[TowerTalk] Yaesu Rotor Light Bulb

[Jim Brown]

On Sun, 4 Apr 2010 18:58:54 +0000, RICHARD SOLOMON wrote:

>I would replace them with a LED device (need a series resistor).
>I have the 2800 Rotor, probably the same Control Box. Lets see 
>how long the bulbs last here in the land of high AC lines !!

That's what I just did. It's cold and rainy in the Santa Cruz 
Mountains today, so it's a good day for a project like this. 

Studying the schematic showed that the existing bulb is driven from 
regulated 12VDC. On my workbench, I tried 5 LEDs in series on my 
regulated and current limited HP supply. That wasn't enough to 
overcome their barrier voltage, so I dropped down to 4 bulbs. That's 
quite nice, draws less than 5 mA from 12V, and puts out a lot of 
light. 

I opened up the controller and rigged the 4-LED series string 
alongside of the right side of the bezel and connected them to the  
that 12V line. They provide a very acceptable level of illumination.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions.

73,

Jim K9YC