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Installation
The nice thing about these cathodes is that fact that they are
so narrow they can fit just about anywhere. They can be placed
on the bottom of the case or even in the top, and out of the
way.
Installation Instructions
1. Turn off the computer.
2. Find a suitable mounting location.
3. Make sure that all wires are connected.
- connect the cathodes to the inverter (if need be)
- connect the inverter to the sound activated module (if need
be)
- connect the power connector to an available molex plug.
4. Mount CCFL with provided mounting material (Velcro/Double
sided tape)
5. Mount inverter with provided mounting material (Velcro/Double
sided tape)
6. Decide on the location for the switch, and mount.
7. Turn on the computer and the switch.
This is the basic installation schematic.
And Voila! Installing the cathodes
is something that just about anyone can do. It is a rather easy
task to accomplish. All the work is takes to get the cathodes
mounted is will be worth it when you see the outcome.
Now one thing that the single color
cathodes did not come with that the multi-colored cathodes came
with is a Sound activated module. This is a great feature and
a must for anyone that has cathodes. Below is an image of the
Sound Activated Module (S.A.M.), as you can see it has three
on options:
1. On - The Cathodes will
be fully on, continuously
2. Sound Ctrl - With this
option the cathodes will only be on when the mic detects any
noise. The sensitivity of this option can be adjusted using
the knob on the right hand side of the unit. When the knob is
turned to the max, the unit is VERY, very sensitive. It can
and will detect ANY sound, I was very impressed with this feature.
3. Flash - The cathodes
will flash every few seconds continuously. It is not a very
fast flash, which is good, or it will get annoying very fast,
but rather it is a long slow flash.
Another nice feature about this
S.A.M. it has the ability to connect to another inverter, so
you can control up to 4 cathodes with the same module, so that's
a plus.
Below are a few images of the cathodes
on, and you will see how bright and nice they are.
In the picture the green cathode
has a bit of a yellowish glow, but it does not seem that way
when looking at it. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being brightest,
I would give those CCFL's an 8.
Now using the same scale as above,
I would give these CCFL's an 11. They are very bright and very
nice.
The two images above show the brightness
of the cathodes from a distance. On the right are the multi-colored
cathodes, on the left are the green and the blue cathodes. As
you can see those on the right are much brighter and nicer.
As you can see the multi-colored
cathodes are much brighter than the single colored ones
Conclusion
I was very impressed with both sets of Cathodes. For those of
you who already have the regular single colored cathodes, I
would suggest that you get some of these multi-colored ones.
The Dual Multi-Colored cathodes were hands down
better than the single colored cathodes> I say this because
of the difference in features. The multi-colored cathodes came
with a dual inverter, the single colored cathodes did not. The
cathodes were directly wired to the inverter, so you could not
connect another cathode to it. Obviously you will see the problem
with this, when you are installing them in the case. Two inverters
for two cathodes is just unnecessary, they are not that big,
nor bulky, but still they do nothing to help if you are going
for a clean look inside your case.
I was very impressed with the Sound Activated
Module (S.A.M), the sensitivity of it is just incredible, and
it has the ability to connect another inverter to it, which
means it has the ability to control up to four cathodes at simultaneously.
I loved the look of both sets of cathodes. The singles color
cathodes had an almost mesmerizing color, while the others had
a very intense color.
The single color cathodes could be a little
brighter, other than that everything is nice.
My average overall rating for these cathodes:
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