sorta OT: amp with fluro tube

[jimmy]

hi all

in my latest amp, i wanted to get a plate cut for the front of the head, and put a fluro tube behind it to light it up, light the H&K amps, i thought it would be easier to run it off the amps power supply. the transformers i used have a 12V tap, and the catalogue says to use a 12V 450ma plugpack. as im running 2 12AX7s and a 6V6 on the 6V tap, is it going to have any detrimental effects on the amp?

thanks
Jim

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Well I doubt a mere 6 watts or so extra load will hurt the power tranny, but running a fluro NEAR an amp is asking for massive hum injection, so I doubt that puttign it INSIDE the amp will help any!!!
It is possible to get long incandescent lights (used on some makeup mirrors) but they are more expensive and probably more fragile.

[petemoore]

I like the look I saw in a Lighted Matchless Amp.
 Just to look at it was inspirational...well the tones eminating didn't hurt the novel effect of the lighting...looked 'incandescentey'...I just always wondered how they did that.
 IIRC there was a well lit cream white background, with a 'stenciled' piece of clear substance [glass?] that let the Background show through the Matchless Logo Lettering...a nice Matchless Glow to to the letters.
 If there were a low noise neon substitute...that might look cool.

[Gus]

You will be better off with an LED bar the tube power supply can/do generate a lot of electrical noise.  LED light bars are made for dressing up motobikes etc.

[Lonestarjohnny]

http://www.lonestaramps.com/users/tejasjohnny/IMG_0138.jpg
You would for sure get a massive HUMmmmmmm with a DC light Ballast mounted in side your amp, I have problem's with some of the young guitar player's I do work for getting them to understand that every Beer sign is a potential hum problem when playing in some club's, and some P/U's are mre prone than other's to pick this E/M/I up.
The amp in the picture is an old MontgomeryWards amp that had 3 white light's mounted over the face plate when I first got the amp, I traded the clear bulb's for colored  Christmas tree light bulb's, Flasher's too!
Now I got a great light show when playing this amp, LOL, now to build a matching speaker cab that has more of these flashing light's.
Johnny

[jimmy]

oooooooooooh good point, i never thought of that. high intensity leds it is then. Thanks everyone!! ill post pics when i get it done.

cheers
Jim

[niftydog]

Trace Elliot heads come with flourescent paint on the front panel. There was an option on the more expensive models to have the head mounted in a wooden rack case, complete with a flouro black-light to make the paint glow. It had a separate swtich so it could be turned off.

I have no idea if it was AC or DC or if there was hum or anything like that... I just know it looked cool!

You can get UV LEDs!

[Torchy]

I have done a bit of this for the custom-car market.

You will have serious problems getting enough light out of LEDs for what you want - hi-bri LEDs dont diffuse the light - they are a pinpoint source. Put some behind smoked plexiglass and you just get dots of light.

I got reasonable results using thick plexiglass with the LEDs mounted into the edge. Engraving the plexi then disturbs the light flood inside the plexi and the engraving appears to light up. To make a 6" x 4" sign 'glow' I had to use 12 UV LEDs ....  

I suggest you check out the neon strips used under cars, and look around for electro-luminescent panels (also used on custom cars). You can buy this in sheet form and cut the letters out. You can also get neon wire. Drawback is the inverters can introduce serious noise. I put mine in small RF screening cans.

[jimmy]

hmmm this looks like its not going to be worth the effort...

ill just go some tough looking smashed mirror paul stanley sorta thing. thatll be alrite.

cheers
Jim