Episode: 4068
Title: HPR4068: Replacing a lightbulb in a microwave Oven
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr4068/hpr4068.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-25 19:14:02

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This is Hacker Public Radio Episode 4,068 for Wednesday the 6th of March 2024.
Today's show is entitled, Replacing a Lightbulb in a Microwave of it.
It is hosted by Mr. X and is about 21 minutes long.
It carries an explicit flag.
The summary is, in this episode I record myself replacing a blown lightbulb in a microwave oven.
Hello and welcome Hacker Public Radio Danes, and welcome to this podcast.
My name is Mr. X and as usual I'd like to start by thanking the people at HPR for making
this service available to us all.
HPR is a valuable service on these here intertubes.
It is a community podcast provided by the community for the community.
That means you can contribute too.
So why don't you pick up a microphone, your mobile phone, the MP3 player if you've still
got one, and record something and send it and it's really very easy and they've gone
to a great deal of effort to make the process as simple as possible.
We're always looking for shows and we're regularly short on the shows, if we're all sent
in a show, one show a year we'd have more than we'd know what to do with, so why don't you give
a go, you'd maybe even enjoy it.
There's lots of topics you can find on HPR website as well, so it's usually quite easy.
So this came about because we have a lot of people who have a microwave in their kitchen
and we just switched it on another day and I hadn't really noticed that it was Mr. X said,
they know the ball was gone on another microwave, I know the mention that I noticed that.
I just said, oh yeah, I suppose I need to get a new one.
I said, oh wow, well the ball's gone.
I mean the lights out, lights out, it's no, no, no, don't be silly.
Should we can replace it, you know.
So let's remember to give him a look at the manual and see if it says anything.
So I don't mind not.
So I actually had a look in the manual and it said, you know,
something about, for models that don't have an access panel,
do not attempt to replace the bulb.
And there's a great big warning on the rear of the microwave just to say about,
not to, not to opening the covers or whatever.
And in fact, I think I have actually replaced the bulb and actually in my recording,
read out the big warning label.
So, you know, do so at your own risk.
There are lethal voltages in microwaves.
Not only that, they can hold a charge.
There's devices in the microwave.
They can hold a charge for a long period of time.
And, you know, probably not a bad idea to leave unplugged for a day before you
replace the microwave, the bulb.
I didn't do that.
I left it a few hours and, you know, when I took the covers off,
I only took them off a little bit and I knew not to touch anything and I was very careful.
But actually it was very easy.
It was a very easy job.
But, oh, I think, I think Mr. Six is a bit disappointed at first because she thought,
oh, I can get myself a new microwave, you know, and nope.
Well, waste just because a bulb goes, you know.
And, you know, even if it had been brand new,
these have been given away free.
I still would rather repair the existing microwave than throw it to landfill.
So, but when I took the, when I looked at the microwave bulb itself,
I was really surprised because it seems a very unusual shape.
At first, I thought it was actually on a plastic holder.
And we just give it a quarter twist.
I was trying to give it a bit of a twist and I was not going to twist.
I'm pushing it down and giving it a twist.
Like, I'd be in it fitting.
And I thought, maybe I just did a screen run on twisting.
It's still not turned on and I thought, ah, strange.
And then it looked to be a bit closer and I noticed that there's like two soldier blobs
on the back of the bulb.
I've actually taken a picture where you'll see it.
I'll send it in with a show.
And these soldier blobs are actually the ends, I think, of the bulb.
These soldier blobs have got like spade terminals attached to it.
And then you just push these spade terminals on.
And I thought, ah, that buggers, they've fitted a special custom bulb.
You know, a nightmare to get that.
And I thought, well, I'm not going to be, I was thinking,
I'm not going to be put off, you know, I can get a bulb with spade terminals
and fit something on it or make something up or whatever, you know.
So I went to Google and I typed in the words,
two 30 volts, 30 watt bulb.
I think that's what I plugged put in it.
And to my amazement, Google immediately recognized what I was looking for.
And they supplied me with a link.
And I was in a link to a generic two 30 volt 30 watt microwave bulb.
It turns out that it's a flaming standard bulb for microwaves.
I was quite amazed at that.
I think apparently they can cope with higher temperatures.
So that's that's the specialist thing about them.
And I apparently they do a more modern version that is the exact same shape,
but in an LED form, and obviously I can't use that one because
the connection will supply two 30 volts and the LED won't run at two 30 volts.
So it's obviously for more modern microwaves.
But it's the whole thing was a bit of a surprise to me when I discovered all of this.
So yeah, it's quite interesting.
So I thought I'd have a go replacing it and record the process.
It was very easy, really very easy.
Indeed, I was quite shocked how simple it was.
They did no specialist tools.
So I started screwing all that.
So it was, it was dead easy.
As I say, if you are going to attempt this, please be careful
because there are lethal voltages in that.
I'm not going to see it.
