Zenith Royal 3000-1 Dial Light Bulb Mod

A pair of 1.5 V filament bulbs, which are not very bright, operate on battery power and illuminate the tuning dial. The bulbs are inside the rotating cylinder, made of translucent material with scales drawn upon it. I have never seen this radio with a brightly illuminated tuning dial, hence I decided to see if it was possible to have bright LED lights. To maintain originality of the radio, the original bulb holders and their wiring, remains exactly as it was, and works exactly as it did. However, I have added three high brightness LEDs (with a series resistance) that light up when the radio receives power through the mains adapter. The power is taken directly from the supply input jack socket. In subdued lighting, in the evening, when you are sipping your sherry and listening to Radio 4, a glowing tuning dial looks nice. I know, before you all rush off to eBay to see if one of these radios is going cheap, you might as well finish reading all the pages of this multi-page article.

The manufacturers have provided this hatch, for replacing the bulbs, and it secures with two screws. There is also an additional outer hatch on the chassis, which consists of black plastic that covers it. Three screws secure it, and you would have to remove those first to gain access to the inner hatch on the tuning dial drum. Alternatively, if you remove the complete chassis out of its case, then the access is much easier.

The LED mod cost one pound because the LEDs came from a torch bought in a pound store. It was one of those circular ones for use in cupboards or attaching to a wall. In addition to the high brightness LED, it also has a small switch, and battery terminal springs, which are useful when you have something with corroded springs to repair.

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