LED's on STTNG..

[Les Manley]

He wasn't using Super Brights, he was using Ultra Brights, which are even brighter!

I don't think Ultra Brights have any business being used under inserts. Way too bright.

Yeah, not sure I really understand the point. Super brights, ultra brights, for 95% of all inserts, regular old LEDs are absolutely fine and look fantastic. The obsession some people have with getting everything brighter and brighter is beyond me. My friend just bought a No Good Gofers pin with what must have been "super ultra bright" white LEDs under the inserts and in the flashers. It was worse than a strobe light and almost unplayable.

 

[willkaotix]

On the left I see a nice normal playable game, on the right I see a blinding fucking headache. Congrats...you've been suckered into THE FAD. At least you didn't go all "tard colored" with it.

People that think this way have only seen shit LED jobs. Thats it, end of story.

My pins at home I have about half LED and half the machines are still normal bulbs.
I wont even play the ones with normal bulbs until then are converted to LED because they look like so much crap compared to the LED machines.
The proof LED is better when done right???
At my arcade I have about 8 pins, all but 3 I put LEDs in. The 3 with normal bulbs earnings are now about a 1/2 what they used to be. The ones with with LEDs make almost 4 times as much as they ever did. This means that not only do they do way better then the nonLED machines but also pull in many more people to play that never played pin before because they look so bad ass.
So for me LED is not a "FAD" but is what brought pin back from the dead.

 

[Les Manley]

On the left I see a nice normal playable game, on the right I see a blinding fucking headache. Congrats...you've been suckered into THE FAD. At least you didn't go all "tard colored" with it.

The coloring is the second worst, next to blinding LEDs. Taking and putting colored LEDs into *ANY* insert that is white, with no real purpose...just cause they can. Might as well throw some more action figures, happy meal toys and pencil sharpners on the playfield too and really spruce things up.

 

[supadave1]

Again, it's a crappy overexposed iPhone picture and I also have the machine in test mode with all lights on at once. Believe me, it's no where near as bright as that picture makes it out to be. I will change out the saucer lights but that's it. It's just a very condensed area with alot of white inserts. The machine is not blinding in normal lighting but under a darkened room I do think it's a little bright and I'm only talking about the saucer area in middle. You want blinding you should see F14 with led flashers. Not my F14 but one I seen at a gathering once. Some machines work good wit LEDs and some don't. Sttng really looks good and will be about perfect once I lower the saucer area just a bit. I used ultras in a T2 and there was no over bright issues. Then again there are pretty much no white inserts either. I won't stop using ultras on colored inserts but as for whites I think not in such condensed areas or other trouble areas.

 

[Rob T]

Funny how the "crappy overexposed iphone picture" seemed to do fine with the regular bulbs.

Ultra Brights are way too bright for inserts.

And I'm a guy who actually uses and enjoys LEDs....when done right.

 

[Frax]

Funny how the "crappy overexposed iphone picture" seemed to do fine with the regular bulbs.

Ultra Brights are way too bright for inserts.

And I'm a guy who actually uses and enjoys LEDs....when done right.

JFC do I really have to provide a detailed technical explanation of this?

 

[Rob T]

JFC do I really have to provide a detailed technical explanation of this?

JFC does he really have to use ULTRA BRIGHTS in inserts?

I've seen pins that have them in inserts in person. They are too fucking bright and look like ass.

How's that for technical?

 

[Brick Top]

I played around with LED placement in my STTNG. I ended up putting them in the borg ship and a few in the backglass to make some bluish stuff "pop". That's all.

LEDs ruin the attract mode, are usually too bright, and screw up the colors of inserts.

Nothing like the nice warm glow of an incandescent bulb fading in and out. LED cant do that.

 

[RareHero]

People that think this way have only seen shit LED jobs. Thats it, end of story.

I've seen all kinds dude....too bright, not bright enough....weird colors....cool white when it should be warm white...I've seen a million LED jobs and they're all superior w/ regular bulbs and sporadic LED additions. Super or Ultra Bright LEDs in the inserts? Gives me a splitting headache in about 30 seconds of play. A Cirqus Voltaire at PPE had Super or Ultras in the inserts and GI...in a way it has the opposite effect and makes the game seem "darker", as the brightness concentration is so intense it focuses the eye on the hot-spots and almost silhouettes out the rest of the playfield.

LEDs on new Stern games? Looks worse than regular bulbs because #1 - Stern games are bright as hell anyway, #2 - Stern games use multi-level brightness FX which LEDs can't handle without strobing/flickering. Spider-Man for instance, I tried some LEDs in the blue inserts (I'll give you THAT, blues generally look better w/ LED)....and it just doesn't work because the villain inserts have 3 levels of brightness based on how many villain battles you've won, and the LED doesn't work right with that function.

