I removed the GI sockets I had mounted in the inlane (the ones with the L-bend). They were making the sockets far too low. Yes they could be seen, but they wouldn't illuminate the playfield much. The bulbs are now at the level they should be.
The only option seems to be the one that radio shack sells, and unfortunately it doesn't have a boss for adding a screw, so about my only option was to staple them in (AKA sega style). Also I ran into a sale around christmas. they normally sell 6 sockets for $2, but they were half off plus a 50% general store discount (radio shack is hurting), so I ended up buying all 4 bags they had in the drawer (24 sockets) for $2.10 (can't beat that!). Now I realize these aren't easily serviceable, but honestly If I'm using LED I'm already reducing current, and I don't imagine a ton of hours like a commercial pinball.
I decided to mount the 48v supply on the center hump of the bottom cabinet. I used clear star posts to give it some space underneath. I figure centrally located is probably my best bet, but I think I want to wire it to a quick disconnect faston so I can remove power when I need to take the playfield out. I'm also going to want some sort of terminal block to distribute power to all the solenoids on the playfield. I also realized I don't really have any good wire, so I'm going to pick some up at home depot tomorrow. It'll probably be overpriced compared to say amazon, but I really want to get this done.
Good to see progress being made. When wiring the lights, wire braid is really easy to solder, and is great for the one side. (Pinball life sells wire braid which would be convenient for you.) If you use wire braid for the ground, you can also attach the other side of your switches to the braid so that the closing of the switch attaches the line from the processor to ground. (The line from the processor has a pullup, so grounding it makes the tells the processor the switch is closed). The high voltage side (6.3V or 5V) can all be bussed together for the GIs, but for lights that you want to switch on and off, they each get attached to a wire to the incandescent board, so they can be turned on and off.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see it flipping again.
Yea when I actually go to wire up the GI lights, I'll likely use braid to make it easier to solder (not that trimming back insulation on regular wire is a big deal). I could have also bought un-insulated copper wire at home depot.
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