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Marquee lighting... LEDs or fluorescent?
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RandyT:

--- Quote from: Turnarcades on July 27, 2009, 07:52:03 pm ---Seconded, we use cold cathode on our cabs and it works a treat - backlit nicely but not glowing like a beacon. The low power consumption helps and they are easily connected straight to a PC via an in-line IDE connection.

--- End quote ---

The weak point in the CCFL situation is almost always the inexpensive inverters which convert the 12vdc to to 90 or so volts it takes to run the lights.  I've seen them fail on a commercial installation we did with them in my last job.  Also, bear in mind that even though the input to the inverter is 12v on most of these, the lights are still very much "high" voltage devices.  They are also more fragile than LED's.

The cheapo Walmart fluorescent lighting fixtures are usually ok for a while, but don't go for the absolute cheapest option.  I have literally been through 3 fixtures and bulbs with these things in a couple of years, and they looked like they really needed tossing at that point due to what the constant heat did to the plastic housings.  Of course, mine were on 24/7, so this may have had something to do with it.

RandyT
Ginsu Victim:
Yeah, good point. My Wal-mart cheapy is only on for an hour or two at a time. Never left constantly running.
mvsfan:
thats a good point too. dont use the low voltage stuff its known for problems. i helped install low voltage recessed lighting in an entire office building once, and the company was there fixing them all the time since they were installed.

anyways, a cheap fixture is alright if its got a good ballast in it like a Ge or Advance ballast. and dont get anything with seperate starters. nowadays you shouldnt have to although they still make those.
mvsfan:
also some of the really cheap fixtures have ballasts in them that dont last long and you usually cant replace them. they look like a small white plastic block with wires coming out of it about the size of an inkjet cartridge. these things are junk and the fixtures that come with them are usually too small to fit a proper ballast into wait, your thinking id just mount a big one somewhere in the cabinet right? DONT. they got to be seperated from the wood somehow. when ballasts run they get pretty warm, and especially when they go bad, they get super hot, enough to set wood on fire.

thanks.
Namco:
Get one of these cheap light bulb fixtures with a couple florescent bulbs, 30 watts total with the lighting power of 120 watts incandescent.







This came with my cabinet, but I can't imagine it'd be that hard to find.
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