Back to STTNG...I saw an STTNG at PPE with LEDs...looked DARKER because the G.I. LEDs don't offer as much light spread as a normal bulb. Know where I put LEDs on my STTNG? Under the Klingon ship...they aim DOWN at the playfield, brightening up a darker game, but they don't shine in my eyes. To me, this is the best use of LEDs....spotlight type situations. Any game I have with spotlights I use HP-5 LEDs from Cointaker....they significantly brighten the playfield without the drawbacks of being in my line of sight, flickering, ghosting, or not functioning the way the game was intended. Hell, I've got a 13-LED flasher in Homer's head on TSPP. It's awesomely bright but because Homer's head is thick plastic, it doesnt fry your irises out.

OK, if your games are in an arcade...that makes sense from a maintenance point of view...and if the place is brightly lit, I suppose that counteracts some of the intense brightness.....but I generally play my games in the dark in my gameroom....they're bright enough!

 

[supadave1]

Bottom line is that to ME.. The LEDs look so much better then my dim bulbs ever could. The white inserts are too bright and that will be delt with. The colored inserts are superior over the bulbs. Colored inserts are no where near being too bright unless you're a freaken vampire. The whites is the only inserts I think you got to worry about. Yes, some machines like new Sterns have a whole other set of issues and lets not even get started on Data East machines.

 

[RareHero]

Bottom line is that to ME.. The LEDs look so much better then my dim bulbs ever could.

This is what I don't get....dim? Since when are light bulbs dim? I wonder if the people who consider bulbs "dim" have dirty bulbs or dirty inserts. I just shopped out a Fish Tales, Dracula, and a Star Wars...inserts and bulbs had a coat of dirt under the playfield, and yes...they looked dim. After cleaning the inserts and installing new or clean bulbs...they're bright as hell. You'd probably think I was using LEDs

 

[supadave1]

The underside of the inserts were indeed dirty and the bulbs were aged. But with Leds I never again will have to worry about dirty inserts or melting inserts, and hopefully the ageing won't be a factor either. Just another nice perk for going LED.

I shot a video tonight..If you want to see it best go to youtube directly and watch it in 1080p. Notice the colored vs the white..The white is a killer on the eyes but the colored really doesn't bother me any at all.. The video shows things alot better then the picture does. Oh, and my 3 year old had to join in with her latest pinball idea.

 

[RareHero]

The underside of the inserts were indeed dirty and the bulbs were aged. But with Leds I never again will have to worry about dirty inserts or melting inserts, and hopefully the ageing won't be a factor either. Just another nice perk for going LED.

I shot a video tonight..If you want to see it best go to youtube directly and watch it in 1080p. Notice the colored vs the white..The white is a killer on the eyes but the colored really doesn't bother me any at all.. The video shows things alot better then the picture does. Oh, and my 3 year old had to join in with her latest pinball idea.

OMG, melting inserts? I've never seen a melted insert...and I'm possitive they won't melt in home use. Is it just me or is a lot of your GI out? I'm gonna post some pics of my STTNG....I swear it's brighter than yours, and it's all regular bulbs except for the two LEDs under the Klingon ship.

 

[RareHero]

OK, here's my horrible, dim game...shine your flashlights on the monitor to see them...oooh, so dim....poor me with my regular bulbs.

Seriously, just those two Klingon LEDs brighten the shit out of the game without the blinding/uncomfortable effect of super/ultra inserts.

 

[supadave1]

OK, here's my horrible, dim game...shine your flashlights on the monitor to see them...oooh, so dim....poor me with my regular bulbs.

Seriously, just those two Klingon LEDs brighten the shit out of the game without the blinding/uncomfortable effect of super/ultra inserts.

How many times do I have to say I agree, accept on the colored inserts.. The colored inserts are only a bit brighter then regular bulbs and not uncomfortable at all. It's the whites and I admit that I made a mistake of using Ultras on the white inserts.

Ive seen some melted inserts in my time.. Yes mostly on older games.. I seen a pretty wrecked High Speed once. Sure, it's probably not an issue as much on newer games but the fact is that it can happen over time. It's a lame excuse i know. My GI is fine, now I did notice a flasher at the front right of the ship is out. It went out in the last couple days cause it's not out in the iphone pic and I did fix the pop bumper light that was out. It's probably just the way the camera films in low back lighting and adjusts for the lighting coming from the front. I probably should of left the light on in the room or something. Maybe I do have a couple GI's out. I haven't done a light inspection in some time. Oh well.

I didn't mean to imply that regular bulbs are bad. I just prefer the LED mod on this particular machine over the bulbs. That's just my opinion. To each his own..

 

[Rob T]

Looks great Greg. How long have you had your ST:TNG? How do you like it?

