Choosing a marquee light bulb type

PhoenixStar

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 23, 2008
Messages
2,255
Reaction score
190
Location
Danbury, Connecticut
Hi All!! I have a final fight cabinet im looking to light up and I need YOUR preference help. With so many bulbs, and so many colors, wattages, I cant simply choose something authentic. I dont know what vintage games used for bulb lighting (incadescent soft glow, clear, frosted, wattage) Anyways I dont have a tube fixture, but I will be using the newer CFL spiral bulbs. I have an actual light fixture with a left and right side screw in socket. Here are the bulb choices I have as currently being sold by Home Depot.

Soft Glow CFL's
Bright White CFL's
Daylight CFL's

Which bulb would be the best for popping out the marquee colors while maintaining an authentic, perhaps semi classic look?
Which wattage would you use per bulb or which simulated light wattage?(again I need 2 bulbs for left & right socket)

Thanks for your input guys!!!!!
PhoenixStar
 
You probably should ask to move this to a different forum than ForSale...

Most classics used a 18" long, CW Cool White (light blue tint) 15 watt FL == 60 watt equivelant. Some, like Pac-Man and Galaxian used 2x 25 to 40 watt bulbs. However I've seen the CW replaced with WW (warm white - redder/more incandescent tint) in a few games.

Closest you can do is 1x Bright white or Daylight CFL around 13 watts. However being a single bulb the light will have a hot spot in the center. So your best bet is to move the sockets as far back as possible and put in a 13 in each, or check IKEA or other stores for lower wattage bulbs like 11 or lower (8 would be ideal) to reduce the brightness you'd get out of two of them.

Also note that some cheaper CFL's start out dim, and glow brighter over 1-5 minutes. Tubes generally are closer to their peak brightness right away. Better CFL's will start closer to their peak, but you need to try them out if that matters.
 
In my many cabs that have dual "socket" style bulbs (usually one on the left and one on the right ... many PAC cabs came that way), I use the lowest wattage CFL I can find. I believe I have 4 watters running. I never paid attention to the "warmth" of the light as the marquee itself defuses the overall light anyway.
 
Back
Top Bottom