Coin door lights?

[sofakng]

My over/under coin door should be here on tuesday.  I'm looking to place one FINAL order from HappControls.com (for marquee retainer, etc etc) and I'm now considering adding lights to my coin door.

I haven't actually received the coin door yet but it looks exactly like the Happ's over/under coin door.  It is coming with two working .25 mechs and everything.

So, if I wanted to light-up the coin-return button (you know... the red push-button), what would I need to buy?

How involved is it to wire up two simply lights?

What kind of lights would I need?  Where can I buy them?

[Ghoward]

There is nothing to it; it's only a 12v light bulb. So just wire it into your pc power supply. Retroblast.com has a short movie on how to do this.

Gary

[SirPeale]

Instead of getting the marquee retainer from Happ (which will cost you an arm and a leg in *shipping*) go to the hardware store and get some angle brackets.

[Ken Layton]

Coin door lighting has already been discussed in depth here on this board. Just do a search. BTW, a new Happ door usually comes with light sockets and 12 volt bulbs already installed (no wiring harness, though).

[sofakng]

Ok, thats what I need to know...

I can't tell if lights are already installed (I'll know when the door arrives on Tuesday), but if I need to purchase a wiring harness, where can I buy one?  Are they standard for all coin doors?

I'm just trying to order everything I need so I don't have to wait forever...  If I wait until Tuesday to order I won't have it until the following week... but if I figure out everything today and order maybe I'll have it the middle of next week.

[RayB]

I'm noticing a trend here... Alot of people ask questions about things before they even have the items in question in their possession. We keep seeing posts like "I just bought X cabinet and I was wondering how to do A B and C?PS: the cabinet should be here in 3 days".

Why not wait until the items are in possession? Often times things are alot more obvious when you see them personally...

[sofakng]

Hmmm, I'm sorry if I did something wrong...

I'm asking these questions now because if I need to order any parts I'd much rather order them sooner rather than later.  Ideally I'd like to install the coin door 100% on Tuesday.  If I don't order the lights (or whatever) UNTIL Tuesday then that means I'll have to wait yet another week.

So, that's why I thought my questions were harmless...

Sorry...

[Ken Layton]

Every coin door application is different so there is no wiring harnesses provided. You have to manufacture your own for your own particular application.

[mp2526]

The door you ordered does come with the light sockets and bulbs.  All you will need to wire up the door is (4) 0.25" Female quick connect crimp terminals in what ever guage the wire you are using is, and the wire.  To wire up the light sockets you can either solder directly to the sockets or a .1875 " female quick connect crimp terminal would probably slide onto the socket spades, so you would need 4 of those as well.

[sofakng]

mp2526:  Excellent!  Thanks!!

Can I power those lights from the PC power supply?  (eg. +12V or +5V?)

I'm guessing I can get those quick disconnects at a local hardware store...

[RayB]

Hmmm, I'm sorry if I did something wrong...

I meant no offense to you. I just wanted to voice something I've noticed a few times on this board... Some people are worse than others.  

[Onji]

sofakng: I bought my coin door from Mike as well. This video helped me get my lights going, its a review of different bulbs, but he shows you how to solder the wire, and connect it to your pc etc, check it out when you can.

[sofakng]

Great!

Thanks, I'll take a look at that when I get home from work.

Thanks everybody for all your help!  Can't wait to get in my coin door!  

[StephenH]

Note the voltage (V) and Amperage [Current draw] in A or ma of the lights.   One Milliamp (ma) is 1/1000th of an ampere.  Then, search for a power source than can deliver the voltage and current required to power the lights.   A higher voltage will cause the lights to burn out faster.  A lower voltage will cause the light to get dimmer.  A power supply that does nto deliver sufficent current may overload the power supply, cause it overheat, or damage it.  Having a power supply that can deliver more current than the lights need is not a problem.


With this in mind, you have several options to power them.

1) If the voltage of the bulbs is 5-6V or 12-14V, you can connect to the +5V or +12V from your PCs power supply.  Just make sure it delivers enough current, with the motherboard, and other compents you are running.   An unused Disk Drive power connector is the easiest way to go.

2) You can buy adapters from Radio Shack, Target, Walmart, Fry's Electronics, and many other stores that output between 1.5V and 24V, with 1.5V, 3V, 4.5V, 6V, 9V, 12V, 15V, 18V, and 24V being most common.   Just make sure the voltage and current correspond to what the lights need.  With Incandesent light bulbs, it does not matter if the voltage is AC or DC.

3) You can also take a look at your junk box, and sometimes you will find adapters from old devices you no longer use, such as toys, answering machines, and other devices.   Many of these can be used, as long as the voltage and amperage correspond to what your lights need.