(Topic ID: 225585)

LED selection help

By woodmedic

5 years ago


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    #1 5 years ago

    I recently picked up a Whirlwind and a Monster Bash. I am going to use the frosted Comet 2SMD bulbs in the GI on both of these games. I have not decided between the cool white or the sunlight yet. I want to also use Comet bulbs in the inserts with color matching but with all of the choices they have on LED's, I am not sure which would be best for inserts in these 2 games. Any suggestions?

    #2 5 years ago

    Stick with frosted 2835 color matched for all your inserts and you will be fine....
    (only Caveat might be a few inserts that ghost, and youd need non ghosting bulbs for those)

    I personally wait and see whats needed or bothers me, and reorder those, but if you wish to have spares,
    I always have 6 non ghosting warm white to cover

    #3 5 years ago

    I prefer 1smd bulbs for inserts. Color match inserts except yellow and orange where warm white works best. If unsure, buy some samples to start with.

    #4 5 years ago

    You can always use whites under the inserts. After going through the trouble (and expense) of ordering all the different colors, it's just easier to order a 100 pack of white and be done with it. Good choice on Comet 2SMDs. You can use them in the inserts and they won't wash out the text or the color. I do all of my games with warm white for older SS and cool white for anything from the mid-80s and newer.

    #5 5 years ago
    Quoted from woodmedic:

    I am going to use the frosted Comet 2SMD bulbs in the GI on both of these games. I have not decided between the cool white or the sunlight yet.

    I use sunlight for playfield GI, and cool/natural white for the backbox, especially when the translite is a little yellowed (the cool white helps offset the yellowing).

    For inserts, I usually do 1SMD for the smaller inserts, 2SMD for slightly larger, and 4SMD for largest. No lens. Sometimes I'll use flex head bulbs for certain situations.

    I color match red, blue, green, and purple. Clear, orange, and yellow get natural white.

    For flashers, I generally use 5 SMD for bulbs that are directly visible and 8 SMD for bulbs that are hidden under plastics/ramps/etc. Sometimes I'll use flex head for certain situations, or something brighter for other situations. So far, I haven't color matched flashers.

    #6 5 years ago

    The same layout used over and over may look alright, but probably not best across all games. For example, sometimes I color match red, but sometimes use warm white. Pink LEDs can sometimes look nice in orange inserts. My preference for inserts is clear dome and GI frosted. I think Sunlight is cool enough for GI.

    #7 5 years ago

    Thanks for the responses! They are really helpful!

    #8 5 years ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    Sometimes I'll use flex head bulbs for certain situations.

    Those are great for controlling light bleeding into other inserts or when bulb does not line up well with insert. For large inserts, 2 headed flex bulbs work well. I also use flex bulbs for spotlights. You can tuck them in tight and point them in any direction. Good stuff.

    #9 5 years ago

    Well I'd go warm white for GI personally so I'd go as warm as possible.

    I would really just try a warm white frosted 1 or 2 SMD in some inserts and see if you can really tell a diff'rence betwixed them and color matching. You may not really see much of a diff'rence and you'll save yourself a lot of time by just ordering in bulk.

    #10 5 years ago
    Quoted from TheLaw:

    Well I'd go warm white for GI personally so I'd go as warm as possible.
    I would really just try a warm white frosted 1 or 2 SMD in some inserts and see if you can really tell a diff'rence betwixed them and color matching. You may not really see much of a diff'rence and you'll save yourself a lot of time by just ordering in bulk.

    Personally, I've found the insert colors to be much more vivid when color matching (on reds, blues, greens, and purples--yellow and orange doesn't seem to make a difference).

    #11 5 years ago
    Quoted from ForceFlow:

    Personally, I've found the insert colors to be much more vivid when color matching...

    Many times I'm the same way. Sometimes though it's better to not have to reorder 3 times a month because you needed a 555 green LED but ordered 44s.

    #12 5 years ago
    Quoted from TheLaw:

    Many times I'm the same way. Sometimes though it's better to not have to reorder 3 times a month because you needed a 555 green LED but ordered 44s.

    I probably keep enough bulbs on-hand to do at least 2-3 games.

    But yeah, there are quite a number of variants when you have multiple colors, bulb types, and socket types. It took me a few games to figure out which bulbs and how many to keep on hand.

    1 week later
    #13 5 years ago

    I went with the sunlight and I couldn’t be happier! Thanks for the suggestions!

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    #14 5 years ago

    It looks great - nicely done! Sorry I missed this thread initially. Let me know if you have any questions when you do your next game.

    #15 5 years ago

    Working on the Whirlwind now. Should be done this evening.

    #16 5 years ago

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    #17 5 years ago

    Thanks Comet for the awesome bulbs!

    #18 5 years ago
    Quoted from woodmedic:

    [quoted image]
    [quoted image]

    What is your selection at GI? 1 SMD, 2SMD?

    #19 5 years ago

    GI on both machines were 2SMD frosted sunlight.

    #20 5 years ago

    Amazing difference, looks really good.

    #21 5 years ago

    Excellent!, IMHO.....Just the way I like em!

    #22 5 years ago
    Quoted from woodmedic:

    GI on both machines were 2SMD frosted sunlight.

    Thanks! What about inserts?

    #23 5 years ago

    The inserts in the monster bash are 2SMD’s and the Whirlwind has the non ghosting 1 SMD’s.

    #24 5 years ago

    I say go multi-color LED on that MB. Oh, maybe this is the wrong thread for that. haha
    http://shop.colordmd.com/led-replacement-display-for-monster-bash-pinball-machine/

    #25 5 years ago

    Color DMD's are on my list of things to do for sure!

    #26 5 years ago
    Quoted from woodmedic:

    Color DMD's are on my list of things to do for sure!

    There will be at least 20 DMD games on display with a ColorDMD at the Houston Arcade Expo in 2 weeks. http://www.arcadecenter.com/index.php/games/

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