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West

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I've always been a fan of EL panels and it struck me that I could use them to backlight the move strip and marquee of my Egret 2, both of which I feel could use a little illumination.

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The two panels are connected to the cab's PSU so when I flip it on everything powers up appropriately. The EL panel are connected to inverters that have built in dimmers so I can control the brightness. And I didn't drill any holes or modify the cab in any way to install everything. You think I'm some kind of animal? :P

I'm very happy with the result and can't see why this mod couldn't be applied to other types of cabs as well.

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Looks beautiful! What specific EL panels did you use to light things up?
Thanks man!

The panel and inverter for the move strip:
https://www.technolight.com/product...-rectangle-electroluminescent-el-light-panel/
https://www.technolight.com/product...er-inverter-and-12v-1-amp-power-wall-adapter/

The panel and inverter for the marquee (A3 size):
http://glowhut.com/a2-a3-a4-a5-electroluminescent-panel-with-leads-and-connector/
http://glowhut.com/electroluminescent-inverter-for-a3-size-el-panel-ac-100-240v/

I also had a 1/16th piece of acrylic laser cut that matches the exact dimensions of the stock move strip glass, as the EL panel and foam underlay adds thickness which makes the original glass unusable.
 
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I consider Egret II the Ferrari of CRT cab! I never did save the file on the move strip, can you share with me again on the dimension?

Thanks
 
I had the same idea a while back but couldn't find panels of the right size. Very neat work. If you can, please take some photos "under the glass".
 
You think something like this could be done with a New Astro City? I mean why not?
I don’t see why not. A buddy of mine with a NAC saw this and told me he’s thinking about doing the same thing to his cab now.

The approach for the mod is pretty agnostic to the type of cab one would install it in.

Cut the EL panel to the marquee/move strip size. Put it in place and run the wires to the inverter and psu without drilling any extra holes in your cab. Get some strips+marquees from SellSell on backlight film and bingo bango.

I will say that all in this mod cost around $300 which isn’t cheap but isn’t all the money in the world either. And it’s not like we’re in this hobby to not spend money on it ;) Particularly when it’s on something we think is cool.
 
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@emphatic Here are a few photos which should break it down.

The bottom layer is 1/16th foam with a recess cut out for the EL panel cable so everything sits flush. The cable has been modified to go behind the panel as most come out from the side. The EL wire runs through the (stock) hole in the move strip space.

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I cut the EL Panel to the dimensions matching the move strip size and it goes over the foam.

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Movestrip printed on translight film goes over the EL, and a laser cut 1/16th plexi panel goes over the top (eps avail if anyone wants).

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Here's a pic behind the panel. I'm very happy those holes came stock on the E2 as they were perfect for this mod. The wire runs into the cab where it connects to an inverter which has a dimmer for brightness. The inverter connects to the PSU and powers on when the cab turns on.

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Bling.

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I'm going to persue this endeavor. Maybe early next year for sure. Thank you for the detail pics.
 
Thanks for this West, really cool setup! And nice install
It appears that cutting the panel down on one side and the end doesn't effect the light distribution, amazing stuff.
Mirko
 
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