[Paul Haese]

12 month update:

Since doing the conformal coating 12 months ago the camera has generally stayed in operation. There has only be one incident which required repair to one of the boards. It was a small fuse that blew and that fuse enables the filter wheel to be powered. I contacted the SBIG repair tech and he led me to resolving the problem and I fixed it myself. I cleaned off the conformal coating, desoldered the joints and resoldering the fuse. That was a couple of months ago.

I can say that I found no evidence whatsoever of corrosion on the boards or pins whilst doing the recent work. The gold on the contacts was still intact. The fact that the camera is still working after 12 months which, before it struggled to remain operational for greater than 5 months at a time, says a lot to me.

Now beware if you are planning on protecting your camera from corrosion by conformal coating, SBIG will not cover your camera because you have modified your boards and modification is not covered by warranty. I might also remind you that SBIG will not provide warranty for corrosion either. Looks like catch 22. Perhaps the design ought to change.

For me all I wanted right from the start was a camera that would operate for years at a time without problems like my QSI. I wanted the AO tech and the integration of the AO into both camera and software. I think I have got what I wanted albeit I had to do the work myself.

I'll report in another 12 months.