In case you may be interested, LEDs are a current device . While they do have a forward drop of about 3V, care must be taken not to exceed the current limit, which is usually around 20-30 MA.. You could just get by adding a series ballast resistor at the socket if you have room. Also , if the power is AC, add a series blocking diode, LEDs will not tollerate too much reverse voltage. I think Vr is only about 5 volts.

For retro fit LED and best illumination, the "flat top" LEDs are the best, having a wider dispersion pattern than the standard shape..

On Sunday, February 2, 2025 at 11:55:52 AM EST, Daniel Jones <[email protected]> wrote:

Good Morning,

I am working on a solution for the R1051 dial lamp issue (Early models that need the bulb replaced from the back not on the front). The Manufacturing of these bulbs has stopped pushing the prices on auction sites to $50 each (Not great for a bulb that doesn’t last long).

I have found a solution of replacing the bulb in an old burned out socket with a warm white LED and changing out the resistors on the power supply PCB to lower the voltage to 3v. I have been running a test on one that I created on the bench and it has been running for couple weeks nonstop at 28v.

I figure this mod should cost roughly .50 in parts and about 15 minutes of my time to create the bulb and another 15 minutes to swap the resistors on the PCB. I am not ready to call it perfect yet and tell people I will fix their bulbs also, I need to do a couple more to perfect the method so you wouldn’t get shoddy work back.

Needless to say I need your burned out bulbs and if anyone has a pile of them and is willing to send me a few I would be grateful. This could solve a problem for all of us that have R1051s/T827 ect…

Thanks,

Daniel

Daniel Jones (K6YIC)
[email protected]
http://K6YIC.com

HH Phone #11973

SKCC#28598

CCA# AC20-13565

______________________________________________________________
MRCA mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/mrca
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[email protected]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html