Upgraded the Bulbs in Old Ms. Pac

Phetishboy

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So I've owned this game for 22 years. This is the first time since I've owned it that I actually removed the marquee. The minute I did, I noticed how hot the 12 V incandescent bulbs were, and one of them had been burnt out for God only knows how long. I'd purchased 10 of those super bright LEDs off Amazon for my Tetris cabaret project. I used 5 in that cabinet and still had 5 left over. I decided to put them in the Ms Pac and wow, what a difference.

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You're lucky the pink is still there! I have 2 that faded to white.
Well, this is the cabaret and has the bent plexi marquee. There are eight screws that hold it in place, so in my defense it takes about 10 minutes just to remove the goddamn thing. But I'm glad that I did. And yes, the pink is still there. It can finally hold its own against it's next-door neighbor, Robotron, which already had an LED fixture.

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You're lucky the pink is still there! I have 2 that faded to white.
They usually fade from the florescent light incandescent bulbs really didn't fade them but caused heat and made the marquees flake, the mini's used incandescent 12v 194 wedge bulbs they didn't produce much heat
 
They usually fade from the florescent light incandescent bulbs really didn't fade them but caused heat and made the marquees flake, the mini's used incandescent 12v 194 wedge bulbs they didn't produce much heat
Tell that to my burnt fingertips. I pulled them out while they were still on.
 
By the way, these were the bulbs I used. Not only do they have light emitting diode's on the face, they also have them down both sides. I'm really impressed with the amount of clean light they give off.

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What's really interesting is old printing processes versus new. The Tetris is a repro marquee, the Ms. Pacman is an original Midway screened marquee. The original Midway just seems to block so much more of the 'hotspot effect' and really produces wonderful colors. While the Tetris has pretty decent colors, the hot spots are obvious-like there's not enough opacity in the print.

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What's really interesting is old printing processes versus new. The Tetris is a repro marquee, the Ms. Pacman is an original Midway screened marquee. The original Midway just seems to block so much more of the 'hotspot effect' and really produces wonderful colors. While the Tetris has pretty decent colors, the hot spots are obvious-like there's not enough opacity in the print.

View attachment 850166
View attachment 850167
You can add a diffuser behind the marque.

You can make one with a thin sheet of plexiglass. Cut it to match the marque size, then scuff it using 320 grit sandpaper for a low cost option.

Or buy a professional one from a lighting place.
 
Man, that Ms. Pac marquee looks beautiful! So, it's not just an 18" long round bulb? The night I brought home my Galaga, the marquee light wasn't on. I unscrewed the 3 screws, took out the marquee, and found the long round bulb. Was the bulb not working? Nope! The 3 pin connector was disconnected! I plugged it back in, cleaned off the cobwebs in the area, cleaned the filthy 18" bulb, and was back in business!
 
What's really interesting is old printing processes versus new. The Tetris is a repro marquee, the Ms. Pacman is an original Midway screened marquee. The original Midway just seems to block so much more of the 'hotspot effect' and really produces wonderful colors. While the Tetris has pretty decent colors, the hot spots are obvious-like there's not enough opacity in the print.

View attachment 850166
View attachment 850167
I have been thinking both have too many hotspots, like the lights are too bright. I've added an extra piece of paper behind marquees before to help diffuse the light. Do you think these LEDs are possibly too bright for this application? Or do the photos overemphasize it?
 
I have been thinking both have too many hotspots, like the lights are too bright. I've added an extra piece of paper behind marquees before to help diffuse the light. Do you think these LEDs are possibly too bright for this application? Or do the photos overemphasize it?
What is their color?

Original lamps are around 2700 K

Some LEDs push 4000K or 5000K (much whiter)
 
I just changed out the incandescent bulbs on my Pacman mini. I tried LED wedge bulbs, but don't like the point light they output, much like the incandescents that were there to start with. So I found an LED light bar on Amazon and tapped into the 12V DC line of the switcher power supply I have in the cabinet (I had converted the board to DC only use when I installed a 4-Pac kit on it). Much better. You can't see the outline of the light bar in person.


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By the way, these were the bulbs I used. Not only do they have light emitting diode's on the face, they also have them down both sides. I'm really impressed with the amount of clean light they give off.

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Would it be possible to get an Amazon link for those specific bulbs? My Ms. Pac cabaret came with a set of LED bulbs and they don't look near as good as these. Mine have a somewhat purplish tint that I haven't been fully satisfied with. From your pics, these look a lot cleaner and whiter pushing through the marquee. I'd like to give them a try myself, if I can track them down.

Patrick
 
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