New Life Games Tech Forums

In my topper thread, I showed how I used some LED strips to replace the fluorescent back light.
http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=16288 (http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=16288)

Now I decided to try something simple. At first I was going to try and make a LED tube, but then figured, why reinvent the wheel. So I took strips of the LEDs and just stuck them right to the existing lamp (reel glass lamp). For my initial test, I used 4 strips. As seen in the second picture, I staggered the LEDs so the light would be more uniform.

Next I stuck the lamp back in and powered it up. Overall it is pretty close to the original fluorescent. But I think I will add two more rows. I was thinking the reel glass would be the hardest one to work with, and that is why I started with it. For the box top and belly, I will do something similar to the the topper.  Not the best picture (I need a new camera), but it works pretty good.

Note: Of course I unplugged the fluorescent power.  

It should also be noted that while the LEDs do not get nearly as hot as the flourecent, they still do generate a bit of heat.

That's excellent Poppo!
Can you show us how it's wired up and powered for members that would like to make their own?
Good stuff man!  :3-

I just soldered + & - wires to each strip and then just tied them together (in parallel). I then used an old laptop style 12VDC power supply out of my parts bin and plugged into the maintenance outlet. Just need to make sure you stick them on in the right place. I marked the flourecent with a sharpie before I removed it so I knew where to put them.

Note: I could have daisy chained them like the topper, but this was faster.

Click to enlarge.