[shaolin101]

i got a car mag today (Redline) and you get a free 9 inch UV light strip that is wired to a car cigarette lighter plug.

i was thinking of cutting off the plug and fixing the light to the wall to illuminate some UV painted artwork when the room is dark.

How do i do it? Am i right in thinking i need to power it with 12volts and not directly through the mains!

Was thinking of maybe wiring it to a 12v battery (do they exist?) and wiring in a switch to turn it on or off - then i can just hide the switch away in a box where the light strip will shine up or down from.

Or do i need to find some kind of plug to wire it to and get a mains to 12v converter?

Many thanks

[Darren Blake]

Find out what the current requirement is and buy a suitable plug-in 12v AC-DC converter from Maplin or the like.

You can run it through any switch, as long as it can handle the current.

[hinesle]

Or just hire a sunbed

Sorry could not resist

you can just hook it up to a 9v battery it would work allough it may not be as bright

[Dave R]

Or get eight 1.5v batteries and wire them in series.

[Nick_UK]

You can get 12V "gel cells" which are essentially miniature car batteries which have a jelly electrolyte which prevents spilling. They're used in burglar alarms and UPS systems - Maplin sell them. High capacity, but quite heavy and will need periodic recharging.

[lewis4lcfc]

[FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]you could always buy an interior uv light!!![/FONT]

try here:http://www.uv-light.co.uk/

lewis

[chedmaster]

i have the solution! had the same prob with pc case flourescents. buy this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...776110627&rd=1

It means you can dim it however much you like as well. just cut the end off and join the wires.

Batteries will run out very quickly, and if you do use 8 x 1.5v, make sure you wire them in parallel not series, or you'll just get a very dim light that lasts forever!