Building A Marquee

[Majoraslayer]

Work on my Defender cab is still going really smooth.  Today I painted it and fit the monitor inside of it, as well as mounted the coin mech.

The biggest eye sore at the moment is the gaping hole for the marquee.

This cab has a bulb holder for a backlight, but I didn't get the original marquee with it.  Once I have a good marquee designed, what would the best strategy be to build and install it?  I would like to make use of the backlight so that it glows.

[leapinlew]

Design it and have someone print it using the proper backlit material. I've used backlit vinyl from Kinkos and after a year of use, the artwork is starting to crack. I have Mamemarquee's print my marquee's now and it has been holding up great. I sandwich the marquee between two pieces of plexi.

I would replace the bulb with a fluorescent to cut down on the heat and juice.

Mount it with some angle iron, or marquee holders from Happs.

www.mamemarquees.com

[Freelancer]

I second the www.mamemarquees.com work, they printed my marquee up and it looks great.

As far as mounting goes, I purchased some L shaped aluminum from Home Depot, cut it to size, painted it black.

I then JB welded the bottom bracket and screwed the top bracket into my cabinet (the screws are on top the cabinet so you don't really see them).

Also I originally went with a fluorescent fixture, but apparently I got a cheap o one and it hummed a lot, drove me crazy.  I ripped it out and went with Nova Matrix LED Marquee lights (http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=307)

I takes 2 of them to light up my marquee, I know it's not the cheapest solution but power wise I don't have to feel guilty about leaving it on 24/7.  Also it looks great, is silent and puts off zero heat.

[shardian]

I had a standard $2 2-way light socket with two CFL's in my Dynamo and it worked great. I will always got that route because it is easy and cheap.

[Jdurg]

Not to mention that the CFLs last forever it seems.  When I bought my house last September I replaced ALL of the incandescents with fluorescent replacements and have been happy ever since.

[shardian]

Not to mention that the CFLs last forever it seems.  When I bought my house last September I replaced ALL of the incandescents with fluorescent replacements and have been happy ever since.

Depends on where you put them. CFL's work HORRIBLY in ceiling fans. I can't even use them in the living room because they flicker. Several have blown in the bedroom fan. They also don't work well in enclosed fixtures. I had one blow after a year in a hallway fixture.

I put recessed lighting in my basement, and there was no way in hell I was gonna use the dimmable CFL's at $13 a pop.

[leapinlew]

Socket CFL's! Doh! I didn't think about those. Thats a good idea. How very "green" of you.