06-27-2008, 12:14 AM
Way back when - we used to use "bird wire" for replacement in the old radios that had the rubber wiring. Bird-wire was an open, unshielded telephone cable used in rural areas by some of the independent telcos. Usually about 4 pair. Conductor was 18 ga and the overall size was real close to the original rubber wire. It was just a bunch of pairs, colored, all twisted together and looked like a bird's nest, hence the name.
Talk about cheap
Haven't seen it anywhere for many years, though.
Nowadays I usually go with the 20ga cloth covered stuff from Radio Daze. I use a combination of stranded and solid depending on the application. I keep a bit of 18ga around as well but the 20 sees the most action. Ya gotta get the 'unrated' type. The UL-rated/600 volt stuff is way too bulky.
I once had a big coil of the cable like Tex is referring to. Some sort of surplus that I dragged home from somewhere. I got a LOT of use out of it. Guess it got tossed somewhere in my moving around cuz it ain't here now
Talk about cheap
Haven't seen it anywhere for many years, though.Nowadays I usually go with the 20ga cloth covered stuff from Radio Daze. I use a combination of stranded and solid depending on the application. I keep a bit of 18ga around as well but the 20 sees the most action. Ya gotta get the 'unrated' type. The UL-rated/600 volt stuff is way too bulky.
I once had a big coil of the cable like Tex is referring to. Some sort of surplus that I dragged home from somewhere. I got a LOT of use out of it. Guess it got tossed somewhere in my moving around cuz it ain't here now
