more backlit gauge info

[sad_rocc at yahoo.com (Dan Smith)]

I'm really surprised that there doesn't seem to be any interest in these. Initially, there was interest but the price was too high. Well, it's considerably cheaper now. Also, better pics are on the site. Don asked me some questions and I passed them on to Patrick. Here's his responses, which I thought would be of interest to others.
 
Dan

"Patrick W. Rooks" <p.rooks@yourcomfortlink.com> wrote:

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Ok, Hopefully Dan will forward this information to the necessary parties…  CC Don as well.

 

I will try to provide as much information regarding the backlight as possible.  Questions can be relayed through Dan to me.

 

These backlit gauges take the place of the OEM faces.  The main reason for this is that overlays suck… the come off of the faces, they bubble, and I can guarantee you that they will not last very long…

 

My faces should last a lifetime, but I give a 1 year warranty on the faces to all who purchase them.

 

These gauges are backlit via LED’s.  Some people use Electroluminescent sheets as a means of creating a backlit effect, however, these are just overlays.  EL is notorious for being UV susceptible, meaning; Daylight will actually break down the sheets.  EL also prevents the use of many colors that would otherwise be desirable. (Red for instance)  

 

Only the white portions of the faces actually light up.  These white areas will light up the chosen color.  Unlike other companies making something similar, custom designed can be had for a small extra fee…

 

The glowing needles kit is basically just the UV tubes necessary to light the needles.  I do not supply the paint as it is cheap to purchase whatever color you want on your own…  (meaning if you want needles that glow blue you can have them)  There is even paint out there that is clear during regular light, once exposed to uv it glows a given color.  The tubes for the glowing needles are specially made for the given area is where the cost comes in.  UV LEDS do not provide the necessary power to truly make the needles glow.  These tubes are called cold cathodes.

 

The only ambient lighting that I have in the faces, specifically my demo cluster comes from the backlight to make the fuel and temp visible.  You may choose to backlight these, however, I opted not to on the demo unit as I did not want to drill out the rivets on those gauges.

 

I hope that this helps everyone out…

 

Any further questions can be relayed through Dan…

 

THANKS!

 

Pat

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Smith [mailto:sad_rocc@yahoo.com] 
Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2004 1:50 PM
To: Don Walter
Cc: pwr107@comcast.net
Subject: Re: more backlit gauge info

 

I'll answer what I can and then forward the rest to the maker. Since vortex mods have blackholed the vortex posts, some info has been lost. The blues and reds are definite blues and reds, not baby blue or pinkish or anything like that. The light does come through the tick marks, other than that I don't believe there is any other lighting on the face. 


 


I haven't seen these guages in person yet but do plan on ordering them when I get a good scan of a mk1 gauge face along with the money. I may try to install myself, but most likely will let him do it. 


 


Going through me for questions is fine because then I learn the answers too and can pass it on to the list.


 


Dan





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