CR-1020 lamp replacement writeup

barbierij

New Member
Hi, I'm Jesse and this is my first writeup here on AK. I am replacing the lamps in my CR-1020. I bought my lamps here from user dgwojo http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/member.php?u=441. He is awesome, and super helpful. He helped me find the lamps I needed for this and my TA-7100.

First question is, how are your eyes and hands? My vision is OK but my hands shake when I'm nervous (bad for R/C car racing).
2nd. Can you solder a 22AWG wire to a (24AWG I'm guessing) lamp?

If no, save the time and get the lamps and wires. If you like straining your eyes, save the $5 and be like me (actually I bought 6 just in case).

This is what I used:

Wire Stripper:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=17996136&clickid=prod_cs
Harbor freight has them for $5, radioshack has them for $10. I have the radioshack ones.

And helping hands:
http://www.harborfreight.com/helping-hands-319.html
Harbor freight has them on sale for $2.99, radioshack has them for $17. I'll let you guess which one I have.

Here we go!

1. remove the bottom screws.


2. Slowly pull the unit out of the case. Slowly, because you don't want to catch the tuner cord on the middle of the case. The middle of the case has a "catching" bracket that "catches" the front panel when it is put back into the case. I didn't take a picture of this, but you will see what I am talking about.

3. Identify the bulbs.


4. Cut the old bulb off. You want to cut about 1/2" off the wires just so you don't have any of the old leads from the bulb on the wire. Then trim the leads on the new bulb down to 1/4" and do the same for the wires. Now tin the ends.




There is no need to use the shrink wrap because the black rubber "gasket" will keep the wires separated for little more than 1/4"


5. Now this is really why I wanted to do this writeup. The first four lamps are easy to figure out. But for the tuner lamp, people said they had to move the faceplate, and some said they had to remove the string. You don't need to remove the faceplate and you don't need to remove the string. This lamp is just as easy as the others, but you need a small philips head to remove the screws.


6. Once the screws are removed, you can slide the bottom part to the right and expose the lamp. You can feed the wires through the plastic guide a couple inches to get more room.

7. The bulb has a metal housing and a clear insulator "gasket". Be super careful when making the leads short enough, because they may short out on the metal case if they are too long. I believe I made mine 1/4".



8. And then solder it just like you did with the other bulbs.


7. Enjoy!
 
Last edited:
Awesome write up! Very clear for us CR 1020 owners thanks for taking the time!
 
Last edited:
Thank you Jessie! I love to vicariously live through or in this case being walked through your lamp replacement project. My Yamaha M4 is as ugly as a Russian tank but the glow of its lamps is amazing with a nice warmth that I can look at for hours (compared to modern laser bright LED). Your CR 1020 has a beautiful classic look that never seems to go out of style, nice to see you taking care of it, a 5 star write up.

What speakers are you using?

Michael
 
Thank you everyone for the kind comments! I hope this helps build confidence to do this! It takes less than an hour.

Thank you Jessie! I love to vicariously live through or in this case being walked through your lamp replacement project. My Yamaha M4 is as ugly as a Russian tank but the glow of its lamps is amazing with a nice warmth that I can look at for hours

What speakers are you using?

Michael

I have never seen the M4 in person but pics on google are nice. The speakers I am using are (please dont laugh) KLH 6000 2way satellite speakers.



I still have the cover off because I am tracking down a Left channel popping sound and then the relay clicks. I might put it up on a shelf until I have time to look at it, once I replace the lights in my TA-7100. Keep an eye out for that writeup.
 
I still have the cover off because I am tracking down a Left channel popping sound and then the relay clicks.
Does it pop with the pre-amp decoupled from the main amplifier ie. decoupler switch on rear panel.
If it does, then its likely a noisy transistor or solder connection in the left channel amplifiers front end.
If it doesn't pop when decoupled, then theres a problem further back "upstream" in the pre-amplifier.

Judging by the photos. There are lots of old tired e-caps.
 
Last edited:
Does it pop with the pre-amp decoupled from the main amplifier ie. decoupler switch on rear panel.
If it does, then its likely a noisy transistor or solder connection in the left channel amplifiers front end.
If it doesn't pop when decoupled, then theres a problem further back "upstream" in the pre-amplifier.

Judging by the photos. There are lots of old tired e-caps.

It pops with the pre-amp decoupled. I brought this in for repair in 8/2008 because the left channel had zero output. The receipt says "Repaired left pre amp and main speaker relay. Soldered several marginal solder connections in the main amps and power supply." I took it home and used it for about three minutes, just to check the output. Then it sat on a shelf until a few weeks ago. I am going to make another thread about the popping and re-capping, since I can't find one of those either. Not for a while though. It will be my winter project! I just wanted this thread to be strictly about the CR-1020 lights.

I'm sure all the caps are old and tired.
 
Last edited:
I just replaced the lamps on my CR640 using pre-wired globes. I reckon it probably was easier as you suggest, covering the joins with heat shrink. You just need to make sure that the join for the dial indicator doesn't foul on anything as it isn't flexible. The biggest trap I fell in to was wiring the first couple and checking to see if they worked. I wasted 1/2hr messing around before working out they are wired in series. Bit of a trap for a newbie like me.
 
Back
Top Bottom