Sansui TU-717 Dial Lamp Fix...Cheap and Easy!

[kico]

I know this has been discussed here before (reading the posts), so I was thinking maybe a twin lead bulb...then threading the leads through the rubber mounting piece which plugs onto the lamp pins in the tuner. I also posted this over at AK.

Here's the the solution:

I found the 8V 300mA bulbs here:

Lamps for Vintage Stereo Equipment

(Bottom of page) I used the wedge type.

If you look closely at the "U" shaped folded contacts, you can see which end of the contact goes to the filament and which end dead ends in the glass. Snip the dead-end end of both contacts (very close to the bulb) and unfold the contacts which results in a wire about 5/8" long. You can then remove the old bulb by pulling the wires out of the contact holes in the rubber base with needle nose pliers, slip in the modded lamps and push the contact wires back into the base contact holes.

They end up being just a wee bit taller but the voltage, current and brightness is dead on. No soldering, no drilling to install screw sockets, no-muss or fuss. Installs just like the originals and it's not an expensive fix.

This should work on other models too, like the TU-517.

Cheers,
Kico
__________________

[Trouts10]

Hey, Kico

This is a GREAT solution! I tried this on a 717 I just picked up though eBay that had all of its 4 lights burnt out. The whole process only took about 60 minutes. The service from Vintage Electronics was fast and professional, so thanks for that link, too. Wondering if anyone has a solution or source for the blue plastic tubes that surround the bulbs? Mine are scorched and faded, and really aren't giving off any blue glow at all.

Best,

Richard
"Trouts10"

[coolmaster]

If I'm not mistaken these same lamp bulbs are used in many 80's Japanese car speedometer cluster instrumentation. Many of these are with those plastic or vinyl color caps. Perhaps these could be available at parts pulls from written off Japanese cars.

[DigitalJunkie]

I replaced the lamps in mine with some small white LED's. I wired the LED's anti-parallel,and used a suitable resistor in series. Looks great,and been going strong for about a year now. The light isn't as 'warm' as the bulbs,it's kind of a 'cool' gray color,but I like it.
There's a few (blurry) pics here.. TU-717 LED's

[claudeb960]

any idea where I can find out the other types of lamps such as for the meters in the TU-717? Thanks for any help!

[ODougbo]

All this talk about Sansui, I dug my old 7070 Receiver out of a dusty wood shop and cleaned it up. I bought it new in 76, and haven't used it in 20 years.

It works fine, better than I remember, it's nice with the full range speakers and the triple tone control.

Q. Will any of these lamps work on a 7070, there are a few out along the top.

[musicgioni]

Originally Posted by DigitalJunkie

I replaced the lamps in mine with some small white LED's. I wired the LED's anti-parallel,and used a suitable resistor in series. Looks great,and been going strong for about a year now. The light isn't as 'warm' as the bulbs,it's kind of a 'cool' gray color,but I like it.
There's a few (blurry) pics here.. TU-717 LED's

Man I have never heard the term "anti-parallel" do you mean in series maybe? What type of LEDs did you use? I have be toying with the idea of replacing lamps with LEDs in my vintage equipment but have not done so yet.

[kevinkr]

Originally Posted by musicgioni

Man I have never heard the term "anti-parallel" do you mean in series maybe? What type of LEDs did you use? I have be toying with the idea of replacing lamps with LEDs in my vintage equipment but have not done so yet.

Anti-parallel is a very common usage, it means placing the LEDs in parallel but with one reversed relative to the other so that each led conducts on the opposite half cycle - saves a clamp diode as LEDs do not like to be reverse biased by more than a certain number of volts which is usually significantly lower than the peak value of the AC on the lighting circuit.