Changing leds in 2950dx ???
- jono400
- 2 PILL USER
- Posts: 11
- Joined: December 12th, 2010, 4:51 am
Changing leds in 2950dx ???
Anyone here modded the display lights on a rci 2950dx ?? been told that its a lot more involved than the earlier 2950 model, anyone who has done this mod confirm this ?? how many leds are required to change the display / keypad to blue ?? source off these leds ?? any pictures off the finished article ??
really fancy putting blue lights in this model !!!
thanks
really fancy putting blue lights in this model !!!
thanks
- jono400
- 2 PILL USER
- Posts: 11
- Joined: December 12th, 2010, 4:51 am
No one done this mod on the 2950dx then ??
- sparky17
- Donor
- Posts: 305
- Joined: February 27th, 2009, 9:45 pm
- Real Name: sparky
- Contact:
It's not difficult to use LEDs.. They just don't have their own built in resistor unlike light bulbs.. For 12v stuff you can 'max out' LED brightness with 600 ohm resistor. 20mA @ 12v = 600 ohm resistor. 10mA @ 12v = 1.2k ohm resistor. Most 5mm LEDs are rated for 20mA.. They even sell some with built in resistors, but why bother..
Radioshack would have them.. You'll pay 20x more than you need to however, but it's only a couple of bucks anyways... If you just need a few you'd probably break even on shipping charges.
If there's a dimmer on the radio, then they likely have all the LEDs current-regulated on the radio board, so it should be just a direct swap out and you don't even have to mess w/ resistors (it would likely be VERY dim if you used the resistors when they were not needed)... If you did need resistors and didn't use them, then usually the LED pops and no harm done.. Swap another one in.. I've lost count of how many times I've accidentally shorted out the power LED on my kicker and blown it up..
Some of these newer radios are actually using a variety of fluorescent lighting....
Step 1)
Identify the light source in your radio. If you can't identify it, take pictures and share them with us.
Step 2)
Based on the type of light in the radio, select a replacement.
LEDs are generally swappable. The blue/whites consume more voltage, but the circuit tolerances are likely not critical in this regard and I'd expect it to handle it.
If it's fluorescent/EL, then you'd need to find out the model number for the 'bulb', google it and see what other colors they have for that part number..
Radioshack would have them.. You'll pay 20x more than you need to however, but it's only a couple of bucks anyways... If you just need a few you'd probably break even on shipping charges.
If there's a dimmer on the radio, then they likely have all the LEDs current-regulated on the radio board, so it should be just a direct swap out and you don't even have to mess w/ resistors (it would likely be VERY dim if you used the resistors when they were not needed)... If you did need resistors and didn't use them, then usually the LED pops and no harm done.. Swap another one in.. I've lost count of how many times I've accidentally shorted out the power LED on my kicker and blown it up..
Some of these newer radios are actually using a variety of fluorescent lighting....
Step 1)
Identify the light source in your radio. If you can't identify it, take pictures and share them with us.
Step 2)
Based on the type of light in the radio, select a replacement.
LEDs are generally swappable. The blue/whites consume more voltage, but the circuit tolerances are likely not critical in this regard and I'd expect it to handle it.
If it's fluorescent/EL, then you'd need to find out the model number for the 'bulb', google it and see what other colors they have for that part number..
- jono400
- 2 PILL USER
- Posts: 11
- Joined: December 12th, 2010, 4:51 am
Okay thanks so much for your kind explanation to be honest thou was more looking for information from anyone who had carried out this mod to the 2950dx model as opposed to the older 2950 model as just wondering if there was anything different between the process off carrying out this mod between the two different generation sets ??
did read that the 2950dx was more tricky but not sure why ??
did read that the 2950dx was more tricky but not sure why ??