[zeron]

Well my dad works with alot of radios (HAM and shortwaves) so needless to say he has an abundance of wires. so im wanting to try and create my first LOD and i found this purty looking wire with something unique(i think)( about it. It has  1 copper(stranded) wire and 1 steel(i think since i dont know how to test if its silver*stranded*) wires, there both coated seperatly in clear coating and i wa wondering if i cut it into three pieces and sodder both the copper and ?steel? cables to all the connectors on the pin what would be the outcome? bennifits? detriments? and pssibly is there away to tell if the other cable i silver or steel?

 
EDIT: after looking at it a bit more i noticed the ?steel? side also has a few copper wires in it. like 1/4 or so of the wires are coper and the rest ?steel?.

EDIT: my dad said it was aluminum

 

[zeron]

bump.

i went ahead and wired it into the pin. i used to copper sides for the left and right and the aluminum for the ground. waiting for the lod to get here so i can finish up.

 

[scootermafia]

How big is that wire, I can't tell?  Keep in mind LOD pins are less than 1mm wide.

 

[zammykoo]

Quote:

How big is that wire, I can't tell?  Keep in mind LOD pins are less than 1mm wide.

Yep its pretty tough to wedge thicker gauge wires into the lod pin slots. Not only are the pins are tiny, but there is also not a lot of space between them. Your wire looks like about 20awg?
 
For example here is my lod cable. I got 24awg wire and looks like there's just enough room for that.
 

 

[zeron]

ugh... there 16g i think... maybe 18. im pretty sure i put it in the 16 slot of the pliers when i strip em. what i did to hook to pin is strip and cut half the wires off and sodder the other half to the inputs. cant u do that in the LOD to save room? ugh.. ist still gonna be hard soddering them and not letting the connections touch. :/ i might have to have my dad do that since im pretty sure im not good enough with a soddering gun to have them not touch.

but i ordered to of everything and i found the same cable as above bhut slightly smaller, and threw it a side. maybe i should use that one?

 

[zeron]

 
thats what ive did so far with it.

 

[zammykoo]

If you are stripping the strands at the end in order to hook the wire then you are essentially making it a thinner gauge. It'll probably be best just to get new wires that fit without needing to strip it for this LOD application.
 
I bought mine for pretty cheap from Navships on ebay, 25ft 24awg 19strand silver plated copper for about $7 shipped. He has a pretty big selection to choose from.

 

[zeron]

but god the 24awg just looks soo small and fragile.. thats why i got this thicker wire. youy say from nowon i should use thinner wire?

 

[zammykoo]

Quote:

but god the 24awg just looks soo small and fragile.. thats why i got this thicker wire. youy say from nowon i should use thinner wire?

My lod cable doesn't feel fragile at all. I think 22-24awg would be best for LOD cables. If you recable headphones then using thicker gauge would work better.

 

[zeron]

alright well this time its 16. if i can make it look neat then ill stick with it since i will be better off since it is thicker and stronger but from now on unless im cableing headphones ill use 22. well if i can sodder it to the LOD its gonna be a monster lol.ill post final when im done.

 

[zammykoo]

Great, looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[hodepo]

where did you get that 3.5mm plug at, zeron? it looks pretty nice haha
 

 

[zeron]

just my neighborhood radioshack :/

 

[Good Times]

Thin = good. It's flexible, and being line level you needn't worry about the current carrying capacity (i.e. the gauge). Go thin. 24g is great. You're never going to fit 16g in a LOD unless you severely trim some wire and then you risk shorting it at the junction. 

 

[DE Nefta]

I use 22 AWG or 24 AWG. It's pretty small inside the dock connector. Keep in mind that the cable needs to bend if you want the ipod lying on the Amp, like your foto on top.
I'm looking forward to the result. Good luck!