LED Marquee Mod: Adding Glow to Your Cab

The Idea

Every arcade cabinet needs a great marquee, but a backlit marquee with reactive LEDs? That takes it to another level. I wanted the lighting behind my marquee to change colors based on which game was loaded.

Parts List

WS2812B addressable LED strip — (60 LEDs/meter, 1 meter) — $12

Arduino Nano — $8

5V 3A power supply — $10

JST connectors — $5

Frosted acrylic diffuser panel — $15

Total: about $50 for a mod that completely transforms the look of the cabinet.

Wiring

The WS2812B strip runs on 5V and uses a single data line. I connected:

5V — and **GND** to the dedicated power supply

Data In — to pin D6 on the Arduino Nano

A 1000μF capacitor across the power lines (protects the LEDs from power surges)

A 470Ω resistor on the data line (signal integrity)

The Arduino Code

I wrote a simple sketch using the FastLED library. It listens on serial for color commands sent by the frontend software (LaunchBox in my case). When a game launches, LaunchBox sends an RGB value, and the Arduino crossfades the LED strip to match.

For example:

Pac-Man — → Yellow glow

Galaga — → Blue/cyan pulse

Donkey Kong — → Red/orange sweep

Default/menu — → Rainbow cycle

Installation

I mounted the LED strip along the inside top edge of the marquee area, facing down toward a frosted acrylic diffuser panel. The diffuser is key — without it, you see individual LED dots instead of a smooth glow.

The Result

It looks incredible. Walking up to the cabinet and seeing the marquee pulse with color before a game even starts sets the mood perfectly. Visitors always comment on it first.

Next Upgrade

I'm planning to add LED strips to the kickplate area too, so the entire cabinet glows in theme-matched colors. Might also add a motion sensor so it lights up when someone approaches.