Rotator Illuminator

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3-LED Rotator Illuminator Replacement for Incandescent Meter Lamps in Hy-Gain/CDE Rotator Control Boxes.

Hy-Gain & CDE 3 LED Illuminator™ “Assembled & Tested” board available in FOUR colors – white, red, blue & green! User assembled “kit” available in white.

The Hy-Gain Illuminator by Idiom Press/Ham Supply is a three-LED replacement circuit for the incandescent lamp in Hy-Gain/CDE control boxes.  Buy this Iluminator and never have to worry about finding scarce 28 VAC bulbs, and never have to change the bulb ever again!

– Soft, even illumination
– LEDs last far longer than incandescent bulbs
– Uses less than 1 W, far less than the stock incandescent bulb
– Three user-selectable brightness levels
– Uses three LEDs evenly spaced over the meter
– LEDs rated for 140° viewing angle, 500 mcd @ 20 mA each
– Designed by a professional display engineer
– Circuit includes rectifier with 100 µF filtering capacitor, insuring absolutely no visible flickering
– Focuses all the light on the meter, rather than wasting it in unwanted directions like the incandescent bulb
– Simple to build, the only tools required are a soldering iron, a screwdriver, wire cutters and wire strippers; the only supplies needed are solder and vinyl electrical tape.  Everything else is included.

Have a look at the product reviews for the Hy-Gain Illuminator on eHam or on our Ham Supply User Review page.

Have you heard about our Rotor-EZ enhancement for your Hy-Gain/CDE rotator control box?  It is an add-on circuit board that will turn your rotator to the bearing you want without you holding the buttons!  Optionally it can be controlled by your computer via a serial connection.  Have a look at the Rotor-EZ here.

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It has come to our attention that some companies supply LED lamps that plug directly into the lamp socket.  At first this seems like a very attractive alternative to the incandescent bulb.  We tested two different LED lamps ourselves, and found them to be not very suitable.  Both LED lamps focus their light in a narrow cone straight ahead.  This is appropriate for a flashlight.  However in the control box the lamp socket is pointed forward at the back of the front panel and not downward at the meter, and most of the light is wasted and the meter is not illuminated very well at all (there is not room inside the control box for a lamp and socket pointed downwards at the meter).  The Hy-Gain Illuminator was designed especially for illuminating the meter in your Hy-Gain/CDE control box, and works much better.

The Hy-Gain Illuminator kit was designed for meters with a single bulb above a meter with clear plastic edges, which are the vast majority of meters in service, but if you have the new-style meter that has two built-in bulbs and has opaque edges this is how Jody – K3JZD figured out the newer meter workaround using our same kit.

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Note:  many customers order more than one Hy-Gain Illuminator.  In order to cut down fewer trees and save on shipping costs, we usually only send one copy of the manual to customers who order more than one Hy-Gain Illuminator.  If you would like more than one copy of the manual, you can download the Hy-Gain Rotor Control Illumination Kit Manual here, or you can request more than one copy in the “Comments or Instructions” box of the order form.

Kit Building and Installation Assistance

Charley Snodgrass:  Charley provides complete services for CDE / Telex / Hy-Gain rotator control boxes, including repairs and installation of Rotor-EZ boards and Rotator Illuminator LED light kits.  Please contact Charley at: charley46813@gmail.com

NEW! Red, Blue & Green Hy-Gain/CDE Assembled & Tested Illuminator!

“Assembled & Tested” Illuminator in white, red, blue & green ship now! User assembled “kit” ship now (in white only).

Prices and Ordering

Hy-Gain/CDE Rotator Control LED Illuminator Kit:  $11.95

Hy-Gain/CDE Rotator Control LED Illuminator Board Assembled/Tested:  $23.95