Tuner Lamp Information Center

Below is a list of original lamps (bulbs) in many common tuners. We welcome additions, either by email to jim@fmtunerinfo.com, or by posting in our FMtuners group. As so many lamp values and sizes have been discontinued, we sometimes have to get creative when replacing burnt-out lamps. The main rule is to not use a lamp that draws more current than the original. Voltages may be slightly higher.

Update 4/08: Our FMtuners group member Denis, who has been selling new lamps for many Kenwood and Sansui tuners and receivers (and a few others) under the name "dhenryp" on eBay for quite awhile, has put up his own Lamp Information website. Anyone looking for a Kenwood or Sansui lamp should go directly to Denis's Database and not even waste any more time here, unless he takes his site down or doesn't have the needed lamp. Denis is also an honest guy, as this helpful tip indicates: "Paolo contacted me and said all his bulbs were out. I would love to sell him four bulbs, but since ALL his bulbs are out, I told him to check the dedicated dial lamp fuse first. It's a 2.5 amp fuse, 3AG type, marked 'F4' on the power supply PC board."

Harman/Kardon Citation 18
The very small bulb that lights the "In Tune" indicator and the "Stereo" indicator is a 12 volt 35 milliamp type, according to the service manual.

Kenwood 600T and 650T
One contributor speculated that these tuners use 8 volt 300 milliamp X 5 (two for dial and one for each of the meters), but was not positive about this volt/amp. Denis says, "I can't be positive, but this looks so much like the many of the other late '70s Kenwood tuners that I've got to believe they use the same bulbs," namely, 5 X 8v 200 milliamp green-tinted bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want green-tinted bulbs).

Kenwood KR-5400
Meters and dial use 5 X 8v 200 milliamp bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want frosted bulbs for meters).

Kenwood KR-7600 receiver
Dial uses 6 X 8v 300 milliamp bulb with rubber base that pushes over two pins, same as the Sansui TU-717. Meters use 4 X 8v 200 milliamp frosted bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads. Denis makes new replacements for both of these bulbs (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want frosted bulbs). Button indicator lamps - 8v 50 milliamp t1.75 grain of wheat bulbs.

Kenwood KR-9600 receiver
Dial uses 6 X 8v 300 milliamp bulb with rubber base that pushes over two pins, same as the Sansui TU-717. Meters use 4 X 8v 200 milliamp frosted bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads. Denis makes new replacements for both of these bulbs (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want frosted bulbs). Button indicator lamps - 8v 50 milliamp t1.75 grain of wheat bulbs.

Kenwood KR-x500 and KR-x600 receivers
Denis believes that these two lines of Kenwoods use some combination of the following (both available from him; see contact info above): 8v 200 milliamp bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads, and 8v 300 milliamp bulb with rubber base that pushes over two pins.

Kenwood KT-80
8 volt 50 milliamp X 1 (power switch cap)

Kenwood KT-615
8 volt 50 milliamp X 1 (stereo indicator)
12 volt 150 milliamp X 2 - Physically the same as those used in the KT-815 (8v 300 milliamp) – ask Denis (contact info above) about bulbs with in-line dropping resistor.

Kenwood KT-815 and KT-8155
Dial and Meters use 4 X 8v 300 milliamp green-tinted bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want green-tinted bulbs).

Kenwood KT-917
8 volt 300 milliamp X 5 (not positive about this volt/amp). Denis speculates that these bulbs may be the same as those in the 600T.

Kenwood KT-1000
8 volt 150 milliamp X 1
8 volt 50 milliamp X 2 (stereo and lock indicators)

Kenwood KT-5500
2 X 8v 300 milliamp green-tinted bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads – one for dial and one for meters. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want green-tinted bulbs).

Kenwood KT-6005 and KT-6007
Dial uses 4 X 8v 300 milliamp bulb with rubber base that pushes over two pins, same as the Sansui TU-717. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above).

Kenwood KT-6500 and KT-6550
3 X 8v 300 milliamp green-tinted bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads – two for dial and one for meters. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want green-tinted bulbs).

Kenwood KT-7000 and KT-7001
Somehow, we misplaced the identity of this contributor, but it sounds like he knows what he's doing:
"The KT-7000 front panel uses qty. 7 - 8 volt, 250 milliamp fuse type. MCM Electronics part #25-090. Upper and lower indicators (AM, FM, Mute, MPX) are 8 volt, 150 milliamp bayonet base. I could not find these, in a pinch I suppose you could use MCM part #25-225 which is 7.5 volt, 220 milliamp. But I did not use these, instead I used the more common #47 6.3 volt, 150 milliamp (Radio Shack part #272-1110A) AND soldered in a 1 W, 10 Ohm dropping resistor in front of each bulb at the base. This drops the voltage by (V=IR) = .15 x 10 = 1.5V, end result is 6.5V. Power dissipated (IxV) is .15 x 1.5 = .225, so use at least a 1 W resistor. The KT-7000 stereo indicator light is "special," it is an 8 volt, 30 milliamp miniature. It seems like the stereo function does not work if it is burned out, it is part of the trigger circuit. I used a 6.3 volt, 35 milliamp bulb here and it worked OK.

