[ObiwanShinobi]

I cant ever find any real red cathode lights, it always turns out pink or orange, I can find real nice red fans but not cold cathode lights. Does anyone have any light reccomendations?

Also I'm looking to cut a place for a fan mount in the plexiglass window of my case. I have a silver thermaltake armor case, I want to cut a 120 mm hole where my heatsink and fan is so i can draw air from the outside of the case to it. I cant hand cut it, should I drill it or somthing? I dont want to break it or crack it or scratch it. Has anyone done this and can you help me if you have?
Any help is appreciated, thanks.

[Flip-Mode]

Well what I did was kinda weird but it worked, I started with a drill and the smallest bore I could fine and then used a bigger one and so on and after I got to the biggest one I just started pushing to the sides and making the hole bigger and so on until I reached the desired size.

[Navig]

If a hand drill is all you have, you're best bet is probably a hole saw. 4 1/2in will do just right for a 120mm fan.

Mask your plastic sheet.

Clamp/tape it to a wooden surface (that will get trashed).

Drill a pilot at the center of the hole.

Work the hole saw at a medium/low speed, and take frequent stops to clear away plastic shavings and allow the plastic to cool.

The likelihood of cracking/mistakes are going to be related to the type and thickness of the plastic, but if you're careful, shouldn't be a problem.








There are any of a number of other methods depending on what tools you have available.

navig

[BuffaloBoy]

I've cut plexi with a holesaw before, and if you have a drill press like I do, it's fairly easy, just clamp it securely and go slow. If you have a handheld drill, you have to be VERY CAREFUL, especially if it's a powerful drill.

As for the true red CC lights, I just bought some cheap ones for my last case, which put out a glaring neon pink color. So, I found a roll of red cellophane wrapping for holiday baskets at my local grocery store the day after Christmas for about 50 cents. I just cut a strip off the end of the roll wide enough to fit between the end blocks on the light, used a piece of clear tape to secure it to the tube, and roll. It might be a good idea to have the inverter handy to plug it in and see how it looks. I find that 3-4 wraps gives a healthy, red glow, but if you want a deeper, more subdued look you can wrap it a couple more times. Secure with a couple pieces of clear Scotch tape and you're good to go.

You can also get strings of LED lights (I think Sunbeam makes them) that put out a good red color, but they're better used as backlighting.

[ObiwanShinobi]

Strings of LED lights, can you point me out one? I'm not sure if I know what youre talking about.

[stool]

I don't know if they still have them, but All Electronics has these

[Thumdar]

Nicely done!

[Susquehannock]

Originally Posted by ObiwanShinobi

Strings of LED lights, can you point me out one? I'm not sure if I know what youre talking about.

Take a look here.

Originally Posted by stool

I don't know if they still have them, but All Electronics has these

Wow, that is expensive for a single 4" ccfl w/inverter. Look here instead.

AllElectronics is a great place for various electronics parts. But they are really not a
PC modding supply house so their prices in that catagory are not all that competitive.

[goodgod]

i bought this red cold cathode kit for my mod, maybe you want to check it out at Xoxide.com

[autolex84]

obiwan, I have some red neon tube lights up at work that may work for ya (there are 2 - 9" tubes in each kit) there designed for a car, but I could wire up a molex plug for ya f you wanted. There like $35 for both though (i know that there are cheaper out there, bu these are REALLY red)

[Susquehannock]

^^^ - It's my understanding neons are better at producing red light than ccfls's

[tbones1337]

for a nice red cathode... mountainmods.com

the cathode(s) i bought from them that were red were actually red..

[ghettocomp]

for any kind of LEDs I buy from the Chi-wing LED store on Ebay. Great prices and they ship anywhere. quite often they will have deals that include the resistors at no additional charge.
Unfortunately I am at work, and they have Ebay blocked here now, or I would have a great linky for you.

[Flip-Mode]

Originally Posted by ghettocomp

for any kind of LEDs I buy from the Chi-wing LED store on Ebay. Great prices and they ship anywhere. quite often they will have deals that include the resistors at no additional charge.
Unfortunately I am at work, and they have Ebay blocked here now, or I would have a great linky for you.

Bought a bag full of blue LED's few years ago from them and got free resistors for free.
Great service.

[ObiwanShinobi]

Originally Posted by autolex84

obiwan, I have some red neon tube lights up at work that may work for ya (there are 2 - 9" tubes in each kit) there designed for a car, but I could wire up a molex plug for ya f you wanted. There like $35 for both though (i know that there are cheaper out there, bu these are REALLY red)

I might take you up on that when I get some money, I need to cut my window first though.

[ObiwanShinobi]

Originally Posted by Navig

If a hand drill is all you have, you're best bet is probably a hole saw. 4 1/2in will do just right for a 120mm fan.

Mask your plastic sheet.

Clamp/tape it to a wooden surface (that will get trashed).

Drill a pilot at the center of the hole.

Work the hole saw at a medium/low speed, and take frequent stops to clear away plastic shavings and allow the plastic to cool.

The likelihood of cracking/mistakes are going to be related to the type and thickness of the plastic, but if you're careful, shouldn't be a problem.




There are any of a number of other methods depending on what tools you have available.

navig

About how much did a hole saw that large cost you?

[Navig]

$25. Yeah its kind of expensive for a one-size deal, but as far as I know the only solution for a hand drill. If you have a drill press, circle cutters are a much better option.