Cathodes that dont suck?

[Valk]

hey all. I just want to see what everyone is using for their lighting these days. I got a pair of these sunbeam cathodes which come with dual inverters. they are decent cheap cathodes, but i only wish they looked as good as this...

this is a digital camera capture of my setup... it looks great. the only problem is that in person, the light colors are actully very washed out and.... well pink and **** yellow.

are there any other options out there that dont suck or can be seen in anything but a pitch black room?

I would have gone with a blue and uv. but all my parts are orange or red.. doesnt seem right.

also. what kind of intensities are these UV lights putting out? I want to replace my yellow one with UV when i get into water cooling. I saw a case in the water cooling gallery that i liked.

 

[Jenova]

niceeeeee man its nice and clean
i like it

 

[CalsonicGTR]

I got the same Red Sunbeam Dual Red Cathodes, and they ended up being pink too. I found a way to fix thos though. Find a B&M store around you that sells DJ equipment. Go and buy some red and orange gel sheets (I'm assuming that yellow light is supposed to be orange). Now, cut a piece and test fit it on your light to make sure it wraps around the whole light. When you are happy wwith the fitting, ziptie the sheets around the light. That should fix your problem

 

[RangerJoe]

This is two blue 12" cathodes from SVC (wierd offbrand)

they are really really bright compared to my old blue cathodes, just not as "blue" as my old ones. there are a much lighter color.

I paid $6.49 for these two cathodes, AND a dual inverter.

 

[ZachM]

I got a single Red cold cathode from Xoxide.com. I have 3 blue LED fans so the colors mix. The red is orangy/pink depending on how you perceive it, but it is bright. It casts light throughout the case.

Pic

It's not a very great pic, but it gives you an idea.

 

[{BC}Helix]

here is a pic of my UV one, i love it.

 

[Valk]

Is UV bright enough to replace my yellow light? I want to have a red in the back and a UV in the bottom. with orange uv reactive sleeves and water additive.
will it be sufficiant, or should i just get a purple cathode and use some UV leds to light my uv stuff?

I did some shopping around on the Bigfootcomputers site here in canada. they sell their "own inhouse ccfl lights" that use tinted acrylic to enhance their hue. or thats their marketing claim. I posted on their site asking how they compare since photo's do not really give the real picture. the overall impression is great so i might pick some up. sadly, ill definatly replace my red one with one of these if i can actully get red.
but then again, i kind of want a slightly softer hue to my lighting scheme. I wonder if i can order a replacement aluminum side panel for the super lanboy and cut out my own custom window mod. this would also allow me to easily hide the unsightly heatercore when i rip the hard disc cages out for water cooling.

Im also considering an automotive tinting on my window. you know those windshields with the little round tint jobs around their edges. I thik that would look pretty sweet and would be fitting of a water cooled pc. an overall tint to the window that would darken or filter my lighting would probably have a pretty nice effect.

 

[tom10167]

UV lights are fairly dim. I have a 24" blacklight in my room, and whn I turn it on it "lights up the room" to the point where people are visible, but hardly distinguishable.

 

[RangerJoe]

UV lights are not there to create light, it is there so you can illuminate objects. hence why you get UV dye in your watercooling setup, or UV IDE cables, etc. it is not supposed to create light, because UV light is actually out of our visual range (cant remember the real term)

 

[adrian nelson]

this isnt a cathode, but it dosent suck, its a small fluro with a piece of gel over it (cj104 for those who know gel)
mega mega brite, it can light the whole room, it isnt on most the time because being a non-cathode it make lots of heat

 

[Valk]

That is soo yellow, i love it XD.
well, ill experiment with the cathodes. ill get a 10 inch UV isntead of a 30 cm one and if there isnt enough purple, ill get a 30 cm purple. well. assuming i like the combo. dont have any money right now. when i get my tax return this year. OH MAN. thats going into a water setup, and hopefully by then, antec will get back to me about a replacement side panel.

 

[Annoyingrob]

Funny that you mention this about the Sunbeams being washed out. I have a Red sunbeam CCFL, I didnt realize how washed out it was until I got some LED fans today, now the CCFL looks pink! I have some red translucent material in my christmas wrapping I'm thinking of covering it with

 

[Mico]

Actually...what some people have done, is get a white cathode, and then bought several colors of gel sheets so they can change the color of their lights, almost at will.

 

[Annoyingrob]

Oh, just to tell you, wrapped my CCFL in the red transparent christmas wrapping, It's now a deep reddish orange as opposed to pink. Not quite that of my LED fans, but a lot better none the less. I'm sure real gels would have a much better color.

 

[Mico]

Yeah...well, at least you got somewhere, right?

 

[Valk]

you can buy gel sheets for stage lighting and all that stuff. they are just peices of tinted plastic that go in metal sleeves. since the sunbeams have very VERY poor mounting of their ccfls to the acrylic sleeve, i could probably just roll up some gel and stick it in the tub to tint it. would be cheaper than paint and would be more solid because for all my art skills *as im told* I suck major arse at painting =\.
these cathodes are pretty bright. if i turn everything off in the room, they light it well and illuminate my entire interior, but with lights on, they are a little less conspicuous. not drawing too much attention to them when your like, watching tv or some such thing.

does anyone know how much heat the return wire emits? I could just gel up the cathode directly *all 3 mm of it* and put it in my own acyrlic tube *a straw* which would also solve my side hatch problem * it doesnt open easily, or close*

oh well. I have these, might as well mod them. thanks for the gel idea, ill look for a place that would sell them.

Incidently, I sent e-mail to antec like. a week ago asking about a side panel. i still havent received even a confirmation letter or a thank you for your interest letter... what? do i have to like, register my case or somthing to get support?
Maybe i could write in with a subject line such as, "HELP! MY LANBOY IS ON FIRE!
<_< I wish i baught a raidmax. i really do. but oh well.