WTD: 50cm of 1.5-4mm insulated solid copper wire

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neb

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#294094 4-Mar-2022 13:39

Bit of an odd one, I'm after about half a meter of solid insulated copper wire between 1.5 and 4mm diameter. This seems to be unavailable here, everything I've got is stranded and everything available from the usual suspects, once you dig down far enough, is stranded too. One or two suppliers have said they could source some if I buy a 100m spool, but that's nuts to get half a metre. Anyone got a length where they could lop off about 50cm and drop it in an envelope?

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#2879079 4-Mar-2022 14:02

All of the Narva single core ones I've seen, once you dig down into the specs, are many, many small single cores not one thick single core. I've tried both "solid core" and "single core" as a search term and after getting suspicious with the first few lots which advertised sub-mm cores I started downloading spec sheets, couldn't find a single solid/single core cable that actually was.

Having said that, let me find the spec sheets for this stuff, it may actually be the real thing.

neb

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#2879085 4-Mar-2022 14:12

This is what I meant, from the manufacturer's web page, Narva Single Core 2mm Cable. Click on one of them, say the red one, and you get this. Scroll down a bit and the specs are:

Conductor cross section: 0.5mm2

Strand No./Dia.: 16/0.20

So it's 2mm single core cable made up of 16 single cores. All the other single cores I could find are the same.

I wonder if they'd take payment for their genuine single core cable that isn't really in roubles?

frankv

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#2879086 4-Mar-2022 14:13

I probably have some in my garage... where are you?

Older house wiring is single-core, and I'd guess at least 1.5mm.

Try searching for "copper rod 4mm"

Curious as to the application! Can you use a (say) 100mm solid copper tip soldered to a braided copper wire?

neb

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#2879092 4-Mar-2022 14:20

frankv:
I probably have some in my garage... where are you?

Older house wiring is single-core, and I'd guess at least 1.5mm.

Try searching for "copper rod 4mm"

Orkland, north shore. A standard postal envelope is ~22cm long so just a 40cm length folded in half in an envelope would do it, I can either send through postage or drop a gold coin on your behalf into an SPCA box.

Thought of getting copper rod but then I'd need to heat-shrink lengths of insulation onto it to protect it from corrosion, pre-clad would be easier to deal with. It's for an E-field sensor that'll be outside long-term, it's enclosed in a case but bare copper will still corrode eventually.

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#2879096 4-Mar-2022 14:29

E field sensor? Intriguing.........

I see due to challenges with the fixed sensor approach the field mill type was developed.

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#2879105 4-Mar-2022 14:44

elpenguino:
E field sensor? Intriguing.........

It's for this. Anyone else on here feeding into that?

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#2879115 4-Mar-2022 15:07

neb:
elpenguino:

E field sensor? Intriguing.........

It's for this. Anyone else on here feeding into that?

Neat. I didn't know the project included E-field measurements - that's something only one commercial network uses AFAIK.

I'm involved in the field (ha) happy to offer handy hints via PM if that's any help.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

neb

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#2879123 4-Mar-2022 15:20

There's about 4-5 sites in NZ feeding into that already, I'm just adding one more. That was the basis for the "I love the smell of solder in the morning" comment in another thread...

Actually might be useful to discuss here rather than in private in case others are interested, the main one currently is that for the E-field measurement the recommendation is to use a 1.5-4mm piece of solid copper wire, when all you can get here in larger diameters is stranded. Questions about using stranded have been met with "why don't you just go to your nearest hardware store and buy some 14AWG solid wire", I'm waiting for another time zone cycle to see if I get replies about solid vs. stranded.

The H-field sensing will be interesting, lots of ferrite winding in the near future, there's three sense amps for X, Y, and Z.

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#2879130 4-Mar-2022 15:49

OK I'll try to keep it more generic then.

I see there's already a sensor in the Auckland area, are you planning to use your sensor there too?

For the network's benefit, your new sensor would ideally be elsewhere e.g. South Island.

I see a sensor in Tauranga is currently detecting activity to the NW when the Auckland sensor does not - which shows you these sensors work much better in low RFI environments.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

neb

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#2879132 4-Mar-2022 15:52

This is ridiculous. Look at this listing from Bunnings, for example:

Nexas 2.5mm x 100m V90 Green/Yellow Conduit Cable

Conduit wire 2.5mm² single core

Suitable for fixed wiring of domestic and commercial circuits

Stranded copper conductors

And all of the "single core" or "solid core" cables are like this. Any sparkies able to comment on why, in NZ, stranded cable is regularly advertised as single core or solid core when it isn't?

neb

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#2879135 4-Mar-2022 15:59

elpenguino:
I see there's already a sensor in the Auckland area, are you planning to use your sensor there too?

For the network's benefit, your new sensor would ideally be elsewhere e.g. South Island.

I see a sensor in Tauranga is currently detecting activity to the NW when the Auckland sensor does not - which shows you these sensors work much better in low RFI environments.

Yeah, it's in Auckland, but in a reasonably low-RFI area, it's only been up for a day or two but I'm getting some pretty good low-noise readings with a few occasional spikes. However I don't have the correct E-field sensor setup yet, it's just 20AWG strung up in a side-building, not solid-core copper located further out from the house. For the H-field, the ferrites are on their way from Mouser so I expect to have them wound and up within the next week.

There's also a bunch of other considerations like powering it from a low-noise linear power supply, there's a 5V switchmode that seems to be popular with other people running feeds that can't be good for the signal quality, and in the forums you can see posts of waveforms from CFLs and other noise sources which are entirely absent here. So it's not just location it's also how carefully you set everything up.

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#2879138 4-Mar-2022 16:04

neb: This is ridiculous. Look at this listing from Bunnings, for example:
Nexas 2.5mm x 100m V90 Green/Yellow Conduit Cable Conduit wire 2.5mm² single core Suitable for fixed wiring of domestic and commercial circuits Stranded copper conductors
And all of the "single core" or "solid core" cables are like this. Any sparkies able to comment on why, in NZ, stranded cable is regularly advertised as single core or solid core when it isn't?

Single in that instance means that its not a twin cable. Its generally single double insulated for building other than the earth cable, and is used when you need to get a neutral back when you have some 3 core + earth to a load, or as a switched output from a sensor or something.

Solid core means its over some certain size, and is not classed as a flex cable for things like an extension cable, there are round solid core cables that get installed, but would be no good between a machine and the wall because they are not flex.

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#2879191 4-Mar-2022 17:32

Yeah, single core means it is one conductor, rather than say twin-and-earth.

1mm^2 building wire is generally single-strand here in NZ. I expect that would be fine for what they're proposing.

Solid-core generally means 'not suitable for flexing', and may still mean stranded.

If it absolutely must be larger single-strand, getting a meter of UK or US cable is likely to be the best option.

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#2879195 4-Mar-2022 17:34

There is an electric motor rewinder on the North Shore that claims to have copper wire up to 4mm, and sell in small quantities - North Shore Electric Motor Services

Alternatively, perhaps the windings out of an old transformer if you could fine one. Occasionally they appear on trademe.

neb

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#2879197 4-Mar-2022 17:36

Thanks, let me ping them. I'd found enamelled up to 1mm but you had to buy a spool of it, if they're consumers rather than retailers they may be able to supply a tiny amount rather than a full spool and that address isn't far from here.

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