 

[willkaotix]

I see all your points, and agree with alot. I dont really like the flickering, strobe, or ghosting, but it does not really bother me. I like that the light acts and looks different then original, that is part of the draw.
I think the bottom line is that some people (like me) think LED looks awesome and makes a game look more "hi-tech" and we like the way LED light looks and acts.
Some people just cant and wont like LED light at all, they think it looks like a strobe light and it makes them sick. The same way some people get headaches from fluorescent light.
The same way some people get epilepsy from tv or video games. The same way some cant deal with the way the 3D looks on the 3DS or virtual boy and so on.
My STTNG at home is one of the ones with no LEDs yet, and it sucks to play it because of that. It looks the same as the pics of yours, but I just dont like the look of normal light anymore in a pin.
Everyone here at work (customers and employees) are blown away by how much better the pins look with LEDs. EVERYONE says that the 3 pins without LEDs (spiderman, batman, POTC) look like crap and that they cant even play them because they look so bad compared to the others (fam guy, tron, avatar, and others all stern), EVERYONE.
To say that LED is crap, or a FAD, or what have you may be true for you and some.
But for alot of others the opposite is the case.

I use cointaker supers, never thought about or wanted to use ultras.
Do not buy cointakers kits, they are never the way they should be and look bad.
Also never buy cointaker yellow or orange LEDs, they are worthless. For yellow or orange inserts use warm. Also green inserts use cool, the green LEDs make the insert a little blue, the cool does not and is a nice green.

I've seen all kinds dude....too bright, not bright enough....weird colors....cool white when it should be warm white...I've seen a million LED jobs and they're all superior w/ regular bulbs and sporadic LED additions. Super or Ultra Bright LEDs in the inserts? Gives me a splitting headache in about 30 seconds of play. A Cirqus Voltaire at PPE had Super or Ultras in the inserts and GI...in a way it has the opposite effect and makes the game seem "darker", as the brightness concentration is so intense it focuses the eye on the hot-spots and almost silhouettes out the rest of the playfield.

LEDs on new Stern games? Looks worse than regular bulbs because #1 - Stern games are bright as hell anyway, #2 - Stern games use multi-level brightness FX which LEDs can't handle without strobing/flickering. Spider-Man for instance, I tried some LEDs in the blue inserts (I'll give you THAT, blues generally look better w/ LED)....and it just doesn't work because the villain inserts have 3 levels of brightness based on how many villain battles you've won, and the LED doesn't work right with that function.

Back to STTNG...I saw an STTNG at PPE with LEDs...looked DARKER because the G.I. LEDs don't offer as much light spread as a normal bulb. Know where I put LEDs on my STTNG? Under the Klingon ship...they aim DOWN at the playfield, brightening up a darker game, but they don't shine in my eyes. To me, this is the best use of LEDs....spotlight type situations. Any game I have with spotlights I use HP-5 LEDs from Cointaker....they significantly brighten the playfield without the drawbacks of being in my line of sight, flickering, ghosting, or not functioning the way the game was intended. Hell, I've got a 13-LED flasher in Homer's head on TSPP. It's awesomely bright but because Homer's head is thick plastic, it doesnt fry your irises out.

OK, if your games are in an arcade...that makes sense from a maintenance point of view...and if the place is brightly lit, I suppose that counteracts some of the intense brightness.....but I generally play my games in the dark in my gameroom....they're bright enough!

 

[RareHero]

Looks great Greg. How long have you had your ST:TNG? How do you like it?

Love it! One of my favorite games...I really loved it back in the 90's when I didn't even really understand pinball and was purely a vid guy....but I still thought STTNG was cool and always put quarters in it.

I got it in 2008...NIB...unboxed it myself. I'm pretty sure I posted that story on KLOV at some point.

 

[Rob T]

Love it! One of my favorite games...I really loved it back in the 90's when I didn't even really understand pinball and was purely a vid guy....but I still thought STTNG was cool and always put quarters in it.

I got it in 2008...NIB...unboxed it myself. I'm pretty sure I posted that story on KLOV at some point.

Holy crap! How cool is that?!

 

[RareHero]

Everyone here at work (customers and employees) are blown away by how much better the pins look with LEDs. EVERYONE says that the 3 pins without LEDs (spiderman, batman, POTC) look like crap and that they cant even play them because they look so bad compared to the others (fam guy, tron, avatar, and others all stern), EVERYONE.

C'mon...they can't even play them because they look so bad? Really? They look BAD? I have an Avatar...it's a new game, it's bright as hell...there's no way on earth it looks "bad" with regular bulbs, that's why I posted my STTNG picture...PROOF! Different, perhaps....and perhaps you prefer that difference...but "bad"? It's just a bullshit statement.

I mean...whatever floats your boat...and like I said - I "get it" for operator use...makes your life easier, for sure. ...and I guess I better get used to it since Transformers LE is *ALL* LED (I'm scared....wah!) ...unless Stern somehow figures out how to make LED G.I. spread properly, I'm pretty sure I'm going to convert my Transformers LE to incandescent bulbs....for G.I., at least...the inserts are LEDs soldered on boards so I'll have to live with it. *sigh*