Kenwood KT-7001
6 X 8v, 300 milliamp (fuse type, meters and illumination) 2 X 8v, 150 milliamp (bayonet type, Muting and MPX) 3 X 8v, 40 milliamp (miniature, AM, FM, Stereo)

Kenwood KT-7300
3 X 8v 300 milliamp green-tinted bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads – two for dial and one for meters. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want green-tinted bulbs).

Kenwood KT-7500 and KT-7550
3 X 8v 300 milliamp green-tinted bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads – two for dial and one for meters. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above; make sure to tell him if you want green-tinted bulbs).

Our panelist Bob says: "Here's a solution for the front panel lamps in the KT-7500. I just used common bulbs from Radio Shack that worked well. There are three bulbs in series, driven directly off the power transformer secondary AC winding, which is 29 VAC. The stock tuner uses a series 27 Ohm resistor to drop the voltage to 24 VAC, as 8V bulbs were used. When using common Radio Shack 14.4V bayonet replacement bulbs, you can choose to leave the resistor in place, for a really dimmed look, or jumper across it. I prefer to jumper it - it looks a little better to me, and is still dimmed compared to stock. I used the 14.4V, 120 mA bayonet bulbs, which I hope last a long time due to the fact that they are running at only 9.7V. You still need to solder them in place - I don't know of a solution that gets around that."

Kenwood KT-6005 and KT-6007
Dial uses 4 X 8v 300 milliamp bulb with rubber base that pushes over two pins, same as the Sansui TU-717. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above).

Kenwood KT-8300
8 volt 300 milliamp (fuse type)
8 volt 300 milliamp (white)?

Luxman T-110
Dial lamps - 4 "bayonet style"
Supposedly a #53 bulb from Radio Shack is an exact match.

Marantz 120
Dial lamps - 8V, 200mA (fuse type)
Dial pointer lamp - 8V, 0.06A
Meter lamp - 8V, 0.2A
Selector indicators - 6.3V, 0.04A

Most Marantz tuners from the 1970s (including models 120, 150, 115B and 2120) use the same fuse-type, 8V, 180-200 mA dial illumination lamps. Note 200 mA, not 300 mA. Our contributor Roger says, "I've replaced many of these in Marantz tuners and receivers, and tested the current on working original lamps using a 9V battery. The milliamp readings I get seem to vary from 180-200 mA, perhaps due to different ages or what was on the shelf when the unit was built, I think. It's easy to find 8V, 300 mA fuse lamps, but tougher to find the 8V, 200 mA, in my experience."

Marantz receivers
Most 2200 Series Marantz receivers used an 8V 200mA lamp for the tuning dial and an 8V 300 mA lamp for the two meters. Our contributor Brian B. replaced the lamps in his Marantz 2265B receiver and thinks this information may be applicable to many Marantz tuners as well: "The 2265B uses five lamps behind the tuning dial and one lamp each behind the signal-strength and tuning meters. The lamps run on AC from an 8-volt transformer winding. The bulbs, known as fuse lamps, look like 3AG fuses and are socketed in fuse holders. Most of the lamps in my receiver were burned out. The dial lamps were marked 8VROYAL, with no current marking. They drew about 180 mA at 8 volts. The meter lamps were different and were marked 0.3A. After measuring the lamps and replacing them, fewer worked even though I had handled them carefully. Evidently lamps at the end of their useful life are delicate. 200-mA fuse lamps are available as replacements, but they cost $1.75 each. 250 mA lamps are much cheaper. The best price I found was at Parts Express, 50 cents each. But when I went to order ten lamps from their website, the estimated shipping charge was $7 to $8 for 2 lbs. I thought this was a ridiculous amount and weight for ten tiny parts. Another supplier, Vintage Electronics, had the 250-mA lamps for $0.75 each but charged only $3.50 postage. He also offered 300-mA lamps for $1.25. I ordered some lamps from his website with PayPal and received them two days after they were shipped. They worked fine. The 250-mA lamps look good in the meters, but I thought the 300-mA lamps provided illumination that better matched that from the 250-mA dial lamps, so I went with the combination."

Philips AH673 and AH6731
6.3V 40 milliamp T3 1/4 mini bayonette type ('GE 1302' bulb)
There are 13 of them in the tuner, 16 in the preamp and another 4 in the amp for this series. They are hard to find, but try Lamp Technology.

Pioneer TX-7500
Dial illumination: 8 volt 300 milliamp X ?? "wedge type" lamps
Pilot ("power") and stereo indicators: 6 volt 30 milliamp X 2 "grain type" lamps with leads

Pioneer TX-9100
Tuning and signal-strength meter illumination lamps: 8 volt 300 milliamp.
AM, FM, stereo indicator and pointer: 40 milliamp (not sure of the voltage).

