Best LEDs in darker lighting???

0

#1 10 years ago

OP

KLR

kray37

Inactive member

Mansfield, TX

11y 31,650 282 9 6

Hi guys, I am new to the LED seen, well not really but I havent used very many, and would like some advice to those of you that have used lots of LEDs before making a huge purchase as a bulk buy for 44/47s and 555s.

I have a new gameroom that has "ambient" lighting from just neons on the walls above pins. I didn't want to put anything else but neons in the gameroom, but it seems like all of the pins are a bit hard to see(little too dark I think) and look "yellowish" without LEDs in the backglass, inserts, and/or GIs. I could install more lighting but would rather install LEDs for obvious reasons. I would prefer to get rid of the yellow look to games really, which means doing them all, not just a couple.

I would like to preserve the games, more importantly the playfields and such, from heat related or yellowing anything further. I have over 25 pins in the arcade that I would like to convert, at least some parts of the pin, onto LEDs. I've seen several diff companies that promote their styles of 44/47s and 555s, but not sure what would be best. I had a BK2K that I bought a kit for BITD when LEDs just came out, it was perty but man could you lose the ball easily!!! It was way too bright! I'm sure this has been covered many times but threads get old with new manufacturers out there.

What is the best/cost efficient LED for GIs, inserts, backglass, etc. for the low amount of lighting that I will have without blinding one's eyes trying to see the ball fly?

Thanks in advance!

0

#2 10 years ago

PEZ

pezpunk

iScored

Bristow, VA

11y 103K 7,008 4 20

i prefer color-matched superbrights for inserts.

for GI, it sounds like you want "cool white". "warm white" gives that yellow tint you don't like -- one affect of cool white is the pins will look less "old fashioned", but it's all personal preference there. some prefer warm, some cool. depends on the pin for me.

for any bulb that is "naked", that can be seen by the player or spectator without a plastic over it, should be frosted. otherwise the LED will be hard on the eyes. Especially in a dark environment like yours.

LEDs are generally less diffusive than incandescents -- they tend to shoot light in a single direction. As a result, sometimes after converting the GI of a machine to LEDs, you get dark areas on the playfield. To solve this, I like to use a lot of "flex head" LEDs in the GI. Being able to angle and direct each bulb can yield amazing results, allowing you to light up the whole playfield, but the flex heads might be more expensive and time consuming than you're willing to invest with so many pins!

In darker conditions, the biggest drawback to LEDs is they can be too harsh. I put an LED OCD board on my STTNG to run most of the LEDs at about 85% brightness. it also adds in a very brief fade in / fade out to each LED, to mimic how incandescents light up. It's much easier on the eyes, yet still super sharp and bright (also eliminated strobing and ghosting on inserts). Again, though, this is an expensive and time consuming option.

good luck!

0

#3 10 years ago

MTK

nocreditdot

Pinside+ Frequent

11y 84,300 1,994

I like the cointaker retros in all colors. I just color match and use ww for inserts. It is slightly brighter but not blinding.

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#4 10 years ago

OP

KLR

kray37

Inactive member

Mansfield, TX

11y 31,650 282 9 6

Quoted from pezpunk:
i prefer color-matched superbrights for inserts.
for GI, it sounds like you want "cool white". "warm white" gives that yellow tint you don't like -- one affect of cool white is the pins will look less "old fashioned", but it's all personal preference there. some prefer warm, some cool. depends on the pin for me.
for any bulb that is "naked", that can be seen by the player or spectator without a plastic over it, should be frosted. otherwise the LED will be hard on the eyes. Especially in a dark environment like yours.
LEDs are generally less diffusive than incandescents -- they tend to shoot light in a single direction. As a result, sometimes after converting the GI of a machine to LEDs, you get dark areas on the playfield. To solve this, I like to use a lot of "flex head" LEDs in the GI. Being able to angle and direct each bulb can yield amazing results, allowing you to light up the whole playfield, but the flex heads might be more expensive and time consuming than you're willing to invest with so many pins!
In darker conditions, the biggest drawback to LEDs is they can be too harsh. I put an LED OCD board on my STTNG to run most of the LEDs at about 85% brightness. it also adds in a very brief fade in / fade out to each LED, to mimic how incandescents light up. It's much easier on the eyes, yet still super sharp and bright (also eliminated strobing and ghosting on inserts). Again, though, this is an expensive and time consuming option.
good luck!

Thanks for the explanation and those are good points! I think that might cure my problem is the flex heads to light up playfield more and not just the ball and inserts! Although I love inserts with match colors but I would have to go with something diff on white inserts...on my BK2K they were severely brighter than the colored inserts. I think that is what turned me off on LEDs was the whites being so blinding.

0

#5 10 years ago

OP

KLR

kray37

Inactive member

Mansfield, TX

11y 31,650 282 9 6

Looking at sites now, are the "Natural Light" LEDs the same as "Soft White" and not yellowish? I know warm white is yellow like the original game lights.

0

#6 10 years ago

PEZ

pezpunk

iScored

Bristow, VA

11y 103K 7,008 4 20

I don't know. sounds like maybe "natural" is trying to split the difference between "warm" and "cool" but that's just me guessing by the name.

0

#7 10 years ago

FPG

luvthatapex2

Pinside member

North Wales, PA

11y 129K 5,772 7 100

Lighting is very subjective. What looks good to me might not look good to you, etc.
It also depends on what LEDs you buy. Some warm white LEDs are VERY yellow, some are only slightly yellow.
In my opinion older games don't look good with bright white LEDS, they look better with a hint of yellow (warm white).

If I had a game older than 1995 I would use either the warm white cointaker retros
http://shop.cointaker.com/product.sc?productId=984&categoryId=150
or the warm white cointaker doubleLEDs
http://shop.cointaker.com/product.sc?productId=974&categoryId=136

For newer games I only use cointaker doubleLEDs. Not that it matters, but these are also the ones Stern uses on their new games.

If you are doing a bunch of games, you will get a volume discount, but you might want to try a few types first.

By kray37

10 years ago

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