Cable!

stevelewis

stevelewis

Registered
Anyone who has read my posts may know that i always advocate having multiple feeds to garden lines whether Digitsl or analogue.

As i am in the process of laying a new line in the garden i have a need for quite a bit of cable, I always use speaker cable usually obtained from local hardware stores, so I called in at my local store Monday to buy some but found they were pot of stock, I was advised they were un likely to get any as sales had been poor due to drop off of demand due to the market now focussing on wireless speaker systems.

The last time I bought any it was 29p per metre.

So I went on eBay and searched speaker cable, found several suppliers i used one called ELECTROSMART, Hartlepool TS25 5SQ.

20 metres £4.99 POST FREE it arrived to day
It is very good quality around the same thickness as the LGB cables and as can be seen in the pic colour coded.AND cheaper than what I had paid locally001.JPG
 
A slightly off-topic comment: this year I have reworked part of my layout (outside) and on re-using some of the cable, discovered that it has deteriorated. The colour of some of the coating, especially red, had faded, and the actual wires have lightly corroded within the sheathing so that soldering even recently-stripped wire is very difficult, despite using liquid flux as well as multicore, and I have had to use new cable in places. Strangely, only red and black wires show this problem, orange and white seeming to be ok. Most of the wire came from RadioSpares, some is not branded. Incidentally, some LGB red wire is now virtually colourless.
 
When we moved house a few years ago and I lifted my garden line which had evolved over many years, I filled around 4 black plastic dustbin bags with cable! The line had been digital for around 6 or 7 years but previously was analogue hence there was a lot of redundant cable in the digital era which i just left in place, I think some of the cable was in a poor state BUT when lifted the line was still working OK.

The whole period that some of the cable was in situ must have been around 15 years, so I think that although old cable may look faded and some corrosion occurs after time has elapsed, the actual function of it may not be a major problem
 
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Cable_Index/Speaker_and_Bell_Wire/index.html

Remember Prices + Vat
 
Yes, the red and black spools of cable have been sitting in my (dry) loft for over 20 years and some of what is now outside may have been used on my indoor layout before that. It's just the soldering issue that's the problem.
 
I bought it a long time ago - one spool is marked "10p per metre", two more recent spools came heavily reduced from Maplins. I don't think they even had a shop round here when I bought the early stuff. I've also got some thin stuff marked "4p a metre" (or possibly yard)! (Or possibly even 4d a yard- not used any of that lately.).. And even further off topic, I've finally, after even more hair loss...found a short - a single strand of multistrand wire was bridging two terminals on the back of a miniswitch, happily carrying 20v. between two sections.
 
ELECTROSMART, Hartlepool?????

After the Napoleonic Wars, monkey incident, I was assured that smart was banned from the local vocabulary ;) :D ;D

Never mind hat, coat and door.

Tin hat and dive for cover!!!!!
 
Hmm, wires. As the on-going resurrection of The Plank continues I have found several of the Pico point motors need remounting. Sadly I have found out that in the intervening ten years since The Plank was started and today my soldering skills have not advanced one iota, I can still skilfullly burn my fingers without touching the wire that needs to be soldered. >:(
 
Nodrog1826 said:
After the Napoleonic Wars, monkey incident,........
Click to expand...

Well that's what I like about this forum - you learn something new every day ! It just isn't what you were expecting.

On the cable front, I got a reel of speaker wire from Maplins years ago, but the core was a bit mean, so I've gone back to single cable. I've had the corrosion issue as well - everythings fine until something breaks and you find you can't resolder. My problem was with dry joints so I've tried to be a lot more careful. I'd love to try the graphite grease but some of my track is over 30 years old and won't really clean up enough. I'm going off visible track bonds, so I'm going to try concealed ones this time and see how it goes.
 
Well I used some of my 20metres up already today, so will have to order some more
I must add that although I am using digital (have done for years) and digital is 'supposed' to reduce wiring etc, i quite like wiring especially when the sun is shining, so i shall continue to do so, making sure of course all the digital feeds are well hidden under the ballast!! ::)
 
The main power cables on my track are a over kill by most standards for those in know it's old colours Fp200, Well I had to use it up somewhere.
 
I have burnt my fingers many times today, soldering N Type Plugs on RG8 Foam ready for VHFNFD Contest, If theres any fellow hams about that fancy coming down to Capel-le-ferne and joining In they'd be made welcome
 
sparky230 said:
The main power cables on my track are a over kill by most standards for those in know it's old colours Fp200, Well I had to use it up somewhere.
Click to expand...
Ah, 'pretend' pyro.. SO much easier to work on, but less impressive to the un-initiated.. ;)
 
Must be 10yrs since did any pyro, still have the tools thou
 
The best wire I ever bought was from Lidl.

Titter you may - but it was oxygen-free twin speaker wire with a generous core. No internal corrosion there! Most of my wiring outside is 2-core 1.0mm flex threaded through hosepipe. Normal speaker wire tends to corrode under the insulation outside.

Never seen this product offered again. Now I have none left :(
 
I used Speaker Cable on my line at Hemel and moved it on to my current line. Indeed the ends were pretty well unsolderable on the new line without some serious cleaning of the ends. In the end I found it easier to chop off a foot or so where the wire was found to be uncoroded. There is probably a chart somewhere that corelates the Oxidisation of Wire compared to the Section and Time oudoors. Chance for a Uni Student Thesis here me thinks. Any offers?

Interesting re the Lidl Wire. Might be worth a watch out as it may appear again at some time, if I see it at my local Lidl will give a warning. As my local Lidl is 5 mins walk, I use it as my main Supermarket so sneak in there most weeks once or twice.
JonD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top