VU bulbs in the 388

[WhinyLittleRunt]

Had one blow out the other day. How painful are they to get to and replace? Only asking because I've yet to tear into my 388 for anything other than the belt.

 

[j.harv]

They're not too bad. You will have to pull a few of the cards to get to them.
Also the meters are taped shut so you're gonna need a small sharp knife to cut the tape.
And..... you have to be extra careful. when prodding around in the meter with the soldering iron.
You don't want to hit the needle or the coil that's behind it.

 

[WhinyLittleRunt]

They're not too bad. You will have to pull a few of the cards to get to them.
Also the meters are taped shut so you're gonna need a small sharp knife to cut the tape.
And..... you have to be extra careful. when prodding around in the meter with the soldering iron.
You don't want to hit the needle or the coil that's behind it.

Oh ok. So they're not the fuse type... Doesn't really matter, i'm assuming they're the same as what's on my 38 and I did all of those which wasn't too painful.

 

[Rikard]

I replaced mine a few years ago, and at the time I was super new to soldering and I still had no problems. Was able to get them from a random supplier on the east coast, I ended up getting a few new meters as well (can't remember on top my head the supplier but they were great to deal with, had a few rec/play pcb cards for cheap as well). Just go slow, take photos of every piece you remove as you go. Like J.Harv said, just be gentle and careful when soldering and you will be fine.

 

[analoghifi]

Hey not sure if you ever thought about converting the bulbs to LED? My buddy did his 388 like that! Very nice and vibrant lookin!