On 1/3/20 9:34 AM, K9MA wrote:
On 1/3/2020 10:35, John Simmons wrote:
And now you can buy high-visibility antenna wire!
-de John NI0K
Many, many years ago when I was in college, I strung a piece of AWG 28
magnet wire out the window of my dorm room. The dark brown enamel was
almost invisible. When I had to replace it, all I could find was shiny
magnet wire. When the sun hit it, it looked like it was about a foot
wide. So much for stealth. Alas, I don't think you can buy that dark
brown magnet wire any more.
You can buy magnet wire in almost any color you want - but the minimum
purchase might be significant or there could be a setup charge if you're
looking for a weird color. But most wire manufacturers are set up to
coat arbitrary lengths of arbitrary wire in a variety of colors. One
use is when doing multifilar windings, so you know which winding is which.
Standard colors I've seen recently are green, blue, red, and a variety
of shades of tan from light to dark. In the latter (usually referred to
as "natural") you need to look at all the mfrs and find one that is
darker. (and trust that the picture is accurate, or get them to send you
a sample).
A lot depends on the insulation characteristics desired - a triple build
for mechanical ruggedness will tend to be "darker" than a single build.
And the different temperature ratings (and materials to get that rating)
also affect what's available.
I have seen bright pink and a sort of chartreuse color, too, in
so-called "art wire" where the insulation properties are totally unknown.
Of course, one could fairly easily paint your own wire, if you aren't
worried about the insulation properties.
I leave you with some wire porn from a local wire manufacturer near me
(mwswire.com)
https://mwswire.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/techbook2020.pdf
Just look all those gorgeous spools of wire, and the machinery that
makes it.
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