Magnet wire sources

[Erik Mandaville]

This may be a 'shot in the dark,' but I was wondering if there may be some knowledge regarding sources for magnet wire at reasonable prices. A recent crossover project and research is resulting in inductance figures that have been between commonly available values, and I'm going to start winding my own. If I'm going to invest in passive networks, coils are without a doubt where I would put my money, and lots of experimentation doesn't lend itself to commercial options and related shipping costs.

Any help is appreciated,

Erik

[Deang]

https://www.thewireman.com/wirep.html

[BEC]

Also:

http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/a35.cfm

 The prices are shocking if you haven't bought any copper for awhile.  Now it is a "precious" metal.

 Bob

 

[Deang]

I read a while back that the copper in a penny is worth more than the penny.

[whamo]

I read a while back that the copper in a penny is worth more than the penny.

Yes Dean that is true. If you scratch the surface of a new penny you'll see that it's not made out of copper at all. It's merely copper plated. They switched over a l while ago. I forget when the change took place. Mark

[Erik Mandaville]

Thanks.

I've found some decent prices for 18AWG. The #10 and #12 wire sizes are on the high side for air cores (lots of turns.) My dad is always fun to talk with about this, and he mentioned some good sources for toroid cores. Always wanted to try them in low pass sections. He also told me about a very accurate inductance meter he built from an available kit. "Radio builders swear by them." he said. Tolerances are probably a little more critical in that application, though, and the meter I have is good for about 2% up to a couple of mH.

And off topic, but this week he shipped this to me! One of the ancestors of hi fi. I saw it an AZ when I was visiting there, and was going to rebuild with new parts, but he did the work for me. From the 1930s, it's amazing how clean and clear this thing sounds compared to the old radios I have from the 1920s.

For the amp guys, this thing uses PP 6F6s in the output stage, and is rectfied with a 5Y4G mounted right on top of the power transformer. It also uses a negative filtered power supply (don't connect that filter cap to ground!). I recently worked on a modern 2A3 SET amp that used this, and was kind of dumbfounded by it until I realized what it was. The more I learn about tube amps, the more I realize how much of what's being done today has already been done.

A picture just for something different to look at this Saturday morning:

[Erik Mandaville]

And the chassis:

You can see the small modern OPT under the speaker coil. He took the original one out for his own, floorstanding model using a 12" driver. That thing can fill a large room with amazingly clear, undistorted sound. Philco was among the first to use sloped baffles, too. We see those now all the time, but the origins of designs from Thiel, Usher, and others goes way back.

[Deang]

I love old stuff, that's so cool.

[Strabo]

I read a while back that the copper in a penny is worth more than the penny.

Yes Dean that is true. If you scratch the surface of a new penny you'll see that it's not made out of copper at all. It's merely copper plated. They switched over a l while ago. I forget when the change took place. Mark

I don't remember exactly if it was 1982 or 1983 but pennies made before that time were all copper. I've been filling a jar with 1981 and older pennies.

[oldtimer]

The change to zinc pennies was during 1982. Some 82's are copper, some are the newer zinc style. Give the 82's a ping test for the quickest way without a scale. Zinc has a dull sound while copper will have more of a ring.