Hey DJ, This is OT but I've noticed you leave your Pinball games on all the time. That's Ok because they are industrial machines and built to take the punishment (if your ok with paying the bill for the extra power draw on your power bill. These things are hogs when it comes to eating electricity).
To save the GI circuit I'd suggest making sure you adjust the power saver feature on both games. The software of all WPC games allows the user to set the intensity of the GI lamps when the game is in attract mode. In the "Adjustments - Standard" (A.1) menu, set the GI Power Saver time to 2 minutes (the lowest time allowed). Also set the GI Power Saver level to "4" (the lowest value allowed). This simple modification will automatically dim the GI lamps when the game is in attract mode, after two minutes. This will dramatically help save the GI connectors. The game's GI will automatically return to normal intensity when a game is started.
Here's a picture of what may happen. You may want to take a peek inside the head to see if this hasn't already happened.
oh wicked! Jeremie was in the games the other day and the connectors look good still. I'll take a look at the power settings
We are replacing the bulbs with LED - they're on order and should be here this week
Cool, LEDs are soooo sweet. I have a few of my pins outfitted with kits. In my Brams Stoker Dracula I have red Flasher LED in the coffin and it looks like blood bleeding out each time they flash. If your changing to LED's you wont need to change the settings. Epicly lower power draw with LEDs! Nice choice.
Dave
how man pinballs do you have?!
Did you see our jukebox?
Awesome!
Love the Jukebox! Can't beat the classic sound and looks! I'd have one but I have no room in my game/rec room. It's filled with pins, a mame vid and a huge EZ Robot powered B9 Robot!
I currently have 15 pins setup and another 3 waiting to be restored and for me to find room for them. The wife won't let me set any up in the bedroom. Can't even convince her with the ones with a shaker motor installed.
Rocken man cave dave!
eek
Thanks, I feel very fortunate, blessed and thankful.
Dave, the led's i ordered didn't work with my pinballs. I think it's because they are AC? Anyway, i just got off the phone with these guys: http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=192&pg=1
He told me the part numbers from the machines correspond to pretty much these...
906 - flasher all glass 89 - flasher with nubs 89 555 - all glass bulbs 44/47 - little nubs that twist
So i started making a list from my manuals of which bulbs are needed. The manuals show strange part numbers - but i've identified which are led numbers.
My question is... the led's come in a variety of options Frosted, Flat Top, Dome, etc... Have you any experience with the different types and what to use?
Ha! Pinball Life! You probably talked to Terry. He's a good friend of mine and has been over to my house a few times for parties and simple visits. In fact I think I sold him one of his first Pin before he started up his parts business. I always buy from Terry before any one else. It's a family business started in his basement and has now moved into full blown warehouse sized. However it still family owned and run. Reminds me a lot of the EZ Robot story.
Anyway, Yes, I've done a far amount of retro fitting LED's into games in my collection. Believe it or not I've found that using white and clear LED's give the best results. Some guys try to match the colors to the insert colors but I found that white LED make the original insert colors POP.
This is also the cheapest way to buy LEDS for your game.
However that's where the simplicity stops. There are different intensity's of LED's that will make your inserts range from normal brightness to eye squinting, staring at the sun, burn your eye's out brightness. Then as you mentioned there are different styles of bulbs and some styles work better in certain places in the game then others.
The best way to do it is to buy several different shapes and brightness's and try different combinations in each socket to see what looks best. Here's a ruff idea of what I found works:
Here are my recommendations. The costs I show below are USD and from a few years ago. I think I bought all these at Cointaker. Cointaker :
Under most inserts you can use the Wide 170 Degree LEDs. These are the least expensive LEDs available and work great. Cost about $0.59.
I personally prefer the Mini LED for a brighter light under the inserts. A brighter light makes the playfield really pop and these are still low cost. Cost about $0.69.
If you have an insert that you want to be extra bright (i.e. Specials) I would use either the Super Bright LED or the Premium Super Bright LED. Cost $1.29 and $1.59.
For areas under the playfield you have limited space to get lighting to I would recommend the Premium Super Bright Flex LED. These will allow you to move the light into a better position under the insert. Cost $1.59.
Under your pop bumpers I would recommend the 4 LED Lamps. Cost $0.99.
I have discovered that LED lamps can handle a wider range of voltages than the old iridescent lamps. This enables you to use the 555 lamps in the 906 locations. This gives you a lot of freedom when selecting LED types.
VERY IMPORTANT: Use only warm white lamps under your colored inserts to avoid color shifts. Under your white/clear inserts I do recommend the cool white lamps. The only time I would use a colored lamp under an insert is if I want to change a white/clear insert to a different color.
Hope you find this info helpful. If you use this as a guide you'll be surprised of the cost savings when compared to ordering those LED kits.
In the end you may want to keep it simple and buy a kit from Cointaker (Sorry Terry from Pinball Life!). Their kits are already put together for you and are color matched to the inserts of your game with the proper intensity. Here's a link to the Dr Who Kit: Link to Dr WHO Kit from Cointaker
I've bought a few kits from Cointaker and have also bought single White LED's and honestly both results are spectacular. eek
Let me know how you go on this.
Awesome thanks! I ordered 50 of each - 200 in total. I have three pinballs to do so I'll switch then up and see what's best.
I fly back to Calgary next week, hopefully the leds arrive by then. Jer and I would like to stay and do the swap next Friday.
Great! You're going to love the way it looks.
It's probably too late and I'm sorry I didn't think of this sooner. They offer non ghosting led's. They're more expensive but you don't get that little shimmer like the bulb is not all the way off when it should be. They're a nice touch if that kind of thing bothers you.
Guess we will see what happens with what I ordered. Good news is most of the LEDs are 39 cents, so it sure didn't break from bank!
Got nearly all the LEDs switched over. the ones in Doctor who's raising play field haven't been done yet because it looks annoying
I will wait to do the third pinball when we get into our new office next month.
Before
After
Before
After
Woha! Yes! What a difference! I love the Bride in LEDs. She was my first and I was hooked on led's after her. I also have a Dr Who in storage. Now I've got to pull it out and get it running after seeing yours.
Thanks for sharing. You made my day!
Dave, doctor who is unreal! If you've never played it, you're in for a treat!
Dj, with the talent skills and equipment you guys have there at EZ Robot Central you should modify the Delak topper on your Dr Who pin. Cut the dome off, add a servo then reattach. Find a way to add an ezb to monitor the targets on the playfield and when the ball hits one the Delak would turn it's head towards the ball.
At the very least you can have it rotate randomly and make appear like it's looking around.
This might just open up an entire new market for you. Interactive pinball toppers.