Date: |
September 13, 2005 1:27 PM |
Price: |
$4.99 - $6.99 Each |
Sponsors: |
|
Author: |
|
Editor: |
|
Score: |
9/10 |
Sunbeam LED Screws INSTALLATION AND TESTING First Glance
When opening up the package you will find the LED Screws themselves, already attached to the dongle. The package itself is not that heavy, but when the screws are taken out of the package, the first thing noticed is that these are all metal screws and are actually quite heavy! Which isn't a bad thing  ! The screws also have a very neat and tidy look due to the heatshrink job done on the cabelling, which is nice as more companies realize that people hate extra cables, and helps to make it easier to hide them in their customers cases. Great job Sunbeam!
This particular package from Sunbeam comes with the installation instructions printed on an insert right in the rear of the packaging itself! One problem, though, is that the instructions are really small and hard to read. Specifically, the problem being which way to hook up the positive and negative leads to the dongle. Now, lets get into the installation!
Above are the package contents, molex cable, and led power cables.
Below is a closeup of the screw itself. |
Below are a closeup of the dongle for the power leads,
male/female molex closeup, and power connector closeup. |
Installation and Testing
Due to the packaging being difficult to read (which has the instructions written directly on it), Sunbeam has actually printed some installation instructions on their website, which I will post below:
1. Turn off your PC.
2. Pass the LED wire through the holes on the fan and put the LEDs in the screws.
3. Fix your fan on your case or CPU cooler with the screws.
4. Plug the 2-pin connectors of the LED wire to the wire harness of the power wire with the red line on the printed side of the power wire.
5. Plug the molex connector to your power supply.
6. Turn on your PC and enjoy the new look of your device!!
I have been testing the Sunbeam Silent Anodized LED Fans over the past week, after a failed attempt at trying to install the screws onto my CPU fan which happens to be too small, I decided to install the screws onto the Blue LED Fan as they match perfectly . Carefully passing the wires through the holes on the fan, you need to do 1 terminal at a time, as they both won't fit through at the same time. Here's where I was amazed, you can't actually tighten the screws using your hands (it's impossible), I had to get a 12mm socket & ratchet and to tighten it down  ! Once the screw threads have run through, it's okay, but that first time everything is too firm.
Connecting the positive and negative terminals isn't easy either, seeing as the diagram in the instructions is difficult to see, and as a result I was fooled (twice *laugh*). Good thing is that being LEDs, if they are plugged in backwards it doesn't make any difference ! Just turn off the PC again, swap the terminals around, and away you go. To be even tidier, I wrapped the bundle of terminals with electrical tape and trimmed off the excess with an Exacto knife (just in case I needed to turn the terminals around or accidental unplugging while move around wires). One thing you have to watch out for while tightening the screws fully is that the wires may kink, as they do not rotate with the screw. You need to rotate the wires manually, no biggie.
Above (from the left to right) I have fed the wires through the holes on the fan,
started the screws in with my fingers, and got my trusty socket ready.
Below (from the left to right) I have wratcheted the screws down and hand tightened,
taken a picture before turning on the LEDs, and connected the power wires to the dongle. |
The LEDs from the screws are extremely bright, even brighter than the LEDs on the fans! They actually light up my case just as well as my CCFL fan did, believe it, or not .
|
|
