Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [awg]

American Wire Gauge (AWG), a standardized wire gauge system of wire gauges. A lower wire gauge denotes a higher wire diameter. Wire gauge determines properties of the wire such as its resistance per unit length and the amount of current it can carry.

American Wire Gauge (AWG), a standardized wire gauge system of wire gauges. A lower wire gauge denotes a higher wire diameter. Wire gauge determines properties of the wire such as its resistance per unit length and the amount of current it can carry.

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Why does the current carrying capability of a cable increase with temperature

I'm specifying cable for a VFD application and came across this table regarding NEC ampacities and corresponding cable size. What I found interesting is that the ampacity increased with temperature for any environment (Free Air, Single Tray,…
SRR
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AWG for connecting a USB

What is the recommended AWG size for connecting a USB male connector? The link from Instructables.com below uses only a spare LAN cable and no mention of the size: http://www.instructables.com/id/Creating-you-own-USB-cables/
user614454
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Why does same size AWG solid and stranded copper wire have such different resistance?

When I measure a stranded copper wire or see a resistance spec from mfg it is about 25% higher than what is listed in the tables I see online for solid copper wire. About 1 AWG difference. ex: 10 AWG stranded resistance is closer to that of 11 AWG…
NOYB
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Why does the max current capacity decrease with the number of cores for the same AWG?

I couldn’t find a similar or duplicate question yet but regarding this table for instance a 24 AWG wire can carry max 3.5A current if it is single core. But if it is seven core it can only carry max 1.4A. Am I interpreting the information wrong? Is…
user16307
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over current in 26 AWG (pulsed)

I am using a 26AWG wire for an application. As per specifications a 26 AWG wire can carry, 2Amps max. Supposing I connect a load of 3Amps. For how long will tis be sustained by the said wire ? The current is applied in pulses in this application,…
Board-Man
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Why do some wire gauge ampacity charts state vastly different current ratings?

This is a question that I've had for a while but have somehow managed to go without asking. Looking at all the wire gauge ampacity charts online, some of them appear to provide vastly different ratings for the same wire gauge. I understand this may…
Izzo
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Confusion regarding safe current limit for AWG #18

When I look into AMAZON for buying wires, the description claim that the AWG #18 150 strands wire can bear 7.5A current. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0746HRVZP/ref=twister_B0746HR9HZ?_encoding=UTF8&th=1 From the engineering toolbox website, I learned…
Msr09
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Cooling a wire to increase its current rating and lifespan

Say I have an 18 AWG wire that can stand 2.7 A. I need to use it for a much higher current than its rating, about 80 A (pulsed current for a few milliseconds). The wire will get hot more and more with each pulse over time. So if I made a cooling…
Tito
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wire gauge for prototyping board

I am learning to do electronics making a things like a 3d scanner and a CNC. I want to make my own board to control the steppers and I have got the stepper drives, prefboard, arduino, etc. The only part I am struggling on is the wire. 5 stepper -…
Stephen Mottershead
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Does the voltage affect the AWG wire size choice?

I read a lot of website and articles about how to choose the right wire size, this one for example, and all of them have a table with AWG size and a corresponding maximum amperage. However, they never talk about voltage. Let's say I need a wire for…
coxese5156
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In a 240 V "2-phase" wiring, how does current/amps get distributed?

It is my understanding that if I need to draw, for instance, 30 Amps from a 240 V circuit (Live-Live) then there will be 30 Amps running from both wires, not half and half. So, the AWG sizes for the wires should be something accord to that. The…
Rodrigo Gómez
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Is 22AWG wire appropriate for 144-LED WS2812B strips?

There is a question on a 1m set of WS2812B LEDs at 144 LEDs/meter (60mA/LED at peak brightness) about what gauge wire is used. The seller replies that the wire is 22 AWG (linked above). 144 * 60mA = 8.6A If this wire gauge chart is reasonably…
carbocation
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Determining minimum safe wire width at high amps in a DC 12V system

In a 12V DC system, given a particular maximum current and length of wire, what is the best method to determine the minimum width (gauge) of that wire? In particular, what method is best for high current levels and short lengths of wire? The…
intuited
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Suggestions for toggling between 3 voltage levels from 100MHz to 1 GHz, to generate square waves?

Can anyone suggest what would be some better ways(purchased with minimal work if possible) to generate square waves at 3 tunable voltage levels toggling arbitrarily(EDIT: as in a PRBS/PRBS7/PRBS31, DC balanced, the stream of PRBS can be predefined…
user5579188
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Choosing cables for high amperage

I'm having trouble choosing a wire gauge for a project I am working on that uses high amperage (100A) at 14.8V. From what I have read here, I think have to use at least 6 AWG to handle it. What's confusing is that I also have a hall sensor rated for…
otoomey
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