Do not perform the following instructions without approval from a Pollen Sense Technician, doing so may cause irreversible damage to your sensor. Please review the instructions in their entirety before attempting to operate on the sensor.
In order to properly perform the Camera Replacement, you should relocate the sensor to a clean, indoor location where you are free to take it apart and will not lose parts/screws. Do not have the power connected while operating on the sensor. Various hand tools including torx & hex bit screwdrivers, tweezers, and snips are required to complete the following instructions.
Nomenclature
The Controller Board may look slightly different depending on the model of your APS-400 Sensor. This will not cause any issues in the following instructions.
Instructions
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Open the lid of the sensor and remove the media cartridge.
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Close the lid and turn the sensor over to reveal 4 screws holding the base plate and enclosure together. Carefully remove these 4 screws, keeping the lid face down.
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Holding the sensor together, turn it back over so the lid is facing up.
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Open the lid and remove the fan from its mount. Do this by pushing the top rubber pin away from the fan exhaust, then pulling out the right rubber pin.
- Using snips, cut and remove the zip tie holding the fan cable to the lid. Be very careful to ensure you do not accidentally cut the fan cable.
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Place the fan between the Microscope Assembly and Tape Drive Assembly to keep it out of the way for the following steps.
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Remove the ethernet cable from the Controller Board. You may have to shift the enclosure around a bit in order to give it enough room to be removed.
- Slowly lift the enclosure straight up from the base plate and lean it on its side to the left of the base plate. There are still some wires connected to the enclosure, be sure not to damage them when removing.
- Remove the power cable from the Controller board.
- Remove the antenna cable from the Controller Board.
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Set aside the lid and enclosure away from the base plate to give yourself more room to continue operating.
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Remove the Raspberry Pi from the Controller Board. Be very gentle when doing this, the parts holding this together are extremely fragile. It is helpful to use tweezers to pry the Raspberry Pi from behind.
- Turn the base plate to view the back side of the Microscope Assembly. Remove the white cable leading into the camera by first opening the black clip, then pulling the cable straight out of the connector.
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Remove the 4 corner screws holding the camera in the Microscope Assembly and remove the camera. This camera can be discarded as it is no longer functional.
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Turn the base plate to now view the front of the Microscope Assembly. Remove the screw in the mount holding the Controller Board in place.
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Remove the board mount.
- Remove the Controller Board from the board mount towards the rear of the Microscope Assembly. Do so by gently prying the pin of the board mount out of the Controller Board and lifting it up and to the right of the mount. This part is very fragile and can easily break, be extremely careful when performing this operation.
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Lay the Controller Board to the left of the base plate.
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Remove the camera cable from the Controller Board by opening the brown clip, then pulling the cable straight out.
- View the camera cable and determine its type using the guide below. The type of camera cable will determine how to install into the camera when you have reached Step 28.
There are 2 possible types of Camera Cables: Non-Flipped and Flipped. View the images below to differentiate the two
Non-Flipped Camera Cable
Flipped Camera Cable
Blue tabs are on the same side of the cable
Blue tabs are on opposite sides of the cable
- With the camera cable type determined, reinstall into the Controller Board with blue part of the cable facing the brown clip as shown below.
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Reinstall the Controller Board into the rear board mount. The pin on the mount must sit in its designated hole on the Controller Board in order to be mounted correctly. Ensure that none of the wires between the Controller Board and Microscope Assembly are being crushed.
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Reinstall the front board mount removed in Step 16.
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Reinstall the Raspberry Pi onto the Controller Board.
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Replace the thermal foam pad onto the CPU of the Raspberry Pi. This foam pad may have been stuck to the side of the enclosure. If it is no longer present, it must be replaced with another thermal foam pad or thermal paste.
- Remove the tape covering the viewing portal of the camera. Ensure to keep this viewing portal free from any airborne particulate, as it can dirty the camera and render it useless when installed.
- Install the new camera into the rear of the Microscope Assembly using the 4 screws that came with it. Ensure to orientate the camera as shown below.
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Connect the camera cable to the camera as described below based on the type determined in Step 20. Be sure to open the black clip before installing the camera cable and closing the black clip once installed.
Non-Flipped Camera Cable
Flipped Camera Cable
- Ensure both micro SD cards are fully installed in the Controller Board. You may need to press them back in.
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Set the Enclosure on its side and to the left of the Base Plate.
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Attach the power cable to the Controller Board.
- Attach the antenna cable to the Raspberry Pi.
- Lift the Enclosure and gently place it onto the Base Plate. Ensure that all components are within it and that none of the wires are pinched by the walls. View the images below for proper camera cable, power cable, and antenna cable management.
- Reconnect the ethernet cable to the Controller Board.
- Zip tie the fan cable to the small clip next to the fan’s mount. Cut away the excess zip tie.
- Reinstall the fan into its mount by first inserting the right rubber pin, then rotating the fan until the top rubber pin is in place (step 4 in reverse). Ensure the nozzle of the fan is properly seated in the rubber seal of the fan exhaust.
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Close the lid of the sensor and carefully turn it over, keeping all the components together.
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Reinstall the 4 screws removed in step 2. Do so in a crisscross pattern to allow even pressure around the seal of the enclosure.
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Replace the media cartridge.
It is critical that you inform a Pollen Sense Technician that you have completed the reinstall. Once they receive this confirmation from you, you will be sent additional instructions on how to assist in the recalibration process. Recalibrating the sensor is absolutely essential to its function. Failure to do this will likely result in inaccurate data collection.