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Whew...what a rush. It worked, and I couldn't be happier. I'm still on a bit of a high after putting it all back together and finding that it actually worked!
My D40 IR filter arrived from LifePixel today. I have previously only had experience dissecting a Nikon D70. That was pretty easy and straightforward. There were only a few ribbon cables, and no de-soldering involved. I had some hesitation about doing my D40 the same way after discovering that there would be some soldering/de-soldering involved.
I debated about getting a D70s (I sold the first conversion I did, last year. Yes, I missed it enough, I wanted another IR camera). However, there is some inherent noise that creeps in even at low ISO's, so I wanted a model that would handle noise pretty well. D50's are scarce, so I decided on a tried and true D40. I actually have an unmodified D40 as my travel cam and backup to my D300. So, I picked up a used D40 last week, which has been waiting patiently for the arrival of the new LifePixel IR filter. I chose the normal filter...not one of the enhanced filters. I have had good experience using the original, and I like to do false color as well as B/W IR.
So...now on with the pics...
I assembled my screwdrivers, soldering iron, tweezers, and sensor cleaner and got to work.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289459_e6SzM-XL.jpg
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289493_xYoV4-XL.jpg
remove all of the screws from the bottom and the bottom of the lens mount.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289532_j3mDx-XL.jpg
There is also a screw hidden in the battery compartment.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289552_5NDho-XL.jpg
Leave this intact. Do not remove anymore screws after removing the bottom plate.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289582_mhVZf-XL.jpg
Remove 6 more screws: Two from each side (SD slot area and USB side), and two on either side of the viewfinder. Gently pull the back away, and disconnect the LCD ribbon cable.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289689_SJ4aH-XL.jpg
The LCD cable is the one in the middle. Do not jerk the cable from its housing. Use a screwdriver, or sharp pointed object to gently flip the retention bar up, releasing the cable.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289731_Unrgn-XL.jpg
Seven ribbon cables to disconnect, and one large white cable, hidden under the PCB near the top four ribbon cables.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289779_6KxgV-XL.jpg
Now, before unscrewing the PCB from the camera, you must de-solder this pink wire. I touched the hot soldering iron to the blob, and it came free with no mess.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289870_q7gfa-XL.jpg
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289912_3N8U9-XL.jpg
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355290059_4LWBz-XL.jpg
Everything is unseated, and the PCB is ready to be unscrewed to reveal....
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355289998_QEucw-XL.jpg
...the back of the sensor board. Almost there...hang tight....not too much farther!
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355290103_d4n7x-XL.jpg
Three screws hold this baby down. Unscrew them and pull it out. How many here have seen the backside of their shutter curtain?
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355290189_XubsD-XL.jpg
The heart of the image.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355290226_xYrrf-XL.jpg
Two screws hold the spring loaded tension frame. Remove them, lift off the mount and gently lift off the black gasket.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355290262_zXyKQ-XL.jpg
AntiAliasing filter removed (thats the aqua colored filter), the sensor is covered by a Pecpad. I took this moment to clean the dark InfraRed filter with Eclipse fluid and PecPad.
I hope it's clean...no way to know really, until tomorrow. We'll see 
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355290289_FRP6s-XL.jpg
Gently set the InfraRed filter into the rubberized gasket seat over the sensor.
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355290320_Z5dLc-XL.jpg
Re-assemble the whole thing in reverse order. Lather. Rinse. Repeat as desired.
Some tips....
My big sausage fingers needed some delicate tweezers to re-seat the ribbon cables. I found that they re-seated rather easily and that the retention bars secured them just like it came from the factory. I do not recall the ribbon cables going back very smoothly in my D70 conversion....so this was a nice surprise.
Everything goes back together rather nicely, and certainly much quicker than the dis-assembly went. I popped in an SD card, a fresh battery, powered it up and fired off the shutter release. My hard work was rewarded with a functional menu screen and a decidedly pink picture!
Success!
http://jbsteinke.smugmug.com/photos/355290414_BJNBW-XL.jpg
Let's see how this baby handles tomorrow in the daylight! Stay tuned!
NOTE: I was lucky enough not to pop myself with the flash capacitor....be careful. I have no tips on how to avoid the flash capacitor, because I do not know where it is located on this camera. It wasn't evident to me, and I was lucky to not get a nasty shock. It probably goes without saying that you shouldn't try this if you have a weak heart or a pacemaker. Please be careful! The cap retains a charge despite the battery being removed.
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I've upped my ISO, now up yours.
Edited on Aug 19, 2008 at 10:20 PM
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