Marquee light probs...

[Minwah]

I realised recently after installing my monitor/marquee glass & marquee, that the light (flourescent tube) I had was far too powerful (ie it got very hot!)...it was 60W  

Anyway I found an old 13w tube in my shed, which is the perfect size and doesn't get very hot...but having switched on my cab it interferes with the screen like mad, making the picture wobble all over the shop.

There is a big enclosed white thing inside the light (it says '13W choke' on it) which I presume is causing the problem...I wonder if I can shield it somehow, maybe with a sheet of metal?  Anyone any ideas?

[Ken Layton]

Sounds like the ballast transformer inside the light fixture is too close to the monitor. You could move it farther away or if you need to shield it use lead or heavy copper.

[KrawDaddy]

Sounds like the ballast transformer inside the light fixture is too close to the monitor. You could move it farther away or if you need to shield it use lead or heavy copper.

mount the ballast in the base of the cab and run the fixture (lamp) wires up to the marquee

[Minwah]

Thanks, I had a thought this morning that I could just take apart the lamp and move the ballast (thanks for the term).  Since the marquee is right above the monitor (Atari System 1 style) I think that would be the best solution.

Thanks again

[Minwah]

Sure enough I moved the ballast to the bottom of my cab where the power comes in, and it works great!

Cheers

[Minwah]

I think I spoke too soon...I have noticed that the picture is still wobbling *very* slightly (you have to look pretty close to see it).  I am not sure what the problem is - the transformer is probably a good 50cm away, although it is near the power cable to the monitor.

Is it still too close to the monitor?  Or could it be the tube itself?  I don't think the latter, as I put some sheet lead between the tube and monitor just to see...it didn't make any difference.

[alank2]

Hi Minwah,

Have you tried a solid state ballast?  I found a company here in the US that makes them:

http://www.fulham.com/

They have a flicker free startup to do not use a glow bulb.  I wonder if your issue is a power noise issue--do you have a power noise filter on the AC where the marquee light is plugged in so it is seperated from the monitor AC?

Hope this helps,

Alan

[Minwah]

Have you tried a solid state ballast?  I found a company here in the US that makes them:

http://www.fulham.com/

They have a flicker free startup to do not use a glow bulb.  I wonder if your issue is a power noise issue--do you have a power noise filter on the AC where the marquee light is plugged in so it is seperated from the monitor AC?

Thanks Alan...

I haven't tried any other ballast (I was hoping just to use what I've got really).  I think you might be right about the noise - I mounted the ballast very close to the 4-way power outlet which the monitor, ballast and everything else is plugged into.  Can you just get plug-in noise filters?  I'll have a google...

[alank2]

I used one of these:

http://tinyurl.com/6mswz

You can just cut your fluorescent light line cord and splice one inline with it.  I used some quick disconnect plugs instead of soldering...

Thanks,

Alan

[Minwah]

Thanks again - I will see if I can find one in the UK.

Did your lamp interfere with your monitor also?

[alank2]

No actually, my lamp interfered with the audio amplifier I was using to power my speaker.  Everytime the light would flicker when starting, I would get large pop's on the speaker.

Good Luck!

Alan

[gap]

Yeah, same here.  Bad buzzing from the speakers when the tube was on.

My solution:

http://www.mamegap.com/ilights.jpg

[Minwah]

Yeah, same here.  Bad buzzing from the speakers when the tube was on.

My solution:

http://www.mamegap.com/ilights.jpg

Good idea...does the marquee look OK - no dark/bright patches?  What Wattage are your bulbs?

[paigeoliver]

Yeah, same here.  Bad buzzing from the speakers when the tube was on.

My solution:

http://www.mamegap.com/ilights.jpg

Good idea...does the marquee look OK - no dark/bright patches?  What Wattage are your bulbs?

I have owned a couple factory built cabs that were lit like that, and they only had two bulbs and it still looked fine.

[gap]

Yeah, same here.  Bad buzzing from the speakers when the tube was on.

My solution:

http://www.mamegap.com/ilights.jpg

Good idea...does the marquee look OK - no dark/bright patches?  What Wattage are your bulbs?

It looks great.  The bulbs are 25 watt 3.25" (from memory... might be 3 3/8 or 3.5") globes with a standard base.  Available everywhere.  The bigger frosted bulbs make for a larger light source, helping ensure an even light pattern.

[Minwah]

Thanks guys...

My concern is heat, I suppose 25W should be OK tho.  I am probably more concerned than most as my marquee is currently stuck on the back of the glass (I have the same piece of glass for monitor/marquee).  Previously the heat from my lamp was melting the marquee adhesive and making it come away!

[alank2]

Yes, heat can be a concern with incandescent or fluorescent, but moreso with incandescent.  Have you thought about using some super bright LED's ?  Some of these babies can put out some serious light and they generate very little heat....

Thanks,

Alan

[ras2a]

Cool idea to use Super bright LED's actually, would'nt really have thought of that.  But gotta agree that some of them are UNBELIEVABLY bright, it really is quite amazing how much light these things throw out.  For those that don't know, you need to look at the 'mcd' rating, this tells you how bright they will be.  The higher the figure, the brighter they are!  I've just ordered a batch of 10 off ebay (only cost a couple of quid).  I'm sticking 2 underneath my trackball and thanks to your ace suggestion, Alan, I may use them for the marquee area!  It will deffo alleviate probs with interference & heat, etc. and they should be WELL bright enough.  Can only try!

[clanggedin]

I've noticed that more than 2 superbright leds under the trackball makes it too bright when you are playing with the lights off in the house.

I may switch to LEDs for my marquee too. I was going to try a cold cathode tube first. You can get dual tubes for the sames price as a floresent kit from Home Depot.

[RacerX]

I'm planning on using a pair of cold cathode tubes for the marquees on each of the three jukeboxes I'm building.  They just use power from the PC power supply, and they don't get hot.