 - 20 Deg C range, I can only get to about -33 Deg C with the cooler output at about 68%. In the summer when the ambient nighttime temperature in southeast Texas is 25 - 30 Deg C, I can't go much below -25 Deg C.

Mike

 

If you can find them in the appropriate size/ specification then have a look at the SUNON range of DR Maglev fans with VAPO bearings.

That fan design employs an extra magnet to levitate the fan away from its bearings when running and the result is a very low vibration level.

We employed that design of fan in some of our medical systems for use in operating theatres where low vibration, low noise and resistance to dust infiltration of the bearing was important.

William.

 

Following up with this.

I ended up buying a piece of .060" Sorbothane and fashioning gaskets for the fans. From my testing so far the vibrations are now unnoticeable when cooling to -30 at 60% fan speed. We will see if it lasts.

 

Thanks for that suggestion Mason.