Anyone use Cold Cathode tubes in arcade stuff ?

[mike boss]

I was looking around the local Kijiji other day when I saw someone selling a 60 in 1 cocktail cabinet.
Looked like it was nicely done, what really stood out (to me) was what I think was the use of cold cathode tubes.
The seller had translucent buttons lit with LED's, that in connection with lights Midway cocktails have above the control panel.
(I know my buddy's PACMAN has the lights, I thought all did! If I'm wrong forgive me!)
ANYWAY....................in addition to the LED buttons it looked like a nice neon glow coming from the bottom of the machine.
Looked bad ass in my opinion. And I'm sure many others would agree nice lighting or lighting effects really add something to the arcade experience.

I hopped on eBay and ordered 2 x 12" Red Cold Cathode tubes to try on my Bad Dudes/WWF Hulkster inspired cabinet (outcome not yet determined).
I'd like to mount one on the front just above the base, and one on the back.

Now when all is said and done they could be to bright, perhaps a distraction. But for $10 I figured I'd give it a shot.

Anyone ever done any sort of mod or used cold cathode tubes somehow on a cabinet ?

[yotsuya]

I've used them for marquee lights. They work well.

[mike boss]

Yeah I figured they would make a decent marquee light.
Two 12" tubes from eBay shipped cost me about $10, thats not a bad marquee solution.

I'm hoping when I hook these up they look good on the base. If they do, I cant say I'll use them on my 4 Nintendo cabinets....but perhaps !

[lilshawn]

i'm not a fan of them. They can look cool, but in all honesty, they just don't last.

I've used CCT's in...4 projects... only one still works. (marquees, general lighting etc.) the tubes burn out or the inverters crap out. one i had in my computer burned up (melted the clear plastic tube the cold cathode was in). gave up on them all together.

I have had mixed results with LED...some are good with no problems, others the damn things flicker and stop working.

[mike boss]

@ lilshawn

Thanks for the info.
I figure for $10 I'll give them a shot.
I'm always looking for creative lil add on's.

I purchased this cool Nintendo sign (I'll try to post a pic), and I'd like to back light it.
It sits a top my Nintendo Mario Bros cabinet. I looked for some LED options, something I could power from the MAME PC inside the cabinet, but nothing.

I thought perhaps I'd try the cold cathodes and power them from the 12V in my Popeye arcade cabinet. I'm unsure of what I'll do in the end. I guess play around to find the best solution.