57 replies to this topic

[cytan299]

Hi guys,

   I''ve been collecting ZWO serial numbers to try to narrow down the ASI2600MC's that have the oil leak problem (see this topic: https://www.cloudyni...or-others-also/) Thanks to fellow ASI2600MC and ZWO users, I have made the following table:

 

 

As you can see from the above, the tail end of the serial # always ends as "0900" (in columns G & H) which I think is the ZWO ID.

The others are speculative on my part:

1. Column F: Year of manufacture:
   1. "00" denotes year 2020
   2. "09" denotes year 2019
   3. "08" denotes year 2018
2. Column E: Week of manufacture?
3. Column D: the data that I have have these numbers from 0x00 to 0x0F.
   1. Is "0" a separator? But what's the lower 4 bits?
4. Columns A to C are random numbers in hex. These form the random serial number of each camera.

What I don't see embedded in the serial #:

1. Checksum
2. Camera model

Note that I only have 1 contribution that has a confirmed oil leak. So, if I have more data, we can actually narrow down which cameras have the oil leak problem. Right now it looks like the 2019 batch of 2600MC's has the oil leak problem.

 

If you're interested in this exercise, please PM me your serial #, date of purchase and whether you have an oil leak or not. I'm really interested if you have an oil leak problem, but having serial #'s without the problem is very useful as well.  I'll post when I have more data.

 

Thanks!

 

cytan

Edited by cytan299, 28 November 2021 - 04:02 PM.

[happylimpet]

May or may not be useful, but my ASI1600MM from 2016 has the oil leak problem.

[rockstarbill]

Take 2600MC out of the title. It's clear that is not the only camera affected.

[TelescopeGreg]

My ASI2600MC Pro does NOT (yet?) have the oil problem.  Purchased mid-August 2020 from High Point Scientific.

 

S/N is xx xx xx 08 1b 09 09 00

 

So, a 08 for the "D" column.  No clue on purpose.  Note the similar purchase date as the one with the highlighted comment in your table, also with a 2019 date, but different D column (08 vs 06) and slightly different week (1B vs 1F).

 

Interesting / surprising / odd(?) that the camera would have been just over a year old from manufacture to sale (1B 09 would be wk 29 of 2019), if the field decoding is correct.  For a product that was in short supply at the time, this seems odd.  Flag waving in the back of the mind on this one...  Isn't FIFO management of inventory a standard practice?

 

It would be interesting to see the S/N of a recent camera, one that has been confirmed by ZWO as being manufactured after their claimed "fix" having been implemented.  Perhaps one of the fields might be / include a revision code, or place of manufacture?

[scopewizard]

Remember that the oil is from the thermal pad which is behind the sensor. Store your camera with the sensor up at all times. Hopefully this will greatly reduce the possibility of oil dripping down on it.

Also keep it away from the heat or sunshine. Storing it in the backseat on a summer sunny day is not recommended.

A little care can go a long way to avoid the issue.

[rockstarbill]

Remember that the oil is from the thermal pad which is behind the sensor. Store your camera with the sensor up at all times. Hopefully this will greatly reduce the possibility of oil dripping down on it.
Also keep it away from the heat or sunshine. Storing it in the backseat on a summer sunny day is not recommended.
A little care can go a long way to avoid the issue.

Is there evidence this has any impact at all?

[RazvanUnderStars]

This would be unusual for telescopes in a fixed observatory - for the time when they are not in use (which is most of the time due to daylight and clouds) telescopes are not typically parked pointing to the zenith AFAIK.

 

 

Store your camera with the sensor up at all times. 

[cytan299]

Here's what I have up to this point:

 

 

It may be that the bad batch has 1F-09 in the serial number. I need more leaky camera serial numbers to confirm ...

 

cytan

[happylimpet]

if you go on the zwo facebook page you'll see people with this with different cameras going back years.

[Wow!]

Here's some data from a camera that has had the problem

 

S/N is xx xx xx 02 24 00 09 00

 

2600MC purchased earlier this year around March I think.

