Cold Cathode Moon Light

[phlawed]

two 4" tubes on ebay for people in U.S. if intrested. found and bought some today

http/cgi.ebay.com/4-inch-Cold-Cathode-Bl...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Luke_e]

Can someone give me a bit of advice here please.
I was going to buy these lights here:
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-AQUARIUM-LED-LIG...oQQcmdZViewItem
But after contacting Arfie via pm, he told me that he had some burn out, not 100% sure if its the exact LED ones but i cant see any other LED ones from the Razer seller. The ad states that are submursible and are completly waterproof, and this is what attracted me to these lights, but i'm not to sure now. I've heard many good things about cold cathodes and that they are much better than LED lights.

Now i'm not too sure which are 'cold cathode' and which are simply 'blue lights'. I had a look at these lights, and i'm not sure if they are cold cathode or blue bulbs:
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...item=7755142946

I've contacted the seller asking how they connect to an adapter, as i'm not sure if its simply a wire plug that plugs into the adapter and its done. The ad also doesnt state if the lights are water/moisture proof.

There is also another moonlighting kit being sold by Razer:
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-WATERPROOF-AQUAR...oQQcmdZViewItem

These are 'waterproof' and it says they are cold cathode. So would you recomend to go for the cold cathode tube ones from Razer rather than the other ones or the LED ones.

Thank you.

 

[denis coghlan]

Just recieved my cool cathode light kit in the post this morning. Guess what!!!!!

Both bulbs were broken, the seller didnt even put the box or bulbs in bubble wrap. They just placed some tape around the box, put on the address and sent it. I am none too happy. Lets just hope that he will send me a new set (in some sort of protection this time).

I wanted to get the job done this weekend but I guess I will just have to wait.

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

The best power source is to buy a 12v transformer from maplins, ebay etc.

If you want to purchase brand new cold cathode tubes, visit this site

http/www.ebuyer.co.uk/UK/product/56820/rb/19090708593 for the twin 4" or
http/www.ebuyer.co.uk/UK/product/58061/rb/19090758201 for twin 12" Blue and Green

Snip the Molex connector and connect the Live to the Yellow - Neutral to the Black

DON'T DO THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE TESTED IT WITH A MULTIMETER.

THIS IS ADVICE, NOT A GUIDE.

 

[lordi]

whoo iv just set my lights up so i cannot wate till its dark to try them

 

[ChrisC]

Yep, got my set as well. (Grab them quick, ebuyer goes out of stock VERY quickly) They are bright. They are visible over the 60W of power compacts I run.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[lordi]

Yep, got my set as well. (Grab them quick, ebuyer goes out of stock VERY quickly) They are bright. They are visible over the 60W of power compacts I run.

Thanks,
Chris

i find running just the one lamp at 12vs is best and you still get a good coverige

 

[flynn]

Quick question for those of a technical nature who know about cold cathodes...

What is the wattage output of these cold cathode lamps, e.g. is a white cold cathode run at 12V and 1000mA roughly equivalent to 12W?

 

[denis coghlan]

Just for a note.

Cold cathods can not only be used as mood lighting, I have recently built a fry tank and used two white cold cathod lights set at 12V for illumination. They work like a charm and give off a great amount of light.

 

[Fury2G]

I have a 3-12VDC/800mA Regulated AC-to-DC Adapter from radioshack. I can't get the light to work. I smell a burnt smell coming from the "little box" that the lights are connected to.
Is the 800mA to much. I was reading through the thread and people were saying to use 300mA.
Thanks,
Fury2G

 

[smithrc]

I have a 3-12VDC/800mA Regulated AC-to-DC Adapter from radioshack. I can't get the light to work. I smell a burnt smell coming from the "little box" that the lights are connected to.
Is the 800mA to much. I was reading through the thread and people were saying to use 300mA.
Thanks,
Fury2G

As long as the supply dosnt go over 12V it dosnt matter what mA rating it is, as that is the Maximum it can supply...

Sounds like a problem with the unit


I Like the white tubes for lighting - Nice

Yep, got my set as well. (Grab them quick, ebuyer goes out of stock VERY quickly) They are bright. They are visible over the 60W of power compacts I run.

Thanks,
Chris

i find running just the one lamp at 12vs is best and you still get a good coverige

Running at 12V may well be too bright for fish to sleep....

If you can, get a multi voltage adapter and run them at a lower voltage (I run mine at 6V)

 

[iamwhoiam]

As long as the supply dosnt go over 12V it dosnt matter what mA rating it is, as that is the Maximum it can supply...

Sounds like a problem with the unit

Isn't that a bit incorrect? If your device draws more than the mA the linear regulators are rated to supply, they'll cut out (most LM3* series and 78 series used in cheap regulators have auto-cut off). Either that, or they'll blow a fuse in the adaptor (depending on the circuit design of the adaptor of course... some ridiculously cheap ones might not even bother with a fuse?!!)

Has anyone actually measured the current draw then? I've googled and have heard ratings of 3W... which means the inverter's 12V input is drawing 250mA (that's saying the invertor is 100% efficient too... some current will surely be used and lost as heat).... so you'll need a power adaptor capable of putting out that. Obviously, you won't be running the cold cathode at it's max of 3W (too bright)... so something comparatively less.

Regarding the tube that fell into the water.... I hope you realise the output of the invertor (the voltage going into the cold cathode tube) is close to 680V (5mA) peak? I should hope that you guys are securing these things better!

 

[smithrc]

Isn't that a bit incorrect? If

By the sonds of it you knew what I ment...

It spec'd 800ma - more than enough to cope with the current draw from the CC driver.

 

[martin_jones]

...so would a 1000mA adapter be ok, or would that be too powerful?

Adapter here: http/www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...dapter&doy=22m8

Would this be compatible with the 1.99 cold cathode's from eBuyer?

Sorry - no real understanding of electrics

 

[voo]

It doesnt matter if the power supply is too powerful, the cathodes will only draw as much power as they need.
You'll only get a problem if it's not powerful enough, ie if the cathodes need more than 1000mA.

I dunno if it's compatible with those from ebuyer though, i've ordered a couple of these, they'll be arriving friday supposedly (although ebuyer isnt too great with deliveries or customer service!! )

...so would a 1000mA adapter be ok, or would that be too powerful?

Adapter here: http/www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...dapter&doy=22m8

Would this be compatible with the 1.99 cold cathode's from eBuyer?

Sorry - no real understanding of electrics