XCVG
ModRetro Legend
I seem to be seeing it more and more these days. What wire should I use? Where can I get some? So I've created this guide to explain wire, the types of wire, where to get wire, and when to use which wire.
Basic Types of Wire
Solid
Solid wire is just a single strand of wire. It can be bent but isn't really flexible. Solid wire doesn't fray for obvious reasons. Small solid wire is great for all sorts of things but the thick stuff can get a bit out of hand. Generally solid wire is used in applications where the wire isn't going to be moved around. House wire is almost always solid.
Stranded
Most wire is stranded. Stranded means that there are many strands making up a wire. Sometimes it's just a few, but sometimes there are thousands of strands in a wire. This type of wire is obviously a lot more flexible and will not stay in position at all when bent. It can fray and short but it can also be twisted together with another stranded wire. Generally this is used in applications where the wire is expected to be flexible and move around. Power cables, A/V cables, and extension cords among many others contain stranded wire.
Flat Cable
It doesn't really count as wire, but I'm including it for the sake of completeness. Flat cable is basically thin strips of conductive material inside an insulator. There are several variants and they are all flat, pretty much always have more than one condutor, and usually have the conductors really close together. Usually attempting to solder to this stuff destroys it. Flat cables are found mostly INSIDE electronics. In modding you will probably encounter these when working with LCD displays and optical drives. They are also referred to as FFCs, so searching "FFC" might be more useful than searching "flat cable". On an interesting note, this is (argubly) the real "ribbon cable", but ribbon cable usually refers to a flat, bonded multi-conductor cable.
Variants, Variations, and Varieties
Insulation
Wire, solid or stranded, is usually insulated. That said, sometimes it isn't, and there are quite a few types of insulation. Since you probably don't care that much, I'm going to try to be quick. Most wire has the usual plasticy kind. This stuff can be thick, like speaker or house wire, or thin, like wire-wrapping wire. Usually the jacket is PVC, but sometimes it's silicone or rarely something else. Magnet wire has a very thin enamel film on it, which cannot be stripped and is simply melted off. The quality of insulation varies wildly. Some wire has excessively thick insulation, but it is sometimes of good quality and is easy to strip anyway. Some wire has very thin, very cheap insulation that's nearly impossible to strip. Generally stranded wire has better insulation than solid wire, but not always. Also, be aware that the same type of wire, even from the same brand, may have insulation of different quality. One last note before we move on. Temperature and voltage ratings are based on the insulation of wire, not the wire itself. The temperature one is obvious and the voltage one makes sense after thinking about it for a bit.
Thickness
While we're talking about the nitty-gritty of wires here, why don't we talk about the thickness of wires? First off, the bigger the wire, the more power can go through. Whether solid or stranded wire is a better conductor is a hotly debated topic and in practice it doesn't really matter. Counter-intuitively, the smaller the wire gauge, the thicker the wire. Therefore, 16 AWG (American Wire Gauge) wire is actually thicker than 24 AWG wire. It's not that confusing, but it is a bit odd. For portable wiring and general modding you generally don't have to worry about wire gauge that much. Anywhere from 22-30 AWG is generally okay for signals. For low-power application 22 or 24 AWG will do for power, but usually you will want 16 or 18 just to be safe. In robotics, 14 AWG, 12 AWG or even bigger wire is pretty much the norm. A little note for you advanced users (of wire)- thicker wire has lower resistance. Lower resistance means less loss and possibly less noise. Now just because thicker wire has a lower resistance and can handle more current doesn't make it better. Thicker wire is pretty much impossible to solder onto small holes and points, takes a lot of heat to solder, and takes up a lot of space.
Multi-Wire Cable
Let's face it- if all wires were by themselves, the world would be a mess. Extension cords wouldn't be cords, they would be tangled three-wire disasters. Trying to connect your video games to a TV would end up in a tangled mess. And wiring up a computer would be nearly impossible. There are several types of cable. The simplest, and not really a cable, is simply a few wires twisted together. Not really a cable, but they stay together if done right and actually reduce noise. Next is the standard issue cable, which is simply a bunch of wires inside a plastic (well, usually plastic) jacket. Sometimes they are bonded in, or wrapped with twine or paper, but it's basically the same thing. Then there are wires which have been made or bonded together into a flat cable. Some extension cords are like this, and ribbon cable (the kind in your computer) belongs to this category too. There are probably other ways to make multi-wire cables that I haven't thought of, but these are the ones you see most.
