I wanted to start a thread about changing all my machines over to LED's.
The idea being that as I change over a machine to LED's I will take a photo or short video of the before and after results and put them on this thread. Rather than doing a different thread for every machine, I will just add each machine I do to this thread until all machines are done with LEDs. Should be a good catalogue of photos etc for alot of titles. So far I have done GILLIGANS, CONGO and today I am doing TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.
As I do each machine, I will list what LEDs I used, and how many I used per title so if anyone else wants to do their same machine, It might help other AP members.
I have got 3 dozen machines to do, but I figure that if I attempt to do a machine each week or so, and document each machine with before and after photos, this could become a very long and interesting thread with lots of great photos that will show the results of changing over machines to LED's.
In the past I was hesitant or unsure if I should go the LED route, but after doing GILLIGANS and seeing first hand the massive positive visual difference, and seeing also what damage std candescent bulbs can do to under playfield inserts because of excessive heat, LED's are the way to go to preserve machines for the long term.
The only compromise I do make, is that I leave the above playfield General Illumination lights the standard 44 bayonet style candescent bulbs because the light from stock bulbs does a better job of providing a larger spread of light compared to LED's. I find that LEDs above the playfield can make it difficult to keep track of the ball on some titles, and that if u are watching someone else play a game and u are standing next to the machine, LEDs above playfield can get right in your eyes making watching unenjoyable.
A friend is also converting his machines over and he has ALOT of different LEDs, so I just ordered two thousand LEDs from him with a large mixture of 555 and 44 type LEDs which come in all different shapes n sizes n colours. I will experiment with changing out all the backbox 555 bulbs on each machine to white LED's as well.
The heat from std 555 candescent bulbs is crazy. The heat tends to damage translites n backglasses over time. Converting to LEDs in the backbox will also save heat which will also be beneficial for the longterm health of the game. Any reduction in heat is a benefit. Just got to decide if the warm glow of std bulbs looks better than the bright white light of backbox LEDs.
When I finish TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES tonight, I will add photos/video of all the machines I have done so far.
Stay tuned. Thanks for reading.
