Wire gauges

[basstard]

Sorry if this has been discussed before, did more than a search and couldn't find anything [mods can check my activity logs],,,

I'm building another guitar preamp and I'd like to know what wire gauge/type it's best to use for both ease of soldering on tube socket pins [which are quite small in this case] and current ratings.

I can only access normal wire suppliers so, nothing exotic,,,

The voltages I'm working with are around 280-300v max. Power consumption is very small, just 3x12ax7 [bar the filaments]. It's based on a Bogner XTC amplifier.

I'm thinking of using VERY small single strand wire for wiring the low voltage areas like volume/eq pots and multistrand speaker wire for the higher voltage areas [tube anodes and higher voltage signal paths]. I'll also use normal powercord wire for the power section and filaments which will be fed by a SMPS.

Do you think this is correct? Speaker wire should be quite low impedance so it should be ok right?

Ideal would be the thinnest possible wire [i.e. easier to solder] without compromising reliability,,, thanx

[nhuwar]

I use teflon insulated silver tinned hook up wire in the range of 20 to 24 gauge stranded for normal low level stuff. It handles 600vdc so it works for all low current applications.

nick

[mashaffer]

Where do you get the 600V wire? The only 600V I have been able to find is at the local Ace Hardware but it is 14ga which is a little extreme I think. All of the tube parts houses seem to be selling 300V.

mike

[basstard]

thanx,,,
thing is I'm sh*t when it comes to imperial measures,,, what's that? 0.022 inches or what?

I used some 'normal' [if that makes sense] shielded wire for my previous ~500V mesa boogie preamp and nothing has melted down until now,,, but on this new one the tube socket pins are kinda small so I'd prefer to do a tidy job and use smaller wire,,,

[nhuwar]

Mcmaster Carr part number 7304K111


And 22 gauge is 0.64516 mm



Nick

[eyoung]

Hello all,

You can go to NAPA autoparts or West Marine and get marine
grade stranded wire 18AWG is rated at 600v. It has better insulation and more strands. Angela Instruments has alot of DIY
electronic stuff including teflon insulated hookup wire (www.angela.com).

good luck,

Elwood

[nhuwar]

I buy it from mcmaster carr is cheaper.

I have found it's tricky finding the teflon and silver which is stout wire it's rated for 13 amps for 22 awg yes 22amps and 48 cents a foot.


Nick

[dave_gerecke]

Ciao Basstard, I'm not sure about obtaining wire for your needs. I would think that you could get wire from Lapp or Helukabel in Italy, they are both German. They have both wire and cable that will fit your needs, just find a distributor. To help you with conversion between AWG and metric, try this webpage:

http://www.hardwarebook.info/AWG

pace,

Dave

[luvdunhill]

Originally posted by mashaffer
Where do you get the 600V wire? The only 600V I have been able to find is at the local Ace Hardware but it is 14ga which is a little extreme I think. All of the tube parts houses seem to be selling 300V.

mike

"Teflon coated silver plated copper multistrand conductor with teflon coating. 600v rating. 200°C. Can be used in audio signal lines, B+ or heater circuits."

http://www.hndme.com/productcart/pc/...?idCategory=19

[mashaffer]

It looks like you have to buy in 100 ft rolls from mcmaster. That might be the best in the long run but the other site appears to allow random lengths.

mike