Wilmington, NC
After buying a few games that were pre-LEDed by someone else, I decided to try my hand at it with a Whirlwind I was shopping out. The only experience I have with LEDs prior to this is changing out a few here and there that I wasn't happy with on some of my other games. After a bit of experimentation I decided to make a guide for Whirlwind as I think the results came out great, very crisp and not at all overpowering. I know some say that you don't need to color match inserts but that is really the only way I think that LEDs look good. Whirlwind has so many different colors and bulb styles that hopefully this will help someone else out in the future. It's tough to get a good picture but here are a couple quick videos I shot:
I bought all my LEDs from Art at Comet Pinball. He has great prices and has helped me with some advice in the past. Plus I love to help out a fellow pinsider. Note that I am in no way affiliated with Comet Pinball, but I linked to the site for greater ease in finding the right parts.
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LEDs needed for CONTROLLED LAMPS/INSERTS:
Note that I used the EXACT name for each insert from the manual (page 77), that's why they can be a bit confusing.
2 SMD 6.3V AC/DC SUPREME BRIGHTNESS NON GHOSTING with FACETED LENS ($0.99 for non-ghosting, $0.69 for regular) http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/2smd3528-ng.htm
Bayonet:
-Warm White-2 Required (Middle Standup, Shoot again (Note:Shoot again could look nice with orange/amber here as well, but you would need something with a flex head as the insert is almost completely blocked below the playfield by a flipper plate. Warm white seems to be bright enough to overcome without using a flex head.))
-Green-1 Required (LOCK (Right Ramp))
-Natural White-6 Required (2 TOLLS (Right Ramp), RELEASE (left Ramp), SHOT (Skill Shot Right), SKILL (Skill Shot Middle), SUPER (Skill Shot Left), Spinner)
-Red-2 Required (MILLION PLUS (L Ramp), NE (R Standup-R Ramp))
-Orange/Amber-3 Required (MILLION (Left Ramp), SE (Right Loop), SE (Right Standup Target))
Wedge:
-Natural White-11 required (Top Drop 50K, Top Drop 75K, Top Drop 100K, Top Drop 150K, Toll 1, Toll 2, Toll 3, Toll 4, Toll 5, 2X, 3X)
-Orange/Amber-7 Required (Top Drop QUICK, SE Compass Arrow, Toll 30, Toll 20, Toll 10, 4X, 5X)
-Warm White-1 Required (NW Compass Arrow)
-Green-3 Required (SW Compass Arrow, SW (Left Loop), SW (Inner Loop Arrow))
-Red-7 Required (SPECIAL (Left Outlane), SPECIAL (Right Outlane), Top Drop Ex. Ball, NE Compass Arrow, NE (Left Return Lane), 6X Lites Ex. Ball, 6X Lites Special)
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6 LED 6.3V AC/DC BRILLIANT CRYSTAL FAN SHAPE LED ($1.39 each) http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/6smdfan.htm
Wedge:
-Red-3 Required (Right Top Jet Bumper, Left Top Jet Bumper, Lower Top Jet Bumper)
-Warm White-3 Required (Left Bottom Jet Bumper, Top Bottom Jet Bumper, Right Bottom Jet Bumper, Note:You could also use yellow here but they do not come out nearly as bright and seem to get lost among the other colors)
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4 SMD 6.3V AC/DC SUPREME BRIGHTNESS NON GHOSTING *EXCLUSIVE* ($0.99 for non-ghosting, $0.69 for regular) http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/4smd3528-ng.htm
Wedge:
-Natural White-4 Required (S Compass Arrow, W Compass Arrow, N Compass Arrow, E Compass Arrow)
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1 SMD 6.3V AC/DC SUPREME BRIGHTNESS NON GHOSTING BULB ($0.89 for non-ghosting, $0.69 for regular) http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/1smd5050ng.htm
Bayonet, Frosted:
-Red-1 Required (Left Cellar Sign)
-Yellow-1 Required (Right Cellar Sign)
Note:These are white when they are not lit. If you prefer the original look with the red and yellow condoms over bulbs they will need to be trimmed down the fit the LEDs. The condoms do not seem to affect the color of the LED though.
Bayonet, Clear:
-Warm White-2 Required (NW (Left Standup), NW (L Standup-R Ramp) Note: The 2 SMDs were too bright here. These look better but you may want to experiment here. If I had one I would like to try this with a frosted bulb.
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WARM and NATURAL WHITE SUPERIOR LED DOMED "BULLET" BULB ($0.38 each) http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/1ledbullet.htm
Wedge, Frosted:
-Natural White-7 Required (All Backglass Awards (Up Jets On, 250K, Ex. Ball On, 3-Bank 100K, 500K, Lite Million, Low Jets On))
Note:I experimented with brighter LEDs and did not like the way they showed though the backbox plastic. These are cheap and seem to fit both the original look of the game and the LED style of the newer bulbs.
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LEDs needed for GI LIGHTS:
WARM and NATURAL WHITE SUPERIOR LED DOMED "BULLET" BULB ($0.38 each, 25/$7.25) http://www.cometpinball.com/product-p/1ledbullet.htm
Bayonet, Frosted:
-Natural White-21 Required for playfield GI, 35 Required for Backbox GI, 2 Required for coin door. Note:These are cheap and I think they look great. You could go to an SMD if you like things brighter but these did not look overpowering yet still had a crisp look.
Wedge Frosted:
-Natural White-5 Required for behind lightning cloud in back of cabinet.
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Flashers:
I purposely left flashers as incadescent bulbs as I much prefer the way they look. However, if you decide to do LED flashers know that often times they will flash on System 11 games when you hit the flippers. There are several threads about this and I think there are fixes available, but I chose to just avoid it altogether.
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Total cost with Non ghosting LEDs (where available):
Controlled lamps: $61.09
GI Lighting: $19.44
Entire game: $80.53
If you spend $99 you get free shipping so buy a few spares and don't be afraid to experiment. You could probably save $20 or so by rolling the dice with regular LEDs instead of the non-ghosting. I know the reds don't really show even if they are ghosting but the whites definitely do (at least on my WW). Any questions feel free to ask and I'll try and help out.
