• Why don't we use ordinary LED Displays ?

After long and intensive conversations with many pinball friends all over the world we have decided to make our LED Segments for the Displays like the original ones. It was very important for us to match exactly the original design of the gas tube plasma displays. Specialty the correct display of the comma character. It wasn't possible with ordinary LED Segments that you can find in a store because they only have a dot to show the comma. And it wasn't also possible to find Segments with the right size and thickness.

• Why have I to remove the high voltage fuse on the power supply board ?

Our PinLED Display use only the +5Volt of the power supply board. We use the same connectors and pin reserves like the original displays. The high voltage (+/-100Volt) comes also through the connectors on our board. But we don't use this. Therefore it is better to cut the high voltage section. The new displays will also work with installed fuses. But it is only to be on the safe side.

• Why are only alphanumeric display characters used in the PinLED Display Set 10015 ?

At the beginning of our production we want only make LED Displays for Williams System11 and Data East. It is very expensive to make our own LED characters. So we use them also in the displays that uses numeric characters. This LEDs are controlled like the original numeric characters and they can only display numbers. We did this at the PinLED Display Sets 10009, 10011, 10013 and 10015.

• Why are the PinLED LEDs orange and not red ?

As I said before, we made our own LEDs and so we also considered the right color of the LEDs. At the beginning of our production we used the super red LEDs witch you can find at the stores. But many pinball friends didn't like the red color. Therefore we have decided to use super orange LEDs witch get a little bit darker by the control system to match the right color and brightness of the original gas tube plasma displays.

• Why are our PinLED Display Sets made in SMD technique ?

Yes, that's a good question....at the beginning we want to produce our boards with the normal parts (ICs in DIP houses). But after we have talked to our manufacturer we have decided to use the modern SMD technique (Surface Mounted Devices). SMD technique is today the state of the art. This technique save us about 30% of the production costs and this will also safe you money. And the other point is that in the future most of the ICs of the 7400 and 4000 family are going out of production and the manufacturer like TI (Texas Instruments) will make only the SMD ICs. Somebody will say that it is difficult to change defective parts but this isn't the whole truth. If you unsolder normal ICs (this one in DIP houses) you can get into trouble when you unsolder the pads. It could be happen that you destroy the pads or the wires if you heat up too long with the soldering iron. And if you calculate the time that you need to do this job (app. 10min) you can imagine that this is a expensive work. The SMD-technique is very safe and very fast. If you use the right tool you will only need some seconds for this job. And you also don't have to clean up the pads with a vacuum pump. And on the other hand there isn't enough space on the boards for the old "DIP" part. With SMD-technique it is possible to safe up to 50% space on the circuit board.

• When does it pays to change to PinLED Displays?

The supply with spare parts for the original gas tube plasma displays get harder and harder with the time. So if you have a broken original display it pays to change to the LED PinLED Displays. In the past the prices for the class tube displays are going considerable up. And you cannot find also the original on the boards used IC's (UDN 6118 and UDN 7180). They don't make these IC's anymore and as soon as you find one of these rare parts they are sky high in price. On the other hand you have to change that class tube display and this is a difficult job. You have to unsolder many legs of the class tube and this isn't a easy job for everyone....

• Why do the PinLED Display Sets run without the high voltage?

PinLED Displays run only with the 5 volts from the power supply of the pinball machine. The high voltage (+/-100 Volt) isn't longer in use. This is one of the biggest advantages of our design. Now it is also possible to run  the pinball machine even if your high voltage section is broken. This wasn't possible with original gas tube plasma displays. Because almost 30% of the display faults are a broken high voltage section. This additional load of the 5 volt section isn't critical because the 5 volt power supply is strong enough to drive this additional load without any problems. The parts in the 5 volt section and the transformer of the pinball machine are strong enough for this job.

• How does the price of the PinLED Display Sets consist of ?

The development and the realize of this idea took over one year. And we had to take many hurdles. We also had to change several times the layout of the boards. A specially tool for our LED Displays must be made. The PinLED boards are made in Germany and not made in "China". This protect oneself from get into trouble and secure a very good contact with the manufacturer and this will help us to eliminate problems that can occur. To ensure this high quality characteristics our prices for the PinLED Display Sets are pretty much the same like the original  gas tube plasma displays (inclusive the change of broken glass tubes). Some pinball friends think that with a handful parts it will be done. And the board solder itself together....

• Where can I get the PinLED Display Sets?

You can order PinLED Display Sets directly from our websites. You will find a order form on our product page. Customers from Germany and Europe can order directly from us. In Holland and Belgium you can get the sets at Pinball wizard. In North America (USA and Canada) you will find our product at Marco.Specialties,INC.

• For witch games can I get the PinLED Display Sets?

The PinLED Display Sets are available for all Williams, Bally and Data East games with alphanumeric and numeric display characters. This are all Williams pinball built between 1978 and 1990, all Data East machines built between 1985 and 1990. The sets are also available for the older Bally and Stern games built between 1977 and 1984. You will also find the small Dot Matrix Displays for the Data East machines of the year 1990/91 on our page.

• How far is the development of the LED Dot Matrix Displays?

The development of the regular LED DOT Matrix Display units for all pinballs built after 1991 are finished. First prototypes are running for several months. But at this time we cannot sell this displays because they are too expensive. And as the normal glass tube Dot Matrix Displays are still very cheap and also easy to find there is no chance for our LED Dot Matrix Displays (32x128 dots). We think that the original glass tube displays will go up in price very fast and our LED design will then maybe come 2005/06.

• How long does the development for a new PinLED Display Sets take?

The controlling of the PinLED Display Sets is very similar from set to set. So a new development in the future will be very easy and fast. E. g. took me the development of the sets for the Williams System3,4,6 and 7,9 only 4 weeks. The development of the normal Dot Matrix Displays (32x128 dots) took me only 6 months. And testing phase another 6 months.

• Are spare parts also available for the next years for the PinLED Display Sets?

We only use commercial parts (ICs, transistors, resistors,....) for our products. And therefore you can get all parts also in the far future. The LED segments are in large numbers in stock.

• How long is the lifetime of LED Displays?

By the right calculating of the control section for the LEDs (right value of the current limit resistors) the lifetime of LEDs are extremely long. LEDs have a lifetime of about 100000 hours (one year has only 8760 hours!!!!).  And of course you can change a single LED segment. That isn't possible  at normal gas tube plasma displays. And this is the same with all parts on our board. You can change them easy and fast if there is a trouble.