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| Frequently Asked Questions |
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Frequently Asked Questions
- 1. Can you send me a printed catalog?
- We appreciate your interest in our products, and realize the demand for a printed catalog from NeonTrim.com. However, at this time we do not publish a printed catalog. Our focus is on our web catalog. If you have any questions about any product or are looking for something you can't find, don't hesitate to email or call!
- 2. Can you just plug Neon Trim into a wall socket and run it off normal household current?
- Yes, actually you can, but at the frequency of normal US household current, which is 60 Hz (cycles per second), it is rather dim. While this is fine for applications such as emergency egress lighting, Neon Trim requires a minimum frequency of 200 Hz at 120V AC to produce its optimal light. It's more often run at 400-2000 Hz, and most of our inverters output within this range of frequencies.
- 3. How can I plug Neon Trim into the wall so I can use it in my home or place of business?
- We have 12V plug-in power supplies you can use for this purpose. If you're electronically-inclined, you can connect the inverter to the power supply yourself, or, for a $5 connecting fee, you can have us do it for you. We can create a ready-to-use unit for you - just plug it in and go! Just ask us in the message window on the order form, or give us a call!
- 4. Is Neon Trim the same thing as fiber optics?
- Absolutely not! Fiber optics have a light source at one end, and do not have a uniform light throughout the entire length. Neon Trim IS a light source, and the light is uniform over its entire length, no matter how long it is!
- 5. How long does Neon Trim last?
- Neon Trim will reach half its brightness after around 2500 hours of use.
- 6. Can Neon Trim be cut to any length?
- Yes. It can also be spliced end-to-end; different colors can be spliced together, and it can be wired "in parallel" into the inverter. (This will require some soldering skills.) You must just take care to use the correct inverter to power the total amount of Neon Trim that you're using; that is, if you're using an inverter meant to power 10 feet, you must use approximately 10 feet of Neon Trim TOTAL with that inverter.
- 7. How flexible is Neon Trim?
- Neon Trim can be wrapped around a radius as small as .05 inch. However, it is not recommended for applications where it will be continually flexed. This will cause the electroluminescent coating to delaminate, or break away, from the inner core wire, and cause failure. However, if this does happen, the "bad" part can be cut out, and the ends of the good pieces can be spliced back together with complete success.
- 8. How do I buy Neon Trim?
- You can buy it by the foot, by the 100' roll, by the 820' spool, or in pre-made kits.
- 9. Do you have a price list I can look at?
- Yep. Click here.
- 10. What is your return policy?
- Items may be returned within 15 days of receipt if in good, unused condition, for a 15% re-stocking charge.
- 11. What is your privacy policy?
- All information we collect from you is used only to facilitate your order. We do not sell or give your email address or any kind of personal information to anyone for any reason. What you tell us here stays here.
- 12. What is your preferred method of shipping?
- Shipping: We prefer to use USPS Priority Shipping, which arrives within 2 to 3 days of shipping for US orders. Please contact us if you need to use another shipping method.
- 13. I was wondering whether it is possible to have a section of unilluminated
wire running from the end of the inverter to the point where I want the
Neon Trim to light up. For example, could I splice in some regular copper
wire from the inverter over to a section of Neon Trim? Or should I only
use Neon Trim from the inverter, and cover the parts I don't want
illuminated with opaque tape? If I can splice in copper wire, should I
include the length of that wire when I figure out which inverter I need to use? (Thanks to Jonathan Cohen)
- Yes, you can have just about any length of unilluminated wire as a "lead" wire from the inverter to the piece of Neon Trim, and you can also have unilluminated wire connecting different pieces, AND colors, of Neon Trim. No, you can't use REGULAR copper wire; you need to use a DUAL wire, like speaker wire or something, to connect the inner core wire(s) to the one side of the inverter and to connect the outer "hair" wire(s) to the other side of the inverter. Yes, you can also NOT use any lead wires and use only Neon Trim, if you really want to, from the inverter all the way to the end, and cover the parts you don't want illuminated with opaque tape. That would work, too. And, finally, no, you don't figure the lengths of lead wire in with the length of Neon Trim you're going to power when buying the inverter; only the length of the Neon Trim itself would be counted when purchasing the right sized inverter. For pictorial instructions, click here.
- 13. How do you connect/install Neon Trim?
- click here!
- 14. Can I use this product on my snowmobile? How does it work in the cold?
- Yes. Cold temperature has a positive effect
on Neon Trim's electrical and optical peformance.
Its lifetime at -20 Deg. C is twice as long as at regular room temperature! However, the plastic insulation
materials become rigid at very cold temperatures
and even fragile at -40 Deg. C. Bending of the product at this kind of temperature is not recommended.
However, if the wire is securely shaped at room temperature,
and you don't try to bend it AFTER freezing, it
will work very well at extremely low temperatures.
- 15. Can this product be hooked up to a 'dimmer' so that the intensity of the Neon Trim could be regulated? As certain night-time driving conditions could prove hazardous if the light was bright to the point of dimishing one's night-vision, I just thought it'd be neat to have it hooked up to your dash dimmer or perhaps via an aftermarket dim switch.
- Yes, you can hook the inverter up to your dash dimmer, or to an aftermarket dimming switch, and you can also have it hooked up to a manual on/off switch rather than have it wired in to come on with your headlights. See our "Installation" page for details on how to do this.
- 16. Do you offer exclusive Neon Trim distributorships?
- We don't offer exclusive distributorships; however, we do wholesale. We have some dealers who are buying in quantity and making money by not only selling it locally, but offering installation as well. They've found that there are a lot of people who love the look of Neon Trim, but don't have a clue as to how to hook it up or install it, and don't have any interest in learning.
- 17. What kind of response are you getting about this product?
- See for yourself - check out our Testimonials page!
- 18. Can this product be used underwater; is there a problem with high humidity?
-
The issue of
of very high humidity in the environment is always
problematic for the EL (electroluminescent) products. A
high-humidity environment (especially above 80%)
may reduce the useful lifetime of the EL
product. For the battery operated products the
problem it is not so critical; however, for
long term installations that must function
every night for many hours the actual lifetime might
be below our specifications. It is quite difficult
to assess the actual lifetime without specific
environmental data.
When the fibers are connected correctly they
are hermetically sealed against water. However,
small quantities of water vapor can, in time, penetrate through
the polymer insulation. It takes a long time for
enough humidity to penetrate into the fibers to cause problems. (Humidity can also escape from the fibers the same way.)
To summarize it, the average
humidity over few weeks' time period is critical.
If the humidity is, say, 65% in the daytime and 85% at night,
then the daily average is 75%. If this level of humidity
continues for couple of weeks, and then the humidity
goes below 70%, nothing would happen to the fibers.
However, if it would continue for, say, 3 months, the lifetime may
deteriorate few percent. At higher humidities the
deterioration would be faster.
If you are doing
installations in areas of very high humidity,
we must know detailed environmental parameters, such as the
voltage and frequency of the inverter, number of hours
the fibers work per day, etc. Based on your parameters our engineering department will
issue practical recommendations
to achieve acceptable lifetimes.
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