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Sunbeam
CCFL :::...
The
mainstay of case lighting for most people is the CCFL, or
Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp.
Looking
for all the world like neon lights, CCFL is generally brighter
and more compact than neon equivalents.
I
had two red and two blue tubes here to go at, that's at
least one of each more than I needed to make an appraisal.
I'm not moaning at Sunbeam's generosity, it will give some
lucky reader the chance to win them next year.
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The
Packaging
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Other
than the colour, the content of all the kits is identical.
The inverters are cable-tied to the tubes, presumably to
keep the still and stop them sliding around and doing damage.
Aside
from this there's a simple two position power switch built
into a standard expansion slot bracket.
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The
Contents
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I'm
picking for the sake of it here but this is a lot of space
to waste for one switch. It'd be great to see an external
Molex connector built into the bracket, or even just a small
hole to feed wires or water cooling tubes in or out. In
truth however most lighting manufacturers just throw in
a switch and leave it up to you to drill a hole and mount
it somewhere so I can't really be too hard on them for this.
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Switch
Bracket
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Switch
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The
switches are fed their power from a regular 4-pin Molex
with a pass-thru so you can still use the chosen feed for
other things. Output from the switch is via a small 2-pin
connector which plugs into the inverter.
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Power
Connector
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Inverter
Input
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Although
you get an inverter in each kit, one inverter can feed two
CCFL tubes and indeed comes with dual outputs to do just
that.
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Inverter
Output
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In
the kit are two small Velcro pads, enough to mount some
CCFL tube using the square block ends, There's also a larger
Velcro pad to mount the inverter and a small screw presumably
to secure the switch bracket.
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Fixings
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The
light was bright, crisp and uniform, though to say it was
any better than many of the CCFL tubes I've seen previously
would be wrong. It is as good as any of them though which
is equally important.
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CCFLs
Lit
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I
have seen some cheaper tubes where the protective enclosures
aren't quite as clear as they could be, and I've seen tubes
where the end blocks don't align with each other. By luck
or by design, all four tubes were clean, clear and in perfect
alignment.
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CCFLs
Lit
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CCFL
tubes are quick and easy to use and tend to be the first
choice when it comes to effective case lighting, but they're
not the only choice!
Here's
another:
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