ZWO Camera Repairs

[Saturnine (Jeff)]

Hi All, a question for all you imagers out there that may have had issues with your ZWO camera(s). Has anyone sent their faulty camera back to ZWO in China and how was the experience and the repair charges. I have an 294MC Pro that I bought off the classifieds here a few years ago and it has worked fine until earlier this year when it decided that it didn't want to output any images to my laptop.
I have tried the basic fault finding by using several different USB3 cables, plugged into 2 different laptops running both Sharpcap and NINA capture software and get the same problem with any of the configurations. When the camera is plugged in , it is recognised by the software and all the camera controls are able to be changed such as temperature or capture format, TIFF, AVI, SER , exposure times etc.
Obviously it seems to be a problem with the imaging chip or associated electronics and it has been suggested to me by a local telescope supplier that with the probable nature of the problem and to send it back to China, the repair and handling fees and postage could be up to $1k. Has anyone had similar issues and were they resolved or is there someone in Aust. that can fault find and repair, though that may involve trying to source parts from China, that they may not wish to sell to 3rd parties
If the repair costs are going to in the region suggested , then the camera is not worth the costs involved. It would be most frustrating if it ended up as an expensive paper weight.
Any help would be most appreciated .

Jeff

[Saturnine (Jeff)]

Lots of looks (bots !) but no replies, which suggests that no one has had to send a camera to ZWO for out of warranty repairs. Would love to hear of any ones' experiences if they have had to.

[wasyoungonce (Brendan)]

Jeff I’ve looked at cameras and they are a hell hole of pain unless you have diagrams. Yes they can be reverse engineered but that will take 1-2weeks to make PCB CAD drawings.

Then some use USB controllers that have firmware that there is no way you can get from the OEM. Let alone their main controllers and their firmware/bootloader! Then there is the issue of parts. You require them on hand.

It’s unusual the sensor goes bad. I’d suspect the USB controller. Most likely a USB host hub IC with firmware.

My voyages into camera repairs is short and unhappy. Sorry. Unless the repairer has the diagrams and firmwares….? You may get lucky in that it’s a minor item.