Replacement lamps for vintage audio

In sci.electronics.repair Mark D. Zacharias wrote: : Been having bad luck lately with lamps from MCM and the like.

: Anyone know a good source for high quality bi-pin, fuse-lamps, screw-base, : wedge-base lamps, etc?

: 6v, 8v, 12v mainly.

: Thanks, : Mark Z.

Why not goodle "fuse lamps stereo" or somethin'?

is one hit I got when I did it.

b.

**Not that it is any help to you, but these guys:

Have an excellent range of lamps (and other service related stuff). Section

2 is what you need. As an Australian company, supply may be difficult, but I will assist, if your order is a reasonable size.

BTW: I have been enjoying a fair degree of success using LumiledsT for backlighting old receivers. Particularly old Marantz units. Blue LEDs are vastly more efficient than incandescent for this purpose. The LumiledsT have an excellent light spread and can light up a receiver's dial with minimal LEDs and minimal power consumption. White LEDs are useful for other units.

--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

Mark D. Zacharias spake thus:

I was able to find some of them little "hot dog" bulbs (for a Marantz receiver) right here in Berkeley at my favorite electronics store, Al Lasher Electronics

They were 16 volts, I think.

Dunno if this will do you any good, as I'm not sure they do mail order (but it may be worth checking), but I wanted to point out that there are still a (very) few *real* electronics stores. This place has been around since the 1940s, has tons of old stuff, and is as far from a Radio Shack as is possible.

--
Pierre, mon ami. Jetez encore un Scientologiste
dans le baquet d'acide.

- from a posting in alt.religion.scientology titled
"France recommends dissolving Scientologists"

**Old Marantz recievers were 8 Volt 200mA. Blue Lumileds are a MUCH better choice. They last forever, consume far less power (around 15mA is plenty) and look way cool.

--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

How exactly does that work with the LED's? Does one mount them using the old lamp as a form? Do they require limiting resistors? Perhaps I should just buy a few and experiment, eh?

Mark Z.

Resistors required. Diodes not required but will help dissapation if on AC. You will have to experiment to get the mounting and diffusion.

greg

GregS spake thus:

That's too bad, because the Marantz lamps are actually little fuses. It would be nice if there were a snap-in replacement for them, complete with resistor. As it is, it would be pretty difficult to put in a LED and resistor without some pretty ugly jury-rigging.

(And yes, they are 8 volts.)

--
Pierre, mon ami. Jetez encore un Scientologiste
dans le baquet d'acide.

- from a posting in alt.religion.scientology titled
"France recommends dissolving Scientologists"

All Electronics carries fuse-lamps.

I have used LED's -- suggest this -- you can get the surface mount variety and mount several in series such that the forward voltage drop approximates the voltage available, then use a resistor to limit current -- the SMT devices can be attached to a rod of plexiglas -- they will last thousands of hours if you limit the current to a few ma.

I have seen LED replacements for Marantz fuse lamps on eBay at 5.99 / ea. plus freight. The pics don't really answer the question of how they are built.

Mark Z.

Do a google search for Apex (surplus?) electronics in sun valley california..... they have almost any archive electronic item you can dream of

dnw