Light Modding my desk

[tyshy]

Hey everyone

I was thinking of making my desk a bit brighter...the underside that is :)

the desk is seen here http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=212599

i want to put lights along the underside and i want them the sound activated ones that flash or pulse to the music cuz my sub is under the desk too...and if u put ur head under the desk....its really loud....

should i use cold cathode lights?...or what?.....i want to be able to have them turn on with the computer...altho i don't think i will be able to do that....so could i connect them to a 120volt wall socket....and run them off a regular switch?...and if they were run like that...could i still get them to pulse?

im just trying to figure out the best way to do this...some of your opinions might be good....

[Mico]

Well, you would need an AC to DC converter that allowed for the correct amperage and voltage for the CCFLs to work. I think El Strips might work. Of course...you would still need to converter.

[pummer]

if your power supply is strong enough you could run them off the comp. just plug them in, solder some extensions, and you're set.

[Strida]

At Walmart they sell neon light kits that usually go under car seats, or dashes, but can be adapted for your desk.

I wouldn't run them off the computer as there is no reason to, except that it turns on and off with it. I would be too afraid of the extra lights reducing my power more, and it'd be just as easy to hook them up to extension cords of some sort.

[tyshy]

yea i don't think im gonna run them off the comp cuz i would have like 4 lights...and thats too much for one psu....so where would i get an ac-dc convertor that put out 12volts and how would i connect the cathode....and would i need an invertor?

[palee72]

Do you have an old PSU floating around anywhere? I saw in Cyber deals a 250W PSU for like $11 shiped.. You could hook it in tandum with your PC PSU so that when you turn it on, it turns on as well.. Or you could set-up your own switch to turn it on and off at will..

[HashX]

I wanted to mod my desk with light for awhile...

some time back i saw someone put EL tape around all the edges and it looked awesome... but I haven't been able to find the link since

also i wanted to put some cathodes inside drawers with a switch so they turn on when you open them -- but my new desk has no drawers :D

[RadiationMan]

Here are a couple of links for converters from JC Whitney.

A cheap one (http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=5122&BQ=jcw2)
A more expensive one with higher amperage (http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=5127&BQ=jcw2)

[Sniperboy]

I'm pretty sure that you can just plug the ccfl directly into the wall, without an inverter. The whole purpose of the inverter is to convert DC to AC for the lamp to use. I'm not totally sure that the inverter bumps the voltage up to 115v, but I think it does. Oh yeah, don't try this if you don't have 115v outlets! :D

[masterchief]

hmmm... you could take a dremel and make a groove going across the edge of your desk and put EL wire in it. that would look cool, just mount an old psu under the desk with the switch facing you to turn it on and off

[pummer]

sniperboy -- you need some sort of converter because the cathodes don't have 115v wall plugs on them, don't you? I mean you could plug them in, but you might blow one open and/or electricute yourself and/or put the positive into the negative...

[tyshy]

i guess....the el wire would go perfect because the edge of the desk hangs over and there is a little lip on the bottom side....how bright does el wire glow?....with lights on or off?....it will be partially covered...so would i still see it?

[notasparagus]

I would just get some rope light from home depot, I did this exact same thing with some blue rope light and it looks pretty pimp. It plugs straight into the wall so no inverter is needed and it is very flexible.

[masterchief]

i dont know exactly (i havent used it before), but you can pick some up at www.xoxide.com for $20 for 5ft. you may be able to find it cheaper somewhere else

that would be cool to see a blue line going across your desk with the lights out :)

[masterchief]

notasparagus, how much was it? and how long is it?

i just looked on www.svc.com and they have el wire on sale for $9.99 with a dual inverter

[HashX]

the tape probly would work better then the wire since its usually as thick as most desks - and its adhesive backed

[tyshy]

ill have to check into that rope light...is it as bright as el wire?...because if it is....that seems the best way to go. I have a large inside perimeter of the desk....around 15-16 feet of rope...so it can't be too expensive....i wanna spend under 20$ on any wire or rope if possible.

[tyshy]

well...i did some looking...and found www.coolneon.com ....looks like a fairly new site but they have some good deals....all sorts of neon wire...i just wanna kno how long these wires typically last?...

[craigiz1]

Originally posted by notasparagus
I would just get some rope light from home depot, I did this exact same thing with some blue rope light and it looks pretty pimp. It plugs straight into the wall so no inverter is needed and it is very flexible.

I agree on this. My friend did this on his ceiling, inside/on top of the crown molding in his den/bar area and put it on a dimmer. It work's and look's great. Fairly inexpensive.

[tyshy]

do you have a link to this rope from home depot?...because their website sucks and i can never find anything on it...

[notasparagus]

Here is a link to some Rope light at Corner Hardware, basically the same thing you can get at home depot.

http://www.cornerhardware.com/cat_249/Lighting/Rope-Light.html

It is really quite bright, they desk was built for a friend so unfortunatly it is at his house, I will try to get a pic of where we used some at our house. It is relatively cheap and you can cut it at different lengths. IMO its probably brighter than EL wire.

You may also try Target, they used to have some in there lighting department where they had all the Lava Lamps and whatnot.

Edit:

Ok, here is a pic of the rope lighting we have in our house.

http://home.comcast.net/~tylerschroeder/ropelight.JPG

[craigiz1]

Notasparagus.....that's what I was talking about. :)
Work's great with a dimmer.

[weponhead]

Rope light is essentially christmas lights in a flexible tube

[Sniperboy]

Originally posted by pummer
sniperboy -- you need some sort of converter because the cathodes don't have 115v wall plugs on them, don't you? I mean you could plug them in, but you might blow one open and/or electricute yourself and/or put the positive into the negative...

My point was that if you want to run a cc out of the wall it is unnecessary to convert the AC to DC back to AC. If you have a 115v cathode, you can just wire up an extension cord to the cc. However, I'm not sure if the cold cathodes that we normally use run on 115v or not.

[notasparagus]

Originally posted by craigiz1
Notasparagus.....that's what I was talking about. :)
Work's great with a dimmer.

Hehe yea, thats how we have ours set up, its pretty cool.