Marble Madness lit up Trackballs

Nash....er Francis of ataricade.com did it. It's pretty easy to do. I'm sure others have here as well but just in case, you might want to email him direct from the site and get the details.

I plan on doing that once the OG trackballs die out.
 
Nash....er Francis of ataricade.com did it. It's pretty easy to do. I'm sure others have here as well but just in case, you might want to email him direct from the site and get the details.

I plan on doing that once the OG trackballs die out.

Thanks...

OG Trackballs = Original Trackballs?
 
Yes....original trackballs. The OG ones aren't very translucent. I know Francis mentioned that the translucent ones have a different feel to them compared to the originals. Still....the effect is very cool.
 
I did mine off the coin door and they were bright! Are you using 12v bulbs on a 6v feed? Mine too were very dim, until I realized that the kit came with 12v bulbs... I went down to NAPA and bought two 6v's that fit in the socket and they were as bright as a normal bulb with normal power. Bet 10 to 1 your using the wrong bulbs!! :)
 
I did mine off the coin door and they were bright! Are you using 12v bulbs on a 6v feed? Mine too were very dim, until I realized that the kit came with 12v bulbs... I went down to NAPA and bought two 6v's that fit in the socket and they were as bright as a normal bulb with normal power. Bet 10 to 1 your using the wrong bulbs!! :)

Karl,

I think you are correct... let me check...
 
Karl,

I think you are correct... let me check...
Of course I'm correct... get some 6v bulbs tomorrow and you're good to go! :)

www.bulbman.com you can check voltages and candle power there...

You've probably got a 168 or 194 bulb in there which is only getting half the voltage it would need to actually be bright.
 
Was it pretty simple? I want to do the same thing.

It was.

I also built a special harness that allows me to connect the trackball lights to one of the 3 controll panel connections on the CPU board. So now the MM Control Panel has 3 connectors, instead of 2. I will take pictures tonight and post them... You do have to take the Trackball apart...
 
As promised. I simply replaced the regular blue/red trackballs with translucent ones and installed the little board.

here are the pictures of the lights and the new connector (installed and close up):
 

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Here are the trackballs on the CP lit up. Look much better on the machine (pictures don't do it justice). Well worth the modification (IMHO).
 

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My very first MM (which I picked up directly from Atari, BTW) had translucent red/blue trackballs with backlighting. Because of this, I always assumed that's the way they came straight from the factory. I learned much later on that what I had was an exception to the rule. The wiring for the lamps, however, was definitely FACTORY all the way. That I can be sure of. I've always wondered if they had planned to go with backlit trackballs but later changed their mind?

Whatever the reason, I like them lit up like this and wouldn't have it any other way!

Dave
 
I think they look great...but I am a bit biased. ;)

Any why would that be? :rolleyes:

My very first MM (which I picked up directly from Atari, BTW) had translucent red/blue trackballs with backlighting. Because of this, I always assumed that's the way they came straight from the factory. I learned much later on that what I had was an exception to the rule. The wiring for the lamps, however, was definitely FACTORY all the way. That I can be sure of. I've always wondered if they had planned to go with backlit trackballs but later changed their mind?

Whatever the reason, I like them lit up like this and wouldn't have it any other way!

Dave

Cool. Definitely looks better this way...
 
I think they look great...but I am a bit biased. ;)

Just wanted to add. These kick ass! The best ever! (do I get a discount on the next order? :cool:). Kidding aside, they work great! I mounted mine a bit different (did not use the PCB foot mount) since it would not fit in the rack I built to hold the CP. I need to find a better way to do at as the LED is not centered on the ball.
 
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