Tandberg TCD 440A Seeking VU meter festoon bulbs

John Thanks! I do not have an owners manual for this deck. There still is something that happened tonight when I had played a couple of tapes flawlessly. For no reason it would not Play. It would eject, wind, rewind. I'd push the Play button and the head assembly would move slightly forward the Play LED would come on momentarily and it would stop. And the Stop LED comes on. I moved the arm you mentioned that fits over the bar with teeth in it next to it is a spring. Initially that didn't help and then for no obvious reason the assembly moved forward like it should and it was good to go again. It has worked so far ever since. Any suggestions? spooky :) Ralph
 
The most common cause of the transport failing to stay in Play mode is failing electrical contact of switch MS1, which is the leaf switch that is closed by the little metal arm on the left hand end of the tape well when you insert a tape. Looking at the deck from the top, it's below and towards the right end of the cassette carrier - between where the tape sits and the front panel of the deck.

It's also possible the transport was just out of position due to not having the spring & arm where they should have been initially, or if you haven't dismantled the transport and cleaned/relubed the bearings the headplate moves on, that part is probably sticky. That's the most common mechanical issue for failure to fully engage the head/rollers. Solenoid issues can cause it too but I don't run into bad solenoids on these very often.

I can provide a scanned copy of the OM in English (as well as a bunch of other manuals & info on the 440A), but IIRC it's too big for email. You can contact me by PM for how to go about getting that.

John

P.S. I added an arrow to your previous pic to point out that switch:

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So John, what was the actual "source" for the meter bulbs? I need to replace some in both my TCD 310 MKII and my 320.

Thanks,

Obe
 
Those decks use one 14V/80mA lamp per meter, you can use the 2182 lamp to replace the originals (Mouser and other places typically carry the 2182) but as mentioned you will need to solder them to the ends of the existing harnesses and insulate the connections.

John
 
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Hoping you all are around - this is an old thread.
I came into a Tandberg 440A with the same festoon bulb you wrote about - 10V @ 0.05 A. Could anyone post a link to a source for these bulbs or equivalent?
Thanks
 
Hello,

I have a Tandberg TDC 420A. The VU meters bulbs are burnt. I thought it takes the festoon type bulbs. When I opened the deck, to my surprise, it has the mini Xmas type bulbs. I can’t take it out no matter how hard I tried. To change them, do the wires need to be cut and soldered back together? Pretty ridiculous to cut the wires every time you change the bulbs if that was the case. There are 4 in the deck. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

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Correct, the replaceable festoon lamps were only used on the TCD 330 and TCD 440A (and I think the 340A but I haven't looked at any of mine recently and don't feel like cracking open the parts manual).

The ones in your 420A were used in all of the other TCD 300 models and the 420A. They're 14V/80mA and on harnesses. You can still find those complete assemblies if you dig around, for instance our member dwgojo may have them.

I find it easier to just solder bare lead lamps to the end of the existing harnesses. CML2182 lamp will work for this. Use some small spaghetti or shrinktube to insulate the two leads from touching, and I usually offset the solder joints also.

John

P.S. Welcome to AK!
 
Hi John,

Thanks for the fast response. When you said bare lead lamps, you meant no wires attached to the new bulbs right? I don’t have experience in soldering so I’m kinda nervous to do this by myself.
 
What “bare lead lamps” means is lamps that have bare or non-insulated wire leads. That is why John recommended using spaghetti or "shinktube" (heat-shink tubing) to insulate the two leads to prevent them from touching each other.
 
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Thanks dhnash for the explanation. I did order the bulbs from Amazon. Now I need to find somebody who can soldier.
 

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Hallo vietvan!
sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner.
I concur with John in post # 29. As I recall the soldering of the leads as suggested was the correct way/safest way to complete that task.
Not sure what the supplier of the bulbs were? I looked everywhere and could not find an invoice, etc. You found a source anyways I believe.
I'm sure you'll get it completed.
All the best, Raphael

PS: Yes! and a hearty welcome to AK.
;)
 
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