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Using blacklights behind the marquee?

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peter   07-08-2005 at 06:05:24 PM

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

Has anybody tried using blacklights for the marquee bulb? The reason I
ask is that I have blacklight carpeting in my gameroom, but the marquee
lights from the 45 or so machines really washes out the blacklights I
have in my ceiling. The marquees just put off way too much light. It
would be an expensive project, but I was thinking about using
blacklights both to help cut down on the light the marquees throw out
and to add more black lighting to the room.

Any thoughts? Is it going to look terrible? The only other thing I
could think of would be to put some smoked color gels behind the
marquees to darken them some. It's a shame you can't buy fluorescent
bulbs that a very dim by design.

-Peter

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Anonymous   07-08-2005 at 06:13:04 PM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

What about no backlights at all?

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peter   07-08-2005 at 06:21:21 PM
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Obviously an option, but the games look rather lifeless without some
sort of marquee illumination, especially in a very dark room.

Reply to peter
Paul   07-09-2005 at 01:28:36 AM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

white tube black lights (like in the back & front on tron)
<peter@peterhirschberg.com> wrote in message
news:1120850481.764720.102770@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> Obviously an option, but the games look rather lifeless without some
> sort of marquee illumination, especially in a very dark room.
>

Reply to Paul
Anonymous   07-08-2005 at 09:05:58 PM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

I put tinted plexi infront of the marquees at my other house.. they it
really darkens the marquees but you can still tell they are lit.

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RJ   07-08-2005 at 09:32:53 PM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

I agree on the liflessness of no marque and no coin mech lights. Have
you tried the diffused plastic they use in ceiling flourescents. I have
bought a 2 X 4 piece and just cut them to match the marque.
I also like the look of a 25 watt standard bulb behind the marque. HOBO
hardware has them 2 for 99 cents. Especialy on the gun games.

RJ

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Anonymous   07-08-2005 at 09:49:36 PM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

Putting blacklights behind the marquee would fade the colors in the
artwork right away. A blacklight is an intense source of UV radiation.

Reply to Anonymous
peter   07-08-2005 at 11:17:01 PM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

I had actually thought (and worried) about that. I wasn't sure if
regular flourescent bulbs put out the same UV as a blacklight - I
thought a blacklight was the same thing except it filtered the visible.
Not an expert though. :-)

-Peter

Reply to peter
peter   07-08-2005 at 11:19:39 PM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

Cool. I'll try the tinted & diffuse plexi trick and see how it look.
The amount of light a Pacman puts out it just about perfect. What is
that - two 15 watt bulbs or something? Can't remember. Problem with
converting to incandescents is the heat although maybe a 15 watt
incandescent puts out the same heat as a 15 watt flourescent.

-Peter

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Anonymous   07-09-2005 at 04:53:38 AM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

I'd recommend a film gel rolled once or twice over the fluorescent
tube - look for a ND gel at a Theater/TV/Production supply house. The
neutral density (ND) shouldnt change the color temperature of the
light, just dim it.
Mike



On 8 Jul 2005 12:05:24 -0700, peter@peterhirschberg.com wrote:

>Has anybody tried using blacklights for the marquee bulb? The reason I
>ask is that I have blacklight carpeting in my gameroom, but the marquee
>lights from the 45 or so machines really washes out the blacklights I
>have in my ceiling. The marquees just put off way too much light. It
>would be an expensive project, but I was thinking about using
>blacklights both to help cut down on the light the marquees throw out
>and to add more black lighting to the room.
>
>Any thoughts? Is it going to look terrible? The only other thing I
>could think of would be to put some smoked color gels behind the
>marquees to darken them some. It's a shame you can't buy fluorescent
>bulbs that a very dim by design.
>
>-Peter

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   07-09-2005 at 04:27:00 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

I believe the ND gel (actually not gelatin anymore, but plastic - the
old stuff was real gelatin) just diffuses (hence it's other name,
diffusion gel)the light rather than dim it, You might consider an amber
or grey gel, very minimal color bleed, but great for dimming; I have
used it before to dim the screen on my video camera while filming
concerts....

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   07-09-2005 at 04:28:17 AM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

Oh, by the way, here is a link www.rosco.com (rosco dot com) to one of
the major manufaturers...

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   07-09-2005 at 09:09:03 PM
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Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

How about using sheets of white paper over the back of the marquee, start
with one and then add more until you get the marque looking like you want.
If you can find the paper the same size as the marque you won't have seams
or anything showing through. LTG :)

<peter@peterhirschberg.com> wrote in message
news:1120849524.773929.260060@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Has anybody tried using blacklights for the marquee bulb? The reason I
> ask is that I have blacklight carpeting in my gameroom, but the marquee
> lights from the 45 or so machines really washes out the blacklights I
> have in my ceiling. The marquees just put off way too much light. It
> would be an expensive project, but I was thinking about using
> blacklights both to help cut down on the light the marquees throw out
> and to add more black lighting to the room.
>
> Any thoughts? Is it going to look terrible? The only other thing I
> could think of would be to put some smoked color gels behind the
> marquees to darken them some. It's a shame you can't buy fluorescent
> bulbs that a very dim by design.
>
> -Peter
>

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   07-10-2005 at 07:17:07 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

I'm not an expert on lighting by any means...but a plain ND _is_ gray
in color and is intended to cut down the amount of light without
shifting the color of the light source. The value of the ND factor
indicates the amount of light reduction.
A CTO gel (color temperature orange) also has an ND factor, but is
orange in color. A CTB gel is blue...
The orange and blue gels are used to balance light sources between
daylight and artificial light sources in photography, videography,
etc.

Regards,
Mike



On 8 Jul 2005 22:27:00 -0700, "Curious George" <jedidroid@aol.com>
wrote:

>I believe the ND gel (actually not gelatin anymore, but plastic - the
>old stuff was real gelatin) just diffuses (hence it's other name,
>diffusion gel)the light rather than dim it, You might consider an amber
>or grey gel, very minimal color bleed, but great for dimming; I have
>used it before to dim the screen on my video camera while filming
>concerts....

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   07-11-2005 at 06:41:31 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

Hi,

If you're looking to have your arcade game marquee lights glow under a
blacklight without having the marquee lights on, you might try this
stuff called "Clear Neon". There is colored spray as well as "clear"
spray. Under normal lighting conditions your marquees will look like
they should, but when you turn on blacklights, they will display a
brilliant glow. Here is a link to the web page.
It has a full gallery of pictures and shows a variety of items that it
can be used for. I myself am planning on using it to make the T-molding
on my arcade games glow under a blacklight.

http://www.clearneon.com/blacklightphotos.php?cp=11

Reply to Anonymous
peter   07-11-2005 at 03:13:30 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: rec.games.video.arcade.collecting (More info?)

 

I can't see myself painting my marques, but that Clear Neon stuff is
cool! Wonder if you could mix a little into some house paint and do an
entire room with that stuff. Hmmmmmm... :-)

-Peter

Reply to peter
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