Marquee Lightbox Lighting

[coasternuts]

I have searched and it doesn't appear to be a popular topic...

I am looking for lighting solutions for a cab-less marquee lightbox.  The easiest but bulkiest solution is to use a flourescent lamp.  I have no experience with LEDm Cold-Cathode tubes, or glowire.  Would one of these be a better solution?  These seem to have drivers that can be driven by battery power.  If batteries were used, how long would they last and would they be bright enough?

If I wanted to power LED/Cold Cathode from a 120VAC, what would be the best solution? 

And if there really is a not so expensive, bulky solution, what do you use to mount your marquee to the wall. 

I suppose I could get them framed. 

[Dire Radiant]

what a great idea! Theres this blank spot on my wall right by where the cab is going...hmmm....

I'd say that if you want to use batteries (I wouldn't but that's just me) then superbright LEDs are probably your best bet. They'll last a heck of a lot longer than CCFLs will. Personally I've never powered cold cathodes with anything other than an ATX power supply so I don't know of any compact solutions other than a 1U power supply as used in 1 rack unit servers and the like. Those get kinda expensive although you dont need a freat one just to power CCFLs

Are you planning on putting several marquees in one box or do you want a box for each marquee. Either way that's going to look great on the wall of the game room!

[coasternuts]

Preferably 1 box per marquee.  But, I want to keep the "box" size small.  Preferably as small as a picture frame.

These look interesting....anybody have experience with one of these

[NIVO]

http://www.crazypc.com

[BobA]

I used some light rope that plugs into 120 directly.  Some of them let you cut the rope at certain points to adjust the length used.  About $10 Cdn.

BobA

[coasternuts]

Okay.  So I got the cold cathodes and they will work great except their are no 12V adapters that can feed 27 amps to them are there?  It looks like most are measured in milliamps up to 1 amp.

I'm assuming this is what's needed as I'm looking at my ATX power supply DC output:

Yellow  Blue   Purple
+12V     -12V    +5V
  27A       1A      3A

I suppose I could run them all to a stand alone power supply but then I'll be limited to where I place them in the room.

[Trimoor]

27 Amps?!!?  What are you trying to do with it, light up a warehouse?

CCFL bulbs draw less than 1 amp at 12 volts.  Like NIVO said, buy a cheap 12V wall wart, and use it to power the CCFL.  If you really want to use a PC power supply, all you need is one 12V (yellow) wire and one ground (black) wire.

I have used dozens of CCFL bulbs, and they work great for things like this.

[Flinkly]

i was thinking of using cold cathodes for a marquee light, would that be ok?  i've never used one so i was kinda weary of trying it on a whim, but they're cooler and use less power than a florescent, right?  and last longer i think...

i'll have a computer power supply already since it's a mame cabinet.  does this all make sense?

i like the idea by the way, it seems it's been a long time coming too.  you've been asking about marquees for a bit now.

[SteveJ34]

I've done several of these as gifts......one was a Star Wars marquee for my nephew (I just had a repro printed).

Next came a spiderman.....

http://www.satio.com/spiderman.jpg

Someone saw that and wanted a  Harley Davidson theme....

http://www.satio.com/harley.jpg

Someone saw that and wanted a custom UT Longhorn theme...

http://www.satio.com/longhorns.jpg

I just built boxes that were about 6 inches deep and used flourescent fixture, each sized around 24-29" wide  x 8" tall 'cept for the longhorn which was more square like 18 x 16 or so....

[Trimoor]

CCFL will work fine for a marquee.  Cooler, less power, last longer, no buzz/flicker.
I buy mine from SVC.com
You can even get UV/blacklight if you want.

[coasternuts]

Excellent!  That's what I thought too but on my ATX packaging, it says 27A for output. 

So I'll go out and get molex connectors this weekend and try out my already dismantled AC/DC adapter.   

SteveJ34, that spider-man marquee is sweet!!  Nice work!

Trimoor apparently likes "Chilly Willy".  (Wasn't that shooter from an episode?)

Thanks for the input all.

[SteveJ34]

Excellent!  That's what I thought too but on my ATX packaging, it says 27A for output. 
....

I *think* that may be a rating for the maximum draw...

SteveJ34, that spider-man marquee is sweet!!  Nice work!
....

Have to give Snaake his kudo's for helping with that one...for a nominal fee.

If anyone would like the full size finished art I'd be willing to share.

[Trimoor]

Trimoor apparently likes "Chilly Willy". (Wasn't that shooter from an episode?)

Ha!  Yes, it was from one of Walter Lantz's many wonderful Chilly Willy classics.  They sure don't make 'em like they used to.  For those interested, visit http://www.chillywillyfan.com/video.php to download episodes.  I made the shooting animation from A Gooney is Born

The 27A rating on the power supply is the maximum.  Keep in mind some power supplies can be damaged if it doesn't have a proper load on it (like a motherboard).  Older ones usually fair better for non-computer applications.  A wall wart DC power supply is best.