I've only had my camera for less than a month and believe it started frosting up on me. I was checking the instructions, in the manual about how to recharge the desiccant. I unscrewed the knurled plug/bolt and looked at the plug and found the 0-ring. Under the plug was some something white that I figured was the desiccant. The question... there is mention, in the manual, of another plug to seal the chamber while heating the other plug. I could not find any other part. If I use this plug, then what do I use to cover the chamber? Am I missing something? SBIG STF-8300 Manual 1. Unscrew the desiccant container from the side of the camera opposite the connectors and remove the O-ring. 2. Plug the resulting hole by screwing in the supplied bolt or plug 2 or 3 turns. Finger tight is adequate. Don't put a wrench on it. 3. Heat the desiccant container in an ov en at 350°F (175 deg C) for 4 hours. The solder used to seal the can melts at 460 degrees F, so be sure to stay at least 50 degrees below this number. Preheating the oven to avoid hot spots is advised. 4. Replace the desiccant container into cam era, being careful to reinstall the O-ring and insure that it does not get pinched.
Hi, In the camera operating manual it's indicated " Place a small piece of electrical tape over the hole in the side of the CCD chamber while you are baking the desiccant plug to keep unwanted dust and moisture out of the chamber. " Antoine
Hi Antoine, Thanks for the reply, but my manual does not mention "electrical tape". That's why I highlighted the section about "supplied bolt or plug". Putting a piece of tape over the hole should work, but I thought I was missing a part. John
Hi John, In fact it's in the STT 8300 operating manual, not the STF. Sure it will work just fine. I generally wrap the dessicant in a cooking aluminium sheet, the time to go from the oven to the observatory. Antoine
I just bought an STT-8300 from a friend. I ended up baking the desiccant plug o-ring. Obviously I need to replace it. Does anyone have a McMaster Carr part number or a specific size and type for the replacement? Many thanks!
