The LPI Light Leakage Page

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Even if you don't take pictures in the day time then you still need to read this article as it extends to night time photography as well. See the note at the end.

Meade's LPI Light Leakage Problem:

Meade never intended their products to be used in the day time (according to a customer service representative I spoke with in March of 2005). Even though their manuals indicate that you can use their equipment on terrestrial objects in the day time they don't warranty their equipment for day time use or problems thereof.

This came as quite a shock to me as I generally check for sun spots in the day time and there are times when I like to photograph the moon and bright planets late in the day to get the blue sky as back ground.

Meade's LPI camera is very easy to use and aside from its lack of sensitivity (compared to my Sony Exview Super Had color camera) it does a great job at photographing things that fall within its light grasp. However, I noticed that my sun spot photographs were all rather washed out and I had to do a lot of extra processing to get a decent final image. (The image to the right was taken on May 5, 2005 - Before this Modification was made to my LPI camera.)

One day I was inside my house and had the LPI camera connected to see how well it took pictures in the house. I cut the lights out and only had a single small light on, as I wanted to see how well it did in dim light. I had the light so dim that I was having a hard time seeing things myself (so was the LPI camera) so I turned on my flash light so I could get a better look.

Right away I noticed the monitor image brightened up. I thought it was due to the light falling on the object I had the LPI pointed at, but it wasn't... What had happened was that while I was moving the light about the flash light beam hit the LPI camera.

To check this out I shinned the light right on the back of the LPI camera. Right away I saw the image on the monitor brighten up (in a washed out sort of way). So I put the lens cap on the camera and made sure it was tight and shinned the light on the LPI camera again. The very same thing happened.

So I took the camera apart and much to my surprise the black case back was translucent...

I made a few more tests and found that the light from the Red LED (inside the camera to let you know there is power going to the camera) was also getting to the CCD chip. The light from the Red LED was getting to the CCD chip through the back of the green circuit board...

The fix was a fairly simple one, in theory anyway.

First you need to take the back case off of the LPI camera. There are just two small Phillips screws (#0) that hold the back side case to the front side of the case. These two screws are located on the front side. One in the upper right corner (when looking at the front of the camera), and the other is in the bottom left corner of the case.

After you get the case apart stop your dissembly there!!! Resist the temptation to take the two small screws in the circuit board off. As this will allow you to remove the circuit board and expose the CCD chip.

If you do take the circuit board off you could get a speck of dirt/dust on the face plate of the CCD chip. If this happens all of your pictures, from then on, would have a small dark spot(s) that would look terrible in all of your pictures.

If you do remove the circuit board you need to inspect the front plate of the CCD chip under a strong light, BEFORE you fasten the circuit board back, to be sure that nothing got on the face plate. If you can see anything no matter how small then it needs to be cleaned off prior to reassembly. DO NOT Use cleaning fluids or Windex. Do not touch the face plate with your finger!. Do not use kleenex (they have oil in them to keep them soft). Use a new small very soft artist paint brush - one that you have not touched the bristles with your fingers.

The dirt that sticks to the CCD's face plate is so small that it clings due to molecular attraction - it is generally not charged. A soft paint brush will wipe it off but don't use a lot of pressure when you wipe the face plate.

The front piece of the camera was actually black and didn't let any light in, so we only have to worry about the back case and the circuit board. The back cover piece of the case was translucent, so it needed to be made non-translucent. I accomplished this by painting the entire inside of the back case with Flat Black Paint. I purchased a small bottle of this paint from Wal-Mart in their hobby section.

A very important note: When you paint the inside of the back case you need to leave a small area unpainted so you will be able to see the Red LED (when the power is on) and the camera has been re-assembled. Look at the picture to the right for where this small unpainted spot needs to be.

Then cover the backside of the CCD circuit board with black plastic electrical tape. The purpose here is to keep any light that gets in the small unpainted area, as well as the light from the Red LED, from getting to the CCD chip.

Lastly, dab some of the flat black paint on the underside of the LED (NOT the Front end of the LED - as this is the end that will shine through the little un-painted hole in the case so you can see there is power on) and lastly dab some black paint on the two LED wires, going to the circuit board, and put a small piece of black electrical tape right under the LED.

When you are finished your two parts should look like the picture to the right.

After all of the paint has dried - I would wait at least 12 hours - you are ready to put your LPI camera together again. The assembly is just the reverse of the disassembly. There are only two small Phillips screws that hold the case together.

Now, that I have made my LPI camera light tight I get much better sun spot images. The picture to the right was taken on May 12, 2005. Both of these pictures of the sun are the original untouched images and were taken with my Celestron C-8 (8") telescope.

NOTE: Even if you don't take day time pictures you may need this modification anyway. I noticed that when I am out at night I can't see very well so I use a flash light to look around. If you inadvertently shine your flask light (a red filtered one especially as this CMOS camera is especially sensitive to red light) while you are taking photographs using your LPI camera, the light can get into your picture and will reduce their contrast at the very least.

Disclaimer:

This modification is for Meade's LPI CCD Camera ONLY!. These modifications are not intended to be used with other cameras, although other cameras may also suffer from the same problem.

We/I will not be responsible for any problems that arise from anyone using the information provided herein. While we have taken great care to ensure that everything set out here is accurate, we will not share in any responsibility for any damage(s) that may result if this information is used in any way.