how visible is a uv cold cathode?

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I'm thinking about getting some case lighting. I was planning on getting plain old blue, but the uv lights caught my attention. If somebody could post a pic or a link to a site with one that would be great. I've seen them on by themselves in pics, but I'm wondering how bright they look installed.

I have a big cheiftec case, so I'm probably going to get 2 of whatever color I get. I just want to see if uv lights look cooler than blue ones.

 

[MacBaine]

ygpm

 

[SuperPickle]

You really can't see the blacklight so much, but rather the luminance of the things that glow (I suppose this could be said for any light) You'd be able to see blue better, but if you had lots of glow-in-the-dark and flourescent stuff in your case, then the blacklight would look cool too.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: basilisk420
You really can't see the blacklight so much, but rather the luminance of the things that glow (I suppose this could be said for any light) You'd be able to see blue better, but if you had lots of glow-in-the-dark and flourescent stuff in your case, then the blacklight would look cool too.

Precisely - the human eye can't see UV radiation. Most UV bulbs look purple because their light output extends into the visible range - it's not pure UV. But yes, put something white or glow in the dark next to the UV bulb, and it should light up brightly; flourescent yellow highlighter ink works good too.

 

[stanger]

do they make the cold cathode in purple color ?

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: stanger
do they make the cold cathode in purple color ?

Yes; SVC has them.

 

[John]

We just picked up a purple uv cold cathode and need to find some interesting things for it to reflect off of.

 

[jpucci1]

glow in the dark rounded cables

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: John
We just picked up a purple uv cold cathode and need to find some interesting things for it to reflect off of.

Well, someone here painted his entire motherboard with UV reactive paint, and it still worked afterwards. Don't know where the thread is though; if he reads this, he could make himself known.

Also, this place has a UV-reactive fan. It's a bit expensive as far as fans go, but then, most fans are just plain black. :Q
I haven't seen this kind of fan anywhere else, but then, I was never exactly looking for one.

 

[Gaard]

Does anyone know where I can get the brighter cathodes (like at SVC) sold seperately? I need a 4" and a 12", both to run off a dual inverter. I don't want to have to buy 2 kits...just 1 kit and 1 extra bulb.

 

[stanger]

does the purple put off a different type of light than the blue, red etc... i thought the UV needed something to reflect light from ? Best Byte has a purle and a UV here is a link

http://www.bestbyte.net/Product.cfm?ProductID=867&CategoryID=28&Keyword=

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: stanger
does the purple put off a different type of light than the blue, red etc... i thought the UV needed something to reflect light from ? Best Byte has a purle and a UV here is a link

http://www.bestbyte.net/Product.cfm?ProductID=867&CategoryID=28&Keyword=

Purple lights should just put out regular light like the other CC's, only...purple in color.

UV lights do best if you've got UV reactive rounded cables or fans; I think case-mod.com has that sort of thing. UV CC-lit cases look best if it's got stuff that really glows when hit by ultraviolet light. Anything else will just light up dimly, as UV itself is invisible to the human eye - but when it does hit the UV reactive stuff, the wavelength is shifted to the visible range.

 

[BRoced0]

I just bought a uv light and rounded cables ( clear with silver i believe ) they light up with the uv im guessing anything clear will light up so i should have a colorful case with my clear fans hehe.. has anyone tryed to remove the sound activation from the uv light cause i think thats what im gonna do.. lates all

of all the things ive lost... i miss my mind the most!!!

:Q

 

[N2Ohyeah]

I had a look at CC tubes as a UV source... but IMHO they were all rather dull. Nothing special.

I wanted it to be a good, bright purple color + plenty fluoroscence\phosphorescence in case. So, I bought a 240VAC (im in Australia) 'Blacklight' tube. It fits into a normal Bayonet fitting.
This thing is sooo powerful. It lights my room with a dull purple glow, and anything bleached (paper) will glow a bright blue. Cool !
So, Ive made a mounting bracket out of PVC connectors, and this thing is attatched to the side of my case (fully insulated).

It is sooooo bright

Also, I have found good Fluorescent spraypaint at the hardware store. It really glows under UV light.
Green, Pink, Yellow and Orange.

Paint something white if you want it to glow blue, and PCBS have an eery green glow around the edges. Cool.

I have little fishing lures (glow in the dark) suspended in the case. Looks freeky.

Because the single large tube doesnt illuminate all the nooks and crannies of my tower case, I'm gonna wire up 2 or 3 ultrabrite UV LEDs. I can grab em fer a few bucks each. Nice.

Photos will be available soon...
Though there is no case side yet
I dont want a window, as that would restrict my cooling... So im going to use Aluminium Mesh instead
Nice free airflow, protects components, and you can see all the bits!

Shall be sweet.

 

[Slickone]

I'm looking for a pic of a case w/ UV cold cathode in the top or bottom and either a blue or red in the opposite end. Anyone done this?

 

[MacBaine]

I sell these lights... here are some pics of them. I only have red, green, blue, and UV at the moment, but I will be getting purple, orange, yellow, R/G/B, R/G, and R/B real soon... so I can post pics of what those look like soon. I will say that the UV lights (at least the ones that I have) put off a really nice, bright UV light... not just purple. The UV pics are a little more than halfway down the page.

Link

 

[Jeff7]

Just did some tests here - I have 2 different flourescent UV bulbs here, each 6" long; these are standard tubes with the 2 pins on each end. I tried one of them, and a 12" CC tube from Sunbeamtech - the CC is definitely brighter.

MacBaine - what camera do you use? Are those 640x480 shots its native res? I have a "digital camera" except that it only has RCA out, and it is pretty low-res. It's better than webcam level, but it still can't take pictures away from the computer.

 

[Slickone]

Anyone have a UV CC and another color CC in the same PC?

 

[MacBaine]

Originally posted by: Slickone
Anyone have a UV CC and another color CC in the same PC?

I have tried that, and it doesn't really work. The colored CCFLs are just too bright for the UV light to show up. What you can do for a cool effect... put a different colored CCFL tube next to a UV light (don't turn the colored one on). And the UV light will react to light up the phosphor coating on the colored tube. It will not be bright, but it will make enough light to provide a nice glow of whatever colored lamp you use.

 

[Slickone]

Sounds neat. Got any pics of that?