JohnG2000 Posted November 21, 2000 Share Posted November 21, 2000 I have ready several posts about rewiring the tweeter with 19 AWG silver wire from the crossover. What is the advantage of using such small wire? Wouldn't the increased resistance affect the output? Also, over time will the silver wire tarnish, creating a bad connection? Thanks, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted November 21, 2000 Share Posted November 21, 2000 I can see no technical reason why this will make any difference. Silver, I believe, has a slightly lower resistance than copper, given the wire gauge. However, please recall that the very dominant resistance in this loop is the winding of the tweeter. It is about 5 ohms. And the winding on the T-35 is copper. Gil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted November 21, 2000 Share Posted November 21, 2000 Thought silver was actually a higher resistence than copper, but silver oxide much better conductor than copper oxide. Do not have the book so can not say for sure. They seem to like silver a lot in UHF and above radio freq cavitys and strip lines where skin effect comes into play. Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Klappenberger Posted November 22, 2000 Share Posted November 22, 2000 Derek, Yes, microwave transmission line filters are usually plated in silver. It is almost as good to plate them in copper and then a very thin layer of silver over that to stop the copper from oxydizing. I have actually done that. Silver is only a little lower resistance than copper. Using a larger gauge copper wire will be better than a smaller wire of silver and a heck of a lot less expensive. I use #14 AWG wire intended for automotive use on my networks. Al K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG2000 Posted November 22, 2000 Author Share Posted November 22, 2000 Thanks guys! I could not see any benefit to using such small wire for the tweeter. I thought I would ask since it came so highly recommended in other posts. Klipsch uses large monster cable now, so I think I will save some money and use copper. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted November 27, 2000 Share Posted November 27, 2000 Yeah, I had to look it up to be sure. My reference says that copper has a resistivity of 1.724 microhms-cm. Silver has a resitivity of 1.628 microhms-cm. Thus Silver is a better conductor. This brings to mind that copper was in short supply during WW-II. Hence the steel pennies. The Manhattan Project borrowed 395 million troy ounces of silver from the U.S. Treasury for use as windings in cyclotrons. That is 13,540 tons. Interesting fact for the night. Gil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.