Marquee too bright -- annoys the hell out of me!

[Justin]

I'm using an original Centipede cabinet, and I like playing in the dark. Now...

I am a little over 6 feet tall, and the marquee is almost in front of my face when I play standing up (which I normally do).  I just realized cabs must have been designed for 12-14 year old kids...?  I certainly don't remember marquees been this 'low'!

I have resorted to switching off the marquee lamp, because the light shines on my face, and doesn't let me see the monitor/gameplay very well.  Has anyone else experienced this?  Can the lamp be dimmed?  I have already put a diffuser on top of the tube -- didn't help much.

P.S:  All tubes I have seen are 15 Watts.  

[OSCAR]

Try putting some light-colored construction paper behind the marquee.  Florescent lights themselves don't respond well to dimming.

[kspiff]

Most older, stock/original games had lower watt bulbs as well.. over time most vendors and operators replaced them with the standard, readily available 15-watt (I may be up for doing the same soon -- screw having bulbs shipped :/).

[ErikRuud]

The cubicles where I work have dimmers on the florescent bulbs.  they are clear plastic tubes with a 50% to 80% screen printed on them.  as you rotate the bulb it cut out more of the light.

If you have access to a laser printer and some transparency film, you could print a 50% - 80% (med to dark gray) screen and use that to dim your bulb.

[Justin]

I'm looking at the original Centipede manual... the parts listspecifies for the fluorescent bulb:
Part No.  70-304 :  18-inch 15 Watt Cool White Fluorescent Tube


So, it seems like 15 Watt is correct... perhaps the original marquee was a lot darker?  

[TalkingOctopus]

Put a piece of white tagboard behind your marquee so not as much light gets through.  Cut the tagboard to the same size as the marquee.

[1UP]

Maybe you could buy some DIY window tinting film (or something similar), and wrap that around the tube.  That should cut the brightness way down.  You could wrap it several times until it's as dark as you like.

[Howard_Casto]

Not a good idea 1up as most tinting materials are flammable or at least meltable.  

[spidermonkey]

Sniff sniff... mmm whats cookin ?  Flamb'e ala marquee. Sir.. perhaps you'd  like a glass of gasoline to wash it down with ?  

[crsdawg]

if he has his marquee in a plexi sandwich he could put the tinting on the inner facing plexi piece.

[RandyT]

Another option....

Get a thin piece of clear acrylic and some white spray paint.

Step 1:  Lay down a light, even coat of paint on the acrylic.

Step 2:  Let dry and place between the light and the marquee.

Step 3: If still too bright, goto Step 1.

Not "high tech" but it should work.


RandyT

[Justin]

OK, I cannot sandwich anything between my marquee plexi sheets, because the printed marquee is 'stuck' on to the rear plexi:

==============  <--Plexi

----------------------  <--Marquee sticker (stuck to plexi)
==============  <--Plexi

=00000000000000= <--Bulb


I resorted to putting some white packing paper on the rear, and now all looks good:

==============  <--Plexi

----------------------  <--Marquee sticker (stuck to plexi)
==============  <--Plexi

----------------------  <--Paper

=00000000000000= <--Bulb

[1UP]

Hey, how about a sheet of 1/16" smoked plexi behind your entire marquee?  That would be rigid, and dim things down a lot without melting down!

BTW, if automotive window tinting wouldn't combust on the windows of a car in summer heat over 110^o, I doubt it would flame up or melt on a fluorescent bulb that's usually cool enough to touch.  Ever notice how most fluorescent fixtures these days are plastic?

[Justin]

Fluorescent bulbs are cold bulbs...  eat is not a problem with these AFAIK.   Doesn't worry me!

[rampy]

light without heat?! that's amazing!

rampy

[Justin]

Well, OK, so they aren't COLD.  But they are certainly colder than normal incadescent bulbs.  

Do LEDs emit heat BTW?  

[AlanS17]

They do, but very little.

[Justin]

They do, but very little.

OK, but a little google searching and I came up with this:

Reactions that produce light without heat are called chemiluminescent reactions. Perhaps the most familiar chemiluminescent reactions are those that occur in living organisms. Fireflies produce light without heat by a chemiluminescent reaction. Chemiluminescent reactions that occur in living organisms are called bioluminescent reactions.
Light sticks sold at many stores produce light without heat through a chemiluminescent reaction.

 

[Zakk]

Wonder if that's the idea behind organic-display car decks?  I mean, it might be based on chemiluminescent theory, although I'd like to know how they control it.  

Or.....just another spiffy brand name marketing scheme?  I'm off to Best buy to lick the organic diplay decks!  Let's see if they give off heat! Yum!

[Frostillicus]

What I did was just to print out a second print of my marquee and layered them.  The color was brighter, the light was dimmer, and the games played better.