using ultra-brite LED's for Marquee Lighting?

[HeadRusch]

Yes? no? I'm talking about the ones currently so popular with PC Case Modders......I've got a flourescent fixture in there now, and it does thejob, but I'm wondering if the ultra-brite LED's would throw off a better, whiter light that would make a marquee glow brighter...or if they're just not enough to get the job done.

Anyone try this yet?

[KevSteele]

I've thought about doing the same, but my concern is that the light coverage would be "spotty" unless you had an awful lot of LEDs. A diffuser would help this problem, though.

I've also though about the new "glowsheet" material used by some PC modders. It may take a few sheets, but it might be a really cool look.

[HeadRusch]

Yeah, I agree.  Having a nice MAME in glowing letters would be pretty cool.....right now I'm just thinking of dressing up my bezel with a few glowires, just to give my otherwise black cab some eye candy.....I was going to get one of the LED clusters to light my coindoor.....which made me wonder if same could be done for my marquee.......we'll see.

[rampy]

just a random thought HR... What material is your marquee?  If it isn't getting the glow you desire is it plausible that maybe a "better" marquee would glow more/better?  *shrug*

any pics? how's your project coming along, anyways?

rampy

[HeadRusch]

Yeah it could be the marquee itself...is photo-printed glossy.......I'm pretty pleased with the results so far, but its not quite ready for prime-time...I'll snap some pics in a few days when I get it just a little bit prettier

After I get off work I've got to head to the depot for Paint, one of those grinding wheels you can put on your drill (got a few exposed screw-tips I want to eliminate), and......and........hmmm.  Something else (DAMN why didn't I write it down!).....sheetmetal? No.....Mig Welder? Hmmm..no......i'll figure it out...

Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to mount a trackball internal on the CP....and if I do, do I want to try and fudge one using the cheapo trackballs I already have, or go for broke and get a real one from Happs or Wico.

Unsure...unsure...whats a good trackball to use that wont cost me an arm and a leg..ie: less than $100 bucks......I've already got an opti-pac so....??

[ErikRuud]

Kids Ball!!

If you can find one, they are easily under $100.00.

I have one and so does 1-Up. We are both pretty happy with them.

They are/were sold under the following brand names. Kye, Crayola, Genius.

[HeadRusch]

Yeah but those are like 60 bucks!  For 60 bucks I may as well drop another 40 and wind up with a 3" Happs arcade ball!

Crap...if I get the 3" arcade ball, in order to mount it on 3/4" MDF I have to route out material huh.

Damn...

[Veto]

go for the Happ High lip 3" you will be glad you did.  With the optipac no need to buy the Happ USB interface so you should be under $100.

[ErikRuud]

I only paid like $20.00 for mine almost two years ago.  Look Around.

[HeadRusch]

So the high lip is the one to get then???  Can I get that with the transluscent ball??

[Veto]

Get the high lip if you want it flush with the top of the cp (if you use lexan/ plexi etc.  If you just want to cut the hole and drop it in and have a mounting plate sitting on top of the cp surface then you can just get the regular 3" non-high lip.  I have the latter.  It looks more professional not to have the mounting plate visible though.

[HeadRusch]

Ehh...I thought about this some more..I really didn't design my CP for use with a trackball, because I really never got into most of the trackball games.

I'd play a few games of crystal castles, i'd never play marble madness...well..maybe... ...missile command is about the only game I'd play with it...

I think I'll hold off on adding the trackball now...i can leave some space to add it later I guess, but for now I'll just stick with the dinky cheapie I bought until i can convince myself I want to spend $70+ on an arcade trackball I'll rarely use...

[Veto]

no Golden Tee fans over there?  That's all anyone wants to play when they come over here.

[HeadRusch]

Yeah, the GOlden Tee fans can go find themselves a nice bar to play at.  I'm not a big golf nut...they want golf they can play the NeoGeo golf game

Golden Tee is an ok game that is kinda fun, but is it $90 fun??? that I'm just not sure of...

[shmokes]

Isn't the Highlip on sale until the end of may for like $70?

[RandyT]

Yeah it could be the marquee itself...is photo-printed glossy.......I'm pretty pleased with the results so far, but its not quite ready for prime-time...I'll snap some pics in a few days when I get it just a little bit prettier

Sorry for bringing this thread back on topic  .

But the reason you aren't getting the glow you are after is probably the fault of the heavy photo paper.  Most of the good stuff is designed to not let light through it.

But to answer the original question, LED's probably wouldn't do so well due to the narrow view cones associated with the high output variety, but if they were back far enough and you had about 30 of them, you'd probably have the longest lasting marquee lamp available (11 years constant on).

I'd avoid the EL material.  It usually has a half-life of about 5000 hours (it never dies completely, just gets ever dimmer).  It's very expensive for a large chunk (about $50-75 or more for marquee size) and will require a good sized (also expensive) inverter to power it.

But what might be an interesting alternative are the CCFL lamps.  These put off a good amount of light, last a long time (20,000 hours?) and are relatively inexpensive.  They also run off 12v and can be wired to your computer's power supply.

*edit*
The CCFL *inverters* run from 12v, not the actual lamps.    These can be purchased with the tube as part of an inexpensive kit.

RandyT