 SmokChsrWho let the magic smoke out?Premium
join:2006-03-17
Saint Augustine, FL | reply to lutful
Re: Cable gauge said by lutful:You don't need to explain "it" ... "it" is exactly opposite of whatever I suggested, right? nahh, Wasn't picking on you particularly, just the overall tone of the thread. 
I just love the "High Definition" speaker cables. I'll bet by printing that on the jacket it makes them sound so much clearer. Or would it mean they can only be used for HDTV audio?
I used some #12 speaker cable for aux & radio power in my truck just because I liked the feel of it (very soft & very complient). I ran it into a euro strip for distribution to a rack of radios & other things, so I doubt I screwed it down tight enough to get all the air out. It's protected by a 30A fuse, and when I key up with the 50W radio voltage drop is about 0.3V, I'm happy.  |
|
 SparkChaserPremium
join:2000-06-06
Downingtown, PA
kudos:3
 ·Verizon FiOS
| said by SmokChsr:I just love the "High Definition" speaker cables. I'll bet by printing that on the jacket it makes them sound so much clearer.
The only thing that would make them better is if they had Monster on there, too.
--
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." - Aldous Huxley
"The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." - Neil deGrasse Tyson |
|
| reply to lutful
said by lutful:Are you going to twist the silver and copper strands together? They have very good chemistry. A 14 awg silver cable? How much does THAT cost and how much per pound will I get for scrapping it?
Seriously though, it's more likely the "silver" is just tinned copper, used to make it easy to tell the HF and LF wires apart. I see it all the time in "clear" speaker wire where one of the 2 wires is "silver" and the other is uncoated copper.
/M |
|
|
|
lutful... of ideasPremium
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON Reviews:
 ·TekSavvy DSL
1 edit | said by mackey:Seriously though, it's more likely the "silver" is just tinned copper Good brands are using strands of silver plated OFC copper and will mention thickness in spec. Varies from 10 micron to 100 micron.
*** Here is a document about silver/copper galvanic corrosion:
»nepp.nasa.gov/docuploads/9716420···ague.pdf |
|
SmokChsrWho let the magic smoke out?Premium
join:2006-03-17
Saint Augustine, FL | Interesting, but unless I read it wrong, it indicated that the corrosion was initiated by high end insulation, also that in worst case situations it only affected 3% of the conductors in the cable.
Basically that would pretty much say it's not really a problem for normal applications. I use quite a bit of RG-400 (Silver plated, PTFE insulated) coax for my high end test cables. I've never seen any indication of trouble. I'll look a bit closer look next time I work with it, but considering the far superior test results of that cable compared to plain copper I don't expect to change anytime soon. |
|
SmokChsrWho let the magic smoke out?Premium
join:2006-03-17
Saint Augustine, FL | reply to joel321
What would actually be of assistance is the RMS power rating of the amp and the current draw of the HID, that the OP hasn't said.
If the area is equivalent to 4, then with all 4 attached well at both ends, it should make a good 4 ga wire, or if you want to derate it a bit call it a 5. Although it might actually work better since it will have more surface area to dissipate heat. |
|
| reply to mackey
said by mackey:Seriously though, it's more likely the "silver" is just tinned copper, used to make it easy to tell the HF and LF wires apart. I am quite willing to bet you are correct and those "silver" conductors are either tinned or nickle plated. |
|
2 edits | reply to SmokChsr
said by SmokChsr:Interesting, but unless I read it wrong, it indicated that the corrosion was initiated by high end insulation, also that in worst case situations it only affected 3% of the conductors in the cable. And considering what the OP is working with not relevant.
Basically that would pretty much say it's not really a problem for normal applications. I use quite a bit of RG-400 (Silver plated, PTFE insulated) coax for my high end test cables. I've never seen any indication of trouble. I'll look a bit closer look next time I work with it, but considering the far superior test results of that cable compared to plain copper I don't expect to change anytime soon.
|
|
lutful... of ideasPremium
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON Reviews:
·TekSavvy DSL
1 edit | reply to SmokChsr
said by SmokChsr:Interesting, but unless I read it wrong, it indicated that the corrosion was initiated by high end insulation ... Galvanic corrosion is a REAL WORLD problem. »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_corrosion
FYI we are talking about the metal pairs exposed to the environment. Moisture (eventually) gets in ... the rest is physics and chemistry.
»events.nace.org/library/corrosio···lver.asp
When silver is plated over copper there can be an accelerated corrosion of the copper, through galvanic action, at pinholes or breaks in the silver plating. It is then susceptible to the formation of cuprous oxide when stored or used in a moist or high humidity environment.
Earlier in this thread, I linked to an old post with a table for the electrochemical potential difference for various metal pairs. Here is a more comprehensive table: »www.engineeringtoolbox.com/elect···482.html |
|
| said by lutful:When silver is plated over copper there can be an accelerated corrosion of the copper, through galvanic action, at pinholes or breaks in the silver plating. Your assuming it's silver and not just lead tinned copper. |
|
| reply to mackey
said by mackey:Seriously though, it's more likely the "silver" is just tinned copper, used to make it easy to tell the HF and LF wires apart. I see it all the time in "clear" speaker wire where one of the 2 wires is "silver" and the other is uncoated copper.
If it's a regular speaker wire, then chances are good that it is not a silver coated copper. If it's an expensive speaker wire, than it could be silver plated Cu. If it's some wire for RF use, then it may very well be a silver clad copper.
--
Wacky Races 2012! |
|
SmokChsrWho let the magic smoke out?Premium
join:2006-03-17
Saint Augustine, FL | reply to lutful
said by lutful:FYI we are talking about the metal pairs exposed to the environment. Moisture (eventually) gets in ... the rest is physics and chemistry. In my experience, silver plated copper wire works better than plain copper in the short and long haul. If you want to worry about this by all means please do, I'm not planning on loosing an sleep over it anytime soon.
In the world of high power broadcast, (my area) we use lots and lots of silver plated copper, not just as wire, but also in sheets, pipes, coax fittings,etc.. to date (after doing this for 35 years) I have not seen a single failure that could even remotely be related to this. |
|
lutful... of ideasPremium
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON Reviews:
·TekSavvy DSL
| reply to aurgathor
said by aurgathor: ... chances are good that it is not a silver coated copper. If it's an expensive speaker wire, than it could be silver plated Cu. If it's some wire for RF use, then it may very well be a silver clad copper. Google using keywords "silver speaker wire" ... most of the result pages mention this exact phrase "silver plated OFC copper strands" and some provide the micron thickness of the silver plating.
The "silver clad" and "silver coated" phrases also mean "silver plated" ... many copper strands are electroplated in parallel in a fully automated process. |
|
| reply to joel321
Everything is working good now...the “big three” plus I upgraded components (look at picture) plus used 11g cable I used for the “big three” for speaker wire = my problems fixed.
I was reading that I would have to buy another battery to solve that. I didn't want to go through all that trouble...but this did the trick.
Regarding the cable being silver plated or tinned plated, I'm willing to do some tests to see if it is in fact silver plated. I just need to figure out how to test it  ...will google. |
|
