Wire Sizes

Wire Sizes
Author: Frederick R. Vobbe, W8HDU
February 27, 2009

The following are some sizes of wire as compared to their gauge.

Gauge is important when winding coils or constructing antennas. The end result of a design of an atenna can change by the differences in gauge. In coils, especially those in excess of 30 megahertz, the notch or peak of the design can shift.

The formula for a coil design can be found at Wiki. You can also insert the term "awg diameter calculation" into Google and find many ways to determine size. For antenna designs you typically do not use a real heavy wire, #6 to 000, because of the weight. And a wire in excess of 20 guage will probably break in a 20 mph wind. So use #8 to #20 only. The sizes are roughly these values.

U.S. Wire gauge	Diameter in Inches	Diameter in mm
20	0.031	0.811
18	0.040	1.023
16	0.050	1.290
14	0.064	1.627
12	0.080	2.052
10	0.101	2.588
8	0.128	3.263

If you require more data than this, you might want to visit the DIY Audio Project site.

For specialized coils litz wire visit H.M. Wire.

NOTES:
1). Maximum frequency = 100% skin depth for solid conductor copper.
2). Transmission = Wire lines between poles.
3). Chassis = Internal hookup.
4). Most figures given are for electrical wiring.

Frederick R. Vobbe, W8HDU