I do not know which UV lighting to use. HELP!!!

I am building a 30 cubic foot subwoofer wall in my suv. What I wanted to do was light the inside of the box up so UV light would shine out of the port of the box.

I bought 2 38" flex strips but they are not bright enough. Would 4 of the UV dome lights on each of the back corners of the box (total of 8 ) angled towards the port be bright enough to make the port light up in uv at night?

Is there something else that would be a better option?

The box is about 60 inches wide 38" high and about 24" deep I believe. The port is 18"s wide and is about 34" long. It is located in the middle of the box.

If it is doubtful that this will still not be bright enough I can always switch the color even though I would rather not.[/url]

2 38" flex strips is a lot of UV light . The problem might be your expectation of UV, and not which lighting source you're using .

UV light, by and large, is beyond the range of light that is visible to the naked eye . This is why in a haunted house or at a club a room that has a blacklight in it isn't brightly illuminated, but still looks dark . Your white-shirt, socks, and that groovy 60's psychedelic neon poster on the wall all glow though, right ? And that's really all you'll see of UV; the effect it has on illuminating white/neon colors .

If you're trying to shine it out of a bass tube (the interior walls of which are black ?) you've got to think about what scene the UV light is actually going to be illuminating outside of the tube . And its going to have to shine pretty much directly onto that scene, I don't think its going to 'splash' out of a source with black surfaces if it doesn't have a direct line from the source to where you actually want to put the light .

Pics of the sub !

Cooper wrote:

Pics of the sub !

So you are saying that I should paint the sides of the port white and that should help. Is there any way to get a purple light shinning out of my port or no. Would the 8 dome lights be a better idea? If you do not feel that this will better my situation should I just exchange them for 2 of the green 38" flex strips?

You can view the subs on soundsolutionsaudio.com they are the xcon 18s. I am waiting for them to be built still lol.

buy PURPLE LED's

oznium only sells UV.

Then THESE http://www.oznium.com/cathode-kit
Or million color and a controller

You cannot put cathodes inside the box. They will snap do to the pressure. Individual leds and the flex strips are the only option. Also the mullion colors are way too expensive lol.

I'm hitting 159 and have had cathodes in the port for several years ... till I swapped for LEDS

Lucky 76 wrote:

So you are saying that I should paint the sides of the port white and that should help. Is there any way to get a purple light shinning out of my port or no. Would the 8 dome lights be a better idea? If you do not feel that this will better my situation should I just exchange them for 2 of the green 38" flex strips? You can view the subs on soundsolutionsaudio.com they are the xcon 18s. I am waiting for them to be built still lol.

If you paint the sides of your port white, the UV will shine on the white tube and make the port glow, which might look pretty cool, but it will still only be the white surfaces that glow, it won't make any more light appear to 'spill out' of the port . If you want a bright purple light for illumination you'll need to get LEDs that are specifically colored purple, and not UV . UV does look a little purple, but really the ideal UV light source shines most of its light in a color that is not visible to the human eye .
Check out purple LEDs, or switch to virtually any other color LED and you'll notice the light output is an order of magnitude brighter than a UV light source .

Dig the tech specs on the flexible LED strips: http://www.oznium.com/led-flex-strips/tech . The 38 inch UV strip lists an LED brightness of 80-100 mcd . By contrast a 38 inch green strip lists a brightness of 8000 mcd, almost 100 times the value .

Keep in mind both the UV strip and the green strip are drawing just as much power and putting out just as much light, but the candela (mcd) rating is based on what the human eye can actually see . Tons of the light output of the green strip falls within the range of human vision, but almost none of the output of the UV strip does (just the little bit that you see as a dull purple) .

ya i noticed the specs after hahahaahah.
bad venge why did you switch to leds?
Am I reading the cathodes correctly? I get 2 cathode 12" tubes and a transformer for $10?

also did you get any port noise while using the cathodes and did you use the 12" ones?

I had a slot port and routed them into the rear edge of it ... No noise and 12"

I went to LED's as the Cathodes in Red were very PINKISH went to LED's for a true red

o alright. ill probably get the cathodes then. I think 5 sets should be sufficient ;)

I'm doubtful that the cathodes will be better.

Yeah, I recommend sticking with LEDs.. they trump cathodes in virtually every aspect of performance (but not price) . Just switch from UV to a color of your choosing .

His color choice is PURPLE ... Ox sells no PURPLE leds

I know because I wanted to do my Goldwing in purple!

bad venge wrote:

His color choice is PURPLE ... Ox sells no PURPLE leds

Right . I guess my too-subtle implication was to just pick a non-purple color offered in LED . Or find purple LEDs elsewhere . I'm not a fan of cathodes .

Wait what is so bad about the cathodes? They offer more lighting according to the description. If I were to buy 5 kits of purple you still do not think they will be bright enough to see outside the port?

I have been reading up on the cathodes and it seems that they are pretty fragile and faulty. This is steering me away from them.

How do you suggest I get the brightest green out of the port? I will send a link to the box. Please explain where to put the leds so I will not see the strips themselves. Thanks!

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i need help. bump

If I bought/built a box that technical no way would I put lights in it that could mess up it's output/design.

The leds will not mess up the output.

I would try 1 Watter floods across the top, shining down into the port , You could drill sink them flush into the wood ,
Even throw a couple where it T's toward the bottom

That might work. I think I am going to go a different rought. I am going to outline the inside of the port in green flexstrips (at the corners). That will be bright enough and look pretty cool.

Thanks for all the input guys!!!

Bump for an update