Ship Ahoy
Gottlieb, 1976The LED that is attached to this resistor flickers off/on intermittently during gameplay. I noticed that the resistor gets really hot when the game is on for a time.
This is the lamp for the Spin N Spot insert on Ship Ahoy/Buccaneer. Will replacing it resolve my issue? 75 Ohm 10 watts I'm pretty sure I replaced the socket after taking this picture, but the results are the same.
20191128_082545 (resized).jpg
10watt, 75 ohm, 5%.
If it's getting really hot, to be honest, it's probably doing its job just fine. They make them big and sand/ceramic like that to be able to deal with all the heat without failing.
I'd replace the socket first though, looks really grungy and the wire leading into it is heavily oxidized as well.
-Hans
The bulb was burnt out and the insert deformed a bit by the heat, I'm sure, of either the bulb, the resistor, or both.
I was making edits to my original post, but I'm pretty sure I replaced the socket but with slightly better results. Thinking about it now, I should probably check the switch that tells this bulb to light to make sure it's making solid contact.
I would email Jimmy at PBR and find out what the correct resistor to use with the LED is, before you have something bad happen. You would need to change to a 10/150 if you wanted to use a 47 bulb, for example. [email protected]
I think currieddog hit the nail on the head - I also have a Ship Ahoy and have had issues with an LED on that socket either not lighting or getting blown. I replaced the socket AND the resistor (the old one measured fine) - still issues. Went back to a 44 bulb just for that one light, no issues since. That game has about 110 LEDs, I'm OK with 1 incandescent bulb in it.
Alberto
So what exactly is going on here electronically? Is this a no-ghosting LED with a resistor in it and does that resistor have anything to do with it? Is it just that the 75 ohm resistor has more juice going thru it now because now there's no 44 to use up a lot of it in the form of heating the filament?
It looks like the resistor is being used to drop voltage from the higher voltage side of the pin (not the lamp voltage of apprx 6.3 volts) to drive the original lamp. It was calculated on the current of a 44 bulb original. Changing to a 47 will affect the current and voltage drop. Changing to a LED is even more drastic because LEDs pull very little current. That resistor is made to get hot; it is ceramic and high wattage. It just is not the correct calculated resistor for a LED. Plus, a non-ghosting LED should probably be used in that location.
Quoted from currieddog:The word from PBR: To our knowledge, you can not run a led in that application, the led will melt.
Thank you for getting to the bottom of this one. Back to a 44 bulb it is
Alberto
I'll try both 44/47 bulb and a non-ghosting bulb (if I have one with a bayonet base). Thanks for the info!
Quoted from FatPanda:I'll try both 44/47 bulb and a non-ghosting bulb (if I have on with a bayonet base).
Read the posts above first.
Quoted from currieddog:Read the posts above first.
I have. The bulb that was in there originally was burnt out and the socket was not in great shape. The insert is deformed likely from the heat of the bulb and the resistor. The LED that is in there currently lights more often than not, when it should be lit. The game is in storage right now, but I'll put an incandescent bulb in there to see if it behaves the same. I would rather get an LED in there due to the heat alone, since that bulb stays on unless you've lit all the numbers in the game, so it's on a majority of the time.
Quoted from FatPanda:I have. The bulb that was in there originally was burnt out and the socket was not in great shape. The insert is deformed likely from the heat of the bulb and the resistor. The LED that is in there currently lights more often than not, when it should be lit. The game is in storage right now, but I'll put an incandescent bulb in there to see if it behaves the same. I would rather get an LED in there due to the heat alone, since that bulb stays on unless you've lit all the numbers in the game, so it's on a majority of the time.
You can control how often the spinner light is on with a jack in the game. It’s the Spin N’ Spot jack. If it’s set to liberal it’s always on, but you can move that to Conservative and it will light less often. Moving the jack changes what motor switch controls it
How 'bout using the LED, but putting the 44 in parallel with it but where isn't seen... or could another smaller resistor in parallel be used to do what the 44 does in the circuit so you keep the LED?
Some games I've had for decades have had a little to a lot of cupping/warping on *all* their inserts. Ones that most of the time would be lit at game over, and ones that are only lit for a few seconds during play, like bonus counter lamps on an EM (no attract lighting). They get old like people. So personally I don't really fret about lamp heat anymore other than making sure sockets and lamps are not jammed too close to the insert. Probably worse with very dark inserts though since might absorb more heat.
I'm just using an incandescent bulb for now. I see that when the game is over it, that particular lamp doesn't stay lit, whereas the others will. With it being in a home environment, and not being playing continuously for hours upon hours at a time, I figure that the heat won't be long or hot enough to create further damage. Still curious to see if a non-ghosting bulb would do any better.
Quoted from FatPanda:I'm just using an incandescent bulb for now. I see that when the game is over it, that particular lamp doesn't stay lit, whereas the others will. With it being in a home environment, and not being playing continuously for hours upon hours at a time, I figure that the heat won't be long or hot enough to create further damage. Still curious to see if a non-ghosting bulb would do any better.
That’s what I did with mine. It works so far. I did move the adjustment one down from the liberal setting so the spinner is not always on.
Quoted from Peruman:That’s what I did with mine. It works so far. I did move the adjustment one down from the liberal setting so the spinner is not always on.
Is that under the playfield? I might do that as well, not that the game needs more of a challenge 
Quoted from FatPanda:Is that under the playfield? I might do that as well, not that the game needs more of a challenge
Yes, bottom right corner of the board under the Playfield. Closest to the chimes, next to the relay that sits all on its own.
There are three wires on the adjustment jack, they each connect to a motor switch stack. I went to the midpoint for now, but it does change the game difficulty
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