24 gauge wire questions

[noobofthecentury]

I am suppose to buy a 24 gauge wire and female quick disconnects for it.
This is for wiring a control panel.

Is audio gauge wire the same thing? some1 told me its not.
so it means the radioshack near my home dont sell it.

can someone link me to a place where i can order 24 gauge wire and its femal quick disconenct?

I tried ebay, but im not 100 % sure which is which. =(
this is my first time buying cables. and my first project also.
the control panel is small, so I am looking for a small cable that will work.

[noobofthecentury]

http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2032239&cp=2032058.2032227

[noobofthecentury]

is that the right link?
is it called a hookup cable?

[noobofthecentury]

how about this one

http://www.allelectronics.com/matrix/Hook_Up_100.html

are these the correct cable?

[TheShanMan]

Personally I would suggest 22 gauge wire as the smallest to go with. And they do have that at radio shack (it's on the page you linked).

[noobofthecentury]

yeah
I suggest get it here

http://www.allelectronics.com/matrix/Hook_Up_100.html

MUCH MUCH cheaper.
100 feet only 6 dollars

[Ginsu Victim]

I used the 22 gauge from Radio Shack and it's been great for all my wiring needs. From wiring the CP to lighting the coin rejects, it's worked fine.

[Wade]

Most important thing for low power use like a control panel is for the wire to be stranded, not solid.  Solid wire breaks easily and also isn't meant for crimping and doesn't hold crimps very well.  Most common mistake I see on this forum, I think.

Wade

[Ginsu Victim]

Most important thing for low power use like a control panel is for the wire to be stranded, not solid.

Oops.

[ids]

Ah, the solid/stranded debate is still alive 

I specifically chose solid because it holds its form better.  I have no issues crimping it, and have not had a piece break yet.

But, to each their own.

[Ginsu Victim]

What I like about the solid wire is if I need to move it out of the way, I can bend it how I want (not too much), or I can wrap it around an ink pen and make it coil. No problems with crimping here either. I just expose a little more wire, then bend it back into a tight loop, put the connector on and crimp. Holds great.

[Wade]

There really is no debate.  Sure, there are people who have used solid wire "with no problems", but the fact is that crimp connectors weren't designed for solid wire, and solid wire necessarily breaks more easily than stranded wire, which is designed to be flexible.

We bend a lot of rules on this forum.  Also, I'm sure that being cheap is often a factor, but I think most people use solid wire just because they don't know better.  There's a lack of a trustworthy repository for basic building questions on this forum.

I guess if you have to do something wrong electrically, use the wrong wire for CP... rather than use too small of wire for your AC lines, which is far more dangerous.

Wade

[ids]

My house is wired with solid, not stranded.  If anything were to break, I'd rather it be the low power, low voltage button connectors on my CP than house wires leading to a disastrous fire.  The rumours of solid breaking, I assume, are somewhat exagerated.  Perhaps if one were to keep messing with it, but otherwise, what really are the odds?  Not to give too much credit to those who make the rules, but I would suspect those making the electrical codes in my area understand that fools like me are going to start wiring stuff in their homes.  If solid could break, than stranded would be the code, or at least recommended by some wiring-for-dummeze book.  I cannot find any such recommendation.  Now, I don't mean any dissenting opinions are wrong.  In fact, I would be very happy if someone could provide a more serious read on the subject.  I dont think solid core wires are bending any rules.  And where I shop, it tends to be more expensive.  I guess the problem with a forum is that it comes down to opinions of people we dont know - some out there may be veteran electrical engineers for all I know.  But without some documentation from a more trustworthy source.....

my $0.02 fwiw 

[Wade]

The wiring in your house doesn't move or get bent once it's installed, and it also doesn't have crimp connectors on the end.  Your extension cords are stranded.  Noticing a pattern?

I agree with your sentiment about not having documentation from a trustworthy source... like I said, this forum doesn't really have an expert/trustworthy section.  How can newbies know who to believe?

Wade

[ids]

The wiring in your house doesn't move or get bent once it's installed, and it also doesn't have crimp connectors on the end.  Your extension cords are stranded.  Noticing a pattern?

I agree with your sentiment about not having documentation from a trustworthy source... like I said, this forum doesn't really have an expert/trustworthy section.  How can newbies know who to believe?

Wade

Good point about extension cords.  I guess my thinking is that a CP is carefully wired, one time, and left alone, more like house wiring.  Looking at some of the really good examples of wiring on these forums, the wire is well laid out, tied down, etc.  If one were to keep bending the wires, then I could see them breaking eventually.  I don't know how much it takes to break a wire, but anyone who has tried to break metal would likely have just bent it back and forth until it snapped.

I would consider myself a newbie when it comes to wiring (I'm a software guy, not a hardware guy  ).  Maybe thats why I chose solid.  But I have also taken care to lay out the wire once, and not keep bending it.

[Wade]

Using solid wire on a CP isn't a huge deal, it just isn't a good idea.  You won't find an original CP on a real video game with solid wire, nor will you find it in a harness in an automobile, for instance.  There may not be noticable movement, but a game CP or automotive harness should be able to take a lot more vibration and movement than your house.  Obviously, for a "toy" in a home environment, the ramifications are minimal.  That said, most people would still rather "do it right" if possible.

People have, and will continue to create enterprise applications and databases using MS Access.  To the average person, the design and function might appear to be sound, organized, efficient, usable.  While it can certainly be done... it likely isn't without consequence, it's usually due to inexperience or lack of knowledge, and an experienced software developer wouldn't recommend doing it.

TTYL,
Wade

[ids]

...most people would still rather "do it right" if possible.

So I guess I'll use stranded for my next one (shhh, don't tell the wife I'm thinking of another).

...MS Access... an experienced software developer wouldn't recommend doing it.

Now you're talking my language - Access, VB, PHP, etc can get stuff done, but for a serious enterprise solution... (working on a large government project right now - all Java)


Thanks Wade.

[Wade]

...most people would still rather "do it right" if possible.

So I guess I'll use stranded for my next one (shhh, don't tell the wife I'm thinking of another).

...MS Access... an experienced software developer wouldn't recommend doing it.

Now you're talking my language - Access, VB, PHP, etc can get stuff done, but for a serious enterprise solution... (working on a large government project right now - all Java)

Thanks Wade.

I thought you'd appreciate that analogy.

Wade