DV Hardware reviews

I think that almost everyone with a case window has at least one or even more Cold Cathodes in his case. If it isn’t a normal one like those cool blue ones, then maybe a UV-variant to make some stuff glow in your case, like UV-reactive fans, rounded cables , PSU covers and even more..


And that’s what this review is about ; Cold Cathodes!
We’ve already reviewed the CCFLs from Sunbeam a few weeks ago , and now we’ll be having a look on the ones from Lamps Electronics, a Chinese manufacture.

The lamps arrived a few weeks ago with UPS, and I have to say that the packaging of these lamps impressed me. The ones of Sunbeam were packed in a box , with only a bubble wrap around the lamps. But the ones from Lamps Electronics we’re much better packed, first the plastic UPS bag, under that lots of bubble wrap (and I really mean LOTS), and after removing the first layer of bubble wrap I saw a box and in that box even more bubble wrap and finally the cold cathode kits which arrived in excellent condition in their plastic boxes.


The 4 kits and the Sound module


You can see the colors of the bulb on the packaging


Some specs of the bulbs:
Tube diameter: 3.0 mm
Tube length: 300 mm
Inverter voltage: 620 V
Current draw: 5.0 mA
Brightness: 29,000 cd/m2
Lifetime: 30,000 hours



The Kits:
Every kit comes with an inverter, a rocket switch & Molex connectors, a Velcro (to mount the inverter), 2 zip ties and clamps (to mount the CCFL) and of course the bulb itself.
The UV and multicolored Cold Cathode have a clear acrylic housing, and the red, green and blue ones have a colored acrylic housing to improve the colors, both with clear cubes on the ends of the tubes.


The Red kit


The Inverter:
The inverter is encased in a black plastic box with six air holes on top. And like you can see on the photo there’s an empty plug on the PCB so you can connect a second lamp on the inverter if you want.

The inverter, notice the six air holes on top of it


What's inside? :P


Sound Module:
I've also received Lamps Electronics Sound Module, which is just like the inverter encased in black plastic box. It has three setting: Off, On and Flash to make the cathodes react to sound. In the upper right corner you’ll find a dial to adjust the sound sensitivity of the module. But unfortunately it’s hard to reach so you’ll need a screwdriver to do this. The sound module also has a bright blue led that lights up when the module is set to ‘Flash’ or ‘On’.

The sound module


The bright blue led

Added: December 25th 2002
Reviewer: LSDsmurf
Score: 9/10
Related Link: lampselectronics@yahoo.com
Page: 1/2