Warning, this is another learning post.

The work removing parts from the top is just about done.  It was time for the light bulbs and some light sockets to get removed.

Space Station is very unique in the pinball world.  Pinball machines all have a circuit of lights called the GI. GI stands for General Illumination. GI lights are usually on all the time.  They stay on when the game is not being played and they generally stay on at all times during the game.  Space Station has two controlled GI circuits.  That means they can be controlled to turn on and off at certain times.  Most machines have only one circuit and those are sometimes controlled to turn on and off.

The two circuits on Space Station allow the game to emit a green glow when the player starts multi-ball during a game.  The machine shuts off the clear bulbs and turns on the green bulbs.

In the top picture you will see the green bulbs next to the clear bulbs.  The green bulbs are not actually green, they have a green rubber cover on them.  Sometimes the covers are referred to as bulb condoms. They come in many different colors and have been around for many years.  They allow any clear bulb to become a colored bulb. Companies that run pinball machines on location do not have to stock a bunch of different bulbs and can just put the condom on a new bulb when the old one burns out.

There are colored bulbs out there, the inside of the glass bulb has been painted.  The advantage they offer is brighter light output.  They don’t have the thick rubber coating to prevent light escape.

I will discuss bulbs some more in the future.