SYNERGY

Ok having bought an akasa 'red' cathode and isntalling it I was disappointed (like many others?!) to discover that really, it is PINK and didn't look so great in my case so ignored it for a while but it was always on the back of my mind.

I also build and fly model planes and we cover some of them (ones made of wood) in thin plastic heatshrink film. So I thought this would be ideal to use to make the weak red of my cathode more vibrant.

Now I DO NOT claim that no none else has done this, I've got inspiration for this somewhere else on the web, this is just my take on it that I did this afternoon in some free time I had.

It's Pink:


The film definately makes it look redder:


Wrapping the film around the cathode, two layers looks nice:


Cutting the film before taping it down:


Looks nice upon testing:


Pc before:


Pc after:


The pics aren't great as it's only an old 2M pixel camera and the colours are not very well represented nethertheless in real life the light is a lot redder and not really much dimmer.

Overall I am happy with this simple modification as my pc is definately now less girly looking and as I get more used to it the more I like it,



phone picture more recently

cheers,

Syn

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ranger1033

Question how did you get the film to stay in place SYNERGY is that a glue pen you used i see to get to stay in place.

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SYNERGY

Well the film has a l heat-activated glue on one side of it but it no where near as sticky as tape, it doesn't really stick to anything but a shiny surface.

So initially it is held in place by nothing, then I wrapped it twice and then held it in place with several small bits of tape.

This particular tape is called profilm. That pen is just a permanent marker I had on hand to hold the film down, it came ona roll and wanted to roll itself back up all the time!

Syn

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ranger1033

Quote: Originally Posted by SYNERGY Well the film has a l heat-activated glue on one side of it but it no where near as sticky as tape, it doesn't really stick to anything but a shiny surface. So initially it is held in place by nothing, then I wrapped it twice and then held it in place with several small bits of tape. This particular tape is called profilm. That pen is just a permanent marker I had on hand to hold the film down, it came ona roll and wanted to roll itself back up all the time! Syn

Ok thanks for clearing that up SYNERGY, i have also heard alot of other fello pimps say the same thing that red ccfl tubes look more pink then red. That is a very good way to solve the problem and make them look more red i will have to get some of that film. Do you have a web site to where you got the film from.

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SYNERGY

You are in US right?

You can get transparent red film from here, the solite stuff:

http://radicalrc.secure-mall.com/sho...22&cart=352199

http://www.nelsonhobby.com/filmcovering.htm

there are others around, a local model shop will easily be able to sell you a meter of many colours (thinking you could make a really BLUE, BLUE light) on it's own for hardly much money (for a mod)

Syn

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ranger1033

Quote: Originally Posted by SYNERGY You are in US right? You can get transparent red film from here, the solite stuff: http://radicalrc.secure-mall.com/sho...22&cart=352199 http://www.nelsonhobby.com/filmcovering.htm there are others around, a local model shop will easily be able to sell you a meter of many colours (thinking you could make a really BLUE, BLUE light) on it's own for hardly much money (for a mod) Syn

Yes i am SYNERGY, live in north east NY up by the canada border 45 miles from Montreal, Quebec
Thanks for the links rep to you.


Ps just one more question the one you used is the transparent red film right.

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SYNERGY

np,

yeh transparent red is what I used

you could convert any white cathode to different colours, like purple for instance or yellow but I can't find white cathodes in the uk

what you can see in my pic is that the blue cathode from akasa is much brighter than the 'red' one they sell. It's slightly over twice as bright by eye so maybe other brands of 'red' cathode would be better to modify in this way, would be interesting to see.

There are some Tru-red cathodes out there but those stuck with bought equipment could intensify their cathodes as I did or make different colours altogether like I suggested for more custom colours.

Syn

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musclecars&computers

Great idea. Another option is to use wrapping paper.

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elfuego

yet another option is to use stain glass window paint. or a red ink. i'll see if i can find a link.

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thedemonxanth

I would use tail light tape. Excellent stuff. Wrap it around the long way and you would barely notice the seam up close.

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SYNERGY

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Master Yunk

Brilliant!

+Rep to you!

Hopefully I'll never have to use this trick.

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SYNERGY

Thank you Master!

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ErrorCode

Nice fix! You've got one amazing looking PC there and it looks with more red than pink.

Coelacanth

I've seen other methods of turning the pinkish cathodes more red, and some of the cathode makers are even producing the tubes with a red tint already applied. The ones in my Project μ-Blaze are like that. But your method could give rise to a lot of other color variations, too. Instead of just more red or more blue, I'm intrigued by mixing different colored films with cathodes to come up with some really new shades.

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SYNERGY

thanks for the kind words error code

I want to install small 'highlights' of white in my case, possibly light up my HSF from the inside, the transparent GPU cover and something else...

having a hard time locating 6'' or 4'' cathodes or LED's for pc's in the uk tho I'm lazy I want it all molex'd for me

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COMMODORE64

Nice Mod. Good work.

blue screen of death

awesome mod now if only there was a way to make a UV mod that would be great

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Coelacanth

Quote: Originally Posted by blue screen of death awesome mod now if only there was a way to make a UV mod that would be great

What do you mean, "make a UV mod"?

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blue screen of death