[wlai]

Where do you guys get cheap hookup wires? 22awg or 24awg, prefer a multi-color set rather than one big spool of white.

$25 for a spool of one color is alot to spend on wires, and yet that's what Mouser/Digikey asks for.

 

[grasshpr]

A good alternative to electronic parts retailers is ebay. I've bought silver hookup wire from suppliers on ebay a few times without any issue.

 

[FallenAngel]

navships - eBay, silver plated copper, very cheap, 50' rolls, $7-$8 each

 

[MisterX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif navships - eBay, silver plated copper, very cheap, 50' rolls, $7-$8 each

You should add that to your sig.... what is a couple more lines when it already takes up half the screen?

 

[Fitz]

If you need just a little bit of a variety of colours for hookup wire in DIY projects and not anything real long like for cables, shoot me a PM and I'll give you some.

 

[daggerlee]

Cat-5e cable. You can buy a 3 foot cable for $3, cut it open and you'll have 4 pairs of color coded 24awg stranded copper hookup wire.

 

[wlai]

Thanks all. I ended up dropping by at Fry's and picking up 100' of 24awg wire for $5. That's pretty reasonable, and they come in pretty good selection of color, so I picked up black, white, and red.

The Cat5 cable tip is great! There are so much surplus cat5 around, plus I can always use a bunch to make patch cables, speaker cables, interconnect, etc. I'm definitely going to get me a 100' or so for color variations. Thanks.

 

[Emon]

Cat5 is nice for solid core wire. I prefer stranded for increased flexibility.

Also, don't bother with the teflon insulated stuff on eBay. It's so smooth you can't get a grip on it when you strip it! The high melting temperature of teflon is nice, sure, but not worth it.

A good liquid flux also helps a ton when tinning wire. It wets much better than the rosin core inside the solder. When tinning say, 1/4" of exposed wire, it takes about half a second of contact. Put a little flux on the wire, a daub of solder on the iron, touch it once and you're done.

 

[fordgtlover]

Cat5 cable comes in both solid and stranded. The solid cable is typically used for installations, but patch leads are usually stranded because they offer greater flexibility - or did I misunderstand the previous message.

 

[Emon]

Oh, right, I suppose it does. Most stuff I've used is solid though.