how would I hook up say a #47 6.3v dial light to a all American 5 type ac dc radio (typical 5 tube ac dc set).some of these old radios would look real good with a dial light---there must be a simple hook-up---getting back to old radios -- thanks Ray

There is a tape on the filament of the rectifier for that. On a 35z5 the lamp would connect to pins 2 and 3.
Use a 40 or 47 lamp.

If the tube is a 35W4 I am not sure which pis to use but without a lamp there is supposed to be a 100 to 300 ohm resistor where the lamp would connect (remove the resistor).

:There is a tape on the filament of the rectifier for that. On a 35z5 the lamp would connect to pins 2 and 3.
:Use a 40 or 47 lamp.
:
:If the tube is a 35W4 I am not sure which pis to use but without a lamp there is supposed to be a 100 to 300 ohm resistor where the lamp would connect (remove the resistor).
:I think one of my radios has that tube I may try it--how about a selenium rectifier-for a RCA model 7BX-8J portable globetrotter radio set up thanks for your time KA2TMW Ray
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Exactly which make/model did you have in mind for this "retrofit"?

Many AC/DC sets had provisions for a dial lamp, but many (the extreme "el-cheapo" sets) did not. The effort that it takes to add a dial lamp to a set not originally so equipped varies quite a bit from one set to another. By the 1940s radio manufacturers counted their per-set profit in pennies and if something supported a feature (like a dial light) that was not implemented, the company beancounters ensured that out it came.

:Exactly which make/model did you have in mind for this "retrofit"?
:
:Many AC/DC sets had provisions for a dial lamp, but many (the extreme "el-cheapo" sets) did not. The effort that it takes to add a dial lamp to a set not originally so equipped varies quite a bit from one set to another. By the 1940s radio manufacturers counted their per-set profit in pennies and if something supported a feature (like a dial light) that was not implemented, the company beancounters ensured that out it came.
:

:Exactly which make/model did you have in mind for this "retrofit"?
:
:Many AC/DC sets had provisions for a dial lamp, but many (the extreme "el-cheapo" sets) did not. The effort that it takes to add a dial lamp to a set not originally so equipped varies quite a bit from one set to another. By the 1940s radio manufacturers counted their per-set profit in pennies and if something supported a feature (like a dial light) that was not implemented, the company beancounters ensured that out it came.
:a RCA globetrotter 7BX-7 & model 6-BX--the classic 5 tube radio type and lastly a Westinghouse portable radio H-302P5 these are non transformer powered units if that helps Thanks for your time Ray

Those are all battery portables which use 1-volt heater tubes. So, you could use a 1.5 volt lamp as a dial lamp, although these sets almost certainly didn't come equipped with them because they are a power drain in battery mode. Some more-expensive battery sets like Zenith TOs had dial lamps, but these were momentary-pushbutton-activated to minimize battery drain. It would be electrically easy to add something like this to your sets.

Mechanically speaking, it might be another problem since the sets originally weren't made with dial lamps. So, it might be tricky to install one that would provide useful dial illumination.

Looking a little closer at the schematics, the tubes are on a series heater circuit so that a higher-voltage (in the case of the Westinghouse, 9 volts) "A" battery can be used. So a dial lamp would need to be sized to the "A" supply voltage, not one of the 1-volt tubes. The current drain and bulb-mounting considerations would still be issues.

If you rectifer has a lamp tamp (EZ 35Z5), connect it light this: http://i70.servimg.com/u/f70/17/16/21/82/35z5gt10.png. Generally the 35 volt tubes use a 47 lamp.

35W4 and 35W4 connect similarly but use different pinouts I think.

25Z5 can also run a lamp but I think uses a 44 and may have a different pinout.

If your rectifier tube does not have a lamp tap, you might have to use a transformer to provide lamp voltage, or use a line powered lamp such as a neon lamp.

:how would I hook up say a #47 6.3v dial light to a all American 5 type ac dc radio (typical 5 tube ac dc set).some of these old radios would look real good with a dial light---there must be a simple hook-up---getting back to old radios -- thanks Ray
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I've added dial lights in the past using a line-voltage neon lamp (NE51?) with a 100K 1/2 watt resistor in series, if I remember correctly. You'd need to check the lamp current and install an appropriate resistor. These lamps were cheap, bright, drew almost no current, ran ice cold, and would last forever.

