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[Question] About Wires

Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:57 pm
by StereoPT
Hello Guys,
I'm following this Tutorials, and one thing that I don't understand is the Wires.
I was browsing eBay looking for what Wires to Buy, but there are lots and lots of options.
Can someone explain what wires I should buy? And what I should look into when buying Wires?
Thanks in Advance :)

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:15 am
by Fleder
Hi there,

that depends on where you live.
In the EU, you can get 0,14mm2 Wires for all the small stuff and 0,5-0,75 for the main power wirings.
0,14mm2 is around 26 awg. Buy braid or multi strand wires. I think that was the right term, if not, sorry.

Edit: Kilren is right about the ethernet cables, they are a very good source for wires.
But if you live in germany, for instance, just simple wires are much cheaper in some online shops.
But i guess you are from portugal?

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:22 am
by Kilren
Fleder wrote:Hi there,

that depends on where you live.
In the EU, you can get 0,14mm2 Wires for all the small stuff and 0,5-0,75 for the main power wirings.
0,14mm2 is around 26 awg. Buy braid or multi strand wires. I think that was the right term, if not, sorry.
Ethernet wires are a personal favorite. You need to make sure they're braided and not solid core though. Most cat5e cords are braided. Each ethernet cord has 8 cords inside it, they're usually different colors also.

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 6:05 am
by StereoPT
Fleder wrote:Hi there,

that depends on where you live.
In the EU, you can get 0,14mm2 Wires for all the small stuff and 0,5-0,75 for the main power wirings.
0,14mm2 is around 26 awg. Buy braid or multi strand wires. I think that was the right term, if not, sorry.

Edit: Kilren is right about the ethernet cables, they are a very good source for wires.
But if you live in germany, for instance, just simple wires are much cheaper in some online shops.
But i guess you are from portugal?
Yes I'm from Portugal.
So it's better to buy Ethernet Cable and then get the Wires from them.
These Hires should work right?

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 7:30 am
by alien0matic
Fleder wrote: and 0,5-0,75 for the main power wirings.
Do I really have to have other wires for the power? Right now everything is running of off the 0,14mm² wires.

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 7:43 am
by Fleder
alien0matic wrote:Do I really have to have other wires for the power? Right now everything is running of off the 0,14mm² wires.
A friend that is into electronics a lot more than i am said it would be better but there should be not problem with using those 0,14 ones.
If you run into problems with power, this could be the cause, just keep it in mind.

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 10:04 am
by Camble
This should come in handy:

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 10:18 am
by wermy
Camble wrote:This should come in handy:

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
Yep definitely check out this link. I was just coming on here that you also need to consider which wires are supplying power vs just data. You'll want a slightly heavier-gauge wire for sending power to things like the screen and the Pi, vs the wires that are just sending data to the SD card, USB ports (the green and white wires), etc.

USB cables are also a good source of wire, and the higher-quality ones typically have heavier-gauge ones for the power too.

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 10:44 am
by Kilren
wermy wrote:
Camble wrote:This should come in handy:

http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm
Yep definitely check out this link. I was just coming on here that you also need to consider which wires are supplying power vs just data. You'll want a slightly heavier-gauge wire for sending power to things like the screen and the Pi, vs the wires that are just sending data to the SD card, USB ports (the green and white wires), etc.

USB cables are also a good source of wire, and the higher-quality ones typically have heavier-gauge ones for the power too.
Emphasizing wermy's point about the bigger gauge for power. The wires are sort of like a highway, and how thick it is dictates how many lanes traffic has to travel on (resistance). The more traffic (less resistance) the better within reason (you can get too thick of a wire in certain applications, but that won't be a problem in this project since you won't be able to close the case if it is too thick).

Anyway, you want to make sure you can support enough traffic to properly power everything and not have a shortage. Data is too small, you just lose a packet of data. Power is too small, you shutdown the system.

Re: [Question] About Wires

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 7:48 am
by Alvaro
I'm trying to economize, so i'm going to recycle some wires.

For the data cables, i think use those wires from pc front panel buttons and leds.
And for 5v and gnd, wires from pc power supply.

[spoiler="wires"]Image Image[/spoiler]
Any suggestion? is this a bad idea?

is my first electronic project, i already build a PC in a NES case, but this will be my first project including soldering and this kind of electronics [i have zero knowing in this area, so all the help i can get is welcome]

Sorry for my english [i think that's gonna be mi signature]

Gracias!