Yes I know there were posts about this but cannot find it. Ron mentioned a good source for cotton covered wire including an automotive parts dealer( I think) and I even looked on the sites but things got deleted!
The cotton covered wire above my chassis on my 444 and Volksempfanger are faded and kind of ratty. Why I don't know as they are only 83 and 86 years old??
Now for the gauge especially on the grid cap connector and various places under the chassis. Why so thin and a guess would be no more than a 1/16 of an inch diameter on the outside of the insulation whereas the other two grid cap connection wires are probably 16 gauge. The thin wire is for the PENDD61 and like other Philco pass through the rivet hole. Where is a good source and what are common colors? The schematics don't indicate colors either.
Try an auto restoration specialty house, one that makes wiring harnesses. There are at least three in the U.S...
Most wire is a 16 carrier cotton, rayon, linen or silk braid. Color change is 16 carrier bobbins. There are textile specialty suppliers for pre-loaded yarn that supply these braiders.
Problem is there is such an endless variation to braiding that the overhead in materials is often not cost effective. It takes someone with deep pockets to keep up a braid shop...
Chas
Pliny the younger
“nihil novum nihil varium nihil quod non semel spectasse sufficiat”
Be aware that the other challenge here is voltage rating. Several vendors sell cloth covered wire that is rated at 600V but it is way too thick to look authentic or even be practical in most 30s radios. Then there is specialty automotive wire which my be rated for 50V or even 32V - I have called and asked since it is usually not stated.
In many radios the manufacture used "push-back" wire where the insulation is not bonded to the conductor. This wire is also unrated. Radio Daze sells several colors of push-back wire which I have used in many restorations like the Stratospheres.
The thinner types of stranded, cloth covered wire are rated at 300V OR, unrated. This wire is best for connections that can experience some movement such as grid-cap conductors. This wire is also sold by Radio daze.
Routing is critical to using wire that is unrated or rated lower than the actual B+ voltages. Years ago, I used to turn chassis over, fire them up AND turn off the lights to watch for leakage/discharge (blue glow or sparks). While I have not used the low-rated automotive wire, if I did, I think I would go back to checking this way - or avoid using it if there is any alternative.
There is a "Quick Search" box at the top of every page on the Phorum. Please take time to try it out.
Granted, it isn't the best search in the world but sometimes it can be quite useful.
A "Quick Search" for "cotton covered wire" turned up several hits. A search for "cloth covered wire" turns up even more hits, including my thread on the 38-690 restoration I believe you were speaking of (no, it was not deleted).
Here's a basic list of the Radio Manufactures Association (RMA) wiring color code for electronics. This is fairly standard among most manufactures. When used it makes troubleshooting easier and easier to follow the wiring. I know that the US built Philco's didn't follow these colors very closely in the 30's. No red, blue, and brown speaker wires they use white, green, and green/white.
The outside diameter Radiodazes standard sized cloth covered wire is pretty large, to my eye it's way too big. I bought a selection of it yrs ago and have used very little of it. Just yesterday I ordered a roll of the small profile wire that Bob mentioned. I'm curious how thick it is. Have a few projects that need some rewiring but it needs to look right.
When my pals were reading comic books
I was down in the basement in my dad's
workshop. Perusing his Sam's Photofoacts
Vol 1-50 admiring the old set and trying to
figure out what all those squiggly meant.
Circa 1966
Now I think I've got!
many vendors out there who sell list 1 and list 3 cotton covered wire.
i recommend when possible to upgrade to RHH/RHW type. ive seen that pull back wire stuff and its kinda usually found when there is a solid interior single conductor.
you find "pull back wire" in cars where there is a fuse link typically tied to the starter relay.
Old stoves and washing machines actually have the color bands more "like" radios.
i noticed in our 1975 magic chef stove, the tracer on th wires are bands and / or spiral "dashes".
i am not a purist on these things so i may not be helping.
P.S. The thick stuff (600V) is good for (recommended) a lot of 20s radios such as in AK, metal box, power supplies which can see 800V or more, at times. Often, I paint on the dots/dashes.
And here it is for any other members looking for info. Other than the wire with tracer stripe found at enginebarn Radiodaze has wire in lighter gauge at 600volts. https://enginebarn.myshopify.com
Some of these were also located in other forums as well
Phlogiston thanks for the info but regarding the blue glow radiating around the wires? That shouldn't be a problem anymore but instead a bonus as if you look in the listings for the latest computers and hardware everybody has their computers lit up like Christmas trees. Power supply, front cooling fans, mother boards and the power supply I ended up glows red but big deal I don't have Windows on my side covers. Glowing wires will give these old timers a modern touch.
(This post was last modified: 12-17-2018, 03:21 PM by Philco444.)
Excellent and as it turns out these are early automotive wire types made close to what is required just like what my 1950 Mercury uses and earlier. Some of the sorces including eBay sellers indicated to me the wire is 1/8 " on the outside so perhaps this is 16/18 gauge depending on the thickness of the rubber and cotton. Certainly better than being so thick that it wasn't being used mentioned by Radioroslyn and I will keep picking through the list of sorces provided thanks to Sam so at least I know about them now.
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