Shielded Cable
Shielded cable is a special kind of cable that has a ground shield around an inner core. Well, special is a bit of a stretch. Pretty much all AV cables are shielded. The norm used to be one inner wire, but nowadays many data and AV cables have several wires. The shield may be a wrapped bare stranded wire, called a wrap shield (duh). Alternatively, a braided shield may be used, which is probably the more common method. The shield is almost always grounded. Shielded cable significantly reduces noise and is used in audio, video and even data applications. Usually you won't use shielded cable for wiring things but you will probably have to wire to existing shielded cable when modding.
Specific Types of Wire
A/V Cable
In its strictest definition, this is a very diverse category. Everything from single mono audio leads to massive snakes would be in it. The most common thing you'll deal with, however, is a shielded cable consisting of a stranded, insulated inner conductor and a wrapped or braided outer one. It is used in RCA cables, both patch cords and console cables, composite, component, and otherwise. More may be shoved inside of one cable, retaining a shield for each or one single one for all. Other console AV cables are configured like this, as are S-video, VGA, HDMI, and DVI cables. Headphone/microphone cables with 3.5mm plugs are similar to the first type, with two or three thin wires wrapped around each other. Larger ones, such as those used for professional recording, may be of either type, typically with thicker wire and heavier shielding. The single-inner-conductor cable is often used to video wiring in portables, but like the larger multi-conductor types may be used in any application where noise is an issue, usually audio/video like it is (sorta) intended. You can get this type of cable from various sources depending on specific type.
Appliance Cord
For the purposes of this guide, "appliance cord" applies to all power cables that go from devices to the wall, not just those of appliances. In reality, it can be broken up further, into categories such as lamp cord, computer cables, and many others. This type of cord usually has two (ungrounded) or three (grounded) conductors, with a suitable AC mains connector on one end and either a second plug or a frayed end where you cut it off on the other. The wire thickness is generally 16 or 18 gauge, sometimes thicker but rarely thinner. The wires are always stranded and (of course) always insulated. They may be flat, one beside the other, or encased in a round jacket. Typically, this is acquired by cutting off or unplugging it from an unused or torn-apart device, but you can purchase them as replacements as well.
Hook-up Wire
Hook-up wire is the stuff to look for when buying wire new, if you do that sort of thing. Hook-up wire can be solid or stranded, is generally brightly colored, and is generally around 22-24 AWG (but other gauges can be found). Hook-up wire is good general purpose wire. I guess similar wire found in things could be considered hook-up wire as well. This type of wire, if bought, generally comes in a bag or on a spool, and can be purchased from electronics suppliers like Digi-Key, RadioShack, and even eBay in various lengths.
House Wire
DO NOT USE THIS WIRE! Okay, maybe that's a little hasty, but there are limited applications for this type of electronics, and virtually none in portabilizing. House wiring, at least in North America, consists of insulated solid wire in a plastic jacket. It is classified by gauge followed by # of conductors. For example, 14/2 would have two insulated fourteen gauge wires inside (coloured white and black) as well as a bare ground wire. Thicker and thinner wire, as well as wire with more conductors and special application wire (such as high-heat and armoured) is also made. You can get this at your local Home Depot, on large spools or in bulk. It's no good for portabilizing, can only be used in some electronics (none that I can think of right now) and is less than ideal for robotics because it is solid. Unless you have a specific application in mind, don't bother. Don't even bother if you can get it for free.
Magnet Wire
This stuff is generally thin, around 30 AWG or so. It can be found in much, much larger sizes, but only the small ones are typically sold for hobby applications. Magnet wire is solid, with a very thin coating of enamel insulation. It is used in transformers, motors, and electromagnets as the name suggests. The enamel insulation lends compactness, but be careful. It cannot be stripped and must be melted or sanded off, and is often delicate. When you need something really small to connect really small thing, this is one of the better choices. The huge stuff it mostly just useless unless you're winding your own inductive devices.
