DIY : Marantz LED kit for bargain

Rasputin47 said:
I actually made one with a lower value resistor, to see if it made a difference, but I didn't see any change in brightness.
Click to expand...

I was using the wrong resistor a 270k ohm, I switched out to 270 OHM a little brighter but in no way will work for a real bright dial.
 
Ok, I used an 82ohm resistor and have a brighter LED array, but not bright enough for a bright tuner dial like others I've seen. I looked at the datasheet and plugged in the specs to the LEDs in the calculator,
http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz
and it tells me to use an 82 ohm resistor, is this correct or are these LEDs just not bright enough?
 

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At my local tech store they have different kinds of LEDs, different colors but also 'warm' white and cold white. I always buy warm white ones but one time they gave me some cold white and the were extremely dim compared to the others, matter how small a resistor i put on there.
 
On Ebay, there's several vendors selling direct replacement LED fuse lamps for Sansui, Kenwood, Marantz, and Pioneer receivers. Just Google LED fuse lamps and it should direct you several LED sources on Ebay.
 
I doubt that these tiny LEDs have enough brightness for any practical use (like dial and meter lamps) other then indicator lamps.

I use standard 5 mm LEDs in my conversions, so my LEDs probably 10 times larger then these tiny LEDs, and even though, it preferably using few of them to adequately replace 1 original incandescent lamp.

Resistor value doesn't matter much because after voltage is enough to "open" LED, further increase of voltage doesn't change brightness much.
 
On Ebay, the LED fuse lamp shown as item number 190619863603 is way brighter than the original incandescent lamps. Look at the photo of the 2270.
 
skibjr said:
Hi Buzzz - just wanted to let you know that I followed your directions, and just finished completely converting a Marantz 2270. Your LED lamps worked like a charm!! I implemented a few suggestions from other posters, like using double-sided mounting tape to hold components in place while soldering, and I used an awl to punch holes in both caps, then solder and clip. I found that applying the tip of my soldering iron to the ends of the fuses melted the adhesive, and the metal caps slid right off after about 10 seconds or so.

I was also able to create bi-pin LEDs for the input indicators by soldering leads at right angles to the LEDs, removing the bulbs from the old bases and threading the leads through the holes in the bottom (probably didn't even need to use the bases, but I wanted to keep as original a look to the job as possible). I finished each assembly with some clear hot glue injected into each base to hold everything in proper alignment.

The stereo indicator was a bit tricky, since it's a DC 12V supply, using two 6.3V lamps wired in series. I created two bi-pin lamps, but oriented the LEDs C to A, and added the dropping resistor to the first lamp in the series (obviously, polarity is important to observe when mounting these, as well). This gave me just the right amount of illumination - matching the AC-fed tuning dial LEDs.

Thanks again for your post - I'm planning to convert all of my Marantz receivers!! :thmbsp:
Click to expand...
what's the trick to getting the bulbs out of the plastic bases?
 
I use a long-nose pliers to squeeze and break the old bulb, then I gently squeeze the plastic base all around until the glass crumbles out. Sometimes the old base is so brittle that it just breaks, but usually the base is flexible enough to allow the glass to be gradually broken out. (Kind of a pain, actually. If you're not a PITA perfectionist like me, you could just solder the LED assemblies directly in place and call it a day...)
 
Unfortunately I am somewhat a perfectionist and would like to use the plastic bases but I can't get the glue/glass out without destroying the bases:thumbsdn:
Looks like I will have to come up with a different solution.
 
My method of removing the bulbs from the bases was a bit different. I held the base in one hand and the bulb with long nose pliers in the other. I then very gently worked the bulbs back and forth with the pliers, the bulbs loosened and then I pulled them out without breaking any, and all of the bases were in perfect condition to use for the LEDs.
 
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I will have to try that method as I stop at my 2nd bulb after I partially mutilated it.
I can still use them if I can figure out how to remove the glass/glue inside them.

Too bad there isn't another solution other than just soldering the leds without the bases as it would look like a barn job not the mention correct aiming/alignment.
 
Heat the end of the fuse lamp up and it should melt the glue enough to pull it off, no need to break anything.
 
Its not the fuse lamps I am referring to its the function indicator bulbs with the plastic bases that I am trying to convert to LEDs.
 
ymarko said:
I doubt that these tiny LEDs have enough brightness for any practical use (like dial and meter lamps) other then indicator lamps.

I use standard 5 mm LEDs in my conversions, so my LEDs probably 10 times larger then these tiny LEDs, and even though, it preferably using few of them to adequately replace 1 original incandescent lamp.

Resistor value doesn't matter much because after voltage is enough to "open" LED, further increase of voltage doesn't change brightness much.
Click to expand...

You are correct, these are no bright enough, I built three pairs and didn't like them....too dim
 
I made the LEDs from this thread and replaced all the lamps in my 2250b - they work great! I'm not sure what people are saying about them not being bright enough, they're more than bright enough! Thanks go out to skibjr for answering all my questions about the indicator lamps. I'll post up some pics soon
 
Do u still use the same size resistor for bi-pin bulbs?

skibjr said:
Hi Buzzz - just wanted to let you know that I followed your directions, and just finished completely converting a Marantz 2270. Your LED lamps worked like a charm!! I implemented a few suggestions from other posters, like using double-sided mounting tape to hold components in place while soldering, and I used an awl to punch holes in both caps, then solder and clip. I found that applying the tip of my soldering iron to the ends of the fuses melted the adhesive, and the metal caps slid right off after about 10 seconds or so.

I was also able to create bi-pin LEDs for the input indicators by soldering leads at right angles to the LEDs, removing the bulbs from the old bases and threading the leads through the holes in the bottom (probably didn't even need to use the bases, but I wanted to keep as original a look to the job as possible). I finished each assembly with some clear hot glue injected into each base to hold everything in proper alignment.

The stereo indicator was a bit tricky, since it's a DC 12V supply, using two 6.3V lamps wired in series. I created two bi-pin lamps, but oriented the LEDs C to A, and added the dropping resistor to the first lamp in the series (obviously, polarity is important to observe when mounting these, as well). This gave me just the right amount of illumination - matching the AC-fed tuning dial LEDs.

Thanks again for your post - I'm planning to convert all of my Marantz receivers!! :thmbsp:
Click to expand...
 
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