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In Reply to: Kenwood KT-8007 indicator lamp specification posted by Marantzguy on November 9, 2006 at 10:39:45:
http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/here's what they say about it
Kenwood KT-8007 (1974, $420, photo) search eBay
The KT-8007 was Kenwood's top-of-the-line unit produced just after the KT-8005 and right before the KT-8300. It was the first Kenwood with a deviation meter that would also be standard on later top models like the KT-8300, 600T and KT-917. The differences from the KT-8005 are in the MPX circuit: the KT-8007 uses a chip based HA1156, while the KT-8005 uses an all discrete MPX board. Other than that, they are very similar in appearance, features, and function. The KT-8007 has a 5-gang front end, 2 4-stage ceramic filters (equivalent to 4 modern 3-pin filters), and a discrete output stage that combine to make one of the best-sounding tuners around. Our panelist Bob recommends the KT-8007 for "deep bass, extended highs, and a very clean midrange that has an incredible sound on uncompressed jazz and classical music." Another contributor agrees, telling us that his KT-8007 has exceptional sensitivity and a warm, "tube-like" sound that he prefers to that of all his other tuners, including the 600T! Bob adds, "The MPX chip in the KT-8007 makes it much less likely than the KT-8005 to go out of alignment in a way that disturbs the audio sound. In a nutshell, the KT-8007 is more reliable, and is similar in many ways inside to the KT-8300, except that the 8007 still has the single IF path. Of course, it looks nothing like the 8300, cosmetically. The board of discrete MPX stuff in the KT-8005 has a much higher drift rate over a long time, whereas the chip in the KT-8007 basically never needs alignment." A bit of trivia: the KT-8007 uses basically the same tuning knob and selector buttons as the 600T, with a combination signal strength/multipath/deviation meter, variable output knob, muting off/level 1/level 2 switch and FM MPX filter. The KT-8007 also adds a front-panel headphone jack, which the 600T does not have. It also has scope output jacks on the back panel. The KT-8007 usually sells for $200-280 on eBay, with a low of $80 in 11/04 and a nutty all-time high of $461 in 1/06 as two guys ran the price up from $222. Bear in mind that the 8007's little brother, the KT-6007 (see above), sells for well under $100. [BF]==========================
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/fmtuners/
WarmestTimbo in Oz
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio Scrounger'Still not saluting.'
Read about and view system at:
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Hi, Timbo:I have seen this entry. In fact, every time someone offers a KT-8007 for sale on eBay, they tend to quote that profile.
I still need someone to certify that the lamps I need will be such-and-such.
From what I have thus far gathered, the mini globe lamps for the dial are purportedly 8 v @ 300 mA and the more miniature lamps for the various functions are more like 8 v !@ 50 mA, which makes sense to me.
Unfortunately, the local Radio Shack stores do not seem to carry much in the way of old pigtail type lamps. A sign of the times, I would say!
Time to pull out that Digikey or other parts catalog and check what IS available without paying through the nose for "boutique" parts.
Hey, I can even figure out how to tint them! Dip them in stained glass paint!
WHOA!
The KT-8007 is a very nicely made tuner and it sounds absolutely gorgeous!
The lamps and their little rubber "boat" holders, which slide over contact pins, are manufactured by a Japanese parts jobber named Stanley. I have seen them used both in tuners by Sansui and of course, the famous CT-7000.
Small world, right?
I wonder if Mr. Livingstone ever got involved in the lamp business?
http://www.stereomanuals.com/
Update on the KT-8007 lamp situation:I sort of find it challenging to pay $7 each, plus shipping, for a miniature indicator lamp.
So, over the weekend, here is something I discovered about an alternative way to remedy my situation as concerns replacement of all lamps inside this Kenwood KT-8007, formerly their top-of-the-line FM/AM stereo tuner from 1974:
First of all, I removed all of the lamps in my KT-8007. At Al Lasher Electronics in Berkeley, $5.70 got me about a dozen 10 volt, 70 mV miniatures pig-tail lamps for the indicator “flags” and they worked just fine. The two smaller diameter frosted lamps which illuminate the meters are probably also 8 volt-rated, but I have read somewhere that they are most likely 200 mV. When I substituted some 10 volt, 70 mV miniatures, the illumination was a bit dim by my judgment, but not too shabby, nevertheless. I could always sub some mini 6-volt lamps at say, 200 mV instead, just to see what happens.
In any event, here is what I have discovered about retrofitting the dial lamp assembly with even more common parts, and this may also apply for folks using various Sansui products which feature those Stanley "rubber-boat" slip-on modules for the twin-pin fixture:
As always, I like to find reasonable ways to accommodate repairs and restoration of things like these tuners. Obviously, I do not want to spend nearly forty or fifty dollars on lamp replacements for the whole tuner. That is insane, in my opinion.
As it turns out, if you take a type 50, screw-base incandescent mini-globe lamp and install it in a common screw-type base found right off the shelf of any Radio Shack Store, there is a way to adapt this fixture to fit the bi-pin lamp holder in the Kenwood tuner. The type 50 miniature globe lamps are usually about 7.5 volts at 250 mV. The first thing I did was to bend the right-angle mounting flange on the RS fixture straight, so it would rest flush against the non-conductive side of the phenolic circuit board inside the tuner. Next, I enlarged the hole in one of the two brass tabs on the RS screw bracket, so one end would slip right over one of the two pins in the original Kenwood fixture. Then, I snipped through the hole on the other screw mount fixture tab and enlarged the cut making a little “V” opening, just large enough so that it would come to rest right over the other pin on the Kenwood lamp assembly board for the dial. This way, the new screw mount RS fixture literally sits snugly against the original Kenwood phenolic circuit board for the lamp assembly just behind the dial glass portion of the tuner.
All I need to do now is to spot-solder four of the new fixtures in place, followed by insulating the fixtures to keep them from touching the edges of the existing metallic opening through which the bulbs will rest and light will pass to the dial.
If necessary, I plan to use Deka transparent artists paint for glass, in order to properly tint the lamps for a mellow green or blue "appearance".
"Be Clever and Creative" is my motto!
Richard Links
Berkeley, CA
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