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What kind of wire to use?

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mindctrl

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Hi,

When people make a circuit(on a prototyping board, not a breadboard), what do they use to connect all the components together? Solder? Wrapping wire? Where can I pick up this stuff?

Thanks,

mindctrl
 
if you use copper wire such as jumper wire you will be fine but just keep in mind that amperages exceeding the rated load for any wire (although rare) will cause heat and potentially melt or burn something. if i see a dc rating chart i will add it to this post, but any circuit that handles line voltage must be done with the right wire. usually 16 ga is ok from the wall wires to the high side of the transformer. although 20 amp circuits technically require 12 ga.
 
What gauge should I use for circuits? I'm talking stuff with PICs and LEDs, running around 12V max on the circuits with less then an amp of current running through it.
 
I'm not conversant in gauge sizes, I use square mm, for less than 1A, regular hookup wire (like telephone wire) should be fine (this is, I think, about 0.25 mm^2)
 
I try to use bare copper wire and often my source of supply is insulated hookup wire with the insulation stripped off. Magnet wire has an enamel insulation that can be troublesome to remove.

Thickness or gage - I use 22 ga much of the time but as mentioned, you need to consider current but for what you described it should be sufficient. Smaller might work but then it becomes a challenge to handle it.

What I've described works well in applications where I'll be soldering the wires to a board or to other components. It might be a bit large (but it works) for use on the push-in type breadboards.

I do have the tools for wire-wrapping. The wire sold at Radio Shack was 30 ga and had a pretty tough insulation. Wire wrapping methods can be good for some projects at DC or lower frequencies.
 
I use wire wrap wire (30ga), soldered in place, for my point to point wiring..
Radio shack, Jameco, digikey, others has the wire for about 5 usd for a 100' roll. Radio shack also has a stripper,built into the handle of their wrap tool that works well,8 usd..
Like one of the above posters advised , the wire size and current may be an issue , I have not used this for anything that draws over 1 amp..
 
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