Astron RS 35M

[kiser sosay]

I don't know if any one is intrested, or even cares.

I know some discussion has been made about meter lights on some Astron models. Mine had no meter lights. With alittle patients and a few led's you can add lights to the meters. I know you can purchase lighted meters from Astron. But I wanted to give it a shot myself. The meters are sealed. If your careful you can seperate them. The rocker switch will be canged to blue as soon as it arrives. I was planning on putting a switch on the led's as well.

Here are a few pics I wanted to share of my RS 35M with blue led's.

 

[TonyV225]

I have also done this with a few different power supplies and swr power meters. all it takes is a few minutes.

 

[kiser sosay]

I have also done this with a few different power supplies and swr power meters. all it takes is a few minutes.

I was thinking of doing my swr meter next. I'll admit the astron meters were a challenge

 

[TonyV225]

some of them are certainly easier to do than others but there are tricks and different style lights to use. Radio shack meters I have to try again the bulb I used actually got warm to where it was starting to warp the plastic so I had to remove that light but will tackle it again here soon .

 

[Wire Weasel]

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[BOOTY MONSTER]

i usually dont like blue led's cause theyre so darn bright . but those meters have a nice blue glow . i just got a rs-35m , only had it a day but no problems yet .

so care to tell us how to do that , maybe some pics ?
which leds did you use ?

 

[Moleculo]

That's pretty nice. It would be cool to see a step by step photo "how to" guide

 

[74IN]

It would be cool to see a step by step photo "how to" guide

I agree.

I love the Astrons and have an RS-35M.

LED lighting would be very cool.

 

[BOOTY MONSTER]

That's pretty nice. It would be cool to see a step by step photo "how to" guide

I agree.

I love the Astrons and have an RS-35M.

LED lighting would be very cool.

i just ordered two 12 volt blue LED's from sparkys to try that on my RS-35M .
do i just connect them internally to the + and - 12 volt connections and tape them to the back of the meters ? or is there more to it than that ? i havnt even looked inside of it so i dont know what , if anything , is in the way .

also ordered a replacement meter and light for my uniden grant XL

 

[W5LZ]

It's going to depend a lot on just how those meters are made. Some are opaque enough that positioning those LEDs can get sort of complicated. Some have face plates/back plates that light will shine through. I have no idea what yours are like. Another qwerk of LEDs is that most of the light is aimed straight forward from then, very little to the 'sides', which can get to be fun when trying to spread that light around a little.
Good luck.
- 'Doc


Ready for this?? I've used LEDs in modeling for mast head lights etc. One trick to spreading that light around a little is the use of 'sequins' as reflectors. Can you see your self going to a fabric store and asking for real shiny sequins of some particular size? Hey, they think men are crazy anyway, no biggy! ... tell'em you're a Chip'N'Dale dancer and it's for your thong. (Offer them a free pass, you might get those sequins for free!) Tell'em "Sumo Sammy the Boogaloo Bubba" recommended their store. That'll either get you some real good service, or thrown out.

 

[Quiksilver]

Very nice!
A write up would be great!
op:

 

[Shockwave]

Just a quick note on one way to make those LED's have a broader pattern of light rather then the pin point spot light effect. If you sand the round part of the lens down with sand paper you can broaden the light pattern up quite a bit. Also, when the Astron stops making output voltage under load, simply replace the LM723 IC voltage regulator on the board. It's an easy fix when it goes bad since the chip is in a socket. It's the number 1 failure in Astron power supplies.