Primary Wire
Primary wire is basically the thicker version of hook-up wire, although confusingly the terms are often used interchangeably. For our purposes, we will consider anything 18 gauge or thicker primary wire. Common gauges are 16 and 12, but anything from 22 (overlapping with hook-up wire) to 000 (insanely huge) can be purchased with relative ease. It is almost always stranded, I have never seen solid primary wire but I've never had a reason to look for it. Primary wire is sold for automotive and marine use and can be purchased at auto parts and marine stores (obviously). Generally, this type of wire is reasonably flexible, with thin insulation in varying colours (most commonly black and red) that is only rated for 50 volts or so. It's good for wiring power in a portable, and the thin stuff can be used as hook-up wire, but it's probably not a good idea for AC and the thicker stuff is useless for most portable applications.
Ribbon Cable
I'm talking about the kind found in your computer. Floppy cable, IDE cable, and some others belong to this category. There are basically two kinds. The new kind is 30 AWG or so, and solid, and there's more of them to a cable. The old kind is 28 AWG (I think) and is stranded. Both kinds are useful and ribbon cable is cheap and easy to find. Ribbon cable is especially nice in that you can simply peel away as many strands as you need for a certain application. If you are creative you can use the connectors too.
Speaker Wire
Speaker wire is used for hooking up speakers. It's available in 12 AWG to 20 AWG or so, but most commonly 16 AWG or 18 AWG. Speaker wire is actually two stranded wires bonded or manufactured together into a flat-ish cable. The insulation is usually but not always clear with a red stripe down one of the wires. Sometimes one of the wires is silver-colored, but rest assured that both are copper. Speaker wire would work great for power but is overkill for anything else. One disadvantage of this type of wire is the insulation, which is usually extremely thick.
Wire-Wrapping Wire
Wire wrapping is a (largely outdated) circuit building technique where wires are wrapped around protruding posts with a special tool. The wire used is typically 30 AWG solid and has a thin coating of Kynar insulation. Kynar can be stripped, unlike magnet wire. It is the wire of choice for microscopic wiring, such as RCP relocations and Wiikey mods. This stuff comes on spools, usually in a limited array of colours. It can be purchased at electronics retailers.
*this section is incomplete, more coming soon*
Basic Types of Wire
Solid
Solid wire is just a single strand of wire. It can be bent but isn't really flexible. Solid wire doesn't fray for obvious reasons. Small solid wire is great for all sorts of things but the thick stuff can get a bit out of hand. Generally solid wire is used in applications where the wire isn't going to be moved around. House wire is almost always solid.
Stranded
Most wire is stranded. Stranded means that there are many strands making up a wire. Sometimes it's just a few, but sometimes there are thousands of strands in a wire. This type of wire is obviously a lot more flexible and will not stay in position at all when bent. It can fray and short but it can also be twisted together with another stranded wire. Generally this is used in applications where the wire is expected to be flexible and move around. Power cables, A/V cables, and extension cords among many others contain stranded wire.
Flat Cable
It doesn't really count as wire, but I'm including it for the sake of completeness. Flat cable is basically thin strips of conductive material inside an insulator. There are several variants and they are all flat, pretty much always have more than one condutor, and usually have the conductors really close together. Usually attempting to solder to this stuff destroys it. Flat cables are found mostly INSIDE electronics. In modding you will probably encounter these when working with LCD displays and optical drives. They are also referred to as FFCs, so searching "FFC" might be more useful than searching "flat cable". On an interesting note, this is (argubly) the real "ribbon cable", but ribbon cable usually refers to a flat, bonded multi-conductor cable.
Variants, Variations, and Varieties
Insulation
Wire, solid or stranded, is usually insulated. That said, sometimes it isn't, and there are quite a few types of insulation. Since you probably don't care that much, I'm going to try to be quick. Most wire has the usual plasticy kind. This stuff can be thick, like speaker or house wire, or thin, like wire-wrapping wire. Usually the jacket is PVC, but sometimes it's silicone or rarely something else. Magnet wire has a very thin enamel film on it, which cannot be stripped and is simply melted off. The quality of insulation varies wildly. Some wire has excessively thick insulation, but it is sometimes of good quality and is easy to strip anyway. Some wire has very thin, very cheap insulation that's nearly impossible to strip. Generally stranded wire has better insulation than solid wire, but not always. Also, be aware that the same type of wire, even from the same brand, may have insulation of different quality. One last note before we move on. Temperature and voltage ratings are based on the insulation of wire, not the wire itself. The temperature one is obvious and the voltage one makes sense after thinking about it for a bit.
