Popeye marque light - tapping into the Jap. 100V power supply

sugar_ray

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Popeye marque light - tapping into the Jap. 100V power supply

Howdy

Restoring a Popeye and as MOST of you know finding a replacement 13 inch tube bulb for the marquee light is a needle in a hay stack. I looked at several bulb locations and it seems to be a rare bird indeed. I just gave up and purchased a new ballast with a much more common 18 inch bulb.

As far as I know all these old NIN. cabs (DK, POPEYE, ETC...) are supplied with 100V power Japanese style supplies. Even though in North America we plug these machines in to 120v power outlets there seems to be a reducer built in to the power supply.

MY QUESTION: to wire in my 120v North American replacement ballast do I have to tap it in to the power supply itself or can I get away with tapping it in to the existing wiring that leads up to the STOCK 100v ballast??

thanks everyone
 
Just plug it into the same 100v outlet the original light was plugged into. it'll work...
 
Just plug it into the same 100v outlet the original light was plugged into. it'll work...


You mean the dual plug outlet that is located at the bottom of the cab that supplies the marquee light and monitor? So NO need to splice in to the wires? Just plug in directly??
 
Just plug it into the same 100v outlet the original light was plugged into. it'll work...

Shame on you steve, it'll work for a while and then it'll be gone. Look underneath the clear plastic cover next to your power brick and guess what you'll find? A 120v lug for you to run your light to.
 
Shame on you steve, it'll work for a while and then it'll be gone. Look underneath the clear plastic cover next to your power brick and guess what you'll find? A 120v lug for you to run your light to.

A 100v source isn't going to blow a 120v light fixture. And I've got one here that's been running fine for the past 4 years. I guess I should say "Your method may vary".

But sure, you can do it that way, too...
 
In Steve's defense, you can plug it into the 100 volt service outlet but you'll notice that the fixture labors on start-up. Eventually, it kills the starter and so you stick a new one in and then it burns up the ballast. My DK is wired to the 120 volt lug and my junior is pugged into the outlet, both are new style fixtures but my junior has eaten 2 starters and now the fixture is dead.
 
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I'll also add......once in awhile I find a 120 volt marquee just won't light on the 100 volt supply plug. I have no idea why....I think I've had this happen twice. Most do work fine.

Edward
 
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