Best UV lights

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DangerIsGo

2[H]4U
Joined
Apr 16, 2005
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Im looking for a 12" (or pair of 12's) UV Cold cathode lights to show off the UV active things in my case (cables, board, cooant etc..) but I dont know what is a good one to get. I heard the logisys sucks since their inverters fry a lot. I had a thermaltake cold cathode green light in my case and that thing was a beast. got it at a comp show years ago and most of the time it was on (this was with my old case). But I want my UV things to show so I had to put it away. What is a good brand for UV lighting? Does thermaltake make any nice ones? Id so buy from them if they did. Also, anyone know where I could get them?
 
I bought a dual 12" UV model from xoxide.com. The brand name is Ultra. Its a pretty nice unit. Give it a try.
 
How are the inverters? I know the ones from Logisys suck and fry (and in MattDamons case, his whole comp went up in flames)
 
I have the logisys CFFL's and the inverters are fine.. Pretty much all of the inverters will be the same.
 
http://www.oznium.com/cathode-kit

6.49 for a set of UV cathodes. They are made for cars, but can easily be modded for computers (He use to sell them with molex plugs but 95% of his clients use them for cars). Highly recommended site. The owner is great on customer satisfaction. I've bought probably $1,000 worth of stuff there and had no problems what so ever. No inverter problems either.Check it out.
 
DangerIsGo said:
How are the inverters? I know the ones from Logisys suck and fry (and in MattDamons case, his whole comp went up in flames)
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I've had it for like a year now and its been just fine.
 
I've had good luck with Sunbeam. They seem to last a while, and are pretty cheap everywhere.
 
I got a pair from jab-tech and I'm not too impressed. I got 2 12" black light UVs and they're a little weak for me. I guess I need 4 in my case to make my modstream cables glow with any kind of visual greatness. I can't remember the brand but it wasn't popular or anything I had heard of... They were cheap, though.
 
WhyYouLoveMe said:
I got a pair from jab-tech and I'm not too impressed. I got 2 12" black light UVs and they're a little weak for me. I guess I need 4 in my case to make my modstream cables glow with any kind of visual greatness. I can't remember the brand but it wasn't popular or anything I had heard of... They were cheap, though.
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The UV cathodes just aren't all that powerful in any room with light. I'd recommend using 4-6 of them to always have a really nice effect. I had 4 in my older case and I'm going to change this case over to UV soon and will be using 6. Maybe I'll get a little crazy and use more :p
 
working with the 12" uv lights are a pain. You want to hide them at at times 2 isnt enough..and beyond 2 they get hard to hide.
 
Sunbeam...shutter*, I highly recommend staying far away from their ccfl kits...I recommend coolermaster's aurora series or ultra, I haven't had a problem with either of those, but sunbeam...I had it installed for 1 week and had it on for less than 5 minutes of use...done.
 
Stu55 said:
Sunbeam...shutter*, I highly recommend staying far away from their ccfl kits...I recommend coolermaster's aurora series or ultra, I haven't had a problem with either of those, but sunbeam...I had it installed for 1 week and had it on for less than 5 minutes of use...done.
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Know any good retailers that sell these? I'd like to get a new set of uv cathodes and I can't find any that aren't either sunbeam or logisys.
 
DangerIsGo said:
How about the brightness of those? I wanna get 2, and i want them to light up the case...i dont want to to BARELY light it up. And how come these say 30000 cd/m2 but they're still UV : http://store.yahoo.com/svcompucycle/v12inch2ccflblack.html

Anyone know the brightness of these?: http://www.oznium.com/cathode-kit
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VERY bright. I have currently 7+ sets of multiple colors that were used in my car. One set of green cathodes lit up my whole car, a 2-dr. coupe. A set will defently light up a computer case very nicely. A note from the owner, in the comments box, let him know you need a Molex connector and he'll include one. Great site and great guy, Phil is his name.
 
So will the UV light up? What brightness would 2 need to light up my case? Remember I dont want them to be TOO bright else thatll look ugly. What is the quality on those? Are they like logisys and the inverter will fry after a few months? I dont want my comp up in flames lol.
 
