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Re: Thick coated wire

On Mon, Jan 01, 2001 at 06:16:12PM -0800, Thomas Barr wrote:
> > Ummm, well, not exactly George. After spending literally hours trying
> > to source "Dupla-like low voltage cable", I came up short. Now I can
> > find the right gauge, materials, even color - the problem is the
> > *thickness* and *cost*. You can get the thickness (Dupla cable has
> > very thick insulation) but it's pricey, or you can go surplus but they
> > have nothing like what Dupla sells. So in the end I bought surplus
> > spools of 26g & 30g telflon insulated wire (if you're interested in
> > this stuff, write me ... I've got *hundreds* of feet of it!)
> > 
> I found the right sized wire as well but it did not have the thick
> insulation I wanted. So I simply added insulating tape around this till I
> got a nice firm thickness. This solved the problem and worked the best. I
> think they have a dip coating that will do this as well.

There's a better solution, IMO. 

What makes *some* of us a bit nervous about using 26g, 30g or smaller
wire is that it is very thin and possibly not as durable as the
thickly insulated Dupla cables. One solution is to pick a wire and
operating voltage that would allow you to double (or even quadruple)
up the length. Then produce your own twisted pair: double up the wire
and anchor the two leads to something rigid (I used a wooden fence
post in my back yard). Place the other end in a variable speed drill,
stretch it tight, then let it rip with the drill. Works like a charm.

Or of course you could buy small gauge twisted pair and simply join
the leads together at one end.

Another piece of advice, originally from Bill Wichers: buy stranded
wire if you have a choice. More durable.

dan
-- 
Dan Resler                            email: dresler at vcu_edu
Dept. of Mathematical Sciences          
Virginia Commonwealth University           
Richmond, VA 23284-2014 USA