McIntosh MR80 bulbs

Hello all,

Just noticed one of the bulbs in my MR80 tuner died out. How difficult are they to replace? I'm guessing it would be accessible from the top but don't want to open a can of worms if it's more than that.

Thank you,

Mike

 

I changed them on my MR78. I had to remove the front plate. I had to be careful not mess up the tuning string or break glass.

 

Are the screws around the frame the only you have to remove?

 

Call Terry DeWick at DeWick Repairs in Knoxville. His contact information is at www.mcintoshaudio.com. He is knowledgeable and McIntosh Labs authorized service, and specialist on vintage McIntosh gear. He is helpful, friendly, and can walk you through how on the phone. And you'll enjoy him. I'm fortunate, he lives near me. So I get to see him for regular pleasant visits and great conversation.

 

I don't have my MR78 anymore so I can't really walk you through it. I believe you want to keep the frame around the glass intact. You can also call audioclassics.com they may be able to help.

 

Thank you!

 

You don't trust the warning a gave you on the other site?

 

and...what was the warning? It's worth repeating for others that may see this thread.

 

Risk of screwing up the touch-sensitive buttons when you remove the faceplate of an MR80. These work on precise voltages and can be thrown off very easily. A nightmare I would never want to go through again.

 

Ok, Yeah, My MR78 didn't have touch sensitive buttons so it was pretty straight forward to replace the lights. Still, there was a lot to go wrong.

I understand the reluctance to use a tech for replacing the bulbs. Terry DeWick will do it for a reasonable price but still will end up costing around a hundred buck incl. shipping. Not to mention that Terry has a 3 month backlog.

 

Exactly. An awful lot to go through just to replace a couple panel bulbs. I would wait until the tuner needs something more important and have it dealt with all at once.

I would also advise replacing all festoon lamps as long as he's in there - if one is going, the others can't be far behind.

 

Actually posted here first...got it off, replaced and back to 100%. Took my time but I can see where issues could arise. Thanks again everyone!

 

Yeah, you have to take your time and be careful. I'm glad you got the bulbs replaced, it's much better to have all the lights if you are going McIntosh.

 

Especially when you have a horrible case of OCD! Ha!

 

My issue is that the bulb on the moving indicator thingy is out, so I don't have the pretty red light at night telling me which station I'm on. But I have a feeling that's a lot more difficult to fix.

 

I didn't even bother looking at those...if it wasn't plug n' play I was going to leave it to the pros!

 

The MR80 has a digital LED readout for station frequency; MR78 has a traditional tuning dial with an illuminated pointer.

It's a miracle you removed the faceplate without affecting the operation of the touch pads: The same simple operation on this end resulted in a nightmare I wouldn't want to think of repeating.

Glad you got it sorted all the same.