Case Lighting

Steves1982 · 27 Jan 2011 at 17:20

Hi Guys,

I'm thing about lighting the interior of my FT02 case but don't want it to be overly bright and distracting.

I really just want a subtle white 'glow' and was considering running this led strip at the top and bottom to hopefully gain this effect.

Would this give the right effect and not be too bright or would a cathode be better?

Cheers

Tealc · 27 Jan 2011 at 17:37

The LED strip should give a nice white glow. If it's overpowering you can always undervolt it by adding a suitable resistor or by hooking it up to a fan controller.

Steves1982 · 27 Jan 2011 at 19:41

Thanks, the fan controller is a good idea. I won't have any spare headers on the controller though. Maybe could connect both and leave the controller on auto setting. Then when the system gets hotter the LEDs should get brighter!

Buchanan0204 · 27 Jan 2011 at 20:14

maximusmi2 said:
Thanks, the fan controller is a good idea. I won't have any spare headers on the controller though. Maybe could connect both and leave the controller on auto setting. Then when the system gets hotter the LEDs should get brighter!

That would be a neat trick.

Steves1982 · 27 Jan 2011 at 20:49

Buchanan0204 said:
That would be a neat trick.

Yeah, it will be a bit different, will maybe use red LEDs if I try it.

I'm no good with electrics but I wonder if there is a way to reverse the effect to also have a blue LED strip working in the opposite way.

That way the red LED's will get brighter as the fan controller applies more voltage and the blue will get dimmer and vice versa. Will give a nice visual representation of system temps then.

Schizo · 27 Jan 2011 at 20:59

maximusmi2 said:
Yeah, it will be a bit different, will maybe use red LEDs if I try it.

I'm no good with electrics but I wonder if there is a way to reverse the effect to also have a blue LED strip working in the opposite way.

That way the red LED's will get brighter as the fan controller applies more voltage and the blue will get dimmer and vice versa. Will give a nice visual representation of system temps then.

tealc will give you some info on this as he is the wizard with these kinda things.

jeckulz · 28 Jan 2011 at 07:57

maximusmi2 said:
Thanks, the fan controller is a good idea. I won't have any spare headers on the controller though.

PCI slot controller? Theyre only a few quid.

Tealc · 28 Jan 2011 at 08:36

Not quite sure how you could get the blue strip to reduce voltage with an increase in temperature, although I suppose you could use a linear thermistor that increases resistance as the temperature rises on the blue and another one on the that decreases as the temp rises.

You could use a RGB LED strip and have the colour change respond to the temperature by use of a probe and a few chips to compare the temperatures. I don't know how one would do this but am sure it is possible and probably has already been done by someone.

Steves1982 · 28 Jan 2011 at 09:20

jeckulz said:
PCI slot controller? Theyre only a few quid.

That's true, I mighthave one somewhere.

Tealc said:
I don't know how one would do this but am sure it is possible and probably has already been done by someone.

Thanks for the info, will have a look around and see what info I can find. If it look like too much effort I might go back to the original plan of just white LEDs!

d_brennen · 28 Jan 2011 at 09:30

Have you ever soldered anything? SMD led tape is awesome (and cheap) and can be bought prewired for 12v. Splice of the 12v from a molex adaptor and your gold! They aren't too good for adjusting brightness though

Steves1982 · 28 Jan 2011 at 09:42

d_brennen said:
Have you ever soldered anything? SMD led tape is awesome (and cheap) and can be bought prewired for 12v. Splice of the 12v from a molex adaptor and your gold! They aren't too good for adjusting brightness though

I did a bit in school!

But yeah, I could do it if it that turns out to be the best way. Though if it's not good for adjusting brightness it might not be the answer. Half the fun is experimenting though and working it out!

Tealc · 28 Jan 2011 at 14:10

They aren't too good for adjusting brightness though

Sure they are. You provide it with less than 12v and it'll be dimmer than if you put 12v through it. It might not react immediately to a voltage drop but eventually will dim as the LEDs are starved of current and probably will not light much beyond 6v or 7v.