[TenTec] LED replacements for 238 Tuner and other equipment

[Ron Castro]

About a year ago I decided it was time to change the incandescent pilot bulbs in my 238 tuner to LED's since the old bulbs kept burning out.  My first stab at it was with a direct plug in replacement that used only one single LED element.  The results were disappointing.  I could hardly read the meter and the slide-rule dial was so dim I had to use a flashlight to see where the pointer was.  

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered a plug in replacement from SuperBrightLEDs.com that features nine (count 'em nine!) elements, so I gave them a try.  While expensive ($9.95 each and you need three) the tuner now lights up like a lighthouse on steroids!  The meter and dial pointer are easily readable from across the room in any light condition.  The units I used are on this page:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2FBA9S6_specs.htm

The BA9s-xHP9 runs on 9-14.5 VDC and each draws 35 mA.  Specs claim 40,000 hour life.  They're also available in colors if you want to get creative.  They fit directly into the existing sockets, although since they are a bit longer than the originals, it took a minor amount of coercion to get them into place.  

I suspect these can be used in a lot of older equipment since quality incandescent pilot bulbs are getting harder to find.

            Ron N6IE
       www.N6IE.com