I recently inherited a used computer, complete with some of those fancy neon lightsticks inside, and I’ve transferred the guts of the machine to my own case which I like better. So now I’ve got an extra case with these lights and I was thinking about taking the lights out and putting them under one of the shelves in my office. My problem is that I don’t know what to plug them into. I’ve tried using an extra power supply, but I can’t get it to turn on without connecting it to a motherboard. Is there such a thing as a standalone power supply? Do I need something else entirely? Is this whole idea just too tacky to attempt?
Here is a guide how to add a secondary PSU to a case, but it will also help you to find the correct pins you need to have it operating.
http://ecommerce.com.gr/didis/2psu1.htm
But this is a little bit “over the edge”. Cold cathode sticks operate on 12 volts and normally have a power consumption of about 3 to 4 Watt. So what I would do is: take a regular small powersupply (AC Adaptor) with 12 Volt and minimum 300 mA rating that you plug into a socket and connect the wires to the Inverter module of the cold cathode device (a cheap household terminal for will do). Benefit: No noise from fans etc etc.
Many Inverter modules I know allow up to 2 rays attached. Get an Adaptor with 600 mA and up and you can “fire” 2 cathode sticks.
Cool, I’ll try that. Thanks a lot.