This is a listing of lamps commonly used in pinball games, along with specifications such as voltage, amperage, MCSD (see below) and life expectancy in hours.
MCSD is a measurement of luminous intensity. It stands for Mean Spherical Candelas (formerly known as MSCP or mean spherical candlepower) and is the total light output from a lamp measured in all directions. It is equal to the total visible energy emitted by the lamp, measured in lumens, divided by 4*pi (~4*3.1415927).
The idea behind this file is to list alternative lamps based on a particular application. Most folks know that you can replace a #44 lamp at .25 amps with a #47 lamp at .15 amps if you want your game to run cooler. But what if you wanted a brighter bulb? Or if your original bulb was a #555? What are your alternatives then? This file attempts to answer those questions.
Lamps are grouped by voltage and base ... this is designed to assist the reader in finding bulbs with the same base and voltage, but varying other characteristics. Inside of each group, lamps are sorted by amperage, followed occasionally by MCSD. Flashlamps do not have a measurable MCSD and are not specified here.
Within each group, the "standard" lamp is normally marked with a "*" next to it. These are lamps I know are commonly used in games. A number of groups indicate a "standard" lamp with a "+" symbol, these are lamps commonly available from pinball parts dealers but are not known to me for sure as to their usage (they may be jukebox lamps for all I know). I included them here for completeness anyway.
Speaking of completeness, if there is a bulb type you are looking for that is not included in this file, please Email me at ung @ filenet.com. Include as much information as you know about the bulb type and I will add it to the file. In particular, we are missing a significant amount of information about the commonly used #906 bulb. If anyone can provide that information, it would be greatly appreciated. As always, credit will be given where credit is due.
Bill Ung
ung @ filenet.com.
| Lamp # | Volts | Amps | MCSD | Life | Base |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43+ | 2.5 | .50 | .50 | 3,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1302 | 6.3 | .04 | .08 | 5,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 755 | 6.3 | .15 | .33 | 2,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 267 | 6.3 | .15 | .33 | 5,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1847 | 6.3 | .15 | .38 | 5,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 47 | 6.3 | .15 | .52 | 3,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1866 | 6.3 | .25 | .65 | 5,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 44* | 6.3 | .25 | .90 | 3,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 239 | 6.3 | .36 | .67 | 5,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 238 | 6.3 | .50 | 2.0 | 2,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 240 | 6.3 | .36 | .67 | 5,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1810 | 6.3 | .40 | 1.40 | 3,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1855 | 6.3 | .80 | 3.60 | 3,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 159 | 6.3 | .15 | .34 | 5,000 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 447 | 6.3 | .15 | .52 | 3,000 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 555* | 6.3 | .25 | .90 | 3,000 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 40+ | 6.3 | .15 | .52 | 3,000 | Miniature Screw (E10) |
| 46 | 6.3 | .25 | .90 | 3,000 | Miniature Screw (E10) |
| 1129+ | 6.4 | 2.63 | 21.00 | 200 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) |
| 455* | 6.5 | .50 | FLASH | 500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) [FLASHLAMP] |
| 55+ | 7.0 | .41 | 2.00 | 500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1896 | 7.0 | .50 | 2.20 | 1,500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 63* | 7.0 | .63 | 3.00 | 1,000 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) |
| 51+ | 7.5 | .22 | 1.00 | 1,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 912+ | 12.8 | 1.00 | 12.00 | 1,000 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 920 | 12.8 | 1.20 | 10.00 | 1,200 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 921 | 12.8 | 1.40 | 21.00 | 500 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 89* | 13.0 | .58 | 6.00 | 750 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) |
| 906* | 13.0 | .69 | ???? | ??? | Wedge (W ?.? x ?.? D) (???) |
| 67* | 13.5 | .59 | 4.0 | 5,000 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) {1} |
| 97 | 13.5 | .69 | 4.0 | 5,000 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) |
| 57+ | 14.0 | .24 | 2.00 | 500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 431 | 14.0 | .25 | 2.70 | 250 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1895 | 14.0 | .27 | 2.00 | 1,500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 257 | 14.0 | .27 | FLASH | 500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) [FLASHLAMP] |
| 293 | 14.0 | .33 | 2.00 | 5,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 161 | 14.0 | .19 | 1.00 | 4,000 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 158 | 14.0 | .24 | 2.00 | 500 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 194* | 14.0 | .27 | 2.00 | 1,500 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) {2} |
| 168 | 14.0 | .35 | 3.00 | 1,500 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 193 | 14.0 | .33 | 2.00 | 7,500 | Wedge (W 2.1 x 9.2 D) |
| 53+ | 14.4 | .12 | 1.00 | 1,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1445 | 14.4 | .135 | .70 | 2,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1829 | 28.0 | .07 | 1.00 | 1,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 757 | 28.0 | .08 | .62 | 7,500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1820 | 28.0 | .10 | 1.60 | 1,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1864 | 28.0 | .17 | 3.00 | 1,500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 313+ | 28.0 | .17 | 3.50 | 500 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 1873 | 28.0 | .20 | 3.00 | 7,000 | Miniature Bayonet (BA9) |
| 301 | 28.0 | .17 | 3.00 | 500 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) |
| 1251* | 28.0 | .23 | 3.00 | 2,000 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) {3} |
| 303 | 28.0 | .30 | 6.00 | 500 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) |
| 623 | 28.0 | .37 | 6.00 | 1,000 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) |
| 1683* | 28.0 | 1.02 | 32.00 | 500 | S.C. Bayonet (BA15s) {4} |
Note: The last two groupings are broken apart because although the base and voltage specifications are similar, the physical glass bulb of the #1683 lamp is significantly larger than those of the #1251 group.
The other file I'd like to see, but haven't the slightest idea where to begin, would be a similar file about pinball coils: size, voltage, relative strength and number-of-coils (flipper coils typically have two coils in one). If anyone has the knowledge to put together such a file, I'm sure it would be much appreciated!!!