my camera always had a start up noise which I always thought was normal I had it for many years, now it just started to make a terrible noise on start up, hard to describe, best example I can give is that something like a motor is bound up trying to start, it last a few seconds, after that the noise is gone the fan works, and so does the filter wheel, and it takes pictures, anything to check? Regards, Mike
Can you check and see if there is dust build up on the fan blades? Probably not a bad idea to blow out the fan area anyway. Steve
Hi Mike, As mentioned - it could be the fan's bearings are either dirty, or now worn out, so it is sluggish to start, and eventually after some vibration, it gets itself unstuck and speeds up. Or, some of the internal wires have somehow gotten too close to the propeller. Also, examine the fan cavity, in case something - a bug or other particle - is jammed between the heatsink and the fan prop. That happened recently in mine, but the stuck dead bug didn't cause any fan noise. This examination and blow-out of the fan blades is an easy first test, since you don't need to remove the camera from the scope. Another possibility is that the internal filter wheel "friction drive motor assembly", has become "wobbly" and is jamming at a slight angle against the wheel rim, during camera initialization. The tiny stepper motor might be chattering, trying to get going. My STL-11000 (same body), had this wobble problem, though it wasn't nearly so bad as to be noisy - but the wheel had variable and inconsistent spin rates, as indicated in test numbers, using the CCDOPS filter wheel exerciser. I tightened the "pivot screw" to the front cover, which carries the tangential "spring arm" with its stepper motor, and it has been spinning smoothly ever since. It "might be" a similar situation in yours. An easy test on the workbench, would be to remove the front panel with its filter wheel, and see if the camera starts up quietly this time. Hope that works, as I don't know if the firmware would insist on the filter wheel motor actually being connected to the body. But it could eliminate the filter wheel and its motor as the source of the startup noise problem. I realize this could be a bit of a stretch, but certainly would eliminate one of the possibilities, as there are no other "mechanical" sources of vibration. Joe Z.
Joe, It is the filter wheel and its wobblie, after I took the cover off and examined it it stopped making the noise, so as you mentioned jay tighten the pivot nut? Mike
Hi Mike, I didn't realize you had the optional External Filter Wheel (FW8). My filter wheel problems were with the STL internal FW5, but I think the fix applies to either one. Glad you seemed to have isolated the noise to the motor pivot arm. I hope you have tightened the hex pivot screw by now. Just make it "snug", don't tighten with too much force, or you might strip the threaded hole in the cover. Not to worry - an easy 5 second task with a small hex wrench. Let us know if the noise is really gone, after you re-assemble the cover. If that pivot tightening doesn't fix it - check the pivot screw in the center of the wheel itself. Snugging that one can sometimes be somewhat tricky, since the wheel may not turn smoothly, if too tight, or perhaps wobble, if too loose. Hopefully that one is fine for now. Really, it would be wise for all STL owners to quick check the internal FW motor pivot wobble, whenever they have the cover off for filter cleaning - as well as cleaning the rubber O-Ring and rubber capstan wheel on the pivot. The latter can perhaps get polished and slippery after miles of rubbing. That little pivot arm assemble gets a lot of work over the years, and can "gradually" loosen its cover screw. The same holds true for the optional FW8 external filter wheel, as it gets an even greater workout with its larger wheel. Finally, as I suggested, run that CCDOPS "filter wheel exerciser", and click on the option for continuous "sequential position" testing - then again the randomized positions. With the spring pivot arm now snug tight, the numbers in the report should be identical from filter to filter, and likewise larger but similarly repetitive in the randomized filter selections. It's a great quick & easy test, and has the added benefit that with the filter wheel in such "constant motion" during the test, it will allow you to "listen for the old noise", as you watch the "timing" numbers. That's much easier than selecting a filter position manually, one at a time, from the CCDOPS (or other) menu bar. Good luck, Joe Z.