Thickness
While we're talking about the nitty-gritty of wires here, why don't we talk about the thickness of wires? First off, the bigger the wire, the more power can go through. Whether solid or stranded wire is a better conductor is a hotly debated topic and in practice it doesn't really matter. Counter-intuitively, the smaller the wire gauge, the thicker the wire. Therefore, 16 AWG (American Wire Gauge) wire is actually thicker than 24 AWG wire. It's not that confusing, but it is a bit odd. For portable wiring and general modding you generally don't have to worry about wire gauge that much. Anywhere from 22-30 AWG is generally okay for signals. For low-power application 22 or 24 AWG will do for power, but usually you will want 16 or 18 just to be safe. In robotics, 14 AWG, 12 AWG or even bigger wire is pretty much the norm. A little note for you advanced users (of wire)- thicker wire has lower resistance. Lower resistance means less loss and possibly less noise. Now just because thicker wire has a lower resistance and can handle more current doesn't make it better. Thicker wire is pretty much impossible to solder onto small holes and points, takes a lot of heat to solder, and takes up a lot of space.
Multi-Wire Cable
Let's face it- if all wires were by themselves, the world would be a mess. Extension cords wouldn't be cords, they would be tangled three-wire disasters. Trying to connect your video games to a TV would end up in a tangled mess. And wiring up a computer would be nearly impossible. There are several types of cable. The simplest, and not really a cable, is simply a few wires twisted together. Not really a cable, but they stay together if done right and actually reduce noise. Next is the standard issue cable, which is simply a bunch of wires inside a plastic (well, usually plastic) jacket. Sometimes they are bonded in, or wrapped with twine or paper, but it's basically the same thing. Then there are wires which have been made or bonded together into a flat cable. Some extension cords are like this, and ribbon cable (the kind in your computer) belongs to this category too. There are probably other ways to make multi-wire cables that I haven't thought of, but these are the ones you see most.
Shielded Cable
Shielded cable is a special kind of cable that has a ground shield around an inner core. Well, special is a bit of a stretch. Pretty much all AV cables are shielded. The norm used to be one inner wire, but nowadays many data and AV cables have several wires. The shield may be a wrapped bare stranded wire, called a wrap shield (duh). Alternatively, a braided shield may be used, which is probably the more common method. The shield is almost always grounded. Shielded cable significantly reduces noise and is used in audio, video and even data applications. Usually you won't use shielded cable for wiring things but you will probably have to wire to existing shielded cable when modding.
Specific Types of Wire
A/V Cable
In its strictest definition, this is a very diverse category. Everything from single mono audio leads to massive snakes would be in it. The most common thing you'll deal with, however, is a shielded cable consisting of a stranded, insulated inner conductor and a wrapped or braided outer one. It is used in RCA cables, both patch cords and console cables, composite, component, and otherwise. More may be shoved inside of one cable, retaining a shield for each or one single one for all. Other console AV cables are configured like this, as are S-video, VGA, HDMI, and DVI cables. Headphone/microphone cables with 3.5mm plugs are similar to the first type, with two or three thin wires wrapped around each other. Larger ones, such as those used for professional recording, may be of either type, typically with thicker wire and heavier shielding. The single-inner-conductor cable is often used to video wiring in portables, but like the larger multi-conductor types may be used in any application where noise is an issue, usually audio/video like it is (sorta) intended. You can get this type of cable from various sources depending on specific type.
Appliance Cord
For the purposes of this guide, "appliance cord" applies to all power cables that go from devices to the wall, not just those of appliances. In reality, it can be broken up further, into categories such as lamp cord, computer cables, and many others. This type of cord usually has two (ungrounded) or three (grounded) conductors, with a suitable AC mains connector on one end and either a second plug or a frayed end where you cut it off on the other. The wire thickness is generally 16 or 18 gauge, sometimes thicker but rarely thinner. The wires are always stranded and (of course) always insulated. They may be flat, one beside the other, or encased in a round jacket. Typically, this is acquired by cutting off or unplugging it from an unused or torn-apart device, but you can purchase them as replacements as well.
