After a long time, I opened my JVC M70 for restoration and LED mode of the dial light was certain. Originally, I had thought of having warm white LEDs only, but once I opened up the M70, the idea evolved into having RGB LEDs for an endless illumination experience. However, a controller is mandatory for RGB lighting, and the standard option is a controller box with an infrared remote. While a controller box can be fitted inside the cabinet, positioning of the infrared sensor with its short cable at the front side of the cabinet so as to receive the infrared light from the remote is awkward. It need to be placed somewhere in the cassette well, tweeter fascia, speaker grill or even worse need to drill a hole on the front body. And I didn’t feel comfortable to use an external remote control (having possibility of misplacing it, battery going down etc.) with the retro M70 either. So I started searching for RGB controllers having its own buttons and possibly without a remote control. Soon I discovered this tiny 3-button controller without remote control, exactly what I was looking for. Further to my surprise, I discovered that there is an existing opening on the M70’s body near the power supply socket. Originally designed to house an AC power switch, it is unused and blanked with a small aluminum plate. Even more astonishingly, I found that the 3-button controller could be directly slid into this slot with a handmade backing plate and the buttons would be properly aligned and centered perfectly within the port, and cleanly integrated into the body without even using a screw or glue, making it feel as if this mod had been considered in the design of the M70. I used 12V RGB strip with each segment of 3 LEDs and SMD resistors. Used one segment for the dial and 2 segments for the VU meters and made into a harness, with modular pin connection to the controller. After initial trials with same colors for both Dial and VUs, I decided to have a dual color scheme for the Dial and VU. Except when in White color, the Dial and VU will be having different colors at all times. Power is tapped from the original dial lamp switch. Only a single soldering has been done with the ground cable. The positive wire was connected on to the body of the dial lamp switch by its screw! LED strip was routed beneath the tweeter mounting frame for the dial and squeezed in below the VU meters, without any need of glue or fixtures. The original dial lamp is retained near its original position and still works as it should, though a bit dim now. The controller has 3 buttons: Mode Button - 20 different display patterns such as Blink, Fade, Speed Button - Animation speed control. Also functions as On/Off switch with long press. Color Button - 20 different static colors. The speed button doubles as the brightness adjustment button in the static color mode, giving 6 different brightness levels as well. A short video here:
Nice job! The lighting has always been the design weakness of vintage audio, the top photo is priceless, it looks so much more substantial. Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful work description and execution. Very cool to combine new tech with old tech. If you have this, you don't need a Vela DiscoLite anymore
Really nice result! Also interesting that the place for the RGB controller was already there... such circumstances are indicators of destiny. The gods were favorable to the modification! The VU meters and radio dial look vibrant and impressive that is for sure Nice project and documentation. (What make and model for the 3 button controller? Maybe it is named in the video - but I have yet to watch it!)
The controller does not have any brand name or model number. Plentily available in Chinese online sites. Generic product sold by many different sellers.
