Beomaster 8000: Display Restoration with SMD LEDs

After I replaced the indicator light bulbs of the Beomaster 8000 that I am restoring right now I did the 7-segment displays. The 7-segment displays are essential for the signature looks of the 8000 and dead segments are at best annoying. I usually recommend to rebuild the displays even if they are still o.k. since the death of individual segments is virtually unavoidable considering the age of the units and the potential rigors of shipping. The original LEDs in these displays are not encapsulated, i.e. the bonded contact wires are not protected against vibration and thermal challenges etc.... Therefore, the usual failure mode is loss of contact at the bonding locations. Final failure is often preceded by intermittence as these wire bonds. This Beomaster had a few segments in this stage, which may or may not explain the claim by the seller that the displays were in good working condition. I posted many entries in the past about my restoration process, a summary can be found on my dedicated Beomaster 8000 page. The pictures shown here are posted to document the work done on this particular Beomaster 8000.

This shows the display board after I extracted it:

This shows the displays after unsoldering them. It is mandatory to use a desolder gun for removing them to prevent damage to the fragile pre-FR4 age PCB:

Then I liberated the displays from their plastic mounts,

and opened them up:

Then I removed the original LEDs and then soldered SMD LEDs into place. Then it was time for my 24hrs test where I power the boards from a test-jig that I set up with a couple solders breadboards:

Then I put the covers back on and tested them again to make sure all segments survived the procedure:

Then it was time to solder the displays back in. Here you can see them mounted back on their plastic mounts:

And back on the PCB: 

And fired up together with the newly rebuilt indicator lights (unfortunately I forgot to use a FM preset, so the source display is dark in this picture). The volume is a 6.0 to get the clipping indicator to light up:

On to the uProcessor board.