Adventure!

After much delay, I've finally assembled all the parts to finally put the flying fuse on my Magnetek 6400 series power converter to rest. My original plan was simply to replace the stock fuse holder, but I just wasn't able to locate a similar square holder, and decided that I'd use a screw cap holder instead, which would have meant drilling a new hole in the front, and finding something to cover up the square opening left by the old fuse holder.

Fortunately for my, I ran into a snag with the holder that I'd purchased, the spade lugs were the wrong side for the connectors on the stock unit, and when I went looking for a compatible version, I came across what I can only describe as the Holy Grail, a NTE R59 Series Thermal Circuit Breaker, found locally at Fry's Electronics. Several sizes were available, and as I had the Magnetek 6409 model, which has a DC current output of 9A, I selected a 7A breaker, the R59-7A. And despite the fact that the unit can only supply 9A of power, a max 15A fuse was recommended, meaning that in the event of an over current situation, I'd likely have smoked the power converter instead of blowing the fuse...

As you can see in the pic below, the breaker is slightly smaller in size at the front compared to the old fuse holder, but the mounting hole was a perfect fit.

The second phase of my power converter upgrade was to install two panel lamps to give a visible indicator that I had power (no more guessing if I was plugged into a live pole, if my fuse had popped, etc.

I tracked down through Altex Electronics a pair of LEDs that were exactly what I wanted, a Philmore 11-2450, Red LED rated at 125V AC (yes, it is designed for AC, and has an appropriate diode and resistor built in to handle that voltage), and a Philmore 11-2426, Green LED rated at 12-14V. Both are snap in mount using a 1/4" hole.

Some quick work with my drill had these mounted, the Red LED I wired directly to the AC lines coming into the power converter, the Green LED had the positive lead attached to the output of the newly installed breaker, and the negative lead going to a mid-line tap on the negative supply line coming off the transformer in the unit.

I did briefly consider replacing the transformer and related circuitry supplying the DC voltage with something a bit more modern that would give a cleaner output, but since it was only for interior lighting I decided to pass at this point. Maybe later.

Below is my completed panel in its operational state: