161 bulbs

[paigeoliver]

Two questions.

What voltage do 161 bulbs use?

And, if they are 5 or 6 volt, then will a keywhiz have enough juice to power 10 of them, or should I pull power directly from the PC power supply?

[_Iz-]

They're 14 volts...

[paigeoliver]

Ok, in that case I guess it will be either 12 volts from the PC power supply.

Or?

Could I wire them in series off 120VAC house current, ten in a series should drop the voltage down to 12, which is under 14. But are some bulbs DC power only?

[Scottzilla]

That should work fine.  That's pretty much how christmas lights work...

[Rocky]

161 bulbs are DC.  Use 12v from your power supply (arcade or computer).  I don't think they would work with AC current.

[paigeoliver]

Now, the other zillion dollar question?

Arcade and PC power supplies are both largely scewed towards 5 volt output. Will adding 10 12 volt bulbs be "too much" for a power supply already powering a PC or gameboard?

I NEED to power these in some way. They are for my Stepmania panel. I special ordered those rectangle light up buttons that allow you to put your own graphics inside!

[Stingray]

194 automotive bulbs are 12 volt and fit in the same slot. That's what I'm using on my coin door. They're wired in series and powered off the 12 volt lead on my power supply.

-S

[_Iz-]

194 automotive bulbs are 12 volt and fit in the same slot. That's what I'm using on my coin door. They're wired in series and powered off the 12 volt lead on my power supply.

-S

Sure you don't mean parallel? 2-194 bulbs wired in series would receive 6 volts each and be pretty dim for a 12 volt bulb...

[Stingray]

Duh, yeah that's what I meant. I always get those terms crossed up.

-S

[Scottzilla]

Incandescent light bulbs usually don't care whether you put AC or DC through them (as long as you don't give them too much voltage).

161 bulbs draw .19A @ 14v, so they must be 2.66 watts.  10 of them would be 26.6 watts.  If you run them at 12v (all in parallel) then they will be drawing about 2.22 amps.  Check the 12v output current rating of your power supply and that should give you a clue as to how much room you have to play with.

[steve_pss]

After reading your last post (and now this one) I think the only thing any person on this board can do is to have an intervention. Ebay should have an "Amber Alert" type mechanism to prevent your kind from gathering to much  hardware. The scary part is I know right now your trying to figure out how to interface 30 NOS Wico 8 ways to a homebrew DDR pad. Damn you Phil Colins, damn you to the Miami Vice hell you so richly deserve.

[MinerAl]

I have one 12V (14V) automotive light running off of a 12V black "wall wart" AC->DC transformer (pic below) off of an old electric piano.  I have run them off of the variable kind Radio Shack sells, which will output 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9, and 12 volts.  I've run it at both the 12 and 9 setting.  9 is about perfect for the room I have my cocktail cab in.  Plenty bright and less hot.  These lights were designed to be visible from 100 feet away in the fog @ 12V, so even at the 6V setting, they're still pretty bright in a room.

I would think that if you got a hefty enough 9-14.5 volt transformer out of a printer junk pile, you'd be good to go for 10 bulbs.

No warranty, of course