Right, I was going to see if I could find a ribbon connector for the board in which some of the pins lined up with 3-4 channels of buss wire and just clip any pins in between the active connections. Off-the-shelf ribbon cable is pretty cheap so it wouldn't matter that i was using only a fraction of the connections.

Anyone know how I could replace the vu bulbs on my system 8 with LEDs. I tired of replacing bulbs I think the LEDs would be a permanent fix maybe.

Thanks so much for the thread.

Im looking to buy a system 8 and im sure this thread will be a god send.

Its also something on my list of things to modify in mine. Probably looking at a small PCB with a number of orange or yellow surface mount LEDs and some sort of current limit.

There is a suitable FC series cap with a 25V rating Digi-Key - P11212-ND (Manufacturer - EEA-FC1E100)

Did the channels with the WIMA caps make a difference?

considering joining the system-8 party myself nd am trying to familiarise myself with it all... i notice that your board appeared to have no eq-cut switch next to the gain knob... doesn't that make it a mk1 ? did it have 90mm or 100mm faders?

Allen & Heath actually have an official LED modification kit for the GL and ML series mixer VU meters - consisting of a small PCB on which a pair of yellow 'tombstone' shaped LED's are mounted together with a dropper resistor.

It will probably be suitable for most of the VU meter movements found on popular mixers.

Contact A&H directly or your nearest service centre for more information.

I have modified a few mixer VU meters - and depending on the type and how they are mounted, it is possible to illuminate them very well from the edge, or even the rear - which has the advantage that you don't need to open the meter and risk damage to the delicate movement.......

Modern LED's are available in a variety of styles - and incredibly bright types are easily available now. Many might agree though - that the use of blue LED's ought to be against the law!

Yellow LED's look bad. I use either pure white (with a slight bluish tint, but modern looking) or special incandesent colored white LED's that look like bulbs.

LED Lights, Bulbs & Accessories - SUPER BRIGHT LEDS

have them. I sand them to difuse the light, they look great.

Is it just obvious once you get in there? When you say 'cut the buss lines' that sounds easy, but how are you reattaching them when you're done with the recapping?

I have a System 8 1616 which is in dire need of recapping. My master monitor is quieter on the left than on the right now, and there is some scratchiness in some pots which may clear up. Also, the main left VU meter doesn't work until the board is good and warmed up with lots of hot signals for an hour or two.

After seeing you leaking PSU cap, I'm gonna check that as well.

Thank you for posting the pics and the great thread. What are all of the tools you need to do this job, other than soldering iron, desoldering iron, and presumably a wire cutter for the buss lines? (yikes)

I was planning on doing that this month, but I've never done a project like this before.

The A&H site is down at the moment, but I'm going to take a look at the schematic as soon as I can.