Source for thin shielded wire?

[brucec59]

I need a source for thin shielded wire (for internal amp wiring, not for making cables). All the stuff from the usual tube-amp-focussed suppliers is too thick (I'm looking for 1/8" or less O.D.), and Mouser/Digikey only have 100' or 500' rolls. Thanks.

[diagrammatiks]

i'll tell you if you teach me your ptp wiring secrets.

what actual awg do you want the wire to be bruce? 1/8 is like 8 awg after insulation and everything?

I usually just look on ebay. There's tons of surplus inventory floating around right now.

Silver Teflon Wire AWG 22 Shielded M16878/4 300 FEET | eBay

[brucec59]

Cool, thanks!

[Raybob]

Hoffman has nice small shielded wire but it's a little bigger than 1/8 OD.
Tube amp Wire - Cable - Heat shrink

[jmaf]

Approx 1/8"(3mm), I've used this a lot, just had to get used to working with the little nylon threads mixed with the main conductor: Mogami W2330 Interconnect Wire

[macdillard]

I think that what you are looking for is RG-174 coax. It is 0.110 " dia. Hoffman sells it by the foot. also check out Universal Radio shortwave, amateur, scanner and CB radio since 1942

[brucec59]

Thanks guys. I see RG-174 referred to as "50 ohm." Forgive my ignorance - what does that mean? Also, I saw a capacitance spec of 31pf/foot, which seems like a lot to me.

[diagrammatiks]

50ohms designates the impedance of the shield braid.

31 isn't super high in for shielded coax. It's always going to have more capacitance then normal wire. Some go as high as hundreds of pf per meter.

There is wire that has less though, although rg-174 is widely thought of by those other tube guys to be acceptable.

Using it to run all over the amp probably isn't super awesome.

classic dilemma of noise versus capacitance. I think for short runs you can twist your own twisted pair and ground one conductor as a shield. That usually results in a compromise between shielding and capacitance.

[tboy]

I see RG-174 referred to as "50 ohm." Forgive my ignorance - what does that mean?

That's the characteristic impedance. It really only has meaning for transmission lines at frequencies much higher than audio.

[Raybob]

Hoffman has nice small shielded wire but it's a little bigger than 1/8 OD.
Tube amp Wire - Cable - Heat shrink

Oops.. should have measured it. Yes, it is .110 O.D.

[Zipslack]

Scavenge

Probably not the reply you're looking for, but I'm a scavenger and I find my shielded wire in 70's and 80's stereos. One good 8-track can yield enough shielded wire for a small amp, or two. Extra benefit is that they are already shrink-wrapped. I especially like the old Realistic (Radio Shack) models with the fake wood/masonite cabinets.

[brucec59]

Probably not the reply you're looking for, but I'm a scavenger and I find my shielded wire in 70's and 80's stereos. One good 8-track can yield enough shielded wire for a small amp, or two. Extra benefit is that they are already shrink-wrapped. I especially like the old Realistic (Radio Shack) models with the fake wood/masonite cabinets.

Yeah, I actually have several pieces of that stuff that I took from old stereos. I'm using it in a couple prototyes. But I can't use scavenged wire in production amps, hence this thread. That is exactly the type of stuff I was hoping to find a source for.

[66tele]

Try Weber Speakers at Weber Speakers - Making the world a bit louder each day. They carry all kinds of amp building supplies including real skinny shielded cable for wiring amp chassis.

[defaced]

I use the teflon 22g stuff from this guy: John's Silver Teflon Wire Shop items - Get great deals on items on eBay Stores!
It's smaller than 1/8", but I don't have it handy to measure it. I like working with it; being teflon prevents shields/conductor shorts made during soldering.