Tip-of-the-Day: Check your Ham-IV Control Unit
 

The lamp in my (old) CDE Rotor Control Unit burned out. I opened the lid
and found the lamp had melted a hole in the plastic meter. To make a
long story short....I called Hy-Gain and found out this is pretty common
and they recommended a 28 volt lamp - that should burn cooler. I picked
up a smaller 28v lamp at Radio Shack. It is not as bright and I now have
a moonbeam display.

The tip is open your control unit to see if the lamp is starting to melt
the plastic meter. Don't wait for the moonbeams to change to the smaller
28 volt bulb. BTW, I understand some have been know to have melted the
cover as well as the meter. It is pretty easy to check...just remove
four screws and take off the cover.

I now wonder if the use of a White LED may be a better solution to this
problem?

73 de Dick, AA5VU

ps: The fix for moonbeams is a $69 replacement meter! I am learning to
enjoy the moonbeam lighting.

Dick:

The problem is that there are several 'wattages' of 24 and 28 volt lamps,
and the higher current jobs, while very bright, are as you indicate, HOT. I
suggest 4 white LEDs in series across the top of the meter. Much more even
illumination, and no heat to speak of. Select the dropping resistor for
adequate light. Should be only a few mils current. Use a series diode, no
cap necessary unless you are really sensitive to flicker, and a resistor.

--
Crazy George
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"Dick, AA5VU" wrote in message
...
The lamp in my (old) CDE Rotor Control Unit burned out. I opened the lid
and found the lamp had melted a hole in the plastic meter. To make a
long story short....I called Hy-Gain and found out this is pretty common
and they recommended a 28 volt lamp - that should burn cooler. I picked
up a smaller 28v lamp at Radio Shack. It is not as bright and I now have
a moonbeam display.

The tip is open your control unit to see if the lamp is starting to melt
the plastic meter. Don't wait for the moonbeams to change to the smaller
28 volt bulb. BTW, I understand some have been know to have melted the
cover as well as the meter. It is pretty easy to check...just remove
four screws and take off the cover.

I now wonder if the use of a White LED may be a better solution to this
problem?

73 de Dick, AA5VU

ps: The fix for moonbeams is a $69 replacement meter! I am learning to
enjoy the moonbeam lighting.

I got the following from Hy-Gain that may be of interest

The correct bulb type is an #1819. What some customers have done is to put
a couple small strips of reflective tape on the inside of the cover above
the bulb. They sya that this seems to work well.


In article ,
"Dick, AA5VU" wrote:

The lamp in my (old) CDE Rotor Control Unit burned out. I opened the lid
and found the lamp had melted a hole in the plastic meter. To make a
long story short....I called Hy-Gain and found out this is pretty common
and they recommended a 28 volt lamp - that should burn cooler. I picked
up a smaller 28v lamp at Radio Shack. It is not as bright and I now have
a moonbeam display.

The tip is open your control unit to see if the lamp is starting to melt
the plastic meter. Don't wait for the moonbeams to change to the smaller
28 volt bulb. BTW, I understand some have been know to have melted the
cover as well as the meter. It is pretty easy to check...just remove
four screws and take off the cover.

I now wonder if the use of a White LED may be a better solution to this
problem?

73 de Dick, AA5VU

ps: The fix for moonbeams is a $69 replacement meter! I am learning to
enjoy the moonbeam lighting.

Gang:

Actually, there is another aspect of this, that meter case style was pretty
common before digital displays took over completely. Look for a meter with
an intact case at a swapfest and. . . swap.

--
Crazy George
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