Servicing Fluorescent Lights (Continued)
DOES IT SING?
Is the fixture humming like crazy? Check the ballast
transformer. Its laminations have worked loose and
the energy inside is making the sheets of metal move
120 times a second. Does the ballast have bolts
running through it? Tighten them. This pushes the
laminations closer together and keeps everything
quiet. If the ballast is a sealed unit, replace it if people
complain (if you're around it all the time, you forget
about it completely unless someone from the outside
says, "Doesn't that humming drive you crazy?").
DIMWIT
If the bulb always flickers dimly and doesn't ignite,
chances are it's the bulb. If replacing it doesn't help,
try a new starter: they're cheap. A brand new bulb,
once installed, may take a few moments to get used
to its new home by flickering and restarting. It should
work fine after a minute or so. If the new bulb never
stays on, try a new starter.
(and leave your business open for a lawsuit). Toss it
in the parking lot dumpster or tie it up securely for the
garbage, with a note for the garbagemen explaining
that they are handling glass.
PARTS TO STOCK
Almost from day one, Atari uses a 15 watt, 18 inch
bulb. Same for Sega and Bally/Midway. For games
like Joust and Robotran, Williams used a 14 watt, 15
inch tube. All of these use the same type of starter,
one rated for 10-20 watts. (By the way, don't let
anyone try to sell you 30-40 watt starters for video
game fixtures because they just don't work.)
ll.O VA'-
VISUAL TESTS
A trick: starters have a small hole in the tops of their
cans. If you can see this hole when everything is
installed, check for flashes of orange or purple light
coming from the bulb inside the starter. If you see the
light, the starter is good: if there is no light, the starter
is bad or a tube filament is open.
Does the bulb come on fully, shut off, and repeat this
on-off cycle? The bulb is bad: the gas in the bulb is
getting weak and lacks the strength to stay on. Does
the bulb stay dark, but the ends remain lighted? The
starter has shorted. That means the bulb has a
massive amount of current running through it, dras-
tically shortening the life of the filaments. Replace the
starter and the tube.
DISPOSAL
At least half the time, your fluorescent light fixture
problems come from bad bulbs. Be extremely careful
when throwing them away, since they contain a
vacuum and will implode if dropped: they are stlll
made of thin glass, remember. Keep people away from
you when working with bulbs. Then, if you drop one,
RUN LIKE HELLI Not only can the glass shards fly into
youreyeballs,butthephosphorusdustwilltearyour
lungs to shreds! If a tube breaks, DON'T BREATI:I
TI:IE FUMES! If a glass shard cuts into you, even a
small cut, get it treated yesterday! Beryllium and
mercury are poisonous.
Never just leave a bad tube intact in a garbage can
where someone can accidentally get his hands on it
,--------.,
I
I
I
I
I
I
'r'L--'<=<-
'---_:,---+----'
I
'-,:,------~
L--------..J
GLOW S TARTf:.R.
(.tVTOI-\ATIC.)
Figure 3
Automatic Starter Schematic
GAME TIPS
Can't fmd the starter in an old Bally game? It's behind
the fixture. If your hand can't fit back there, a
quarter-inch nut driver will easily remove the fixture
so you can get at the starter. By the way - some Bally
games have the weird Bristol-head screw with the
center pin to hold the marquee bracket. A Sega
Outrun wrench fits these perfectly. Sega's Za.xxonmay
give you a headache because its starter is completely
enclosed inside the fixture case. Not only do you have
to take the whole thing apart to get to it, but you may
not recognize it at first because the starter has no
outer casing. It is just a glow switch and capacitor
spliced into the wiring. If possible, replace it with a
socket so future techs can remove starters more
easily. There may be more ·Sega games with this
peculiar setup.
BOTTOM LINE
Got it working? Good! Players are very much im-
pressed with a game whose marquee works, no
matter how old it is. Now they can find it, too, since
the ceiling lights work again. Sit back have a Coke:
you deserve it!
~