As long as we're going "where no portable radio designer has gone before", another choice for dial lighting is a white high-output LED. These are extremely bright, consume little power, and are compatible with battery operation. These are available in small outline "chip" packages for surface mounting, which makes them extremely flexible as far as mechanical mounting is concerned (somewhat of a pain in the wazoo to hand-solder, however, due to their tiny size). Prior to retirement I used an array of these high-output LEDs as backlight illumination for color LCD avionics display screens (PFDs, EICAS, WXR displays).

:As long as we're going "where no portable radio designer has gone before", another choice for dial lighting is a white high-output LED. These are extremely bright, consume little power, and are compatible with battery operation. These are available in small outline "chip" packages for surface mounting, which makes them extremely flexible as far as mechanical mounting is concerned (somewhat of a pain in the wazoo to hand-solder, however, due to their tiny size). Prior to retirement I used an array of these high-output LEDs as backlight illumination for color LCD avionics display screens (PFDs, EICAS, WXR displays).

And, CV, prior to my retirement I worked on some of the stuff you used. By the way, neon bulbs do not last forever.....only about a thousand years.
Lewis
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Won't be able to see the glow in a thousand years. Neon lights do darken in time. I've been using some continuously lit across light switches here and glass is noticeably darker. I agree, they last a long time..

Norm

::As long as we're going "where no portable radio designer has gone before", another choice for dial lighting is a white high-output LED. These are extremely bright, consume little power, and are compatible with battery operation. These are available in small outline "chip" packages for surface mounting, which makes them extremely flexible as far as mechanical mounting is concerned (somewhat of a pain in the wazoo to hand-solder, however, due to their tiny size). Prior to retirement I used an array of these high-output LEDs as backlight illumination for color LCD avionics display screens (PFDs, EICAS, WXR displays).
:
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:And, CV, prior to my retirement I worked on some of the stuff you used. By the way, neon bulbs do not last forever.....only about a thousand years.
:Lewis
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:Won't be able to see the glow in a thousand years. Neon lights do darken in time. I've been using some continuously lit across light switches here and glass is noticeably darker. I agree, they last a long time..
:
:Norm

I'll agree they will get darker, but they is still glowing, ain't they? OK, ten or twenty years.
Lewis

:
:::As long as we're going "where no portable radio designer has gone before", another choice for dial lighting is a white high-output LED. These are extremely bright, consume little power, and are compatible with battery operation. These are available in small outline "chip" packages for surface mounting, which makes them extremely flexible as far as mechanical mounting is concerned (somewhat of a pain in the wazoo to hand-solder, however, due to their tiny size). Prior to retirement I used an array of these high-output LEDs as backlight illumination for color LCD avionics display screens (PFDs, EICAS, WXR displays).
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::And, CV, prior to my retirement I worked on some of the stuff you used. By the way, neon bulbs do not last forever.....only about a thousand years.
::Lewis
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::Won't be able to see the glow in a thousand years. Neon lights do darken in time. I've been using some continuously lit across light switches here and glass is noticeably darker. I agree, they last a long time..
::
::Norm
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:I'll agree they will get darker, but they is still glowing, ain't they? OK, ten or twenty years.
:Lewis
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::::As long as we're going "where no portable radio designer has gone before", another choice for dial lighting is a white high-output LED. These are extremely bright, consume little power, and are compatible with battery operation. These are available in small outline "chip" packages for surface mounting, which makes them extremely flexible as far as mechanical mounting is concerned (somewhat of a pain in the wazoo to hand-solder, however, due to their tiny size). Prior to retirement I used an array of these high-output LEDs as backlight illumination for color LCD avionics display screens (PFDs, EICAS, WXR displays).
:::
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:::And, CV, prior to my retirement I worked on some of the stuff you used. By the way, neon bulbs do not last forever.....only about a thousand years.
:::Lewis
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:::Some GE radios used a 120v night light bulb for the dial lamp to run off the line voltage. Today you can buy LED night light bulbs (screw base). Just use an old xmas lamp socket or purchase a new one at a hardware store. The LED lamps last for years and don't get hot. As far as neon lamps go, they do not last a thousand years. The neon gas is used up go dim and then flicker and then go out.
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