I would recommend it after a lot.
So a bit of a mixed message, isn't it?
So I was saying that was a bit of a mixed message.
And I'm not saying you should necessarily go ahead and do this.
But it was a simple job and
I'll leave it entirely up to yourself.
But please be very careful.
I somehow audacity lost that clip at the end that I was saying.
So I don't know what the heck happened.
But I'll now hand you over to myself this morning
when I was actually releasing the bulb.
All right, okay, so I'm going to start
up this bulb replacement in my
sharp microwave and noting all the
cautions and warnings that I actually put at the beginning of this
recording.
It usually needs to be careful and
it wouldn't necessarily recommend it like you know what you're doing.
But right, okay, so
and it's a sharp microwave.
I took a picture of it.
So I've got the microwave.
I've got my trusty screwdriver and I've got a
screwdriver block which gets all kinds of
fittings and stuff on it.
Good, I think they've got fans.
So you've got to find it.
I actually just know I've got to find it.
I can't remember because this is like this.
No, it's really like
another standard Phillips screws.
There's actually a big warning in the back of this
microphone warning, microwave energy.
Do not remove this cover.
Do not operate this oven if the door is bent
worked or otherwise damaged and does not
close firmly.
Do not tamper with the door safe to interlocks.
Yeah, so there's lethal voltages in here.
So I need to be careful.
So I'll just,
I've had this open before to see what the
what kind of bulb is required.
And I was quite surprised when I opened it.
So we just find the appropriate screwdriver bit.
Let's see where it's at.
Delete this bit because it's going to take just a good fit.
No, actually maybe I can just just
standard things that come with it.
Actually, I take up that.
Yeah, I don't need them on my fancy bits.
I've just got the normal Phillips head that comes with a
my screwdriver.
It's got four or five bits in that.
And one of those will fit nicely, I think.
It does, yeah.
So forget the fancy screwdriver block.
You don't need that.
So, um, so there was just, yeah,
so you need a screwdriver.
And I've got the new replacement bulb,
which I got from Amazon amazingly.
So when I first, I'll just take these screws out and tell you so.
So when I first opened this,
so the bike, the bulb packed in.
And it's surprising how much you, you actually
are reliable because you've got no idea what's happening
when the food's cooking.
And, um, you know,
but, um,
I'm just taking the screw, screws off the side.
And then on one side,
take the screws off.
So there's two screws at one side,
two screws at the other side.
And there's,
one, two, three, four,
four screws in the back.
So four screws in the back,
two, one side, two, that other side.
So, eight in total.
Basically,
and they're quite easy to take to remove.
There's no big, big deal.
I thought with all these questions and warnings in the back,
they would use fancy tamper-proof screws and whatnot.
And I thought, I thought the last time I opened up that,
you know, that opened up last time to the,
the time I couldn't have bulb it was.
And I thought I used the fancy screws,
but I didn't.
So that's the four at the back.
And then, I'll just tamper quite a heavy thing.
I'm trying to get the other two.
And it's going to sprung the,
the side's going to spring out a bit when you,
actually, you know, it's not too,
this is a bit peculiar.
It's two screws on one side,
four in the back,
and only one on the left hand side looking from the front.
So that's a bit peculiar.
I don't know why they only fitted one.
All the screws are the same.
There's no difference.
There's a particular model.
So yeah, that's all the screws.
And the, the whole,
it's kind of a ushaped cover that goes on the top.
And it's held in place.
It sits in a, kind of, ridge,
and it kind of pings out when you pull it out from the front,
like the two sides kind of pop out a wee bit.
So it's a bit tricky to,
it's easy to take off,
but a bit more tricky to put back into place.
And I'm not going to take the cover all the way off.
I'm just going to slide it out a,
slide it back and ensure to,
and I think I need to raise,
yeah, I need to raise the back up a little bit to do that.
That does engage it.
Or not.
And there we go, that's that side off.
And that one is well.
Good, good.
Right, so I'll just slide it back.
A couple of inches or so,
or four or five inches.
And that gets you access to the bulb.
And there's kind of two metal tings at the bulb and holder.
And the bulb isn't entirely fitted to the hole.
You can't remove the bulb from the hole that it's,
so one, one piece,
which I thought was going to make it impossible to get a replacement bulb.
I thought I was going to have to rig something together myself.
Anyway, I've actually left one of the tings up,
so it makes it even easier to take it out.
I think I can take it out with the only lift in one of the tings,
which is all the lifted.
So what I'll do is, I'll just lift,
oh, now tell you what, I'll just take a picture of that,
so that you can all see.
So hold on a second, please.
I'll just pause this.
Okay, so let's say a picture of the bulb,
and it's holder in the connections.
It's just two connections.
So now, where's the bulb?
Yes, the bulb is down here.
So I'll just, I've already opened it.
So let's take that there,
and take it out there in the carton.
And I was surprised to find I got two, I got a spare one.