[Hogarth]

My SN of my 2600MC is xx-xx-xx 09 16 00 09 00

 

purchased Mar 2021

 

had no oil leaks issues to date 

[cytan299]

Here’s the latest

 

 

It looks like even the *- 02-24-* production can have an oil leak. Perhaps it depends on the batch, having serial numbers that start with 1c-xx-d4 in that batch. However, there’s not enough data for this conclusion. So, if you have a camera that leaks please PM me.

 

Thanks!

 

cytan

[Robinodavo]

Hi All,

 

ASI2600MC bought november 2021

 

SN: 2e2a880f 28 00 09 00

 

no leaks yet.

[cytan299]

Here's the latest:

 

 

cytan

 

 

[sandybourne]

I have just PM you with all my leaky camera details, purchased 4/20/20 ,hope it will assist..

Edited by sandybourne, 08 December 2021 - 12:31 PM.

[njrusty]

Will obtain my serial number and forward.  Purchased directly from ZWO last October.  No leaks yet, kept in observatory.

[MikeCrapo]

This is a problem with all 2600 MC and MM cameras. He camera overheats after it has been cooling hard and it is turned off. I don’t see why you need serial numbers.

Mike

[cytan299]

This is a problem with all 2600 MC and MM cameras. He camera overheats after it has been cooling hard and it is turned off. I don’t see why you need serial numbers.

Mike

There have been claims that ZWO says that the problem has been fixed:

 

https://www.cloudyni...lso/?p=11520229

 

https://www.cloudyni...lso/?p=11519818

 

 

But ZWO doesn't give out serial #'s of cameras that have the problem fixed. It may be a fool's errand, but it's interesting for me to discover whether the claim is true or not. And also to help people identify which cameras have potential leak problem *if* there are indeed cameras that are fixed.

 

With more serial numbers, I think there may actually be a pattern emerging. I'll post later tonight.

 

cytan

Edited by cytan299, 08 December 2021 - 04:56 PM.

[cytan299]

Hi guys,

  Here's the latest:

 

 

Pure speculation here:

 

If you stare long enough at the spreadsheet, it would seem that if your serial # has a 09 in column F, then your camera probably will leak oil at some point.

If your serial # has a 00 in column F and > 24 in column E, it's possible it came from the rumored repaired batch.

 

As usual YMMV and my speculation can be completely wrong. But I'll still need more data.

 

cytan

[OldManSky]

Cytan, another data point:

 

ASI2600MC-Pro.  Serial # 0a2bce0224000900

No leak issues.

[cytan299]

Cytan, another data point:

 

ASI2600MC-Pro.  Serial # 0a2bce0224000900

No leak issues.

Thanks! I'll post an update tonight. I think the data is pointing to when the pad update happened ... 

 

cytan

[TelescopeGreg]

Thanks! I'll post an update tonight. I think the data is pointing to when the pad update happened ... 

 

cytan

"The pad update" may not be singular.  Could there have been an initial batch that were fine, then a manufacturing change which caused the problem, then "The Fix" that was highlighted in the Tweet?  What is your analysis showing?

[cytan299]

Hi guys,

   I'm going to stick my neck out

 

 

PURE SPECULATION:

 

I've divided my data set with a double horizontal line to separate the data into two sets. I believe with the data that I have (very sparse), that cameras which have the leak fixed have:

1. Column F = 00
2. Column E >= 24
3. Column C <= ce

The above is utter and pure speculation. It's probably garbage but that's all I have right now.

 

If somebody who has a camera that satisfies conditions 1 to 3 and leaks oil, I'd like to know about it.

 

As for whether there are any cameras that don't leak below the double line, i.e. there were good cameras, then bad cameras and then good cameras again, I don't have enough data to show this. I barely have enough data to present my hypothesis

 

cytan

Edited by cytan299, 09 December 2021 - 09:25 PM.

[TelescopeGreg]

Thanks, Cytan.  I have one of the two cameras with an August 2020 purchase date (2019 mfg week 1B, which seems odd to have been sitting on the shelf for so long).  Mine has not leaked.  The other August camera, 2019 week 1F, did .

 

Not sure if I should be worried, but fingers are crossed regardless.

[OldManSky]

As for whether there are any cameras that don't leak below the double line, i.e. there were good cameras, then bad cameras and then good cameras again, I don't have enough data to show this. I barely have enough data to present my hypothesis

 

Nonetheless, I applaud the effort to collect and understand the data!  Thank you.