Doug I am setting up a scope in a very remote location. AOX will not calibrate - opened up the unit and the AO window had fallen out (yes, it was transported with the foam padding). How is this window fixed? I can see there is glue in 4 locations that align with the support tabs in the AO frame. Is this just pushed in or does it need glueing? This is a new unit!!!! Please advise as soon as possible. Thanks Martin
The window is attached with high quality RTV in four spots. Normally this works extremely well - it's a very common mounting method for optics. We had one other failure on this batch, and we came to the conclusion that there was something about the anodized finish on the part that was affecting the RTV bonding. I believe the machine shop used a different anodizing supplier for the batch. The solution was to very lightly sand the surface where the RTV goes, and then it bonded properly. We discovered that very early in the batch but it sounds like a second one slipped through before we caught it. Very sorry about that. I know you're pretty handy with things - you can probably fix it yourself as long as the glass is not damaged. Just lightly sand the metal with fine sandpaper, insert the glass, and put in some RTV with a needle. Of course we're happy to fix it if you want to send it back. (We'll do that even if you attempt repairs yourself and fail.)
Great. I am in the Chilean mountains so lets hope I can get some RTV as its 3 hours to the nearest town.
Doug The only products I can get my hands on at this remote location are Super Glue, Silicon Sealant, Polyurethane Adhesive. Will any of these do the job sufficiently? Martin
Doug the repair I made on site seems to have failed last night. I now have to spend over $2000USD to get to the remote site with a replacement AOX. This, together with the AO unit you sent me completely un-anodized is the last straw for me. I have bought SBIG products since 2001..no longer. Martin
Martin, Sorry for the problems. We're doing our best but people do make mistakes from time to time. Is there anything we can do to assist? Doug
Do you know what serial numbers were affected by this issue? I want to make sure the replacement unit I will be taking is not going to go the same way. And perhaps you can compensate me for the enormous costs I am going to incur to replace it. Martin
We do track the parts batches used for each build - it's part of our transition to ISO 9001. There were several units that were built with the defective parts from that batch. They've been pulled and rebuilt. We've done a new batch of AO-X since then, and all the units on the shelf have good parts. We've also introduced a new assembly procedure to ensure proper adhesion of the optical window.
I cannot believe my luck. I am back in Chile, and brought with me the AOX I purchased from you a few months ago. I have not used it until now. My intent was to replace the one on the scope, the one mentioned above. I replaced the AO and tested tonight. The calibration result in X is about half of that in Y and during the guiding the guide error in X quickly grows, while the X tilt remains at 0. Tried it CCDOps, same result. Nothing else has changed except the unit, and all parameters are the same as with the previous unit, so this SHOULD perform very similar. Agin, I need urgent advice and I dont really want to put the old unit back AO if I can avoid it. i can also add that when exercising the AO is far noisier than the other 2 units I own. plus, when my camera PA is a something like 0 or 180, the AO calibration result is typically 90 degrees offset from the mount calibration, this unit produces a calibaration result that is identical to the mount calibration. I have never seen this before Martin
Good morning Martin - Serial number of the unit(s) we're talking about? Version of MaxIm you are running?
AOX181201 Not using Maxim. Using SkyX and CCDOPS. Again, the only thing that has changed is the physical unit.
I cant Tim, not at this point. I dont have long left at the obs so have put the original unit back on so that I can progress the work i have to do before leaving. I will take it back to Australia with me. All I can say is that repeated calibrations gave the same result, and during guiding X tilt remained at 0, the wander value got very large as did the guide error.
Tim As mentioned I have put the original AOX back on the scope and all is well - calibration and guiding performing as expected. so what are next steps with this unit - RMA? thanks Martin
Yes, there is nothing we can do remotely. You can contact @Bill Lynch, and he can get you setup with return details: ------------ Bill Lynch – SBIG Service & Repair Center 3769 Constellation Road, Unit D Lompoc, CA 93436 Bill Lynch – bill at sbig dot com Phone: (805) 308-6979 Note: Please contact our authorized service & repair center for an RMA number prior to returning your equipment. ------------
