Making RCA Cables?
05-16-2004, 08:41 AM
#21
Originally posted by Big Tom:
Sassmaster: Your right, shielding is only good if it's taken to ground. But the outside of the RCA connectors is ground, so you just connect ONE side of the shield to the outside of the RCA. I can't recall why you just do one... somthing to do with reflection in the wire and crap.
The odd one: Couple piece of advice if you are building your own
1) Idealy for full range interconnects/speaker cable the best thing to do is use multiple shielded smaller gauge wires (24ga is apparently the best) because with high frequencies you get whats called the skin effect, meaning the electricity flows on the outside of the wires (not down the center) and for the audio range 24ga has the most perfect circumfrence to carry that range of frequencies.
2) When you find your wire that you're going to use, make sure it's not a treated copper. An example would be like in alot of computer cables, the wires are actually silver in color and not copper.
And remember... these are just tips not written in stone rules. If you want to take some 4ga wire and stick some RCA ends on it and use it for interconnects you know what, it will probably work fine. Hell, I'm sure PEI330Ci has tested it! heh
just my 2 bits.
Sassmaster: Your right, shielding is only good if it's taken to ground. But the outside of the RCA connectors is ground, so you just connect ONE side of the shield to the outside of the RCA. I can't recall why you just do one... somthing to do with reflection in the wire and crap.
The odd one: Couple piece of advice if you are building your own
1) Idealy for full range interconnects/speaker cable the best thing to do is use multiple shielded smaller gauge wires (24ga is apparently the best) because with high frequencies you get whats called the skin effect, meaning the electricity flows on the outside of the wires (not down the center) and for the audio range 24ga has the most perfect circumfrence to carry that range of frequencies.
2) When you find your wire that you're going to use, make sure it's not a treated copper. An example would be like in alot of computer cables, the wires are actually silver in color and not copper.
And remember... these are just tips not written in stone rules. If you want to take some 4ga wire and stick some RCA ends on it and use it for interconnects you know what, it will probably work fine. Hell, I'm sure PEI330Ci has tested it! heh
just my 2 bits.
i really had no clue on how to make them,so some 24 gauge wire would be best???.so does the out side colour matter???
05-16-2004, 08:53 AM
#22
Yankee
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,599
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no did he say skin effect......
The outside colour is important to help you mr cable builder to not screw up: Keep the hot lead hot keep the return line the return line (this is called keeping the system In Phase).
The outside colour is important to help you mr cable builder to not screw up: Keep the hot lead hot keep the return line the return line (this is called keeping the system In Phase).
05-16-2004, 07:30 PM
#24
the skin effect is valid.. the higher the frequency, the closer to the outside of the strand it tends to run...ergo, stranded wire is much better for audio applications than solid wire, because it has more surface area.
That's why we use 60 Hz for our AC power systems, because the power runs in the center of the wire, and makes the best use of the amount of copper used.
That's why we use 60 Hz for our AC power systems, because the power runs in the center of the wire, and makes the best use of the amount of copper used.
05-17-2004, 09:17 AM
#25
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 206
Here's what i do
16 guage multi strand wire (two colors)
Put out the drill.
Stretch the wire for your length, and add about 1- 1.5 feet
Stick it in the drill.
Twist away.
Solder into you rca ends
Now for optimum twisted pair you need so many turns per foot, but I have built quite a few cars doing this and HAVE NEVER ran into noise. I have never closly monitored the twists per foor, but looking at a wire I have here it looks like about 6-9 turns per inch.
It's very easy to do. and saves you a bunch of money. In the end if they have noise chop off the ends and twist somemore.
I do know from trouble shooting cars that you need VERY good solder connections, and no bridges between signal and ground. These are the most common issue that cause noise. Also pinched cables that chop strands inside the jacket, and cut wires that ground to the car body.
Also 16 guage wire is so much larger than manufactured cables are made with. I remember some PG Zeropoint cables that we chopped once, it was like dental floss for wire in their...and the cables were like $80 for 15 feet ......lol
16 guage multi strand wire (two colors)
Put out the drill.
Stretch the wire for your length, and add about 1- 1.5 feet
Stick it in the drill.
Twist away.
Solder into you rca ends
Now for optimum twisted pair you need so many turns per foot, but I have built quite a few cars doing this and HAVE NEVER ran into noise. I have never closly monitored the twists per foor, but looking at a wire I have here it looks like about 6-9 turns per inch.
It's very easy to do. and saves you a bunch of money. In the end if they have noise chop off the ends and twist somemore.
I do know from trouble shooting cars that you need VERY good solder connections, and no bridges between signal and ground. These are the most common issue that cause noise. Also pinched cables that chop strands inside the jacket, and cut wires that ground to the car body.
Also 16 guage wire is so much larger than manufactured cables are made with. I remember some PG Zeropoint cables that we chopped once, it was like dental floss for wire in their...and the cables were like $80 for 15 feet ......lol
05-17-2004, 12:38 PM
#26
Guest
Posts: n/a
^ I agree. I use 16 or 18ga depending on what guage the wire I have is in the colours I want to use.
I find many prefab twisted pair cables to not only use wicked small conductors but also they only have a single turn per 1" to 2" [img]graemlins/freak.gif[/img] That's bogus.
Skin effect...
I find many prefab twisted pair cables to not only use wicked small conductors but also they only have a single turn per 1" to 2" [img]graemlins/freak.gif[/img] That's bogus.
Skin effect...
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