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Californeon Lightstrips

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Brian Kristensen
Kurtis
Californeon
May. 7, 2003

Specifications

Introduction

You have seen the Tweakmonster lightstrips (See the review here), but did you know they aren't the original light strips? You may think "well, what could be any different between brands... They're just lightstrips!" Well, I thought the same thing. Today I have the original lightstrips from Californeon, and we will find out what the differences are, if any.

You Said Original?

Californeon, in the beginning, actually made the light strips for Tweakmonster. Tweakmonster isn't the first to bring light strips to the market, but they may be the most popular with the computer crowd. Californeon's lightstrips, unlike Tweakmonster's, are aimed towards a vast array of uses. They have sets for computers, signs, buildings, cars, trailers, boats, interrior decoration, bicycles, pathway lighting, and much more. Each use requires different setups, and Californeon has kits that work for every use. For a car, the light strip plugs into the 12v wires that the lights of your car use. For a motorcycle or a bicycle, there is a battery operated pack. For computers, there is a 4 pin molex connector.

First Looks

Californeon sent us a green lightstrip and a yellow lightstrip for use within a computer. They also sent us a lightstrip set for a bicycle for some reason, we won't be testing that. Each package contains the correlating items and instructions on how to install and care for each.

Testing

The computer lightstrips I received from Californeon are much longer than the Tweakmonster ones. Californeon supplies five (5) feet of lightstrip, whereas Tweakmonster supplies two and a half feet (2.5). Upon digging around the Tweakmonster site, I found our that Tweakmonster offers five (5) foot versions as well.

Just like the Tweakmonster lightstrips, the Californeon strips can be cut down in size to accomodate any length. They also have an adhesive backing which is still sticky after removing them a few times, allowing for removal and reapplication should you get a new case or something. The lightstrips, just like Tweakmonster's, emit no heat, and the inverter emits so little heat that it can not be felt. The lightstrips are also bendable to let you hug the curves in you case.

So far, the lightstrips have proven identical to the Tweakmonster lightstrips. As you may have guessed, the installation was exactly the same as well! Just peel off the backing and stick it where you want it to go, then plug it in! One thing that I noticed is that these lightstrips seem alot brighter than the Tweakmonster ones. I'm not sure what difference there is between EL strips, but Californeon has an advantage here. Note that the difference could just be the different colors, but I can not say for certain.

Note: Case is brighter than it seems in the photos.

Conclusion

Basically, Californeon was the original creater of the EL light strips. They are brighter than Tweakmonsters, but that is the only way they differ. There aren't a ton of lightstrip manufacturers out there, and so far these are the best of their kind. Californeon is probably your best bet for computer lightstrips.

Pros

Brighter than Tweakmonster
Easy to install
Flexible
Can reduce length
Virtually heat-less
Nice looking glow

Cons

none

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