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Shielded 22 AWG?

Started by VagabondCrunch, October 07, 2023, 12:23:44 AM

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VagabondCrunch

Hello! New to the forum and relatively new to pedal building. I've built a few kits and have started to modify them.

I'll get straight to my silly question. Do any experienced pedal builders know if it's possible to buy shielded 22 AWG wire? Yes, I have Googled and I actually found some shielded 26 AWG on Amazon of all places. Looking for stranded wire shielding that so that I can make a rat tail to ground.

Seems like some modern high gain pedals are using input jacks that mount directly to the PCB. Can't have interference without any wire! So yeah, I'm not able do that just yet.

Apologies for the silly question. I really want to be sure that I'm not missing something. Thank you for any insight.

stallik

Welcome

Do you mean braided wire, used for grounding?
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

GibsonGM

Welcome to the forum!

I'm sure it's out there (never looked).  It might be a PITA to work with, being so fine, though.

I use the wire from old speaker cables, the "RCA" type with the barrel connectors. It's certainly a little bigger than 22 gauge, but is very flexible and works perfectly.
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davent

I bought years ago from John's Silver Plated PTFE Wire Shop on ebay. Teflon/Kapton insulation, lots of the small sizes of coax in various lengths.
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R.G.

Look up "RG174" coax.

I would sometimes buy thinner RCA cables at junkier retailers and cannibalize the internal thin shielded wires.
R.G.

In response to the questions in the forum - PCB Layout for Musical Effects is available from The Book Patch. Search "PCB Layout" and it ought to appear.

VagabondCrunch

Thank you everyone!

Quote from: stallik on October 07, 2023, 04:13:18 AMDo you mean braided wire, used for grounding?

Yes, this is what I am looking for. Is it possible to ground the shielding on coax?

The Ebay shop looks promising. I'll see what he has.

The RCA cable idea is intriguing. I have plenty of them in the ol' box of outdated connectors and adapters. One of them might be sacrificed soon. For science!

Thanks again. I appreciate the help.




GibsonGM

Yes, you twist and tin the braid, and connect it to ground at one end only - this makes the cable the equivalent of a wire passing thru a metal tube, part of the enclosure, so to speak.   

I haven't found anything better than RCA cable and the like...even wire from the old computer offboard mics, LOL. If there are 2 wires in it (stereo...), just snip the unused one or twist them together at both ends and treat them as one. 
  • SUPPORTER
MXR Dist +, TS9/808, Easyvibe, Big Muff Pi, Blues Breaker, Guv'nor.  MOSFace, MOS Boost,  BJT boosts - LPB-2, buffers, Phuncgnosis, FF, Orange Sunshine & others, Bazz Fuss, Tonemender, Little Gem, Orange Squeezer, Ruby Tuby, filters, octaves, trems...

andy-h-h

I occasionally use Belden installation cable, which has 22AWG cores.  BELDEN 8451 010100

It's a twisted pair with a foil shield - I cut what I need and slide out one of the unused cores for later use.   The drain wire makes for easy grounding.  Being an install cable it can be a bit stiff, but you can convince it to do what you need it to.  :icon_biggrin: