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Sympathetically LED'D

James

James

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James
I have heard this expression before, but what does it actually mean? When the table had LED's put in, someone was saying, oh yea, I hear your pain, I know what your going through...?

Secondly, are LED's retrofittable to any machine? Thoughts on Pro's and Cons?
 
they look awesome and save power and reduce load on boards!
 
I love LED's, I tend to advocate them in most games.

Pros:
Reduced load on boards and connectors as already said.
Reduces electricity cost for keeping the game on (although really only noticeable if you keep the game on all day like in an arcade).
Can be very tastefully colour matched to games.
Last a lot longer than standard bulbs.
No more warped plastics due to bulb heat.

Cons:
Purists will hate your guts for using them. (Personal opinion is anything system 11 and up is fine, anything below keep as bulbs).
Can be very distastefully colour matched (See "No rainbow puke club!" on pinside for more).
Cost of fitting LED kits to games easy goes into 3 figures.

LED's are retrofittable to most machines with some exceptions (I think Capcom games some don't like without an OCD board and older EMs etc).
 
I personally don't really like LEDs except in some specific cases, and unless you leave your games on for lengthy periods I don't think that bulb life / connectors / electricity costs are really issues.

But.....if you like the look of them then fill your boots, you're the one playing your games after all!!! :)
 
i love em, these machines were meant to sparkle, and shine and flash and make loud noises and excite pre pubescent boys into a frenzy of nerdastic feelings , so that you had to get another 10 p to play just 1 more time in the realm of Centaur.

i would put them in every machine coz they are bright and coolioistic


but then i do have to take medication ?
 
astyy said:
This is a good article which discusses implementation in the main machine architectures
http://homepinballrepair.com/index.php/convert-a-pinball-machine-to-leds/
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that's a really useful article! Agree with most of their views too, especially:
  • Don’t listen to the fanatics that love to make their games blinding bright. They are idiots.
I personally like sunlight white leds because it is a truer white than warmwhite, but looks less authentic when compared with the incandescent.
 
They have to be done well, otherwise they can ruin the appearance of a machine and make it uncomfortable to play on.
Cheap LEDs that have a low 'refresh' rate will make the ball travel look 'stuttered' when going over LED inserts. People that are most able to notice (and be offended by this) are people that use and appreciate the difference between 60hz and 144hz monitors on gaming PCs.
They also don't look exactly the same as bulbs, as LEDs are sharply on/off whereas incandescent isn't. How much this matters depends on the game. You can also mitigate this a lot with a driver board - adds expense but if you go down this line you eliminate almost all of the negatives.

Mechanical and electronic properties, however, there is no contest. LEDs are the best option, no discussion.

High quality LEDs with appropriate colours and brightness levels (including frosting, appropriate shapes of diffuser and avoiding cool white LEDs unless appropriate) and adding a good driver board - this is better in all cases except for factory-original purists, and your wallet.
 
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As others have said, depends on the game. When I'm restoring a machine I'll decide based on theme, art style, colours used on playfield and plastics, accessability of bulb sockets etc. I've done games with full LEDs, full incandescent and a mixture of both (this is where I tend to fall at the moment). The only thing I don't consider changing to LED are flashers, I prefer them incandescent.

I wouldn't read too much into the argument that putting LEDs in saves boards/connectors and electricity cost. It does but you only really need to worry about that if you're siting games on location or leaving them switched on 12 hours a day at your house IMHO :) At the end of the day, do what you want so you're happy with the look of your game and enjoy it :thumbs:

A good trick for using LEDs in GI, especially on older games or warmer themes is to put them in places where your eyes can't directly see the bulb, more towards the back of the playfield, and use incandescent where you can see them and more towards the front of the playfield. I've had some nice results doing this in terms of colour balance :)
 
ronsplooter said:
I wouldn't read too much into the argument that putting LEDs in saves boards/connectors and electricity cost. It does but you only really need to worry about that if you're siting games on location or leaving them switched on 12 hours a day at your house IMHO :)
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The only exception I'd offer to this is that you may suddenly get stability out of a machine that has a suffering power supply, marginal connectors or worn wiring if you replace bulbs for LEDs - but I'd question your wisdom if you were jumping to doing LEDs instead of addressing the root problems, to be really frank.
 
but I'd question your wisdom if you were jumping to doing LEDs instead of addressing the root problems, to be really frank
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Agreed, LEDs are not the solution to electrical faults :D
 
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