Once I get my bulbs in and mounted in a housing, I'll post some comparison pics. Sometimes can be hard to see in photos, but visually in person it will be pretty obvious. Currently, the spotlight kits I offer with some of my mods include the cone and a really bright Comet Matrix 4x4 Tower (https://www.cometpinball.com/products/4x4-tower). I'm curious as to how the light output will compare. The cone is good with this bulb because it projects the light forward from the SMDs mounted on the perimeter of the tower in addition to the 4 SMDs facing forward.

Here is a comparison of a typical spotlight with a 4 smd bulb compared with the bulb I am using in my low profile spotlight. I would say mine casts light just a little farther and wider. The silver domes actual limit how wide the light is transmitted.

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I don’t have any incandescent bulbs to test but it’s kind of a moot point. I think what we want to be more concerned with is how the silver dome affects the distribution of light and here I think it limits how wide it is compared to the low profile spot you developed and I mimicked. I know the COB led I’m using casts light fairly evenly across 180 degrees.

I think my housing design is done. Going to need a slight tweak as the base sliding on is a little tight. I just put a short wire in for visualization purposes.

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My real curiosity is new design vs. the cone/bulb combo I use now which is super bright. Here's an example where I'm throwing light from one onto my Getaway mountain mod.

Spot off
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Spot On
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That may be tough to beat as those put out a lot of light, maybe too much.

Certainly can be more of a floodlight at times. Just depends on what your lighting objective is. Just curious if new style can be a 100% replacement or used is specific situations what a spotlight is more appropriate.

Well, I'm an idiot. I just printed a version where the two parts fit perfectly, then it hit me. If I screw down the base then when I try to slide the housing in place there's a nut in the way (surprised nobody pointed that out) . . . you guys are devious.

New idea will be to design a base/housing combo where the base is screwed down then the housing pops down and locks into place as I'm still trying to avoid having any hardware involved.

We were just waiting to see how long it would take you to realize it. Looking forward to the results of all this R/D.

Eh, been there done that on other things. I was kind of wondering why your base was sliding. We just added a tab on the back of ours, one piece design and if people don’t want to use the tab, mounting tape on the bottom allows it to be placed anywhere. Plus, it can also be used in applications where there is a double spotlight present as they can be stacked.

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I have a working prototype housing where the base is mounted and then the top snaps into place over it. My main concern is that this design method results in a somewhat "permeant" installation. Once the base is mounted and the housing is snapped into place on top of it, the housing is not easily removed and in my testing because of the thin/small walls and elements of the two parts it is probable that one or both pieces will be damaged when separating.

I really like the idea of the spotlight hiding the mounting nut and for it to not require any hardware for installation (i.e. a set screw). I may go back to doing something closer to the OP's original design, but where the shell fits down over the base. I'm still a little concerned about the tab on the base that the shell slides over, as in reality this is a tiny piece that will be pretty fragile.

When it comes right down to it, this may just be something that I don't want to offer as a finished mod to others given the overall fragility of it. It's one thing to make a few for your own games, but an entirely other thing if people are going to buy them, install them, and then have issues with them breaking if they are not extremely careful with them.

I'll redesign one more time to test my ideas and after that make a decision if I will sell to others or not.

After redesigning and testing, while my housing theoretically works, I still think that due to the small size the 3D print is too fragile for me to be confident in selling it as a mod. When installing and/or taking it apart I consistently either crack/break the housing or the base in some way. I could probably theoretically increase the overall size of the components to make them more durable (possibly double or so), but doing so would defeat the initial purpose.

Installed a couple of Lermods low profile lights in a DE JP. Very good brightness and spread.

I have also ordered a Comet LED spotlight kit they offer and will put in a DE R&B and compare the results.

The Comets spot lights are large like Pinstadium and expensive compared to your design Lermod.

I'll probably be ordering a few more from you for the R&B. They work great and are unobtrusive on the playfield.

Anyone have a solution for a DE trough light mod? The Comet version doesn't really work in that apron design.

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That game is lit up pretty good. I see one on the left sling. Can you please point out where else you have them, I can’t seem to find them in your pics. Thx

Lower left sling by the ramp support.

The other is just below the upper right flipper.

Update on our spots. We had an issue with non-stern spike (e.g., stern Whitestar/SAM, DE, SEGA, BW) games where the led was getting too hot and burning out so we pulled them. We reconfigured it with a diode added. A fellow pinsider tested it on his DE game and I tested it on my tspp (SAM) and happy to report that we are back in business. Spots are now back on our website with choices for stern spike and all other games. Thanks to all for being patient.

https://lermods.com/products/low-profile-spotlights?variant=47869142008130

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These are awesome ideas! I hate the big silver cones - they invariably get nailed by airballs and break...

I have the Lermod spots. Will have some photos up soon of the DE JP and R&B.

Here’s a warm white installed on a jaws pro lighting up the sign.

If anyone wants the stl file for the spotlight housing for personal use, we are happy to offer it. We just ask that you don’t use it to sell them.

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I like it when you can actually see the playfield and artwork.

can you circle all of them? I can find 4....
i wasn't ever very good at those waldo books...

It's a cool concept and they are so small that they blend in quite well. I think there's a market for them. I really don't want radar dishes on my playfield.

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For those that have a DE game and use sand resistors on the GI relay with LED's to prevent seizures, Lermod's mini spots will turn totally off. Nice.

You can see the spot in the last two pictures;
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/is-there-a-data-east-gi-anti-seizure-mod#post-8054801

Looks good. Did you tie all the spots together? If you did, you could get a dimmer module to turn them down. What you did, of course, works too.

This is awesome!!! Is anyone sharing the STL’s ?

Also, wonder if using a 6v smd could be a viable option. Definitely a cost saver as one optimax is like $2.50, and 1k smd’s are the same price lol
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This is great knowledge you clearly did your homework on this!! I can’t wait to make some of these. Thank you for the great work!

I added one to my TOTAN to "shed some light" on the Genie. Works great, I love how unobtrusive these little lights are. I just worry about heat warping the housing over time, due to how thin the shell is.

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At the risk of derailing the thread, good call. TMNT almost as bad as the 2012 Avengers pin, which looked like an xmas tree with those red, green & blue GI bulbs scattered around the playfield.

Maybe for TMNT you could try something like warm white, orange, red, to give a warm gradient. I'm so anti-color GI that I'd probably just say screw it and put warm white in all the GI sockets, but I realize most folks wouldn't want to lose the color changing effect.

I've never noticed this. but now i bet it will stick out when i go play in this evening...

Awesome work on TMNT. From the overhead shot it matches FF perfectly. I see what you mean about GZ having a cool spot in the middle, but if anything I'd say it's the odd man out in a gameroom where you're focusing on old-school vibes.

I think GZ's art in particular can stand some cool in the middle section. For TMNT there's a lot of yellow / flesh / pizza / rat colored stuff near the middle that would get washed out under cool white.

Zombie Yeti sure does make a pretty game.

I have a Labyrinth on the way, and I know I want to use these mini spots. However, I wanted to take the amazing work already done on the spot light housing and sculp one that could be painted and dry bruhsed to give a rock like appearance. Here it is so far, and this model will work with the existing mounting plate.

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Nice work! How have you secured their little Hobbit feets?