Control panel wiring

[stephenp1983]

Where is the best place to find large quanities of wire used for controls panels.  I would need enough to wire 4 joysticks in a cocktail.

[mountain]

Most car audio install shops will sell you 18 awg wire if ask them for it. My local shop had 1,000 ft spools in the back with a variety of colors to choose from.

[Arcades R Fun]

Try Radio Shack if you have one near you. They sell 100 ft. rolls of 18-22 gauge solid wire in red or black. They go for about $5 a roll I think.

[_) (V) (-)]

I'll do you one better, take that old parallel printer cable that you don't use anymore and chop the ends off of it. You'll end up with about a 5' shielded harness with 20+ sets of wires in it. Strip off about 2 feet of the outer insulation from one side for under the control panel and 6" from the other end for the encoder. Makes things nice and tidy when you are done.

[xmenxmen]

Home Depot and Lowes sell plenty of 18awg.  The other option that I and others have used are the network cable (cat 3, 5, etc), they also work great. 

There's also alarm wires that mention here alot.

[Katana Man]

This is what I did:  I went to Powerwerx and ordered many spools in a few different colors and gauges. (I ended up with 4,500 ft.)   Buying in quantities of 500 ft or more will save you money in the long run.


Then I picked up a Gardner Bender Wire Spool Caddy WSP-100E on ebay. I'm pretty much set for a long time. Nice and organized too.

[stephenp1983]

Ok thanks for the suggestions.  Whats best to use 18 or 20 gage wire?  Also should I do stranded or solid for plugging into a ipac intereface?

[Major Rock Hardy]

http://arcadecontrols.com/arcade_wiring.shtml

[Katana Man]

I think 20 gauge is a nice choice. I like stranded as well for added flexibility.  For my LED lighting, I'll be using 22 gauge.