So does it look the same physical side?
I'll try to touch the glass just in case,
because some of these things can be,
um, what did they call them?
A halogen bulb.
I'm pretty sure it's not a halogen bulb.
We just think it's best not to touch the glass.
So yeah, that looks the same size to me.
Excellent, excellent.
I should be nice and nice and, yeah,
the terminals look the same.
And from the Amazon posting,
it looked like it's a generic microwave bulb.
Or microwave is fitted with.
So fancy that.
I've never seen a bulb like this before.
Well, it's good to cope with higher temperatures or at internal temperatures.
I don't know, just,
I'm just trying to remove the spade terminals from the bulb.
Oh, they're quite tight.
Oh, there's one, that's one.
And two.
And we'll just place,
back in the same order.
One, well, that's nice and easy.
And two.
And then I'll just place it back into the hole.
And
can I, now I was able to get it without bending.
Can I remember once I've been the second time up a bit?
Yeah, just to get access to it.
That's one, two times in place,
bend that metal back down again,
bend the other one down again.
And that's in place.
Um, I don't think I need to take a picture of it replaced
because it's just going to look the same.
Uh, so that was, that was very easy.
Uh, I am not, uh, repeat,
not going to throw the covers off.
Just plug it in just to see if it works.
No, I won't do that.
All right.
Because of the lethal voltages,
I shall not do that.
I'll put the covered straight back on again.
So it's nice and safe.
So this is going to be, uh, it's a bit more tricky.
Uh, I might cut some of this out because
it's going to have a bit of a fath to get it tucked into the right places.
Uh, that's a cease.
Oh, okay.
Oh, that side down.
That side going to go in.
Oh, that side's in two.
All right.
Okay, I think I've learned a lesson from the first time.
That's not so bad.
Open the door.
Is it looking yet?
It's okay.
Yeah.
All right.
So I'll just wear my screwdriver.
I'll get that one screw in on the left hand side.
Just to steady everything in place.
Oh, I'll just throw a racket.
Yeah, and I'll put the two sides on the right hand side in.
Uh, is it going in?
Where is this?
I'll push it forward and we touch so I can sort of lie use the holes.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I'm not going to take too many pictures of this because there's not much to see
in the background else.
It makes it a bit more difficult for the
the janitors dealing with a large number of pictures.
I believe that could be wrong.
But there's no, it's not really necessary because you saw the important bit.
There's pictures of the whole microwave and the
in the bulb, so.
Is that in place?
Yep.
Oh, actually I'll keep that screw a little loose.
It's always a good area when you're fitting
the screw to the unit to keep all the screws loose until you've got all in place.
That way you've got a wee bit of wiggle room to adjust the things so we tip.
Um, once all the screws are in place then you can tighten them up.
And if you tighten them up, the best way to do is to tighten them up diagonally
as well, if you're going to out bit, I mean for something that's just pressed.
It's just metal sort of pretty low, cheek quality cover of sudden,
it's beautifully matters.
Yeah, that's not going to go on.
Lining up correctly.
Oh, yes, it has a problem already, but it's slightly to the alignment.
That's going in.
So it's useful to keep the screws a bit loose.
And I've done a bit, and not one in there.
I hope it does work after all this.
Not one.
We're looking back at the receipt for this and the make-up is,
oh, actually it is a bit really 10 years old.
And, um, yes, let's just say Mrs X was quite, oh, that's good we didn't get a new mic.
No, we cannot replace it just, just for a bulb.
I'm sure she was exasperated, but to, and it's, it's um,
a one, I mean, argue, oh, the cost, I mean, as I actually said to you know,
supposing they were getting away, mic waves free, I was still the pair of this one,
because it's nothing to do with the cost, as well from fluke personal rates.
It's just the waste that goes straight to landfill.
So if you can make it last longer,
that's, that was a good thing.
That's it, that's it.
And I'm just taking up, so that's, just check all these foldback ones are tight.
One, two,
three, that would be mega tight, just nipped, four, two side ones in the right, that's okay.
Lift up.
And the one on the other side, because there's only one screw on the left hand side, which is
really bizarre. And voila, that's a cover back on again. No big deal. And that seems okay.
Right, this all happens, I've actually got a plug in this,
room right next to the, so let's plug it in.
Oh, it beeped.
Let's open the door and see if the light comes on.
Wait, it does. Ah, and it's in that right hand corner.
Perfect. Well, that's it, fixed. I think you know, that's all I need to see.
Uh, so I hope you do what, how long has this taken? Oh, I, okay, it's just 15 minutes.
Well, that includes a bit of the beginning. Anyway, I think actually all I've got to say,
um, hope you all didn't find it too boring and, uh, send in your shows. And if you want to contact
me, I am MrX at hpr at googlemail.com. That's MRX, AT, HPR, the At symbol.
googlemail.com. So until next time, thank you and goodbye.
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