Opening The Front Cover - Regenerating The Desiccant Plug - SBIG STX Series Operating Manual

Powered USB extenders. Powered extenders such as the Icron Ranger
(www.icron.com) are also commonly available. These extenders require power at one
end of the cable (either end) and will let you operate the camera (or any USB device) up
to 100 meters from the computer.

1.10. Opening the Front Cover - Regenerating the Desiccant Plug

replace the plug in the camera. To gain access to the desiccant plug, remove the front cover by
loosening the eight socket head screws as shown in the picture above. Note the location of the
desiccant plug in the next photo below.
Remove the plug by unscrewing it from the
chamber. You should be able to unscrew it
using your fingers. If time and
temperature have made it too tight, use soft
grip pliers to remove it. Be sure to take off
the o-ring from around the threads before
baking the plug. Place a small piece of
electrical tape over the hole in the side of
the CCD chamber while you are baking the
desiccant plug to keep unwanted dust and
moisture out of the chamber. When you
replace the desiccant plug after baking it,
do not over-tighten it when you screw it
back into the chamber. It should be tightened as much as you can with your fingers only. Don't
forget to replace the o-ring on the plug before re-installing it after baking.
The CCD is housed in a sealed chamber
located inside the front cover of the camera.
The chamber is separate from the large front
and rear cover plates, so that opening the
front or rear cover plates will not expose the
CCD chamber to the environment. The CCD
chamber has a desiccant plug located on one
side to help remove moisture from the air
inside the chamber. If it should become
necessary to recharge the desiccant due to
excess moisture or frosting in the chamber, it
is a simple matter to remove the desiccant
plug, bake it in a conventional oven at 350
degrees F (175 degrees C) for 4 hours and
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