Calling all UV heads... Best UV lights?

[Max0r]

Yeah... something took a hold of me and I am obsessed with the UV look...

What are the best, most beautiful UV cathodes I can get, and what makes them better than the rest?

[Krusty]

subscribed.

I'll be looking for answers too. So far, I was thinking of using UV LEDs because they're small, draw little power, and can work for adding lighting in specific areas without oversaturating the lighting.

[Susquehannock]

All CCFL tubes are very similar provided they have the same brightness (luminosity=cd/m2) rating.

The key is to get good quality inverters. These potted & sealed METAL units would be my suggestion.

http://www.vibelights.com/coldcathodes.html

If you have been scared away from CCFL lighting because of the numerous stories circulating across the net of burned plastic inverters, then these are for you.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-55415361541018_1908_1288956

[Adragontattoo]

The ones the Sus linked actually restored my faith in CCFL, and no I am not shilling for them.

These inverters and lights have been running non stop since I got them with NO issues.

[Adragontattoo]

Next system though I may just load down with LED's

[Max0r]

Ahh, thanks. I will definately be getting the ones from vibelights! Susquehannock, your lit case is beautiful! I'll probably have more questions for you concerning configuration/colors/reactives in the near future ;)

[Susquehannock]

Those metal inverters really are the way to go. And no I don't have any affiliation with the seller whatsoever.

What I like is that you can buy just the inverters. Replaced the plastic ones that came with my 12" light sets long ago.

Saw a system archive a while back where the modder bought a set of those metal inverters and polished them to a nice shine. Looked nice inside the aluminum Lian Li case. :cool:

[lowfat]

can you use any cathode's with these inverters? The sunbeam ones I have look quite cheap.

[hainer36]

ive got some sunbeam ones and they are quite good.

i had a uv stamp on my arm from cedar point and after going into the water-park, showering and waiting 2 days, it still lit it up quite nicely, (may just be the ink but thats still a good light)

[Adragontattoo]

I have had MAJOR issues with the plastic covered inverters (exploding inverters to be exact). I had to keep the inverters in the DIRECT line of airflow and just HOPE that they wouldnt pop or worse. I will NEVER go back to plastic covered inverters and probably will just stick with Vibelights for any CCFL stuff that I need.

The case I have now has one inverter in the dead space next to the PCI slots on the frame (where they screw in). I just touched it and while it is warm to the touch it isnt getting any air moving across it and I have no worries on whether it will explode (been moving drives and such around so the side panel is off).

[Captain Slug]

Next system though I may just load down with LED's
Just a note: UV leds are very weak and won't provide much of an effect. Other LED colors however can be very very bright in clusters.

[Jeff Moser]

If going with LED you may want to try http://cool-cases-usa.com/Zen-Cart-v1.2.4/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19&products_id=203 These little units are easy hook up and low cost.

[Susquehannock]

can you use any cathode's with these inverters? The sunbeam ones I have look quite cheap.
Yes.
The 12" UV tubes in my system originally came from SVC.com. The pair of plastic inverters were replaced with the metal ones from VibeLights some time ago.

There is some good info in the FAQ section of the page that I lynked above. Including how to significantly increase the brightness of the lights with a high power inverter and reflective tape.

Just a note: UV leds are very weak and won't provide much of an effect. Other LED colors however can be very very bright in clusters.
That would be my experience as well. LEDs are great for regular colors but there is no substitute for CCFLs if you want that strong UV effect.

[Adragontattoo]

Im more looking at doing accenting with LED's instead of just blasting the entire case with UV.

[Susquehannock]

That would work OK I think. An LED with a narrow viewing angle would be preferable obviously. I have tried UV LEDs with 15* angle before. Kind of like a tiny spotlight.

My favorite LED source ~ http://superbrightleds.com/leds.htm

[Max0r]

One cool UV LED idea... where you have no other lighting... a dark case, would be only pointing the UV LEDs at UV reactive stuff, including stuff you painted, so the case has a very dark look but still has some items glowing strongly. I think that might look SWEEEEEEEET!

[Adragontattoo]

only problem with that would be that you would need enough UV output to get a reaction from the UV items. A single LED probably wouldnt give enough effect.