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Step 7Pinball lamp electronics
You now have everything in place to be able to move to the next step of getting the lights going. However first a few words about lamp electronics. Lamps on a pinball playfield come in two types - controlled and general illumination (GI).
Controlled lamps are associated with rules - they are on in certain cases and off in certain cases. Special When Lit is an example of a controlled lamp. The target the lamp is in front of scores a special when the lamp is lit, otherwise it does not.
General illumination is illumination around the playfield which is not tied to any feature - it is always on.
In my table I used only the GI. By applying power and ground to one circuit you can light up a ton of lamps. Controlled lamps are more complicated, depending on the game you're working on. On older games, they are controlled by relays tied to scoring features. On newer games, they are put together in a matrix configuration controlled by diodes. If you wanted to also light the controlled lamps, you could do so by rewiring them into the GI string, however the specifics of doing that is beyond the scope of this article. There is lots of info out there for those who want to investigate it, or you can again ask questions on rec.games.pinball.
Another suggestion I got at one point was to wire up a string of christmas tree lights and attach them under the controlled lamps. You could also have blinking lights this way. I chose not to go this route though, but it would be fun to try.
Controlled lamps are associated with rules - they are on in certain cases and off in certain cases. Special When Lit is an example of a controlled lamp. The target the lamp is in front of scores a special when the lamp is lit, otherwise it does not.
General illumination is illumination around the playfield which is not tied to any feature - it is always on.
In my table I used only the GI. By applying power and ground to one circuit you can light up a ton of lamps. Controlled lamps are more complicated, depending on the game you're working on. On older games, they are controlled by relays tied to scoring features. On newer games, they are put together in a matrix configuration controlled by diodes. If you wanted to also light the controlled lamps, you could do so by rewiring them into the GI string, however the specifics of doing that is beyond the scope of this article. There is lots of info out there for those who want to investigate it, or you can again ask questions on rec.games.pinball.
Another suggestion I got at one point was to wire up a string of christmas tree lights and attach them under the controlled lamps. You could also have blinking lights this way. I chose not to go this route though, but it would be fun to try.
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