Its not exactly related to car audio, but it might attract some advice for those electronics-savvy people...

I bought a sexy little etched glass sign to hopefully put into my boot.. (Yes Mitsimonsta, I got the rockford sign in the end..) It has a neon or cold cathode tube at the top which is powered by a 250V plug. Now i have a conversion plug which converts it to 240V and australian plug style, but what i really want to do is connect it to the 12V Car Battery.

My question is, is the only way around this to buy an inverter?

Or is it possible to play with some wiring and a few resisters or something.. Or maybe it would be easier altogether to just replace the existing cold cathode tube with another that runs off 12V?

Any ideas?

think you can get a convertor for what you need for about 60 bucks ... i'd just buy that instead of mucking around trying to make something that could end up bursting into flames

No matter which way you go about it you need to "CONVERT" the 12V from the car to power of the neons, which you said was 250V?

So you 1, either by a inverter from wherever, will cost you like 50 bucks.

Or the other option you are talkin about would be changing the power supply of the sign to accept 12V, but all that is doing is putting an Inverter/power supply all in one for the sign

Do you get it? either way you need an inverter, if you didnt have an inverter the sign would be getting 12V and it wont work because you need 250V.

Go to strathfield, buy one of their inverters, 300watt one for 60 bucks and wire it up.

Check the power consumption of the neons first.

Would be easier and cheaper to just replace the cold cathodes to 12 v jobbies. They are all over the place.
Or u could go superbright led's

Sounds a big waste buying an inverter just for a light.

Got a pic of the light setup? has it got a big ballast to power them?

Look easy to replace the lighting

Would be easier and cheaper to just replace the cold cathodes to 12 v jobbies. They are all over the place.
Or u could go superbright led's

Sounds a big waste buying an inverter just for a light.

Got a pic of the light setup? has it got a big ballast to power them?

Look easy to replace the lighting

Thats what I was thinking.. Heres a pic..

Anyone know if red cathodes glow a true red? or is it just like this pinky colour it is now..

Thats what I was thinking.. Heres a pic..

Anyone know if red cathodes glow a true red? or is it just like this pinky colour it is now..

That's the color of red cold cathodes :doubt:
I've got them in my car.

How much the sign cost? I know you can get em on ebay, but how much you end up getting it for?

(Yes Mitsimonsta, I got the rockford sign in the end..)
Good girl.... *sniff* so proud of you! I'd get a JBL one for my sub box, but they do not make them :cry:

At least they do make Alpine :D
I can see one of those in a boot lid cover like was posted last week!

I'd just change it to a 12V CCFL tube. If you do it right, it should help light up INSIDE your sub box too, which means you might see the baskets of those sexy subs you have in that box.

They do come in various colours, have them lit up in front of you so you can check the colour. I'd used one along the top edgem and one along the bottom edge. They use almost no current, could wire into your amp terminals or distro block easy.

The sign I got for $1 on ebay.. postage ended up being about $15.. so I think all in all it was about $20 Australian..

Not much for a little novelty hehe..

Yeah that's cool as, nice pick up mate :-) I want one of the Corona ones.