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Replacement chokes for Sega Machines

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 5:27 pm
by marktol
Hi All,

Just thought I'd post this here. I've found a suitable replacement for the chokes in the Sega machines. They fit the same sized holes, so look nice and original. Below is a shortcut to ones that will power two of the bulbs, so you will only need two of these. They also do individual ones. Annoyingly they have sent me the wrong ones which are the single ones, so I only have two bulbs working at the moment. I'm waiting for them to send me some replacements:-

http://www.lampshoponline.com/tridonic-ec-13-c102k/

Re: Replacement chokes for Sega Machines

Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 6:47 pm
by steinslots
Nice find marktol!

Can I point out (if you didn't already know) that there are two types of florescent lighting wiring used on old slots: Series and Parallel (standard) wiring. If you get the two systems muddled then it will take an eternity to get right! I have seen a lot of lighting circuits discarded because of this.
Series wiring was often used in machines of the 60's and 70's era to save weight and space.
They will usually have one choke per two lamps and two starters. The series chokes were designed to be used with the wattage of lamp marked on the casing, although I have seen some which have wiring diagrams for both IE: 2x4W series OR 1x8W parallel.

The starters for series wired lamps were different in that the starter contacts are normally closed and these circuits need a specific series starter. These are not interchangeable with standard ones.

Also remember that 110v chokes will not work on 230v (not for very long anyway!) and also the starters are rated at 110v or 230v (115v or 240v) and are not interchangeable.

There are some electronic starters available for parallel wiring which seem to last forever and they also extend the life of the lamps by using a "soft start", again they are available in 110v and 230v. http://cpc.farnell.com/british-general/ ... dp/LA02326