LEDs, or cathodes?

[Kuloch]

First, I should probably ask about the possibility of my idea. I want to mod the mobo side panel on my PC-60 case (not only that, but this one I feel I need some input on). I'm planning to add a round 11.5" diam. acrylic window, and glue cut pieces of aluminum (or whatever) on it to make the Imperial insignia from Star Wars. I'd also like to have lights making the cutout glow, fading from blue in front to green in back.

I want to use the mobo side because the other side (where people normally have windows) will be facing the wall. Also, the mobo plate should provide some reflection for the lights, giving a good glowing effect. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of room to work with behind that side's panel, so I want to see if anyone thinks there's simply not enough space.

Back to the subject line, should I use LEDs or cathodes to provide the light? LEDs are significantly cheaper, but would 4 (or so) lining the perimiter produce a reasonable amount of light? I don't need it to light up the room, but I'd like to have a nice soft glow when ambient light is low/off, and have the color be at least visible when room lights are on.

Feel free to suggest retailers, as well.
And yes, to those of you who peruse both forums, I am posting this on both SharkyForums and the AMDMB forums.

[TAZTG]

Sounds like a nice project and Lazer LEDS would be a good choice for it. Check out Super Bright LEDS

Go to Glowire and see for yourself. I have two on the front of my case and I bet they are skinny (3/8") enough to fit in the space between the panel and Mobo.

[pwain]

I have a cold cathode and really like it, I got one from www.pcmods.com and I really like it. I am not sure about the led's because I have never messed with them.

[TAZTG]

I don't think you could squeeze a Cold Cathode behind the panel. If it did fit I would be afraid of it breaking. Of Course I could be wrong, they are pretty skinny. They do put out more light.

[rlemieux]

Well all depends, you need more LEDs to get the light but I have seen some systems with just LED's that were alot brighter than my cold cathode. Plus you can get LED's for like 3cents compared to a Cold cathode that would cost you at least 20-30bucks.

[Kuloch]

Lazer LEDS would be a good choice for it

Those sound and look great, but a 3-spread Lazer LED is $20. I could line the edge of the window with quite a few LEDs for the cost of two of those.

Are those Lazer LEDs particularly brighter than blue or green LEDs I could get elsewhere? Does RadioShack stock any? (I should drop by there tomorrow)

[Kuloch]

Just went to the local Radio Shack, and they have a few blue 2600mcd 40 degree for $4 apiece, and a couple packs of 2 green 630mcd 12 degree for a little over $1 (both colors are 5mm). The blues might work, but $4 for only 2600mcd? Are you paying for the 40 degree viewing angle there?
Perhaps I'll try a couple more stores at local malls.

If I ordered a few single LEDs from Glowire, should it be easy enough for me to hook a few (maybe 8 or 10) up to my PSU? Anyone have a url to somewhere that's got good instructions for doing this?

[TAZTG]

Just wire them all together and then hook it up into a Baybus or straight to the PS.

[Kuloch]

So the Lazer LEDs from Glowire are meant to run at 12V? I don't need any resistors?

Also, I looked at switches while at RadioShack. I saw a couple with 2 leads in back, a couple with 3 leads in back, and one with 6 leads in back. Is the 2-lead switch for switching something on and off, the 3-lead for center-off and up or down being 2 different settings, and the 6-lead for a myriad of settings? (perhaps it has a few switch positions?)

[Kuloch]

Bump.

[kidsony]

ask one of thepeople that works there. i know a couple of the guys at the rs i go to know alot about that sort of stuff.

[XenoTrout]

the LEDs should probably run on the 5v of your psu rather than the 12v, with at least two LEDs in series. These series pairs can be put in parallel. The LEDs in the pairs should have the same voltage rating, or one will probably be brighter. However, you may wish to put four LEDs in series on 12v, as they will each get 3v instead of 2.5v. Check the voltage ratings on the LEDs, though--some may be good with voltages as high as four or five volts.

With the switches, the label is more important than the number of legs. There are two numbers associated with the switches--the number of poles and the number of throws. Poles is how many isolated circuits the switch will change--a double pole switch is like two single pole (regular) switches mechanically linked. The number of throws is how many positions a switch has. A single throw has on and off. A double throw has two ons, usually switching which end pin the center of three pins is connected to. However, a double throw could also have an off position. There are also triple, quadrouple, and if you look enough pentouple, sextouple, septouple, octouple, and so on throw and pole switches. To make this even more confusing, the labels of poles and throws usually aren't numbers, but letters--SPDT for example, is single pole double throw. The format is #P#T, with Single, Double, and Triple as common #s.

Hope this makes sense.

[Kuloch]

Wow, now I feel like I know enough to actually get it all working.

Good thing, as all my shipments come in Wednesday and Thursday.

As always, thanks for all the help, guys.