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Pioneer PL-71 Strobe

Y

Yonk

New Member
PL-71 strobe just went out and can't locate replacement through an internet search. Would appreciate help in either finding a replacement strobe bulb or an alternative. I am a novice at repairs but I have taken the bottom off the unit to locate the bulb. I could also use some help with replacing. The bulb is connected directly to two wires - does this just pull off the wires or is there something else required to replace the strobe?

Thanks for any help ................. I love this turntable. Works great except for the strobe.
 
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Yonk said:
PL-71 strobe just went out and can't locate replacement through an internet search. Would appreciate help in either finding a replacement strobe bulb or an alternative. I am a novice at repairs but I have taken the bottom off the unit to locate the bulb. I could also use some help with replacing. The bulb is connected directly to two wires - does this just pull off the wires or is there something else required to replace the strobe?

Thanks for any help ................. I love this turntable. Works great except for the strobe.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the AK turn table forum.

Here is link to the service manual, the particulars for the part should be listed in there.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/pioneer/pl-71.shtml

Best of luck. :)
 
The wires to the bulb will require unsoldering. That is a neon bulb which runs off the 110vac tap of the power transformer so cannot be easily replaced with an led. It is a special very high brightness version of the venerable NE-2 neon bulb and is no longer available. On Ebay you can find the NE-2H neon bulb which is the high brightness version of the NE-2 which will work adequately but you MUST replace the 3.9 K ohm, 3 watt resistor with a 30 K ohm 1 watt resistor or the NE-2H will not last very long. This resistor is on the Power PC Board (not to be confused with the Power Supply Circuit Assembly PC Board). This little board is the one the AC power cord attaches to.
By the way, this neon bulb and resistor replacement applies to all Japanese turntables which use this obsolete very high brightness neon bulb.
If you want to use a regular NE-2 bulb then the resistor must be 150 K ohms, 1/2 watt but it will not be very bright.
Rick
 
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Thank Rick:

I appreciate the response. I was afraid that this bulb was no longer available so I appreciate the guidance for an alternative solution. I am a novice at this type of work so not sure I can handle the soldering repair myself. I may go ahead and give it a try since I only have around $50 in this turntable and not interested in a repair bill to have this work done. Just hope I don't screw it up as I really like this turntable. Any suggestions on where I can get the NE-2H neon bulb and 30 k ohm 1 watt resister?

Thanks again,
 
Thanks again Rick - I found several kits with bulb prewired on e-bay for around $12 which should be very easy to install (just splice the wires). Interesting that non of these seem to address the resister issue. May just take my chances and not replace the resister.
 
What kits on Ebay??? Be aware that your neon strobe bulb is wired to the 110VAC power line. Be careful and if you do not know what you are doing then don't do it. If these kits actually use a neon bulb you must replace that resistor or your new bulb will not last long.
Rick
 
Thanks Rick - I appreciate the follow-up. I call it a kit but it is basically a NE-2H neon bulb attached to wires and all insulated. In looking at this further there is in fact a resister soldered to one of the wires on the bulb. All of this is all nicely wrapped in insulation so can be easily spliced into the PL-71. The directions include a diagram that advise to solder a piece of wire on from one end of the existing resister to the other end so that the resister in the PL-71 is bypassed. Sounds logical and looks very simple to install so I ordered for $12. There were a couple of different sellers on e-bay for very similar solutions.

Thanks again for the help. Your feedback was great.
 
Rick - Got the new light installed no problem. Just had to splice in the new light (with resistors attached) and by pass the existing resister (on back of the circuit board). Easy to do even for a novice. That being said, I am very disappointed with the end the result. While I again have a working bulb the NE-2H is small and not very bright. The light it puts off is barely bright enough to provide a reflection on the turntable. It's barely visible and you really have to look hard when adjusting the speed. Better than nothing but nothing compared to the original bulb. Seems there has to be a better solution.
 
Do you have the neon bulb oriented correctly? An incandescent bulb puts out light in all directions but a neon bulb only puts out light from the sides. So the side should face your strobe markings. Are you sure that it is an NE-2H and not just a regular NE-2. The H variant is considerably brighter.
What is the resistance value of the resistor which came with the new bulb?
Rick
 
Thanks Rick - I can't thank you enough for the help.

I did confirm prior to purchase that the bulb was a NE-2H. There are two resistors (1/4w) installed under the heat-shrink.

I just shoved the bulb in once I spliced it in - I did not realize that this had to go in with the side facing the strobe markings. It is a lose fit since this bulb is much smaller so I will need to find some sort of bushing to hold it in place.

I wonder if could also possible be the bypass of the existing resister? In the e-bay posting the seller noted that "If the resistor is not bypassed, new neon bulb will have a lower brightness". Since I soldered the bypass on the back of the circuit board perhaps I should just clip off the old resister. What do you think? Might as well do everything at one shot when I take the PL-71 turntable part again.

Thanks again
 
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