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TECH - (FAQ?) - Marquee Light Fixture Eating Bulbs
krick:
I got a G.E. fluorescent light unit including the bulb at Wal-Mart for $7.
MonitorGuru:
It could be the starter or ballast (transformer). Starters are dirt cheap. Start with that. 49 cents at most stores. FS-2 if it's an 18" fixture
As far as a ballast, Home Depot carries an IDENTICAL part number for most arcade games. It's a GE one for 14 to 20 watt fixtures. I've seen others by Sylvania that are a bit larger/heavier that will work with that range to a bit larger. I havn't tried those yet.
Price: $3.59 on clearance at HD for the GE. Or $2.89 at some places for the Sylvania.
Make sure you get one that works with a Size T8 (8/8th of an inch or 1" diameter), 18" and 15 watts. Don't go too high or you will risk fire or instant tube blowout.
Oh and *some* of those cheap all-in-one fixtures do not feature immediate (auto) start. You must hold a switch into a separate position which temporarily applies more volts to warm the filaments/tube up prior to starting before the ballast takes over to keep them running at a lower voltage.
Therefore they wont work in game units if you want it to turn on the marquee immediately without first having to hold down a button (behind the marquee :( )
RandyT:
--- Quote from: MonitorGuru on June 16, 2004, 02:59:35 pm ---Oh and *some* of those cheap all-in-one fixtures do not feature immediate (auto) start. You must hold a switch into a separate position which temporarily applies more volts to warm the filaments/tube up prior to starting before the ballast takes over to keep them running at a lower voltage.
Therefore they wont work in game units if you want it to turn on the marquee immediately without first having to hold down a button (behind the marquee :( )
--- End quote ---
It's a good thing to look out for, but the last few of these I purchased just had normal on/off rockers or slides.
I think it was even listed on the packaging as one of the "features" of the fixture.
The best $7 you can spend, IMHO, as I have had one of these on 24/7 for over a year and it's still going :)
RandyT
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