383L+ mono streaked dark frames

[jbalsam]

Hello -

I just purchased a used 383L+ mono camera, and the dark frames it is producing look strange to me given any/all previous experience I've had with CCD cameras. It looks like the warm/hot pixels are being streaked to the left side of the frame, like they are bleeding into their nearest four or five neighbors.  I have included a 100% stretched crop of a 5min dark frame.

Can anyone tell me if this is normal for this camera, or if this is a known problem with a known fix? I have only had the camera for about 12 hours, and the previous owner recorded the same odd looking darks. I haven't had the chance to do any actual imaging, so I don't know if it poses a problem.

[Lex]

Hi,

Indeed; this is strange? At what voltage are you running your Cam?
Are there no Fans or heaters connected to the same powersource than your camera is connected to?
What about internal humidity; where the desiccant plugs already replaced?

Best

[jbalsam]

Hey Lex, thanks for the response. An Atik staff member replied to me email inquiry and suggested I check the input voltage, and if it's low try something else between 12-13.8V. My supply was outputting slightly less than 12v (11.95), so I connected the camera to a regulated variable DC power supply set to 12.5V and then increased to 13.2V. The problem never entirely vanishes (warm/hot pixels are still smearing slightly), but it is very greatly reduced. Now instead of 6 or 7 pixels of smear, it's only 2 or 3.

Voltage comparison here:


While this is better, it's still not what I had expected. I do not know if the camera is still under warranty or not.

[Lex]

Hi,

I think if you go up to 13.8 the problem should fade out totally, give it a try.
13.8V nevertheless is the maximum voltage!!

[jbalsam]

I tried 13.8V, but it looks the same as the 13.2V example. Thanks for the idea. I think it's an electronics issue. I imagine the Atik service folks will weigh in on Monday with what they think.

[Lex]

Other suspect in the chain,
What length is your USB cable, isn't it over 1.8m? If yes try to interstate a powered hub?

[jbalsam]

Hmmm... interesting. I hadn't thought about that. The USB that I am using is definitely longer than 1.8m (probably almost 3m). The only other one I have handy at the moment looks to be just less than 1.8m (I'm 6'1" and it's about 3" shorter than I am).

Just tried using the shorter USB. Still seeing images that look like the 12.5V or 13.2V images above. Oh well... thanks for the idea!