Dual Bubble Cathode Kit

Reviews: Cases

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Kurtis Kronk
Brian
Xoxide
Apr. 18, 2003

El Boxo

I received this dual bubble cathode kit just over a week ago from Xoxide. The kit was sent inside a large bubble-wrap padded envelope and inside of the envelope was a ziploc. The ziploc had the entire kit in it, with each of the cathodes wrapped up in some more bubble wrap. All precautions were taken to ensure that these cathodes arrived safely. When you open the ziploc bag you will find an information sheet with installation instructions, safety precautions, and warranty information. You will also find the 2 bubble cathodes, a 12v driver, an on/off/flash switch, and a 12vc DC molex connector. This is all you need to get your cathodes up and running, so lets get started.

Something to Note

Although these are called 'bubble cathodes' they are in fact lit by LEDs. Let me explain how the bubble cathode works... When the cathode tubes were being manufactured, they made sure to leave bubbles in the glass. Instead of having a light tube inside the glass tube, they instead placed a super-bright LED in the connecting end of the tube. What does this mean? This means that this cathode is not meant to light up your case. This is a unique cathode, there is currently nothing else like it on the market. Do not expect something that will light up a dark room, it is simply for a cool effect. A good use for these cathodes would be mounted on the front of your case. Also, the switch that is included could be placed in your computer or in your car, but you will have to mount it yourself. Again, do not expect floodlights if you order these, they are simply for a cool effect. With that said, lets move on to installation.

Installation

Installation is actually very simple. The only part of installation that could prove a pain would be mounting the switch, but I won't go into that. The first thing I need to point out is that the wires in the kit are all pretty short. The wires coming out of the cathodes are only 1' long and the connectors coming out of the driver are only 3" long. Unless you want to strip the wires and make them longer, you will have to put each of the cathodes a max of 1' away from the driver. Just make sure before you attach the cathodes via the tape/velcro, that the wires reach the driver. The next thing you need to do is plug in the power. To do this, plug the black connector into the male connection coming out of the driver. Next, plug your molex connector into another available powered molex connector. Now that you have everything plugged in, stick the driver and cathodes to the case with the tape/velcro. All you have to do now is flip the switch and look at your new cathodes in action. There are 3 modes: ON, OFF, and FLASHING. In flash mode the lights will alternate back and forth.

Performance

As I said earlier, this kit is not meant for lighting up your entire case. If you are looking for something to light up your whole case, I would suggest getting some normal cold cathodes. I can't really complain about the brightness of these cathodes because they are not meant to be bright. Considering that the cathodes are lit by a single LED, they are actually very bright, they just aren't bright in comparison with normal CCFLs. Something that I was pleasantly surprised with was the fact that these lights can flash as well as stay on. I don't like blinking lights very much but it is nice to have the option for those who do like flashing lights. As for the switch itself, the one I got has a little white dot on it to let you know which side is which (I assume), but you could sand it off if you wanted. This is a sturdy little switch though, and it should look very nice if you decide to sand the white dot off and mount it.

Conclusion

I've said it several times, this light is not for you if you want to light up your entire case. However, if you want a unique lighting kit that looks cool, this is a nice product. My only gripe is that the ones I recieved are purple, but hey, there is a wide variety of colors to choose from, so you are guaranteed to get a bubble cathode that fits your style.

Check out a short video of the bubble cathodes here

Pros

3 modes
Everything needed to install included with kit
Comes in several colors
Unique lighting

Cons

No mounting kit for switch

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