Pioneer TX-9500II
8 volt 300 milliamp X 4
8 volt 50 milliamp X 1
6 volt 30 milliamp X 3

Here's our panelist Bob's more detailed report: "The TX-9500II used 8V, 300 mA x 4 for main panel/meters, but I used Radio Shack 14V ones. Buy 4 and do all at once - don't leave the old ones in. It's RS part #272-1126 wedge base 14V, 270 mA. Looks good at the lower level, and will last forever derated. Easy replacement - twist holder and remove. Clean the contacts lightly with a pencil eraser if it doesn't work with the new bulb. The power switch, narrow, wide and stereo lamps need to be soldered in. Buy some shrink-fit tubing at RS to make it a nice job. A hair dryer on high will do, but watch where you point the hot exhaust. Or just tape it. The polarity of the leads are not important, will work either way. The power switch one was 8V, .3 A - if it's out, don't bother, it is a hard-to-find light, and you need to take apart the front panel to get it in. If you must, use a 12V 25 mA from RS. The narrow, wide and stereo was 6V 30 mA - use RS part #272-1140 (6V, 25 mA)."

Pioneer TX-9800
8 volt 300 milliamp X ??
6 volt 50 milliamp

Realistic TM-1001
8 volt 250 milliamp X 3
PL1: BF311-03030A 8V, 250 milliamp, Radio Shack #L-0351, Mfr's #37008006
PL2 and PL3: BF310-03030A 8V, 250 milliamp, RS #D-1245, Mfr's #37008019
The first one lights up the tuning dial and the bottom two light up the signal meter and multipath meter.

Sansui TU-217
no dial lamps used

Sansui TU-317
Dial uses 3(?) X 8v 300 milliamp bulb with rubber base that pushes over two pins. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above).

Sansui TU-417, TU-517, TU-519, TU-710, TU-717, TU-719, TU-919 and TU-9900
Dial uses 4 X 8v 300 milliamp bulb with rubber base that pushes over two pins. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above).

Sansui TU-7500
Stereo indicator lamp PL 010: 7 volt, 0.1 A
FM/AM indicator lamps PL 007/008: 7 volt, 0.1 A
Dial pointer lamp PL 009: 6 volt, 75 milliamp
Meter lamps PL 005/006: 6.3 volt, 0.25 A

Sansui G-4700, G-5000, G-9000 and most (if not all) G-series receivers use the same bulb: 8v 200 milliamp bulb with rubber grommet base and wire leads. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above).

Sansui TA-300 and TA-500 receivers
These receivers appear to have a TU-717 style case and face. Based on this, Denis assumes that they use the same dial bulbs: 4 X 8v 300 milliamp bulb with rubber base that pushes over two pins. Denis makes new replacements (see contact info above).

Sony ST-A6B:
Meters: bulbs say "6.3V H" but amperage is unknown.
Dial: 8 volt 300 milliamp X 3, "wedge base" bulbs.

Our contributor Dante says: "I have a service manual and it does not specify the voltage/current rating of the meter bulbs, only a part Sony part number. The schematic shows the meter and dial lamps driven off the same transformer secondary. The three dial lamps are in parallel with a 0.22 / 1 watt resistor in series. The two meter bulbs are in parallel but with a 12 Ohm ½ watt resistor in series to drop the voltage."

Technics ST-9030
6.3 volt 40 milliamp X 2 (stereo and Wide IF indicators)
6.3 volt 250 milliamp X 5 (fuse type)

Yamaha T-1
14.5 volt 80 milliamp X 2 (wire-ended, clear bulbs)

Yamaha T-2
14.5 volt 80 milliamp X 4 (wire-ended, clear bulbs)

Recommended sources, in approximate order of priority (but check them all):

Radio Shack
MCM Electronics
Parts Express
Vintage Electronics
All Electronics
Abra Electronics
Kenwood Parts
Herman Panson Electronics
Antique Electronic Supply
Lamp Technology
CML Innovative Technologies (formerly Chicago Miniature Lamps)
Mouser Electronics

A cautionary note: It turns out that many stereo chips drive lamps directly. If you use the wrong replacement bulb, you may smoke the MPX chip, and many are really hard to find. So we want it to be clear that people should not put a 300 mA bulb in the stereo lamp area which takes 30 mA. Bob explains: "Here's the skinny on the stereo chip burnout problem - it affects the "stereo" indicator light only. This would be the one that lights when the MPX chip detects a 19 kHz pilot and the tuner goes into stereo mode. It is seen on tuners made before about 1976 or so, as later models usually used LEDs for this circuit, even though ordinary lamps were still used for lighting meters and the front panel. The MPX chip uses an internal circuit to "switch" the stereo light pin to ground when in stereo operation. So the stereo lamp on the front panel has a positive DC voltage applied to one lead, all the time, and the other lead is grounded by the MPX chip. If the incorrect lamp is used, too much current goes through the switch circuit in the MPX chip, and the MPX chip overheats and fails."

Our contributor Steve P. suggests that before you assume a bulb is bad, first check for cold solder joints on the circuit board that holds the base for that bulb. Steve found a bad joint on a bulb that was out on both his tuner and preamp, but he pushed on the pins that come through the board and the light came right on.