newbie cold cathode question

[bendagr8]

I want to buy some ccfl's from bgmicro... Do i just need the power supply and the lights themselves, or do I need other parts that I'm not aware of?
Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[WA261]

switch, converter and light....you can buy one already all made up, that is what i did...frozen cpu.com has em for like $29 or something....yes, you can do it yourself, but if your like me u iz 2 lazy ;-)

 

[bendagr8]

first of all they are $34 now on frozen CPU, and if you add shipping it seems like i can save at least $15 if i do it myself.
Can anyone give me some advice or know of a website that gives instructions. Just a brief overview of what I have to do would be fine.

 

[WA261]

damn that sure is a jump for frozencpu....must have just gone up this week

these are some other links i had...

http://www.geocities.com/thelightsguy/order.htm

23+5 shipping here

http://www.zxmods.com/products/productccbareboneskit.html

26+whatever shipping is here

 

[Lizardman]

Hey bendargr8 i bougt one from bgmicro a couple months ago. Just buy a light and a power converter for each light that you buy. The only thing you need that you dont give is a molex connector so that you can plug it into your power supply. THe molex connectors are very easy to put onto the power inverter only took like 2 minutes. If you dont have any extra 4 pin molex connectors lying around make sure you buy one of those too.
Cheap molex connector you can use if dont have one.

 

[bendagr8]

The only difference would be you don't have a switch to turn it on and off right Lizardman?

Any easy way to add a switch?

 

[ChefJoe]

You can add a switch pretty easily with a simple radioshack single throw switch (a la rocker switch or typical flip switch). All you have to do is break the circuit

 

[bendagr8]

I'd rather get a switch I can plug in as opposed to cutting the wires and soldering it myself.
ANyone know where i can get a switch that i can just plug into the end of the cathode and then into the converter... or something equivalent?

 

[ChefJoe]

you may have trouble finding a stock 4 pin molex connector with a switch in it. If you send me $8 I'll build one for ya out of a molex extension and a radioshack switch.

 

[Lizardman]

bendar try it your self. Otherwise how else are you going to learn anything.

 

[zodder]

If you buy one of the kits from frozen cpu.com, it's a no-brainer. Everything you need is right there in the package. It'll take you 30 seconds to set up, max.

 

[bendagr8]

Lizardman, you are absolutely right. Most i have to lose is a couple of bucks if i mess up... And i have some experience with this, so i probably wont ruin it, i just wont do a "nice job".

 

[Giscardo]

Wait, so the ones from BGMicro that are sold for 6.99, what else do i need to get. It just says they are cold cathode "lamps". So i need to get a bulb and a power converter to use it? And Lizard, by power converter, do you mean one of those 3 to four pin converters? Do i need a power converter if i just plan on splicing into one of my cables for my power supply?

The power supply on the bgmicro site is 6.99, is this a standalone PS, so that the light could be on independently from the computer's power supply?

What are all the details if i buy from bgmicro? I want to get panaflows from them, but i need my order to be 15 so i decided i might as well get the cold cathode stuff for my future case mod while i'm at it, but don't know anything about case modding or cold cathodes.

 

[MoFunk]

If you were to run two cathodes in your case, could you use the same switch?

 

[SinnerWolf]

I've bought from BgMicro several times, so i've been through this before. You will need an inverter (not a 3-4 pin converter) for each cathode. In addition, i highly recommend getting some protective tubing, as the CC's themselves are fragile, and ironically enough are anything but cold. You don't have to have a rocker switch or the like, but it makes it much easier. I personally went for a baybus/fanbus, which allows you to control the intensity of the lamp and speed of the fans from a front access 5 1/4 bay. Not to mention i didn't have to mess up my nice paint job by cutting a rocker hole in the front. The inverters from BG are not protected in any way shape or form, and give you (or your hardware) a nice jolt if you're not careful. Do yourself a favor and get a film canister or other such plastic container to place them in, and mount. All of the mod sites are overpriced for these. If you don't want to mess with piecing your own CC's together, BlackScorpion (AnAndtech member id) used to sell them all the time in the Hard forums, and here for a bit too. I've bought some from him and have nothing but good things to say. I don't remember his pricing exactly, but he was much more reasonable then the online mods sites.

MoFunk, You can run two cathodes from the same switch, but if you're going to be using more then one, save yourself the headache and make/buy a baybus.

 

[pbrain]

20+s/h cold cathode light kits

i haven't bought anything from them before, but it looks like a good price for a complete 12" cathode kit.