Will doubling my wires make the gauge bigger?

[jimcllc]

If I take 2 sections of 16ga wire, Lay them side by side(not end to end) and wire the ends together will I then be making a gauge thicker to minimize voltage drop for power injection?

 

[i13]

Yes but don't do it for any data wires. Doubling the wires will halve the voltage drop.

 

[AAH]

Yes it definitely will. You need to make sure you are supplying both 0V and 5V (or 12V) power injection and not just the "power" wire. I added a bit of info to the latest ACL 101 on selecting cable sizes and calculating what sizes and voltage drops etc.

 

[multicast]

Yes, but it will also potentially create other issues, you might get a lot of Common Mode noise. Your milage will vary, if you have to use two bits of wire, side by side.. Join them in several places along the line. not just at the ends.

 

[jimcllc]

I'm thinking of doing this from the P12S to my pixel strand of 25 5v Ws2811 mini tree to mini tree to mini tree for a total of 6 trees 150 pixels. I'll inject power after 50, 100, and at the end.
Not exactly sure of distance yet but am guessing 10-15 feet but thinking doubling the wire might help boost the power. I'll be using orange outdoor extension cords. They are all as you buy them, will that help shield the noise and other problems?

 

[BradsXmasLights]

I've done this heaps throughout my display as I got a big roll of multicore cable cheap. Also allows reconfiguration back to separate cores down the track if required.


No problems so far!

 

[mararunr]

So the joining at multiple points is what I must have been missing in my display this year. I just ran the whole length and only joined at each end. Did get some unexpected results. What would be the longest you would recommend going before joining together and then moving on?

 

[fasteddy]

So the joining at multiple points is what I must have been missing in my display this year. I just ran the whole length and only joined at each end. Did get some unexpected results. What would be the longest you would recommend going before joining together and then moving on?

This depends on a few factors including the length of the cable and the guage of the cable, but a general rule is
50 lights with 5 volts strings
120 lights with 12v strings
Inject between each strip using 5v
Inject at the beginning of the 3rd strip but back inject into the second strip when using 12v

 

[firebug]

So the joining at multiple points is what I must have been missing in my display this year. I just ran the whole length and only joined at each end. Did get some unexpected results. What would be the longest you would recommend going before joining together and then moving on?

This depends on a few factors including the length of the cable and the guage of the cable, but a general rule is
50 lights with 5 volts strings
120 lights with 12v strings
Inject between each strip using 5v
Inject at the beginning of the 3rd strip but back inject into the second strip when using 12v

I think what mararunr is asking is involving the actual injection cables and not the strip. I too ran 6 core cable for the injection (using 3 and 3 twisted together), one of them being 14m long. Should I/we twist the wires together again at certain intervals along the wire or will each end be enough? I realise gauge and length are contributing factors but maybe just as a general rule? Or doesn't it make any difference??

 

[fasteddy]

So the joining at multiple points is what I must have been missing in my display this year. I just ran the whole length and only joined at each end. Did get some unexpected results. What would be the longest you would recommend going before joining together and then moving on?

This depends on a few factors including the length of the cable and the guage of the cable, but a general rule is
50 lights with 5 volts strings
120 lights with 12v strings
Inject between each strip using 5v
Inject at the beginning of the 3rd strip but back inject into the second strip when using 12v

I think what mararunr is asking is involving the actual injection cables and not the strip. I too ran 6 core cable for the injection (using 3 and 3 twisted together), one of them being 14m long. Should I/we twist the wires together again at certain intervals along the wire or will each end be enough? I realise gauge and length are contributing factors but maybe just as a general rule? Or doesn't it make any difference??

It makes absolutly no difference because its the guage of the cable that is important, by adding additional cores you are then reducing the resistance of the overall length and increasing the current capacity of the cable run, so twisting the cores together at intervals will have no effect

Ohms law is very important in this hobby, so we can see how the guage and length of a cable (resistance) and the current (amps) flowing down that cable play a critical role in determining voltage drop

Volts = current x resistance

So as you can see this is very important and Ohms law is the general rule because everyone will have different currents and different guages and lengths of cables.

The less current and less reistance will equal less voltage drop

 

[mararunr]

Yes, but it will also potentially create other issues, you might get a lot of Common Mode noise. Your milage will vary, if you have to use two bits of wire, side by side.. Join them in several places along the line. not just at the ends.

So joining them in several places along the line has no effect? Sorry for dragging this on, just trying to learn.

 

[fasteddy]

Yes, but it will also potentially create other issues, you might get a lot of Common Mode noise. Your milage will vary, if you have to use two bits of wire, side by side.. Join them in several places along the line. not just at the ends.

So joining them in several places along the line has no effect? Sorry for dragging this on, just trying to learn.

Just dont join multiple wires for the data this will cause issues

 

[Fing]

Yes, but it will also potentially create other issues, you might get a lot of Common Mode noise. Your milage will vary, if you have to use two bits of wire, side by side.. Join them in several places along the line. not just at the ends.

So joining them in several places along the line has no effect? Sorry for dragging this on, just trying to learn.

Hi,


I can't see any benefit to joining them in several places, other than to create work. It may be worth considering moving your power supplies closer and reducing the length of the DC run, and perhaps using multiple power supplies. But i digress, in answer to your original question, yes doubling the wires will double the current carrying capacity. Make sure you double both the +ve and -ve wires.


Cheers
Fing

 

[multicast]

Yes, but it will also potentially create other issues, you might get a lot of Common Mode noise. Your milage will vary, if you have to use two bits of wire, side by side.. Join them in several places along the line. not just at the ends.

So joining them in several places along the line has no effect? Sorry for dragging this on, just trying to learn.

Hi,


I can't see any benefit to joining them in several places, other than to create work. It may be worth considering moving your power supplies closer and reducing the length of the DC run, and perhaps using multiple power supplies. But i digress, in answer to your original question, yes doubling the wires will double the current carrying capacity. Make sure you double both the +ve and -ve wires.


Cheers
Fing

Noise sir. Noise. You may be fortunate that is not an issue. But you may not be so lucky either. Noise can be induced onto cables, When their are differing signal paths for the current ( different wires ) you will increase the noise that ends up on the cable. As i say in many cases, its not going to be a problem. Until one day it is.