Hook-up Wire
Hook-up wire is the stuff to look for when buying wire new, if you do that sort of thing. Hook-up wire can be solid or stranded, is generally brightly colored, and is generally around 22-24 AWG (but other gauges can be found). Hook-up wire is good general purpose wire. I guess similar wire found in things could be considered hook-up wire as well. This type of wire, if bought, generally comes in a bag or on a spool, and can be purchased from electronics suppliers like Digi-Key, RadioShack, and even eBay in various lengths.
House Wire
DO NOT USE THIS WIRE! Okay, maybe that's a little hasty, but there are limited applications for this type of electronics, and virtually none in portabilizing. House wiring, at least in North America, consists of insulated solid wire in a plastic jacket. It is classified by gauge followed by # of conductors. For example, 14/2 would have two insulated fourteen gauge wires inside (coloured white and black) as well as a bare ground wire. Thicker and thinner wire, as well as wire with more conductors and special application wire (such as high-heat and armoured) is also made. You can get this at your local Home Depot, on large spools or in bulk. It's no good for portabilizing, can only be used in some electronics (none that I can think of right now) and is less than ideal for robotics because it is solid. Unless you have a specific application in mind, don't bother. Don't even bother if you can get it for free.
Magnet Wire
This stuff is generally thin, around 30 AWG or so. It can be found in much, much larger sizes, but only the small ones are typically sold for hobby applications. Magnet wire is solid, with a very thin coating of enamel insulation. It is used in transformers, motors, and electromagnets as the name suggests. The enamel insulation lends compactness, but be careful. It cannot be stripped and must be melted or sanded off, and is often delicate. When you need something really small to connect really small thing, this is one of the better choices. The huge stuff it mostly just useless unless you're winding your own inductive devices.
Primary Wire
Primary wire is basically the thicker version of hook-up wire, although confusingly the terms are often used interchangeably. For our purposes, we will consider anything 18 gauge or thicker primary wire. Common gauges are 16 and 12, but anything from 22 (overlapping with hook-up wire) to 000 (insanely huge) can be purchased with relative ease. It is almost always stranded, I have never seen solid primary wire but I've never had a reason to look for it. Primary wire is sold for automotive and marine use and can be purchased at auto parts and marine stores (obviously). Generally, this type of wire is reasonably flexible, with thin insulation in varying colours (most commonly black and red) that is only rated for 50 volts or so. It's good for wiring power in a portable, and the thin stuff can be used as hook-up wire, but it's probably not a good idea for AC and the thicker stuff is useless for most portable applications.
Ribbon Cable
I'm talking about the kind found in your computer. Floppy cable, IDE cable, and some others belong to this category. There are basically two kinds. The new kind is 30 AWG or so, and solid, and there's more of them to a cable. The old kind is 28 AWG (I think) and is stranded. Both kinds are useful and ribbon cable is cheap and easy to find. Ribbon cable is especially nice in that you can simply peel away as many strands as you need for a certain application. If you are creative you can use the connectors too.
Speaker Wire
Speaker wire is used for hooking up speakers. It's available in 12 AWG to 20 AWG or so, but most commonly 16 AWG or 18 AWG. Speaker wire is actually two stranded wires bonded or manufactured together into a flat-ish cable. The insulation is usually but not always clear with a red stripe down one of the wires. Sometimes one of the wires is silver-colored, but rest assured that both are copper. Speaker wire would work great for power but is overkill for anything else. One disadvantage of this type of wire is the insulation, which is usually extremely thick.
Wire-Wrapping Wire
Wire wrapping is a (largely outdated) circuit building technique where wires are wrapped around protruding posts with a special tool. The wire used is typically 30 AWG solid and has a thin coating of Kynar insulation. Kynar can be stripped, unlike magnet wire. It is the wire of choice for microscopic wiring, such as RCP relocations and Wiikey mods. This stuff comes on spools, usually in a limited array of colours. It can be purchased at electronics retailers.
*this section is incomplete, more coming soon*
! You might want to add that the flat cable is officially known as "FFC" (flat flexible cable). That way, people can find it on google or digikey a lot easier!