Stu55 said:
Sunbeam...shutter*, I highly recommend staying far away from their ccfl kits...I recommend coolermaster's aurora series or ultra, I haven't had a problem with either of those, but sunbeam...I had it installed for 1 week and had it on for less than 5 minutes of use...done.
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Really? I've had mine over a year now....always on when the comp is on.
 
CCFL kits with sealed METAL inverters ~ http://www.elwirecheap.com/coldcathodes.html

The shiny aluminum inverters can give your mod a more refined look. Wouldn't be that hard to
polish them to a mirror finish. Plus the sealed all metal design are less a concern with fires.

Have used a couple of the dual 12" sets and would highly recommend them. At least as bright
as the "super bright" kits from SVC.com.
 
DangerIsGo said:
So will the UV light up? What brightness would 2 need to light up my case? Remember I dont want them to be TOO bright else thatll look ugly. What is the quality on those? Are they like logisys and the inverter will fry after a few months? I dont want my comp up in flames lol.
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I had multiple sets inside my car and no problems with the inverters frying. I even had a set outside of my car waterproofed and still nothing.

The thing with UV lights is that they aren't as "bright" as say, green or red Cathodes but they give off a purple shade of light and of course anything with UV paint will react to it and show up, like DFI's PCI slots and cables. One set would be sufficient. Maybe even a set of the 4" UV cathodes would work, they would be easier to hide. You won't be disappointed.
 
Yeah, I have had bad luck with the logisys inverters. their bulbs are fine. I have my logisys bulbs plugged into a Vantec inverter that I have had for probably 2 years now. Haven't had any problems with that inverter. I don't know where vantecs are sold anymore. xpcgear.com last time I checked didn't sell their CCFLs anymore. My local shop only sells logisys unfortunately :(
 
I have the Logisys UV CCFL's and they work great. I don't like how long it takes them to warm up though, so I may be switching them out for Meteors (LED's in a CCFL tube).
 
Susquehannock said:
CCFL kits with sealed METAL inverters ~ http://www.elwirecheap.com/coldcathodes.html

The shiny aluminum inverters can give your mod a more refined look. Wouldn't be that hard to
polish them to a mirror finish. Plus the sealed all metal design are less a concern with fires.

Have used a couple of the dual 12" sets and would highly recommend them. At least as bright
as the "super bright" kits from SVC.com.
Click to expand...

Too bad the site is no longer in operation :(
 
DangerIsGo said:
Too bad the site is no longer in operation :(
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Works OK for me. There are no prices listed anymore which is a bit strange. They cost
about the same as the SVC sets.
 
Guess that is why there are no prices. Obviously it has been a while since I ordered from them.

Try the lynk to their supplier instead ~ http://www.vibelights.com/coldcathodes.html

Dual 12" CCFL kit with sealed metal inverter = $12.50 (+ship)

edit : ................

This part from the Cold Cathode FAQ is interesting :
____________________________________________
> " Q. Can the brightness level be incresed?

A. Yes, we have came up with two methods. 1. The use of our special high out put inverter along with our high intensity bulbs, can increase the brightness level to 45,000 cd/m2. 2. The bulb can also be equipped with a reflective tape that will basically redirect all of the light from 360 degrees to 180 degrees, thus doubleing the amount of light in one direction. " <
___________________________________________

Hmmm, 45,000 cd/m2. Keep in mind most 12" ccfl are rated at 30,000cd/m2 or less.
 
Dude I just got the UV lights from Oznium and they are the Logisys lights. wtf. I thought he makes custom stuff. I dont want my shit burning up in a few months. They do NOT look like the ones on his site! The only reason I ordered from him was becuase I didnt WANT the Logisys's
 
Great guy...I just got an email back from him less than 1/2 hour after I sent it saying he had some logisys' sets and he figured he send me one since they are made for the comp. Seeing how it made a difference to me, hes going to send me a set of his own. Awesome guy!
 
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