Best wire for PCBs?

[therockdemon]

I'm building my first PCB and was wondering about what to look for with buying hookup wire.  In measuring my the leads on my components, I'm around .022" or .023" in diameter.  The etched holes on my board appear to be about .037" in diameter (I assume a .039" - .040" drill bit is appropriate).  I plan to use a .039" or .040" drill bit on my holes.  It seems that the general concensus reading online is 22 awg (0.0253") which is right in the ball park of my component lead measurements.

Upon reading around further online, it seems that I want solid copper wire that has been pre tinned.  Does anybody have good links to such wire in my required diameter?  I did find 22awg at radioshack, but I'm not confident this has been tinned?  I have my preferred link below (hopefully 300 volt cable is enough for my 9 volt battery, lol) but was wondering about your suggestions.  I'm using only quality materials, and would like to be corrected when I'm not!  I have a $25 digital multimeter for testing cable if necessary (newbie at this as well).

[Kesh]

Do you mean hook up within the pcb or from pcb to off board?

Some people hate solid as it can snap, particularly at the point where your wire strippers cut the insulator. Solid is only recommended for anything that absolutely definitely is not going to flex.

I use multicore, in al kinds of pretty colours for off board, and solid for jumpers on the pcb.

[Mark Hammer]

"Best" will always be a matter of contention.  If one is building something for the umpteenth time, where all lengths and layout have been predetermined, then yes, solid wire can provide a clean professional-looking layout.  If you're making something for the first time (which your post suggests you are), a built-in fudge factor is helpful.  Personally, I'm partial to the #24 pre-bonded stuff that Small Bear carries.  The pre-bonding makes it easy to tin, and keeps the strands clustered tightly for insertion into drilled holes.  Even though #22 is obviously more robust, #24 is thick enough to do the job, and it turns corners extremely well, not to mention twisting together neatly.  Finally, I like to buy the "variety pack" - having lots of colours help to differentiate things easily, especially if you've gotten halfway through building something and had to set it aside for a bit.

[LucifersTrip]

Some people hate solid as it can snap, particularly at the point where your wire strippers cut the insulator.

solid will also pull up the traces on the pcb

[Kesh]

Personally, I'm partial to the #24 pre-bonded stuff that Small Bear carries. 

if anyone knows where to get this in uk...?

[PRR]

> wire that has been pre tinned

It's a ton cheaper to buy plain copper, touch it to the iron (in a holder), and touch solder to the wire.

[killerkev]

the absolute best wire I have worked with I get from Small Bear #24 pre-bond. It is most forgiving when everything goes to hell and your troubleshooting for months (it seems). Regular copper wire wil break after a week of troubleshooting:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=85
SKU# 0508

[Jdansti]

#22 stranded for me. It just takes a second to tin it.  I've used solid, but I end up moving off-board components around so much that I usually break one or more wires. Stranded is very forgiving, especially of it's in a pedal that's going to get jarred around while gigging.

[G. Hoffman]

Always stranded, and I'll tin it myself, even if it is already tinned (it corrodes), so why spend the extra money?


Gabriel

[Pyr0]

24awg stranded for me, I like thin wire.

[waltk]

I like 22awg stranded because it can withstand rough handling while testing.

[Beo]

24 awg stranded for me. I almost exclusively use teflon / ptfe wire and a Patco PTS-30 thermal stripper. This wire is awesome, the jacket never melts when soldering and the thermal stripper ensures no nicks or loose cutoff strands.

I just finished an order with Steve at Apexjr.com, and his prices on wire are excellent. He also has a lot of other great components for pedal building. His website is a bit oldschool, but he responded to all my emails quickly, and I got my shipment in two days. I highly recommend.

Travis

[amptramp]

I have used 30-gauge wire-wrap wire for connections from one place to another on a pre-patterned board.  It is single strand, solders easily and you can fit more than one in a typical through hole.  The kynar insulation doesn't show any distress from soldering heat and the small gauge keeps capacitance to a minimum.  It is a little more fragile going off board, but if you are confident that you only need to flex the wire a few times and not through a very great angle, it may work.

[G. Hoffman]

24 awg stranded for me. I almost exclusively use teflon / ptfe wire and a Patco PTS-30 thermal stripper. This wire is awesome, the jacket never melts when soldering and the thermal stripper ensures no nicks or loose cutoff strands.
Travis

Much the same fore me, though I've been using push-back cloth stuff in my guitars for a while now, and that's even better, since you don't have to cut anything at all!  Well, not better, but also very good.


Gabriel

[Jdansti]

24 awg stranded for me. I almost exclusively use teflon / ptfe wire and a Patco PTS-30 thermal stripper. This wire is awesome, the jacket never melts when soldering and the thermal stripper ensures no nicks or loose cutoff strands.

I just finished an order with Steve at Apexjr.com, and his prices on wire are excellent. He also has a lot of other great components for pedal building. His website is a bit oldschool, but he responded to all my emails quickly, and I got my shipment in two days. I highly recommend.

Travis

Teflon is good at high temps but is pretty expensive.  At work, we have to use Teflon heat shrink on some process equipment wiring that gets pretty hot.

Hmmm... Thermal stripper... Makes me think of pol-arity dancing...