American wire gauge (AWG) question

[Dave Frederickson]

(12-10-2018 03:06 PM)albertofenini Wrote:  Thank you very much, Esben,

I'm looking for a table that goes from AWG to external diameter of the cable (including insulation)

The battery compartment of an HP-65 has a red and black wire which is 1 mm thick,
inclusive of the insulation

what AWG is that ?

Thanks again Alberto

The AWG size of a wire is a measure of the cross sectional area of the conductor. For a given AWG size, a solid wire will have the smallest cross sectional area and a stranded wire, with air gaps between the strands will have a larger cross sectional area. Insulation thicknesses vary and will add a varying amount to the overall diameter.

When selecting wire, two primary considerations are current carrying capacity and voltage drop. So a longer wire needs a smaller AWG and a smaller AWG will heat up less than a larger AWG wire and a longer wire needs to have a smaller AWG to reduce the voltage drop.

Bottom line is that anything around 26-30 AWG will work fine.

If you're using wire to repair PCB traces, flattening the strand with a pair of pliers keeps it from rolling around while soldering.

Dave