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Rank: Member
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Location: NC
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Would it behoove(yes that's right behoove) me to place a small fan under the playfield. I don't have a overheating problem but I was thinking it wouldn't hurt. There is a 110v outlet in there that I use for a trouble light when doing maint. Or maybe a fan would do better in the back box. Did any manufactures build a pin with a fan for cooling ?
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Rank: Administration
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Joined: 6/15/2007
Posts: 172
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I dont really recommend it, as you will be drawing more power from the pin. They are meant to be convection cooled.
Best thing you can do is replace your light bulbs. Replace 44's with 47s or replace the bulbs behind the backglass or others with LED bulbs.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Joined: 11/17/2008
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Location: Roxboro, NC, USA
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Here are some mod I did to my STTNG a long time ago. Most things focused on lowering the games temperature.
currently own:Star Trek Next Generation Twilight Zone Simpsons Pinball Party Lord of the Rings previously owned:Supersonic Voltar
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Very cool thanks Dane, Using the 12v power supply opens up a whole new ballgame. I was thinking extra cooling would help extend the life of the machine but didnt want to overtax the power supply. Now I am thinking of not only adding a fan but experimenting with led's
Did you use white leds or colored? Is the back box where the fan would do the most good?
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Rank: Administration
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Phinfan, if you add a fan make sure you vent out and not in. Dust is the enemy of heat and adding a fan can increase dust collection.
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OK thanks admin. that makes sense. It will look better too.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Location: Ohio
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It really depends on what you're trying to cool.
If there's a single component that is producing a majority of the heat, an intake directed at that component will do the job perfectly. Use a filter of some sort to catch the dust, and clean the filter out regularly.
If everything in the box is producing a lot of heat, an exhaust will work well. However, consider the dynamics of the box. The exhaust fan needs to be at the extreme opposite of the box's natural intake. Most convection backboxes probably have large openings for intake and exhaust, which will be counterproductive since you'll be venting cool intake, and creating heat pockets which see no fresh air.
It may make sense to block the upper natural vent off, leaving only an opening for the fan's exhaust. This will force air through the intake naturally.
Also consider installing an air filter in the intake if you're running a high CFM fan. And even with the filters, you should look at cleaning out the box yearly depending on use.
If you're trying to cool an Atari with all the bits in the cabinet, use an intake fan only, and make sure it's closer to an exhaust than it is the playfield. Unless you really like cleaning. It should have come with an internal circulation fan, that should be enough in most cases. If yours doesn't, install one blowing over the transformer. It doesn't need to intake or exhaust.
As for fans, if you can grab 12v, computer fans work great. They come pre-tapped with mounting holes, and come in easy to measure sizes. When wiring, ignore the yellow wire, it's for a sensor wire used to report the RPM back to the computer, and not needed for operation of the fan. I'd suggest using 120mm low rpm fans, as they'll be least noticeable. You can usually get away with running them at lower voltage as well, 5 or 7 generally work (though 120mm fans may not start at 5v). As an added bonus, finding filters sized for computer fans is very easy.
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I've been holding off replying because I've been tearing the house apart looking for my detailed notes from when I did the modifications. There are some temperature improvements in the article but I took tons of temperatures inside various parts of the machine before any mods and then after each mod to see how much affect each had and on what parts of the machine. If I recall there was even a several degree temp drop of the main bridge rectifiers. For the life of me I cannot remember if the majority of that temp drop was due to reduced power load or cooler backbox temp.
I think I did the mods a little over five years ago and so far I have not notied any increase in the dust level inside the machine. Initially I considered installing filters over the air intakes but thought that would create enough back pressure to cause the air to be drawn in elsewhere, making the dust problem even worse. Behind the backglass the dust/dirt problem actually got much better. Without all the hot bulbs illuminating the backglass the white back board has stayed nice and clean without the usual "smoke" trail above each bulb.
I used all white LED's in the end. I played around with some other colors thrown in to give a warmer color to the playfield but it just did not look right with STTNG's black and blues, so I reverted to all white.
currently own:
Star Trek Next Generation
Twilight Zone
Simpsons Pinball Party
Lord of the Rings
previously owned:
Supersonic
Voltar
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I have gotten some real good Ideas from the members on this forum. I am especially stoked about an additional 12v power source and experimenting with l.e.d. lights. I am actually sorry there isn't something to fix on my spy hunter pin....that's sick huh?
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