There is a small amount of light from the marquee lamps that does come out of the back of the cabinet, through the air space, but it is very subtle and does not affect anything at all.
The screen I put across the opening also cuts the light down considerably.
OldMan,
I'll probably "close" the light marquee section to prevent any light from coming out from the top vent/fan.
I think we worry too much about heat. The original cabs had 19" monitors and big, inefficient electronics. They just had a vent at the top, no fan. I think one fan in your cab should be fine. Has anyone done any temperature studies on their cab(s)?
Thanks Coder.
Since I have a "big enough" opening at the bottom, I might just add 1 or 2 vents at the top or a fan, depending on what will look better.
I will definitively add a resistor in series with the 12V fan (if I use it) to reduce its RPM. (I had the same noise problem with the fan in my vivarium project)
Keep the reports coming Jay, have just (finally) finished cutting out all my pieces for the UAII and cant wait to start putting them together (weather crap here atm).
Thanks Soup!
I really like the general shape of the UAII (except for the big drawer).
You'll see, assembling the cab is one of the fun step of the project, since you can see an immediate results!!
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painting update
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I've finished the second coat of black paint everywhere on the cab (even inside).
Also, I have installed a shelf inside the bottom part of the cab for the subwoofer. This is to avoid using
RCA extension for the 2 speakers (the wire length is borderline and raising the sub by 12in, gives me the slack I need).
I already sanded the "visible surfaces" on which I'll put an additional 2 coats of black. This should be a quick process, since it will be done with the 4" foam roller.
At the same time, I'm preparing my test piece. I already tried
1 primer + 2 black + light sanding + rubbing compound directly
and it gives good results (almost no orange peel).
I might also use some "clear" spray, depending on the results on my test piece...
I'll try to post some good pics of that process and of the results I get (before/after).
So here's the pics...
pic#1 : subwoofer shelf
pic#2 : 2 coats of black on all pieces...
The family cab picture:
bottom from left to right : CP top, CP box, Front drawer, TV back access Panel
center : lower part of the cabinet
top : upper part of the cab and in front of it (not really visible), the speaker shelf.
And finally, the circular side logo lighting system (led strip), right next to the blue recycling bin
(this one is hard to see
)
On this, I've got to go work...
Cheers!!!
Jay