Changing LEDS in UBC9000XLT

[bassist5]

I'm looking to change the display colour on my UBC9000XLT from orange to white.Its pretty much a case of replacing 4 leds.They resemble the type that are available for car dashboards but I'm not sure if these will be ok.
Anyone know where I can get white replacements,or if the alternatives on Ebay wll suffice? Would they be 12v? I'm pretty useless at this kind of thing
Thanks.

[m0lsx]

Have you looked at the bulbs? I do not own a 9000, but I believe the original bulbs have an Orange sleeve on them.

And I believe these are acceptable replacements, although 12volt & not 8 like the origional..But I am not 100% sure.

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/miscellaneous/2508325010/

[bassist5]

https://ibb.co/fLx5Q8
m0lsx here is a pic of the inside of the scanner with one LED removed.There are another 3 still plugged in.They are similar to some found on the Bay but they're for car dashboards.They might be suitable.I just dont know how much.

[m0lsx]

I have changed the bulbs on a different Uniden & that looks very similar.
The bulbs I needed were 8 volts, but I used 12 Volt & that worked fine.

[bassist5]

Where'd you get them tho'? Are they like the automotive ones on Ebay?

[m0lsx]

OK this is a bulb, it is not a part that needs an exact replacement part to work. So personally what I would do is measure the volts across the bulb socket & then measure the amps that a working bulb consumes. Ohms law says Volts multiplied by Amps should give you Watts. Then try anything that fits, that is the correct volts required, or of a slightly higher voltage & I would use very slightly above the watts required bulb too, if I had a bulb of the correct measured Voltage.
Like that, it is always going to be under stressed bulb, not over stressed one.
So what I am saying is. If you measure & do not get a manufacturer part. Err on the side of caution. Like that, what is the worst that can happen? I am no electronics expert, but my educated guess is, that if you work things out properly & err on the side of caution, the worst that can happen is that the bulb will be slightly dimmer.
When I helped a friend out on his old Uniden. I fitted a 12 volt rather than what my multimeter said, which was 8 volts across the bulbs socket. So the light was dimmer, but it has worked fine for about 3 years now, so he is happy.

[m0lsx]

What I did was measured Volts & Amps, worked out the watts & then fitted a 12 volt bulb, not an 8 volt bulb, with the best option wattage that I could find, as that is was the best option that I could find.
The bulb is under stressed & not as bright as the original. But it works.
Original parts can be hard to find for older scanners & an under stressed bulb is a better option as far as I am concerned than a non original part running at it's limit.

[bassist5]

OK mate thats great.I know what to do now.Ill order some from Ebay and see what happens.Luckily Ive got a 'donor' scanner I can try them out on.Cheers for the informative reply.I should add,that out of the 3 'Radio' forums I asked the question of (2 here,1 in the US) you were the only person that actually bothered to reply.Thanx for that.