[jcassity]

as i muddle through my 46-1226 radio, i hatched and idea from another thread where people were looking to source wire for the sake of originality.

we can all agree that a lot of this tech needs some degree of moderniztion / ugrading to help its survival for another 100 years.

so,, if you need wire but you *dont mind* if the wire is cloth covered, then here is what i am doing.

to keep the color coding correct to the diagrams, you can get a wire harness from just about any junk car out there and especially the harness that goes to the EEC.

that harness will consist of dozens of wire color cominations.

[Warren]

Now, if.I'm not mistaken most car wiring is rated.for.apprx.12v... These old radios use voltages in the hundreds of volts. Are we sure.this would be safe?

[Nathan Slingerland]

It's hard to be sure about junk car wire harnesses since the wire would vary between manufacturers, but here's a related previous discussion about using reproduction automotive wire for creating the speaker cable on older Philcos:

http://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread.php?tid=12753

[jcassity]

Now, if.I'm not mistaken most car wiring is rated.for.apprx.12v... These old radios use voltages in the hundreds of volts. Are we sure.this would be safe?

yup,, your mistaken.  this is by wheelhouse.

Table 310.16 or 310.17 NEC , take your pick even at 75degC.

no company in thier right mind would ever manufacture a wire for a certain voltage.

The higher the voltage the smaller the wire can be.
walk ouside and take a look at the top tier of the telephone poles... thats the "high" line,, lucky if its even 1/0 alumninm.

the wire is 0-2000v standard issue.,, across the board for anything we do from your microwave, printer, soldering iron, lamp, lights in the house ect.

low voltage such as telecom facilities running -48v plants is where you gotta start compensating for no greater than 2v loss across the loop.

so in a nutshell, the wires in any car old or new offer a solution to color coding in a wide array of color combos.

Copper is copper,, ,, circular millimeters of copper has no care in the world what the voltage is.

[Warren]

Well, wire is rated for different voltages, or amperage. Thats why your house wiring has to be. Certain size . Usually amperage, so it won't burn up using something that takes a.higher amperage, , I guess should have said amps.Radios use a higher a amperage also than cars. Was just something to think about , the wire will definitely burneed if it's not the right size espescially in ac circuits. Good luck

[Ron Ramirez]

Actually, the average circuit in a car uses much higher current than a typical circuit in a radio. Exceptions are the heater (filament) string, especially in radios using 2.5 volt tubes.

[Ukhorse]

That response brings a question to mind I have.  In a Philco 70 for the plate cap wirings, do you think I can get away with 22 awg cloth pushback wiring ?
It looks like the gage that's in there is lower (20,18 ?), but the cloth cover is thinner than other wiring in the radio, not sure of what to use.
I have the 22 awg pushback laying around is why I ask.  TIA

[Arran]

Those are grid caps, low voltage and low current, you can use cloth covered solid pushback wire if you want to but stranded wire will last longer, even if solid wire was original.
Regards
Arran

[Arran]

I believe that we are discussing two separate factors involved in wire selection, there is current and then there is voltage. Other then the heater wiring all of the circuitry in a radio is low current, some of it is high voltage but low current, some is low current and low voltage. In terms of current considerations the thicker the wire the more current it can handle, car wiring is usually low voltage 6/12 volts, but is often high current lit 10-40 amps, the gauge of the wire isn't usually a problem but the insulation might be.
Regards
Arran

[Warren]

Actually, the average circuit in a car uses much higher current than a typical circuit in a radio. Exceptions are the heater (filament) string, especially in radios using 2.5 volt tubes.

Good to know....

[jcassity]

these radios dont have enough amperage pull to even come close to blowing up any of the wires even in factory configs.
now if for some reason the voltage is stepped down,, well the current flow may be in question ,, i speculate 18-20ga on the interior is well inside the safety limits

wire needs one thing to be designed for the application and thats Watts.
P=I*E

insulation yes,, a factor especially when its location is near a known hot spot, yet i cant see you going wrong very easy with todays modern insulation designs.

[Kestas]

Well, wire is rated for different voltages, or amperage.

I believe the voltage rating depends on the insulation.