Quoted from chuckwurt:I know we have talked about this before, but has anyone came up with a way to have the bingo card lights more reliable and have a stronger connection? I have tried cleaning the sockets with no luck. I have an extra set of the socket boxes, but I assume those are going to be flaky too if I put those in.
Has anyone tried to rig up individual sockets, or is there a way to reliably service the existing socket boxes?
I stripped my BG down and sent the play field out for restore and clearcoat so I won't have a solid answer on this for awhile, but I have thought on this alot and will share what I am doing and thinking.
1st) I removed my socket assemblies from the wiring harness and ran them thru my tumbler to try and remove crap, corrosion, and just shine them up. Will this help? It will several months before my play field comes back before I can speak with confidence. But at least they are shiny
2nd) Today, I just finished with soldering the sockets to the metal plate so I can at least install and remove a bulb without the socket spinning on me. I have a big 100 watt soldering iron so doing this task was not a problem. Will it help with connectivity? Won't know until I get my game back together. But it sure sounds good
Before you solder them, if you do, you will need to try and rotate them as you will read about below.
3rd) Follow my thinking here: If you are like me you have one of those abrasive sticks that you spin inside the socket to clean it up. You have one, correct? And so you sand all the crap from the inside. And you make sure that little spring loaded nub for the positive wire is nice and shiny, correct? And you still have problems, correct?
I got to thinking on this several months ago so follow my logic: You push your #44 bulb into the socket and give it a twist and lock in the two small tangs on the side of the bulb. Where are your contact points? Aha. Gotcha didn't I?
We like to think of the inside of the socket as being one big contact point and it is to a degree. But in reality there are three contact points on the bulb and socket. The bottom of the bulb with the soft metal is your positive contact point and has be be clean. And the two tangs on the side of the bulb are the negative contact points.
Try taking a small round file and make a couple of light passes on the socket area where the bulb tangs lock in and run some sandpaper or a wire brush across those tangs on the bulb. Now you have three clean contact points. When I did this to some of my dirty sockets my lights-out problem went away.
You may need to rotate your sockets on those bingo card bulb holders so you can access them from the open ends with a small file. You might even be able to do this with a pipe cleaner.
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On the other hand, let's say you want to make some new bingo card bulb holders. I have thought about that a lot, too. And if I still have problem when I get my BG back together and want new sockets, there are three ways to do it.
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FIRST WAY
1) If you have a spare set of bingo card bulb holders you can take this risk---because it might not work Get your grinder and grind off that spring loaded button on the bottom of the socket. Next, drill the brass ring that holds the socket to the bulb holder. This should release the socket from the holder. Repeat eight more times.
2) For this step, you really should have a drill press and some clamps. Drill out all nine holes in the holder to a size that will a #44 bulb socket to pass thru the holder.
3) Get new #44 sockets that are the same barrel length as the ones you just removed. You will want sockets with the longer bendable tabs. Bend the tab back and flatten it out perpendicular to the socket and slide this into the hole you just enlarged in the holder. Do this with eight more sockets.
4) You will need to align and trim the socket tabs so they will all fit to the holder (I'm fairly certain there will be enough room).
5a) You can now solder all the tabs to the holder
or
5b) You can match drill a small hold in the tab and the holder and screw them together with a sheet metal screw, or better yet, a machine screw and nut. And for extra measure, solder this as well.
5c) Now, if you have a socket go bad in the future, you can remove and replace.
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SECOND WAY
1) Go to a sheet metal shop and have the shop bend up some new holders for you.
2) Measure and drill nine socket holes in your new holder and attach new sockets as listed above.
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THIRD WAY
If you do not have access to a sheet metal shop, or any other way to make 90 degree bends in sheet metal, then ......
1) Procure three squares of sheet metal the same size as the factory bulb holder. Actually, they will not be square. They need to be rectangles. Where the factory angles are bent and screw to the play field, you will need to cut two pieces of wood that will screw to the play field and then you will screw your new rectangles (after you have drilled an installed new sockets talked above) to your wooden standoffs.
Now solder all your wires back on.
Will any of the above work? Other than cleaning the sockets and bulbs tangs which has worked for me, I don't know. I have not tried installing new sockets or building from scratch, but at the risk of sounding rather cheeky, if you are a halfway decent technician I think you could do either #1, #2, or #3 and have good results.
P.S. If anyone tries this on their set of BG factory bingo card bulb holders and you screw it up, I am not responsible.
Good Luck.
EDIT: REDKETCHUP, I think #2 or #3 above could be done with 555s