How to: Make my motherboard GLOW? [UV PEN MOD] - Overclock.net

*SpookedJunglist* · 06-08-05

SpookedJunglist's UV Pen MOD

The following mod is relatively simple and can be completed in a few hours. The total cost of the Mods is less than $20.00 USD, but the MOD when completed correctly can make your computer one of a kind.I will break up the mods into three sections of the motherboard, but you are not limited to these areas. Below you will find short instructions with pictures on how to complete The Spookedjunglist UV Pen Mod.

● What you will need:
UV CCFL lights [blacklights work best]
BEIFA brand UV Gel pens
Motherboard
Steady Hands
● Prep Procedures: First off you will want to pull the motherboard from the case and disconnect anything that will get in your way. I have completed this on my main rig but decided to use a spare mobo to create this FAQ. I have tested this on three motherboards and not one has had any ill effects on performance. The Gel pens i used were non conductive but some gel pens may not be, so please use the BEIFA UV gel pens. Also Muffin found that Zebra JX roller brand will work for the UK crew[pic below]

●Safety Procedures:Please make sure that you use some means to protect your motherboard from Electro Static Discharge. You can do this by taking a antistatic bag and placing it below your working area and wearing a ESD bracelet grounded to something metal.

● Getting started:
INTRO: Before picture
PART1: UV Pen test
PART2: UV Capacitors
PART3: UV Circuit Traces
PART4: UV HeatSinks
PART5: Final product
PART6: Additional ideas

Motherboard Before

Notice the static free bag, it is important to take steps to protect your hardware.

UV PEN TEST

PART1: You need to make sure that the pens you selected are UV reactive. First if your pens are clear like mine hold them up to the balck light if they glow then they are most likely UV. You can test all of them but most likely only PINK, Yellow, and Orange will be most reactive. Take the pens and write something on a peice of paper. Then take the black light to it. it should glow very bright if it is UV. Look at the above picture and notice the scribbles I made. I used the UV pens to creat the intro pictures for each section :)

UV CAPACITORS!!!

UV CAPACITORS BEFORE

Part2: This is what i did to make the capacitors stand out in my case. Take the UV pen and scrible on the top of your capacitors. Make sure you get the whole thing covered pretty good. If your pen stops writing then use a scrap peice of paper to get it going again. i had no problems with my pens.

UV CAPACITORS FINISHED

UV CIRCUIT TRACES!!!

UV CIRCUIT TRACES BEFORE

PART2: Circuit traces are a little harder to do, for this you will need Steady hands. The circuit traces are raised slightly so you can follow the traces with the pen to creat awesome lines. You dont want to do every trace though, just enough to make them stick out. Also some motherboards have issues taking the pens ink. i had no problems with ABIT or Biostar, But the soyo i used for this took several passes over the traces to get the ink to stick. You could draw whatever you want but the ink is easy to get off once it is dry so dont worry if you make mistakes. If you do make a mistake use a pencil eraser and rub lightly untill it comes up, it will flake off pretty easy. That Pretty much covers Circuit traces.

UV CIRCUIT TRACES FINISHED

UV HEATSINKS!!!

UV HEATSINKS BEFORE

PART3: Heatsinks are one of the easiest to do. For somereason they take ink realy easy. It goes on and after it dries you can erase it with a pencil eraser. Make some neat designs or just do one color. End results are awesome.

UV HEATSINKS FINISHED

FINAL PRODUCT!!!

MY IC7 UV MODDED!!!

ADDITIONAL IDEAS: You can easily use these pens on anything you want to stand out. The edges of PCB can be written on. the tops of small chips can be made to glow, Transistors resistors chokes and coils even old ide cables can be marked with these pens.
OTHER PRODUCTS TO USE: I have heard that PLAID and Seargant brand UV paint works well and is non conductive.

Thanks goes out to Susquehannok of EOCF for the paint brands
Thanks goes to Muffin for finding Zebra JX roller brand for the UK modders.

*ncsa* · 06-08-05

Quite a fun idea.... can it be changed ?

X-Zenity · 06-08-05

thats one of the coolest mods ever
are there other colors, would it be safe to color like the slots and fans or even the wires?

SPHERE · 06-08-05

nice dude worthy of 100 reps... but sphere doesnt want to get baned :D so 7 will have to do if i ever put uv lights in my case im comin to this faq :)

*SpookedJunglist* · 06-08-05

For the most part yes. the pens will erase with a simple pencil eraser. So change it all you want. Did you read the whole thing? it says more than once its reversable :)

Thanks for the Comments

*SpookedJunglist* · 06-08-05

The other colors are not UV the only colors that seem to work are PINK, Yellow, Orange and some greens barely work. If anyone finds a Blue one that works Please PM me so i can add the brand and pictures to the FAQ :)

*ncsa* · 06-08-05

lol NO I can't read only like pretty pictures.. good mod

clueless-oc · 06-08-05

nice. i want uv spectacular. if only i had a windowed case

*SpookedJunglist* · 06-08-05

Ditch the case, thats what i did :)

*DigitalPhreak* · 06-08-05

That is sweet.

06-08-05	#4 (permalink)
SPHERE ATI Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 6,214 Rep: 743 Unique Rep: 330 FAQs Submitted: 17 Hardware Reviews: 14 Trader Rating: 4	allo nice dude worthy of 100 reps... but sphere doesnt want to get baned :D so 7 will have to do if i ever put uv lights in my case im comin to this faq :)

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How to: Make my motherboard GLOW? [UV PEN MOD]

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