Neon Lights

[Anonymous]

Is it true they should be turned off after 3 or so hours use to avoid them burning out?

[Wiggo]

First time I've heard that one. :?:

[Anonymous]

Someone told me this yesterday, I tend to believe them. Looks like I'll have to mount the switch to the front of the case... :)

[wuntvor]

neon lights last for a very long time - the electricity just excites the 'neon' gas that's inside the tube to create light. It doesn't burn the gas or use a filament like regular bulbs do.

[Bahamut Zer0]

Somebody told me this when the nneons first came out. Its a dirty rotten lie. the early neons only had to be turned off after extended use cause they got hot. thats the only reasonn.

[wuntvor]

Somebody told me this when the nneons first came out. Its a dirty rotten lie. the early neons only had to be turned off after extended use cause they got hot. thats the only reasonn.

was I wrong :?:
maybe I'm thinking of industrial ones that companies use, cause they leave those things on for 12 hours at a time, everyday and rarely need to replace them.

I've never looked into the ones people use in their cases ;)

[ne0z]

I have heard something like that dealing with Lava lamps before HEHE never plain neon lights

[zeradul]

ever think about fluorescent tubes? yea they ARE neon lights... Of course only green (i think) tubes actually USE the element 'neon'

[Birdkiller]

Neon lights dont heat up when in use. the instructions with my neons was not to have them on for days at a time

[SegiY]

I know that neons are used because they don't put out much heat or nosie, but the other day I was thinking car headlights are 12v they are halogen.
Is there any reason why i could not use a halogen? heat is no problem because i only have a celeron 466 which can't be overclocked, and a stack of cooling (too much for my system).

[Olie]

what youo want is some HID bulbs dude from Http://www.streetglow.com

look better than halogens, more white in colour


i don't see why not ant way :D

[Corduroy]

I've worked at my father's Sign Company for years, and I can say that I'm fairly knowledgable about neon signs. The neon we use in the store is basically indestructable. You can leave a modern neon sign on for days on end, many of our clients leave neon run continuously, and usually the tubes are likely to be broken before they burn out. As for what you have in your case, that is another question.

There should be some sort of lifespan indication with whatever you buy, but again, this is something you're putting in a computer and I have no idea of the source. Any reputable vendor should give an obvious indication of lifespan with any product they sell.

Neon does give off a good deal of heat and it's not so much that I'd be worried about your system staying cool, it's more that the neon has to be kept cool. You have to remember what you're dealing with. This is gas in a pressurized tube with an electric current running through it, there is a considerable amount of stress on the tubes. The hotter the tubes run, the shorter amount of time you can expect to keep them in proper running order.:)

[JealousMidget]

ever think about fluorescent tubes? yea they ARE neon lights... Of course only green (i think) tubes actually USE the element 'neon'

ever think about fluorescent tubes? yea they ARE neon lights... Of course only green (i think) tubes actually USE the element 'neon'

Actually, they (neon) all use the same gas. It's the glass tubing that is colored to produce different lighting effects. Flourescent light use a flouride gas, I believe, instead of neon gas.

cheers.

[zeradul]

No. I checked, and neon is red. Some of the low rent neon lights are made with glass that is coated on the inside to change the color, but the true good quality neon lights have different chemical elements(gasses) for every different color. Not that many colors are capable of being produced.... a wide range of yellows, greens, reds, oranges, and pinks and purples. If you want a picture of the colors, do some image searches with google.