WIRE
TRIVIA
Wire Colors
Most wire comes in the same 10 standard colors as used
in the resistor color code: BLK, BRN, RED, ORG, YEL, GRN, BLU, VIO, GRY, and
WHT. Unfortunately there are no standards established for the color shade, so
actual wire colors vary over a large range.
Insulation Wall Thickness
UL only specifies a nominal and minimum wall thickness on most commmon hookup wire. This means that a lump in the plastic
insulation, 5 to 10 times the normal thickness, is acceptable. Yes, we've seen
wire like this and it's bad. Military specifications always call out a maximum
wall thickness. Squires wire usually meets both
specifications.
Irradiated Insulation
Regular PVC wire insulation softens and discolors at soldering temperatures.
Irradiated PVC insulation is a special PVC that has
been exposed to high energy radiation to cross-link the plastic molecules, thus
reducing the problems encountered during soldering.
Insulation Pull Back
It takes less than three pounds of tension to stretch
a 30 gauge wire. When cut, the insulation on a stretched
piece of wire will pull back because plastic has an elastic recovery or
"memory". Squires always handles
small gauge wire carefully to prevent this from happening.
High Temperature Wire Coatings
Wire with a temperature rating over 125C usually comes with silver or nickelplating instead of tin. At high temperatures and over
a long period of time, tin actually dissolves into the copper, leaving a
surface that is difficult to solder. Nickel and silver plating can withstand
higher temperatures for longer periods. Nickel is more difficult to solder than
silver due to it's surface
oxidation.
Silver Plated Conductors
Silver plated wire tarnishes (just like silverware) when exposed to sulfur
fumes. Cardboard, paper, and rubber bands are all made using sulfer, so silver plated wire should not be stored near
these items. At no extra charge, Squires packages all silver plated wire with a
special 3M sulfur absorbent paper to minimize tarnishing.
Tin Coated Wire
Most tinned wire is made to QQW-343 (AA59551) which
references ASTM specification B-33. Interestingly, this spec has no requirement
for solder thickness, only that the coating be continuous.
Quick Calculation
Increasing a wire by 3 gauge sizes doubles the amount of copper in it and
reduces its resistance by half. For example, going from 22 gauge
to 19 gauge doubles the amount of copper and halves its resistance, and going
from 19 to 16 gauge doubles and halves it again.
|
Gauge / Strands |
O.D. of Tinned Buss wire |
O.D. of UL1061 |
O.D. of UL1007 |
O.D. of UL1015 |
|||
|
min. |
nom. |
min. |
nom. |
min. |
nom. |
||
|
18/1 |
0.040 |
0.058 |
0.062 |
0.068 |
0.072 |
0.103 |
0.107 |
|
18/16 |
0.046 |
0.065 |
0.069 |
0.077 |
0.081 |
0.109 |
0.113 |
|
20/1 |
0.032 |
0.050 |
0.054 |
0.062 |
0.066 |
0.094 |
0.098 |
|
20/10 |
0.036 |
0.055 |
0.059 |
0.067 |
0.071 |
0.099 |
0.103 |
|
22/1 |
0.025 |
0.043 |
0.047 |
0.055 |
0.059 |
0.087 |
0.091 |
|
22/7 |
0.031 |
0.048 |
0.052 |
0.060 |
0.064 |
0.092 |
0.096 |
|
24/1 |
0.020 |
0.038 |
0.042 |
0.050 |
0.054 |
0.082 |
0.086 |
|
24/7 |
0.024 |
0.042 |
0.046 |
0.054 |
0.058 |
0.086 |
0.090 |
|
26/1 |
0.016 |
0.034 |
0.038 |
0.046 |
0.050 |
0.078 |
0.082 |
|
26/7 |
0.019 |
0.037 |
0.041 |
0.049 |
0.053 |
0.081 |
0.085 |
Introduction Ordering Information Secondary Operations Preformed Jumper Wires Bare Jumpers on Tape and Reel Insulated Jumpers on Tape and Reel Extra Special Jumpers Spooled Hookup Wire Cut & Stripped Hookup Wire Kynar Wire Wrap Wire Heat Shrink Tubing Cut PVC & Teflon Tubing Twisted Pair Wire Cut & Stripped Coax Cable Modification Wire Wire Trivia