Wire size for breadboard

[airguitar]

I bought some 24 gauge wire for my project but i am having difficulty putting the wire in breadboard holes.Is 24awg too big for breadboard? I read that's the recommented size.Maybe cause it is stranded is a problem ? Thanks

[EBK]

Yes, stranded is a problem...

22 or 24 gauge solid would work (22 is probably better).
You could probably twist the stranded stuff then apply a little solder to stiffen it and mimic solid wire if you'd like....

[airguitar]

I tried with solder but still it was big for the holes.A way i tried and works is that i soldered a male pin to fit in the breadboard.I guess i ll go with solid for breadboard only and stick to stranded for everything else

[Rob Strand]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadboard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veroboard

You mean Veroboard not Breadboard yes?  The one you solder the wires in?

You can remove one or two strands
You need to twist tightly
Make sure the holes are clear and not filled with solder if you have soldered the board already.

[airguitar]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadboard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veroboard

You mean Veroboard not Breadboard yes?  The one you solder the wires in?

You can remove one or two strands
You need to twist tightly
Make sure the holes are clear and not filled with solder if you have soldered the board already.

I meant breadboard but i guess i ll need some advice for soldering wire on vero too cause i ll try to make a pedal on vero next week.So Thanks!

[Rob Strand]

I meant breadboard but i guess i ll need some advice for soldering wire on vero too cause i ll try to make a pedal on vero next week.So Thanks!

Ahh OK.  Don't use solder  it will eventually stuff-up your breadboard it can even leave slices of solder inside the holes.

Always use solid wire with correct diameter.  Its often written on the box that comes with the breadboard.
Mine say 0.3mm to 0.8mm.  I mostly use 0.5mm to 0.6mm wire.   The 0.5mm is a little easier to work with.
Resistors are about 0.6mm.


[EDIT:      0.5mm is like 24AWG   plenty of cheap multicore 24AWG around]

[deadastronaut]

or buy jumper wires...

search jumper wires. ebay... 

[thermionix]

I've been using stranded wire robbed from an old printer cable but soldering component lead clippings on the end for the pokey part.

I'm a cheap bastard.

[marcelomd]

Hi

I had a length of some multi wire telecom cable. It was an inch wide and had like 50+ individual solid core wires inside from every color. Perfect for breadboard. Got it from the trash from a lab in my university =). It lasted a long time but I never found anything similar in the electronics stores around here. 2-3 meters would be enough for a lifetime.

When it was over I started using the individual wires from ethernet cable scraps I had. Also free, but only in boring colors.

These are great for protoboard/breadboard and for soldering jumpers. For soldering flying leads to connectors and potentiometers I use wither flat cables or a roll of 24AWG (maybe 22...) I got from China for cheap.

[vigilante397]

+1 for jumper wires.

Tayda sells them cheap...

[Kipper4]

I just got a bunch of jumper wires with a new more hamoosive breadboard. Happy days.
I didn't realise those jumper wires where so sized. They're great.

[deadastronaut]

^ yeah man.... always handy..

[marcelomd]

When you guys say "jumper wire" for breadboard, do you mean those lengths of wire with pins crimped on each side?

I think they are super useful for connecting blocks and making distant connections, or sparser builds, but for bridging two holes that are close (e.g. less than 5 holes apart) they are a little annoying... they just obscure the circuit and stand in the way. In this case I prefer to cut a piece of solid core wire in the right size.

[duck_arse]

I just got a bunch of jumper wires with a new more hamoosive breadboard. Happy days.
I didn't realise those jumper wires where so sized. They're great.

where might one find a hamoosive?

[EBK]

I just got a bunch of jumper wires with a new more hamoosive breadboard. Happy days.
I didn't realise those jumper wires where so sized. They're great.

where might one find a hamoosive?

Closest I could find was this ham-mousse bread-plate:

[Kipper4]

Heathens......

Spoonerisms are alive and well.

[StephenGiles]

Telephone wire does the trick !

[Rob Strand]

Telephone wire does the trick !

That's actually what I use.  These days telephone cables as we know/knew it are getting replace by cat 5 (which you can also use if it's AWG 24) or those flat things with stranded wire (which are unsuitable).   Cat 5 is pretty cheap if you consider you get 8 conductors - not hard to stumble on off-cuts around the place.

[slashandburn]

Since there seems to be quite few other cheapskates here I figured I'd suggest checking your local scrapyard. Most will probably have a household cable bin that's full of flex and  insulated copper wire that's too fine to be worthwhile stripping or burning for the copper. You could likely pick up several meters of cat5 for a few cents if you don't mind rummaging a bit.

Marcelomd might even find a few lengths of that multicoloured solid core stuff.

[vigilante397]

I actually use telephone wire in most builds. Solid-core and color-coded